A significant gap exists in the perceived effectiveness of HR’s ability to deliver value to desired organizational outcomes. Traditional thinking about what HR does and why it exists is evolving. This requires HR leaders to reflect on the intersection of organizational needs with their responsibilities, acting as both a thought leader and a strategic partner for the organization.

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Critical Insight

An impactful HR strategy is fundamentally aligned with the broader organizational strategy. In strategic HR organizations, priorities are driven not just by HR’s own agenda, but by the strategic objectives of the entire organization. This ensures that HR initiatives support and enhance the broader organizational strategy, enabling HR to contribute meaningfully and adapt to evolving business needs.

Impact and Result

To create effective HR strategies, HR leaders must perform a macro and environmental scan, assess the current state, and identify strategic pillars informed by both HR and organizational perspectives regarding the current state and future needs.

HR’s value is realized by these strategic pillars prioritizing the right outcomes and resources are directed to the initiatives most critical to executing organizational strategy.

Create an HR Strategy Research & Tools

1. Assess the current state

Determine who will participate in the process, understand the organization’s strategy, and conduct an external environment scan and an internal assessment of HR and its alignment with the organization.

Create an HR Strategy Executive Briefing

2. Establish strategic pillars and HR outcomes

Articulate what HR will work to accomplish to support the achievement of the organizational strategy, identify strategic pillars for HR, and define HR outcomes that support these pillars.

3. Identify HR initiatives

Assess current HR initiatives to determine alignment with HR outcomes, evaluate gaps to identify new HR initiatives, and assess HR’s capability to achieve identified initiatives.

4. Create an action plan

Assess the effort and impact of each HR initiative to prioritize and focus efforts on initiatives with the highest impact; define metrics for each HR outcome; identify the budget, skills, and resources required; communicate HR’s priorities and initiatives; and create a roadmap for the HR strategy.

HR Strategy

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This program has been approved for continuing professional development (CPD) hours under Section A of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Log of the Human Resource Professionals Association (HRPA).

McLean & Company is recognized by SHRM and can award Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®.

HR Certification Institute's® (HRCI®) official seal confirms that McLean & Company meets the criteria for pre-approved recertification credit(s) for any of HRCI’s eight credentials, including SPHR® and PHR®.

How to complete this course:

Use these videos, along with the Project Blueprint deck above, to gain an understanding of the subject. Start with the Introduction, then move through each of the Course Modules. At the end of each Module, you will be required to complete a short test to demonstrate your understanding. You will complete this course when you have completed all of the course tests.

Number of Course Modules: 5
Estimated Completion Time: 1.5 hours

Learning Outcome

HR leaders must be equipped to reflect on the intersection of organizational needs and HR’s responsibilities, acting as both a thought leader and a strategic partner for the organization. This course will equip learners with foundational knowledge of the process of creating a new HR strategy or updating an existing HR strategy. This process includes performing internal and external scans, identifying strategic pillars informed by HR and organizational perspectives, prioritizing the right HR outcomes, and directing resources to the initiatives most critical to executing organizational strategy.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

Perform basic scans of the organization’s key players, environment, and industry.
Assess HR’s current state.
Identify strategic pillars based on the organization and HR’s desired future states.
Identify key HR initiatives based on strategic pillars.
Create action and communication plans.

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Course Modules

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Introduction

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Module 1

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Module 2

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Module 3

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Module 4

Workshop: Create an HR Strategy

Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Review Organizational Strategy and Identify HR Implications

The Purpose

Gain an understanding of the organization’s strategy and objectives.
Determine the importance of aligning the people strategy to the overall organizational strategy.

Key Benefits Achieved

A thorough review of the organization’s current state.
A deep dive into overall organizational strategy and objectives.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Review organizational strategy.

Strategic review summary

1.2

Conduct a SWOT/PESTLE analysis.

SWOT/PESTLE summary

1.3

Identify key insights from HROA Diagnostic.

HROA insights

1.4

Identify talent implications.

Module 2: Identify Talent Implications and Themes

The Purpose

Identify talent implications that holistically cover the organization’s overall requirements, effects, and consequences on talent.
Derive high-level themes which will steer the HR strategic pillars forward.

Key Benefits Achieved

An understanding of the talent implications on talent segments, competencies, culture, compliance, data, core processes, talent sources.
The involvement of key stakeholders in the identification of talent implications will support leadership buy-in.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Identify talent implications (cont’d).

