What’s Your HR Strategy?
By Cristina Heta
If you have read some of my articles, by now you should know I am very animate about how important hiring the right staff is for a business. I have said over and over that you will do your business a favor by spending your time and resources into hiring right.
Well, what if I told you there is ONE step even more important than hiring? Surprised? If applied wisely, it will save your business both, money and management issues, in the long run.
Regardless of whether you are starting out, expanding, cutting services or transforming… you need an HR strategy that fits in and supports your business goals. Many small business owners limit their HR strategy to hiring, thinking that once the job is filled, just letting it follow its course will do.
If you own a business, you should own an HR strategy at all times. You may go long periods of time with the same strategy, but you should always have one.
How do you create your HR strategy?
1 – Know your business
You want to first recognize the stage your business is in. You are either starting, steady, growing or declining. Look at what your current business situation is, and define your business goals. Your HR strategy will need to support those goals, so it is imperative that you are clear on where you are and where you want to be.
2 – Know your numbers
Part of analyzing your business is understanding well your sales, profits and operational costs. Now, you need to dig deeper and find out: how much from those costs are staff operational costs, what those costs represent from the overall operational expenses, and how much each job costs your business as a percentage from all jobs. When you calculate those numbers, make sure you are not limiting staff cost to salary. Benefits, such as medical, training, paid time-off, etc. should all be included in the cost calculation.
3 – Know your jobs
The numbers are quantifiable and relatively easy to calculate. Next, you need to focus on the qualitative value of your staff. What job is each of your staff doing? What value is each job adding to your business? How is the incumbent on each job performing their job duties? This exercise becomes increasingly harder as the business becomes larger, but it is equally important. Note that first and foremost, you should analyze the value of the jobs that you have created, independently from the incumbents on the job. And, then, you should also analyze the value that each staff member brings to the job. It is important to separate those exercises, so your decisions are objective and not linked to any staff member. These types of exercises are easier done with a grid and ratings scale that can help you quantify the results.
4 – Link jobs to business goals
Once you know exactly where you stand with your jobs, review your business goals and evaluate how your current jobs, incumbents and costs support or hinder those goals. If you are a growing business planning to increase your online presence and sales during the next two years, your human resource strategy may require you to consider either temporary or permanent online sales and marketing resources. If your business is steady, and your analysis reveals that you have the right jobs but not the right incumbents to meet your goals, your HR strategy will focus on building a high performing team. If your business has slowed down and your goal is to stay afloat, you may need to make drastic HR changes that help you reach your goals.
Your HR strategy will become your business GPS directions that will take you to reach your business goals.
Get started on your HR strategy today!
Cristina Heta
Founder and CEO
Manager on Call
Need help drafting your HR strategy?