![]() During the past few years, businesses across the globe have faced numerous unique and exceptional challenges. Many businesses were forced to make significant changes to their operations and figure out how to push forward with organizational goals while dealing with substantial and rapid changes. But, we’re here now… and there’s no time like the present to ask yourself, “Where are we going in the future?” This is a question all business owners should ask themselves because it’s essential to be prepared for the uncertainties of the future, to evolve and grow as an organization, and to make sure you have the resources to accomplish what you set out to do. To do this, you’ll need an effective Human Resources strategy. A Human Resources strategy can be one of the most significant tools to ensure your overall business plan warrants success, maintains competitive advantage, and promotes employee engagement that can lead to sustained achievements. The basis of any good HR strategy starts with the questions: “Where are we now? Where do we want to go? What do we want to accomplish?” These are great questions to ask, but asking yourself more focused questions may give your HR strategy a needed boost to yield the maximum results. To that end, consider asking yourself these eight questions to help you develop a successful HR strategy: 1. Do We Have a Clear Set of Values to Guide Our Business Objectives?![]() Values are your ultimate guide to carrying out your HR strategy. Meant to shape your organization’s vision and principles, a clear set of values will guide your decision-making, utilizing your organization’s desired standards as a reference point. Examples of organizational values might include teamwork, integrity, accountability, diversity and inclusion, and respect. When considering a component of your HR strategy, ask yourself, “Does it align with our values?” 2. Who Should Be Involved in Strategic Planning?![]() Senior leadership plays a large role in establishing a strategic HR plan, but don’t forget to consider other vital employees to help carry out your strategic plan. Middle managers, for example, can be cardinal communication agents to others throughout your organization. Because they may be more heavily integrated into your company’s daily operations, managers can help mitigate concerns of front-line employees, deliver clear communications, report valuable feedback to upper management, and reinforce the benefits of your HR strategy. 3. What Are the Obstacles We Will Have to Overcome?![]() All businesses experience different risks and obstacles during the strategic HR planning process. Some common pitfalls include a feeble communication strategy, failing to build a coalition to support change and goals, poor resource management, and a lack of buy-in and support from leadership and key stakeholders. To evaluate what obstacles your organization might encounter, consider conducting a SWOT Analysis that compiles your organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats that’ll help give you the full picture of influential factors in your strategic decision-making. ![]() If your HR strategy is global, you might also want to consider a PESTLE analysis, which compiles external Political, Economic, Social, Technological, and Legal factors. 4. How Can I Make Sure My Employees’ Needs Are Aligned With Our Business Objectives?![]() To ensure your employees’ needs are aligned with your business objectives, you’ll have to do three things: a.) Establish the key competencies and duties of each role in your organization– having up-to-date job descriptions can support this feat. You can learn more about the importance of having detailed job descriptions here. b.) Examine your existing workforce; identify what high-performing employees can best support your HR strategy, find out where there are skill gaps, and determine whether you can fill them through training and development or recruitment. c.) Make sure your employees understand how your objectives affect them. Communication is critical here; if you’re not transparent about your strategy, you’ll be sure to encounter resistance from your team, which can be detrimental to your objectives. 5. What Do I Hope to Gain From This HR Strategy?This might seem like an easy question. When you envision the future of your business, you want to be the best in the game, right? You want your employees to love coming to work every day. You want your organization to be successful. However, if you want your HR strategy to succeed, you have to have clear and specific outcomes that you are striving to achieve. For example, if training and development are part of your HR plan, what definite competencies and capabilities do you hope your staff will gain? ![]() If creating a more diverse culture is part of your HR strategy, how will achieving this goal make you a more competitive business? Solidify what you hope to gain from your HR strategy and ensure your actions lead you to that desired outcome. 6. What Resources Will I Need?When ascertaining the resources you’ll need to carry out your HR strategy, think about what you don’t have. Do you have data and analytics to guide your decision-making? Depending on your HR strategy, you might consider a compensation analysis, conducting in-house surveys about employee satisfaction, or looking at your organization’s turnover rates to help benchmark your objectives and goals, as a few examples. ![]() Secondly, do you have the support from leadership and key stakeholders? Buy-in from essential personnel is crucial; without it, it will be rather difficult to carry out your objectives. Thirdly, do you have a succession plan in place? Employee separation is an inevitable part of any business. Whether it’s through retirement, resignation, or involuntary termination, your team is a primary resource in a successful HR strategy. Think about which employees can effortlessly float to other roles, who are promotable, and if you have the bandwidth to develop existing employees. And lastly, do you have a budget? Part of a good HR strategy involves being practical about what you can accomplish. If your plan is fiscally irresponsible, it can have grave consequences for your organization’s bottom line. 7. How Do We Make Sure We Are Meeting Our Goals?![]() Establishing goals is one thing, but monitoring and evaluating your progress toward those goals is what tells you whether or not you’re on track. Consider regular reviews (such as monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually) of your goals. Doing so will give you the opportunity to adapt your methods as needed, celebrate small victories along the way, and reignite the importance of meeting your goal. Consider maintaining a monthly tracking spreadsheet or dashboard, using HRIS to provide quantitative data metrics, or benchmarking to measure how your progress compares to similar organizations. 8. Do I Need an Expert HR Consultant to Help Us With Strategic Planning?![]() There are great benefits to engaging an outside HR consultant. HR consultants offer a wealth of experience to help you lead your team, provide an objective perspective, and can help implement best practices and procedures that are HR compliant. While HR consultation isn’t right for every business, it can be an added benefit and resource for your organization. EnformHR specializes in Human Resource Consulting. For more information or to discuss whether or not bringing on an expert HR consultant may work for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to us! via EnformHR, LLC https://ift.tt/wvFWHs6