Talent implications

2.2

Determine themes from talent implications.

2.3

Prioritize talent implication themes.

Prioritized talent implication themes

2.4

Convert themes to strategic pillars.

Module 3: Define Strategic Pillars and Outcomes

The Purpose

Define the overarching prioritized themes that will become the strategic pillars for the people strategy.

Key Benefits Achieved

Identification of the strategic pillars that will allow HR to focus on key prioritized areas.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Create strategic pillars (cont’d).

Strategic pillars

3.2

Define HR outcomes.

Module 4: Create Initiatives to Deliver HR Outcomes

The Purpose

Determine the outcome and impact the strategic pillars can have on the organization.
Identify specific HR deliverables and initiatives required to achieve the outcomes.

Key Benefits Achieved

The identification of the ideal state of HR that would support each strategic pillar.
The determination of current state gaps that need to be addressed.
The understanding of how HR initiatives can drive the people strategy.

Activities

Outputs

4.1

Finalize strategic pillars and outcomes.

4.2

Identify initiatives to deliver HR outcomes.

HR outcomes

Module 5: Assess HR’s Ability to Support Initiatives and Action Plan

The Purpose

Identify the accountabilities of responsibilities of HR initiatives.
Finalize the people strategy.

Key Benefits Achieved

A detailed profile for each HR initiative.
An action plan to integrate and communicate the people strategy.

Activities

Outputs

5.1

Finalize HR initiatives.

HR initiatives

5.2

Determine impact and effort of HR initiatives.

Impact/effort map

5.3

Assess HR’s ability to support HR initiatives.

5.4

Create a high-level action plan (time permitting).

High-level action plan

About McLean & Company

McLean & Company is an HR research and advisory firm providing practical solutions to human resources challenges via executable research, tools, diagnostics, and advisory services that have a clear and measurable impact on your business.

What Is a Blueprint?

A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your HR problems.

Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.

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Get the help you need in this 4-phase advisory process. You'll receive 9 touchpoints with our researchers, all included in your membership.

Guided Implementation 1: Assess the current state

Call 1: Determine who will participate in the strategic planning process and understand the organization’s strategy.
Call 2: Conduct an external environment scan and an internal assessment of HR to determine its alignment with the organization.

Guided Implementation 2: Establish strategic pillars and HR outcomes

Call 1: Identify talent implications for HR strategy and strategic pillars for HR.
Call 2: Define HR outcomes that will support HR’s strategic pillars.

Guided Implementation 3: Identify HR initiatives

Call 1: Assess current HR initiatives to determine alignment with HR outcomes.
Call 2: Evaluate gaps to identify new strategic initiatives and assess HR’s capability to achieve identified initiatives.

Guided Implementation 4: Create an action plan

Call 1: Conduct an effort-impact assessment for each HR initiative to prioritize and focus efforts on initiatives with the highest impact.
Call 2: Define metrics for each HR outcome and plan to communicate HR’s priorities and initiatives.
Call 3: Identify the budget and create an action plan for the HR strategy.

Contributors

Carol Beatty, Director of the Industrial Relations Centre, Queen's University, President, Warp Speed Training Enterprises
Robert Carlyle, Director, Strategic Workforce Management, Royal Bank of Canada
Alfonsina Chang, Professor, Seneca College
Courtney Harrison, Consultant
Michael Hoseus, Executive Director, Center for Quality People & Organizations (CQPO)
Lisa Jenkins, Process Optimization and Change Management Consultant
Sonya Kunkel, Chief Inclusion Officer and Vice-President, Talent Strategies, BMO
Danielle Mandell, VP, People, Habitat for Humanity GTA
Andrew Mayo, Human Capital Management Professor, Middlesex University London
Jackie Meagher, VP of HR, Info-Tech Research Group
Dennis Miller, Speaker, Author, and Leadership Coach, The Power of Strategic Alignment: A Guide to Energizing Leadership and Maximizing Potential in Today’s Nonprofit Organizations
Nan Oldroyd, HR Executive
Tracey Pope, Chief People Officer, Canadian Red Cross
Jennifer Riel, Managing Director, Knowledge Infrastructure Project, Co- Author of Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works, University of Toronto, Rotman School of Business
Brenda Rigney, Vice President of People Operations, Hootsuite Blog
Harleen Smith, CHRO, Houston Airport System
Dave Ulrich, Professor and Author, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
Jeanne Wisniewski, Chief People Officer, Vitals