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Top Tips: How to discover HR's strategic opportunities

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Top Tips: How to discover HR’s strategic opportunities

In today’s competitive world, organizations won't continue to fund anything that doesn’t add value, including HR. If it fails to reduce costs and improve services, HR has a bleak future. So, how can HR make effective differences and save itself?

1. Ask the business questions
Ask executives how the strategy is working out, what's exciting or worrying them. Initially, executives might be surprised by your questions, but will soon become accustomed to having business conversations with you. Ask what's discussed and seems important, but isn't measured or openly reported. What executives see and hear can be more important to them than performance figures.

2. Check business plans
Look for the HR implications of the business strategy/plan. How many people does it assume, where are they, what skills and qualifications will be needed and do rewards systems support the plan? If there's no written strategy/plan, ask senior managers if such informality works well. Can HR add strategic value by facilitating the development of a formal strategy? Look for assumptions, omissions, mistakes and inconsistencies in the strategy – they're all opportunities for HR to add value.

3. Look for performance issues
Get a copy of the performance measures used by executives – these may not be the official measures. Discover what competitors are doing. Their decisions might not be wholly relevant to your organization, but there may be some good ideas you can implement. Additionally, their successes might highlight your problems.

4. Network
Create opportunities to share information and ideas with other HR professionals in your organization. Ask for their help in obtaining further information, discussing your ideas, checking draft proposals and so on. Attend conferences and workshops, build new relationships, keep detailed notes (containing information which you might otherwise forget) and share them with others.

Source: Peter Goodge: http://www.strategichr.co.uk, excerpted by Annie Waite, Editor Source - Melcrum.

Blogged on 8:29 PM by Upay