HR ALIGNMENT WITH CORPORATE OBJECTIVES/STRATEGY
Hope my understanding of your question is clear.
In most companies, HRM is part of senior management. HRM makes a contribution to the development of:
- Corporate mission statement
- Corporate objectives
- Corporate strategy.
Normally, the senior management team or top management would consist of:
- CEO or managing director
- Corporate planning manager
- Finance manager
- Marketing manager
- Manufacturing manager
- Sales manager
- Supply chain manager
- HR manager
- Etc.
STEP 1[a]
Top management would evaluate the current (last 12 months) performance against the objectives/target set previously, which includes return on investment, profitability, etc., and also the performance of various departments like marketing, sales, HR, manufacturing, etc.
STEP 1[b]
Top management will also evaluate the current mission, objectives, strategies, and policies.
STEP 2[a]
CEO or MD will take the summary of the evaluation of the current performance to the board for review.
STEP 2[b]
Based on the review plus the external environmental factors, the board will make decisions on:
- New mission statement
- New corporate objectives
- New corporate governance
STEP 3[a]
Top management will scan and assess the company's external environment—political/economic/social/technology—to determine the strategic factors that pose as opportunities/threats.
STEP 3[b]
Top management will scan and assess the company's internal environment—structure/culture/resources, etc., to determine the strategic factors that pose as opportunities/threats.
STEP 3[c]
Top management will analyze the strengths/weaknesses of the organization and pinpoint the problem areas that need attention and the strengths that could be exploited.
STEP 4
Based on the above analyses, top management will generate, evaluate, and select the best strategic factors.
STEP 5
Top management will review and revise (if necessary) the mission statement and corporate objectives.
STEP 6
Top management will generate and evaluate strategy alternatives and objectives.
STEP 7
This final corporate mission statement, objectives, and strategies become the foundation information for the various departments to work out their departmental objectives/strategies/plans.
STEP 8
After working out their respective objectives/strategies/plans and the budgets, the departmental managers send their respective information to the top management for approval.
STEP 9
Upon receiving the approved package from the top management, the departmental managers develop the implementation plan.
STEP 10
Now you have mission/objectives/strategies/plans/budget/schedules.
In the case of HR, which is a department by itself, this final corporate mission statement, objectives, and strategies become the foundation information for the HR department to work out its departmental objectives/strategies/plans. However, the bulk of HR activities/plans are linked/based on the HR needs of other departments.
STEP A
Discuss with the various other departments like sales/production/distribution/accounting/IT, etc., about their requirements for:
- Manpower
- Recruitments
- Replacements
- Training
- Etc.
Once you get their departmental requirements, HRM develops:
- Recruitment/selection plans/programs/procedures/priorities
- Training plans/programs/procedures/priorities
- Rewards plans/programs/procedures/priorities
- Development plans/programs/procedures/priorities
- Payroll plans/programs/procedures/priorities
- Performance management plans/programs/procedures/priorities
- Staff/organization communication plans/programs/procedures/priorities
- Etc.
- HR policies
- HR procedures
- HR practices
- HR plans
- Etc.
Example of HR ALIGNING with CORPORATE OBJECTIVE:
Corporate Strategy: Expand into the global market.
Corporate Objective: Phase 1 enter the European market. Obtain 2% of the market in the first 18 months.
Marketing Objective: Gain 2% market share in the first 18 months.
Marketing Strategy: Develop new products. Develop product promotions, with multilingual media plan.
Marketing Needs:
- Key employees will need to be able to communicate in a second language of Europe.
- Product managers need orientation in European culture.
HR contribution:
- Language training.
- European culture orientation
- European economy orientation
Sales Objective: Gain Sales of $X in the first 18 months.
Sales Strategy:
- Sell current products in the Euro market
- Sell new products in the Euro market.
- Determine new market segments.
- Develop a range of KEY accounts.
Sales Needs:
- Key employees will need to be able to communicate in a second language of Europe.
- Sales managers/team need orientation in European culture.
- Sales managers/team need orientation in the European economy.
- Sales team need sales skills/approach.
- Sales team need an understanding of Euro customer buying pattern.
- New sales team recruitment.
HR contribution:
- Language training.
- European culture orientation
- European economy orientation
- Euro market orientation.
- Euro selling skills
- Euro customer servicing orientation.
Now as an HR manager, you know:
- What the corporate objectives/strategies are.
- What the marketing/sales objectives/strategies are.
- What the marketing/sales needs are.
- What the HR contribution should be.
- And also what/how your HR plans impact the business results.
In this way, you can carry out for other departments in the organization like:
- Production
- Procurement
- Supply chain
- Warehousing
- Customer servicing
- Etc.
When you have completed:
- HR needs
- HR indicators to measure with
- Impact on the business
You are ready to discuss with your boss, with:
- Surety
- Sensitivity
- Sensibility
And success.
Hope this is useful to you.
Regards,
LEO LINGHAM