0 Comments
![]() Have you ever thrown out your back? Brutal. The spine of the human body is central to our every movement. It provides our bodies with a solid foundation and protects the integrity of almost all of the vital functions we use daily. Job descriptions serve an identical purpose for human resources in that they support many of your organization’s primary functions: recruiting, hiring, performance evaluations, succession planning, employee job satisfaction, training and development, and even employment law analysis can all operate more efficaciously with a meticulously crafted job description: your HR backbone. While often glossed over as a tedious and administrative task, managers and HR professionals who invest in descriptive and accurate job descriptions will have their efforts paid back in spades. Why Are Job Descriptions Important in the Recruiting Process?![]() Let’s start with recruiting. According to Indeed.com, “Your job descriptions are where you start marketing your company and your job to your future hire.” In response to an Indeed survey, 52% of job seekers said the quality of a job description is “very or extremely influential” on their decision whether or not to apply to a job post. With the current labor shortage, job seekers need to be heavily marketed and sold on both the company and the opportunity. Helps Attract the Right EmployeeJob descriptions should be written to attract the type of candidates ideal for the role. In addition, poorly written job postings will either have you buried in resumes of unqualified individuals or result in too few candidates expressing interest in the job. The time wasted with either of these outcomes is detrimental to an often-under-staffed team, tight recruiting deadlines, and the business’s bottom line. Carefully describing the job while selling it at the same time is critical to the success of the post and getting suitable candidates hired in a timely and cost-effective manner. Keep Your Job Descriptions Up-to-DateThe job description’s purpose doesn’t stop at the job board. Regularly updating your job descriptions can give managers additional value for several reasons. It’s important to be strategic about what exactly your current needs are. Keeping your job descriptions updated provides the manager with an opportunity to refresh duties based on any new or evolving business needs. Updating your job descriptions as key duties evolve and job responsibilities change can serve as an exceptional resource for managers during important decision-making. Cases such as identifying performance gaps, developing strategies for expansion or downsizing, and succession planning, are a few examples. Helps Gauge PerformanceThe job description is instrumental in conducting accurate, thorough, and meaningful performance reviews. It can serve as an outline to which the manager can refer to when providing feedback and aids in measuring progress against expectations. Once an employee is onboarded, the job description serves as an important reference for the new employee to execute and understand their responsibilities. Training and employee development can also start with a proper and accurate job description. Being thoughtful about what skills are critical to the position and which skills will benefit the employee to enhance is a strategic way to develop your team. Investing in employee development not only helps the company but also builds loyalty and job satisfaction, which is important to organizational culture and employee retention. Offer Protection After TerminationsWhile it might not seem obvious, job descriptions can play a role in employment law scenarios more often than you think. According to the Houston Chronicle, “…. poorly crafted or non-existent job descriptions pose several problems, including legal risks. They can cause issues in hiring, evaluation, employee motivation, and career development.” If an employer is required to prove, for example, that a terminated employee was let go for failing to meet minimum basic standards for the position, the first thing that will be referenced is the job description. If this is not accurate, the termination can be challenged even in an at-will state. Update Your Job Descriptions for New Fair Labor Standards![]() Job descriptions also assist employers in determining whether or not a position is exempt or non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Many employers think that just because a position is paid on a salary basis, they are exempt from earning overtime. Still, the FLSA bases the classification on other factors, including job duties. Having these duties clearly laid out in a job description helps define and support the classification and ensure employees are paid properly. Including the physical requirements in the job description also helps employers comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and determine which reasonable accommodations if any, they can make for an employee in need. Get Professional Help When Writing Better Job Descriptions![]() You can maintain and strengthen your human resources strategy by crafting and maintaining detailed and accurate job descriptions. If you are a small business and don’t have an HR professional on your team or the bandwidth yourself, seek an HR consulting firm for a short-term project. You’ll find it a healthy and critical exercise in maintaining and strengthening your strategic “backbone.” At EnformHR, we offer project-based HR Services. If you are looking for accurate job descriptions or basic HR Outsourcing, one of our HR Business Partners can assist with any of your Human Resources Management needs. via EnformHR, LLC https://ift.tt/BvWtqHh |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
July 2023
Categories |