Strategic Human Resources

1. StrategicHumanResources

2. Strategic HR analysis should firstlook at the business as a whole • The organization's strategic intent, including helping the organization define it if necessary. • The most likely futures the organization will have to face and the business implications of those futures. • The appropriate strategic positioning for the organization to be able to deal with the identified business implications. • The key human resource issues that must be dealt with for the organization to achieve the desired level of strategic positioning for its possible futures.

3. Strategic intent deals with answering somebasic questions about the organization • Who are we and what are we trying to accomplish? • What business are we in and what is our business purpose? • Where and what do we want to be in the future? • How do we add value in the marketplace?

4. The mission is the basic purpose of the organization. The vision describes what the organization will look like in the future. • From Remodeling HR at Home Depot: "Blake is reaffirming our focus on our core values. It’s been a welcome message. The culture has shifted back to realizing we are a retail company that needs to focus on customers." • From Plan for Planning: “when leaders of The YMCA of Greater Rochester in New York wanted to communicate a strategic vision to employees, the CEO condensed it in a clever way … narrowed down the strategic plan to one two-sided page with a four-digit number that addresses the four areas on which the organization is focusing for the year -- 1331, for one mission and vision, three areas of growth, three ways to fund the mission, and one coordinated process.

5. Possible Futures of the Organization • What are the factors critical to our business? • What social issues could impact our business in the future? • What technological issues could impact our business in the future? • What economic issues could impact our business in the future? • What political issues could impact our business in the future? • What strategic direction are our competitors likely to take in the future? • What opportunities do these issues present? • What threats do these issues raise? • Given the above, what are the most likely scenarios? What would be the impact of these scenarios on the way we do business? What would be the impact of these scenarios on our ability to continue with our current vision, mission, strategic goals and desired culture?

6. Environmental Scan - examine the outside environment surrounding the organization (societal/task environments). • Environmental Forecast - predict how the environment is changing in order to determine implications for the future of the organization. • Customer/Market/Competitor Analysis - establish a stronger understanding of why the organization exists by determining how the market is changing, understanding who the future customers are, and analyzing organization competition.

7. From Avoiding Furlough Fallout: “Furloughs are appealing to executives who foresee short-term contraction in demand and don’t want long-term damage to their human capital. “ • From At Work in 2020: “To understand the future of work, you first must understand the forces driving change.” • From Mapping Out a Game Plane for Change: “Something will go wrong, or at least not as expected. Successful implementation involves anticipating the unexpected and being ready to rapidly design a plan B, or a plan C.”

8. Strategic Positioning • What are the most likely futures developed in the scenario planning effort? • How would each of these possible futures impact the way we do business in general and specifically in areas such as products and services, markets and resource requirements? • How would each of these possible futures impact our strategic intent? Can we adapt to each within the framework of our current vision, mission, strategic goals and desired culture? • Are there any aspects of the operation--structure, processes, supporting systems--that need to be changed now to enable us to respond to quickly to our possible futures?

9. Key Actions for Strategic Positioning • Determine the gaps between the current situation and each of the possible futures in such areas as products and services, markets and resource requirements, including staff. • Define the organizational implications of each of the possible futures in terms of changes that would have to be made in processes and supporting structure and programs, including HR programs. • Consider the impact of each possible future on staffing needs and HR policies and programs. Detail impact on staff, both in terms of skills and numbers and on mix between permanent, contingent and outsourced staff needs. • Develop action plans to deal with any changes that should be made now to enable the organization to implement steps that would be required by likely possible futures.

10. Strengths and weaknesses areinternal to the business. Strengths Weaknesses lack of patent protection a weak brand name poor reputation among customers high cost structure lack of access to the best natural resources lack of access to key distribution channels • patents • strong brand names • good reputation among customers • cost advantages from proprietary know-how • exclusive access to high grade natural resources • favorable access to distribution networks

11. Opportunities and threats are external to the business. Opportunities Threats shifts in consumer tastes away from the firm's products emergence of substitute products new regulations increased trade barriers • an unfulfilled customer need • arrival of new technologies • loosening of regulations • removal of international trade barriers

12. Determining the Human Resource Issues • What are the human resource issues raised by the organization's vision, mission and strategic goals? • What are the human resource issues raised by the organization's concept of its desired culture and shared values? • What are the human resource issues raised by each of the possible futures identified in scenario planning? • What are the primary human resource issues associated with the current or future steps that have been identified as needed for strategic positioning? • Are there any human resource issues that appear to require action now?

13. Key Actions in Determining the Human Resource Issues • List the human resource issues raised by the organization's vision, mission and strategic goals. Compare with the current state and identify any gaps. • List the human resource issues raised by the organization's desired culture and shared values. Compare with the current state and identify any gaps. • List the human resource issues raised by each of the possible futures identified in scenario planning. Compare with the current state and identify any gaps. • List the human resource issues raised by the steps required for current or future strategic positioning. • List action plans that will potentially be needed to deal with any human resource issue gap areas.