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.
HR Strategy
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:
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
Introduction
Module 1
Module 2
Module 3
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
Review organizational strategy.
- Strategic review summary
Conduct a SWOT/PESTLE analysis.
- SWOT/PESTLE summary
Identify key insights from HROA Diagnostic.
- HROA insights
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
Identify talent implications (cont’d).
- Talent implications
Determine themes from talent implications.
Prioritize talent implication themes.
- Prioritized talent implication themes
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
Create strategic pillars (cont’d).
- Strategic pillars
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
Finalize strategic pillars and outcomes.
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
Finalize HR initiatives.
- HR initiatives
Determine impact and effort of HR initiatives.
- Impact/effort map
Assess HR’s ability to support HR initiatives.
Create a high-level action plan (time permitting).
- High-level action plan