Strategic Planning Focuses on Human Resource Potential

If properly applied and executed, a human resources-based strategic plan can have measurable impact on the company and can make the department much more visible as stakeholders begin to see HR as a key player in company productivity. A successful plan leverages the right talent and seeks to acquire key personnel who can support growth and expansion as the company takes measured steps to pursue a vision broad enough to encompass every department and leverage human resource trends in the company over the next 5 years.

Good planners will have a deep understanding of and appreciation for the unique and dynamic nature of the business environment and will manage priorities so that results are easier to target. A significant impediment to the attainment of strategic goals is that often chief executives are only partially committed to change strategy, even though change might be a precursor to improvement and enhanced profitability. Policy changes are difficult for those who have become comfortable with the way things are. And finally, strategic planning can be impossible if the wrong people are involved with making it happen. Skilled and motivated managers must be involved and committed from the beginning.

When vision steps into the mix, it will be obvious to everyone that HR adds value to the business. HR is capable of more than classic, clerical-level duties and supports. In fact, when HR runs optimally, it enables the “execution of strategy” because it builds “organizational capability” (Hults, 2011). HR will have nothing to do with clerical work such as: payroll, benefits and administration. Instead, HR will work to make the organization more competitive through hyper-aggressive training, corporate development, college recruitment and executive acquisition assisted by attractive compensation packages and annual bonuses connected to increasing performance (Ng & Butts, 2009). HR will exist to make the company more cutting edge.

The future of the company is to realize higher profit margins aided by a tighter organizational structure. These have been identified as two keys to pave the way for an initial public offering within 5 years of this plan’s implementation. HR will push the business to grow and thrive by initiating intensive hiring, training and continual staff development which is beyond anything offered by competitors (Power, 2012). Current managers will be promoted to the Board of Executives for oversight and strong mid-level managers and new hires will lead the company into its next phase as a new crop of seasoned executives. In order to transform the roles of existing staff, HR will use business process, organizational and job redesign methods. Once complete, HR will have developed the perfect model for growth that can be replicated again and again as the company expands. Within the first year of a change strategy, HR expects to prompt net sales increases in excess of 30 percent while fixed costs will be reduced by at least 40 percent. Successive years should see sales increase by 35%, 40%, 50% and 65% from the start of the strategy roll out by the end of year 5.

References

Hults, B. (December 21, 2011). “Why HR Really Does Add Value.” HBR Blog Network. Retrieved on 11/26/2013 from http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/why_hr_really_does_add_value.html.

Ng, T. W. & Butts, M. M. (2009). Effectiveness of Organizational Efforts to Lower Turnover Intentions: The Moderating Role of Employee Locus of Control. Human Resource Management, 48(2), 289-310.

Power, B. (January 25, 2012). “HR Chiefs Who Propel Organizational Performance.” HBR Blog Network. Retrieved on 11/26/2013 from http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/01/hallmarks_of_hr_chiefs_who_pro.html