Like many things HR related, we seemed to have adopted a range of weird and wonderful ways to describe creating an HR strategy.

The latest one being a “strategic workforce planning process”.

Yep – I’m thinking “Yuck!” too. Really, what is it we are trying to achieve here?

In essence, we are trying to future-proof the business. Using your business plan, and let’s assume it’s a 5-year plan, we need to make sure you have the right people in the right place at the right time.

OK – that sounds pretty straightforward – right? 

You’d like to think so, but actually, it’s not that easy.

The trouble is, in the way weather forecasters have difficulty predicting the long-range forecast (who else read we were going to have a record-breaking Summer?), it is hard to guess what the future holds.

Many household names have gone to the wall in recent years – companies we could never dream wouldn’t be on the high street now. If their senior leaders could have predicted the future, who knows what would have happened?

So, just how can we tackle putting together a strategy?

We need to start by looking at the data – your data.

What has happened in the past? Look at trading patterns and match those against your people – how many staff did you employ, what roles did they have, where were your strongest people? When you made changes in personnel what impact did that have on the business?

It is a good idea to look at the wider picture too. OK, you know how your company performed but what did the UK economy look like, and the global one? Did you buck the trend when we were in a recession or did you feel the pinch?

Be aware of trends in your sector, and keep tracking what cutting-edge looks like. You don’t need to jump on the latest bandwagon all the time, but refusing to accept the way business is moving and adopting the changes you need to, is just burying your head in the sand.

Needless to say, just because things happened in a certain way before doesn’t mean it will be the same again.

This is where scenario planning comes in. Not ‘big picture if our world implodes’ type scenarios but look at smaller more realistic situations that might effect your business.

Of course, imagining potential risks is all very well, but you need to determine what actions you will take to reduce or eliminate those risks.

For example, by creating an attractive and effective recruitment process, implementing robust onboarding, and then really looking after your people, you will reduce the risk of losing valued employees.

Creating an effective HR strategy that truly reflects the needs of your business is not easy. But we’d love to make it a reality for your business, so if you’d like to discuss it further, please contact us on 01256 328 428.