Developing A Human Resources Management Strategy

Human Resources Management Overview

“People are our most valuable asset” is one of the most common clichés in today’s business. Yet, it is arguably as close to the truth as you can get. Human resources management (HRM) has become a central part of any business, as its task is to fulfill an organisation’s goals through the right number of the right people with the relevant skills and competences.

It is a task as challenging as it is delicate. Humans cannot be treated as machines and HRM must adopt an interdisciplinary approach to each staff member. That is why HR specialists usually need extensive training in various disciplines and as a part of their training, they often have to attend economics courses, psychology courses, sociology courses, law and management courses.

Understanding the HRM strategy

A HRM strategy depends to a large extent on the organisation’s goals. Whatever the HR function, they need to correspond to and develop in line with the overall business strategy.

Typically, a HRM strategy consists of the following factors:

- Best fit and best practice - also known as the contingency approach and the high-commitment approach. The implementation of these approaches means that the HRM strategy and the corporate strategy co-exist in perfect harmony. For example, if the company aims to increase sales by 5% over the next year, the HR department would need to manage the staff in such a way, so as to achieve the 5% growth in sales.

- Cooperation between HR and top management in the development of the overall corporate strategy, since achieving organisational goals is above all related to the adequate human resources management.

- Regular review of the strategy, via employee feedback or surveys.

Steps in developing HRM strategy

1. Understand your business - define what drives your business (technology, market, competition) and how this relates to your personnel. Think about how your staff contributes to business performance.

2. Make a SWOT and a COPS (culture, organisation, people, HR system) analysis of the people and the organisation - discovering the strengths and weaknesses of the employees will help you improve your human resource management. You will know how to delegate and effectively assign tasks to the right people.

3. Compare your corporate strategy to your findings from the SWOT and COPS analyses. Identify any potential contradictory issues and think of all possible options to make them work. Try to be inventive and don’t choose the obvious.

4. When your corporate and HRM strategies form a whole, you may start implementing them and working towards achieving your organisational goals.