HR Planning and Corporate Strategy
HR planning follows the corporate strategy. The flow is:
1. Vision Statement
2. Mission Statement
3. Strategic Directive
4. Corporate Objectives
5. Corporate Strategy
These sets up and guide the HR planning.
Example:
1. Vision Statement
- World's major player with our core products
2. Mission Statement
- Customer focus drive and quality service
3. Strategic Directive
- Go global, with expansion into Europe as the first priority
4. Corporate Objectives
- Gain 3% of the world market
- Gain 5% of the European market
- No. 1 in South Asia
5. Corporate Strategy
- Market-focused promotions
- Customer-focused sales drive
- Set up/develop the sales team in Europe
- Expand/develop the skills of the sales team
Based on the above, the HR planning could include:
- More recruitment for the South Asia sales team
- New recruitment for the European market
- Language training for the Euro team
- Language training for marketing/product management
- Orientation/training in geography/culture of Europe
- Euro market/competition
- Sales skills/development programs
- Customer service skills/development program for internal staff to handle Euro customers, etc.
Now you can see the flow of the process from corporate strategy to HR planning. If you go in reverse, starting with HR planning first, then you will have to change the corporate strategy, corporate objectives, and mission statement, which is not the normal process. HR planning is a support function to the corporate strategy/planning. The corporate strategy dictates what HR planning should be. HR plans must match the requirements of the corporate strategy. If the HR planning does not match with the corporate strategy, the impact on the business could be disastrous, such as a lack of required strength in manpower, lack of the right quality people, lack of skills, lack of competence, etc., which would result in poor sales, poor revenue, lower profit, cash flow impact, demotivation of the teams, increase in attrition rate, loss of talent, etc.
Hope this is useful to you.
Regards,
Happy Diwali
Leo Lingham