Developing HR strategies


Criteria for an Effective HR strategy

According to Armstrong  (2006) an effective HR strategy is one that works in the sense that such a strategy achieves what it sets out to achieve. In particular, HR Strategy:
·  will satisfy business needs;
·  will be founded on detailed analysis and study, not just wishful thinking; These can be turned into actionable programs that anticipate implementation requirements and problems;
·  is coherent and integrated, being composed of components that fit with and support each other;
·  takes account of the needs of line managers and employees generally as well as other stakeholders. As Boxall and Purcell (2003) emphasize, HR planning should aim to meet the needs of the key stakeholder groups involved in people management in the firm.

The process of developing HR strategies involves generating strategic HRM options and then making appropriate strategic choices. It has been noted by Cole (1999) that the choice of practices that an employer pursues is heavily contingent on a number of factors at the organizational level, including employer own business and production strategies, support of HR policies, and cooperative labor relations. The process of developing HR strategies involves the adoption of a contingent approach in generating strategic HRM options and then making appropriate strategic choices. There is seldom if ever one right way forward. Choices should relate to but also anticipate the critical needs of the business. Choice should be founded on detailed analysis and study, not just wishful thinking, and should incorporate the experienced and collective judgment of top management about the organizational requirements while also taking into account the needs of line managers and employees generally. The following six-step approach is proposed by Gratton (2000):
1. Build the guiding coalition – involve people from all parts of the business.
2. Image the future – create a shared vision of areas of strategic importance.
3. Understand current capabilities and identify the gap – establish ‘where the organization is now and the gap between aspirations for the future and the reality of the present’.
4. Create a map of the system – ensure that the parts can be built into a meaningful whole.
5. Model the dynamics of the system – ensure that the dynamic nature of the future is taken into account.
6. Bridge into action – agree the broad themes for action and the specific issues related to those themes, develop guiding principles, involve line managers and create cross-functional teams to identify goals and performance indicators.

But many different routes may be followed when formulating HR strategies there is no one right way. On the basis of their research in 30 well-known companies, Tyson and Witcher (1994) commented that the different approaches to strategy formation reflect different ways to manage change and different ways to bring the people part of the business into line with business goals. In developing HR strategies, process may be as important as content. Also noted from their research that the process of formulating HR strategy was often as important as the content of the strategy ultimately agreed. It was argued that by working through strategic issues and highlighting points of tension, new ideas emerged and a consensus over goals was found.
When considering approaches to the formulation of HR strategy it is necessary to underline the interactive relationship between business strategy and HRM (Hendry and Pettigrew 1990). They emphasize the limits of excessively rationalistic models of strategic and HR planning. The point that HR strategies are not necessarily developed formally and systematically but may instead evolve and emerge has been made by Tyson (1997): the process by which strategies come to be realized is not only through formal HR policies or written directions; strategy realization can also come from actions by managers and others.


REFERENCES

Armstrong, M (2006) Human Resource Management practice 10th edn Cambridge University Press

Boxall, P (2007) Human resource strategy and competitive advantage: a longitudinal study of engineering consultancies, Journal of Management Studies, 36(4), pp 443–63

Cole G. A. (1999), Personnel Management: Theory and Practice, London, Ashford Colour Press

Hendry, C and Pettigrew, A (1990) Human resource management: an agenda for the 1990s, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 1(3), pp 17–43

Gratton, L (2000) People processes as a source of competitive advantage, in Strategic Human Resource Management, eds L Gratton, V H Hailey, P Stiles and C Truss, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Tyson, S and Witcher, M (1994) Getting in gear: post-recession HR management, Personnel Management, August, pp 20–23

Comments

  1. Panchali NanayakkaraNovember 17, 2019 at 3:14 AM

    In your blog, you have mentioned that certain strategies aim to support programs for improving organizational effectiveness. This is further confirmed by Armstrong(2010) where he says, to manage people effectively, it is necessary to take into account the factors that affect how they behave at work. The development of HR processes and the design of organizations are often predicated on the beliefs that everyone is the same and will behave rationally when faced with change or other demands. But the behaviour of people differs because of their characteristics and individual differences, and it is not always rational(Armstrong, 2010).

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    Replies
    1. Diana SilvaNovember 17, 2019 at 6:40 AM

      As you highlighted on managing diversity effectively , HR professionals fall prey to common hazards that often impair the success of the strategy. Kesler (1997) advises the following: 1. Avoid HR speak: Keep it practical and close to the business, 2. Find the pivot points in talent and organization that will have the most impact on results; don’t treat all jobs and talent as equal be willing to differentiate, and 3. Measure what you do. Finally, a company can have a great HR strategy, but it’s worthless if the proper channels and professional staff aren’t in place to put it into action. HR support from the top down is essential to the success of any HR strategy. “Although you will probably need to get the entire organization to buy in to the strategy, failure to get buy-in from the right people, especially the executive suite can cripple your plans for expansion and growth right from the outset,” said Willmot (2018).

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  2. Darshana BandaraDecember 16, 2019 at 2:15 AM

    Nowadays there is a debate on what determine Human Resources Development (HRD) strategy. As Sergey (2011) says strategy-making process as an on-going process, whereby the companies’ objectives and means to attain them are determined. Further he described strategies are some general actions implied for development of resources to achieve comprehensive objective. The purpose of strategy would be communicated through major objective and policies and Strategic planning seeks to make certain that various sections of the organization provision each other to overcome potential adverse environments (Dansoh, 2004). As that, HRD policy of an organization is a demonstration what the organization is prepared to do in terms of developing its employees (Odusami et al., 2007).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kavi Esoft MBA 2019December 26, 2019 at 10:06 PM

    An important element of organizational success is an Human Resource Management (HRM) strategy where every manager is an HRM manager. For example, every manager must be expected to set goals for the development and satisfaction of employees. Second, every employee is viewed as a valuable resource, just like buildings and equipment. The organization’s success is dependent upon high-performing employees and without such employees there is no competitive advantage for organization. Finally, through effective HRM programs the organization’s goals are successfully integrated with individual employee needs. HRM will continue to be an important element in achieving organizational success in the years to come (Sims, 2002).

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