A strategic human resource-planning model

There is no single approach to developing a Human Resources Strategy. The specific approach will vary from one organization to another. Even so, an excellent approach towards an HR Strategic Management System is evident in the model presented below. This approach identifies six specific steps in developing an HR Strategy: -

1. Setting the strategic direction

2. Designing the Human Resource Management System

3. Planning the total workforce

4. Generating the required human resources

5. Investing in human resource development and performance

6. Assessing and sustaining organizational competence and performance

Source: A Strategic Human Resource Management System for the 21st Century. Naval Personnel Task Force, September 2000

The six broad interconnected components of this system consist of three planning steps and three execution steps.

The top three components represent the need for planning. Organizations must determine their strategic direction and the outcomes they seek. This is usually accomplished with some form of strategic planning. Classic strategic planning is a formal, top-down, staff-driven process. When done well, it is workable at a time when external change occurs at a more measured pace.

However as the pace and magnitude of change increases, the approach to strategic planning changes substantially:

• First, the planning process is more agile; changes in plans are much more frequent and are often driven by events rather than made on a predetermined time schedule.

• Second, the planning process is more proactive. Successful organizations no longer simply respond to changes in their environment, they proactively shape their environment to maximize their own effectiveness.

• Third, the planning process is no longer exclusively top-down; input into the process comes from many different organizational levels and segments. This creates more employee ownership of the plan and capitalizes on the fact that often the most valuable business intelligence can come from employees who are at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy.

• Lastly, the strategic planning process less reactive and more driven by line leadership.

Once strategic planning is under way, a process must be undertaken by the organization to design and align its HRM policies and practices to provide for organizational success. The remaining step in planning is to determine the quality and quantity of human resources the organization needs for its total force.

The rest of the HR strategic system exists for and is guided by these plans, policies, and practices. These execution components contain mechanisms that generate the correct skill sets, invest in staff development and performance, and productively employ them in the organization. The last component provides a means to assess and sustain the competence and performance of the organization and the people in it with regard to outcomes that the organization seeks.

Regards,

Pavan