By BLR Founder and Publisher Bob Brady
HR strategic planning doesn’t need to be complex and expensive. Here’s the simple way to get the results without the time and cost.
HR—and HR managers—have come a long way in the 30 years that I’ve been a part of the industry. Changing demographics (the Baby Boomers, Generation “X,” and now, the “Millennials”), and economics (the conversion of America from a manufacturing to a mixed economy), and cultural values have all made their mark. These have had huge impacts on HR, making it more exciting and more important to our organizations. HR is not just about keeping records any more.
What will the next 30 years bring? We can’t predict, but we can—and must—plan for the next 5 years. The plan cannot be the same for all organizations. One size will not fit all. Geography, industry, and especially, corporate strategy will make for big differences.
If we want to be “strategic” and proactive, we need to know the direction that the world is taking, so we can meet up with it when we get there. We can’t know the future. But we can look at trends, make assumptions, and place our bets. People who do that are much better off than those who just wait by the sidelines.
Strategic planning is the means for looking at the future. It may sound like an expensive, time-consuming exercise, but it doesn’t have to be. The 80/20 rule applies. You can get 80% of the benefit of full-bore strategic planning through a “home-made” process introduced to BLR some years ago by well-known planning consultant Don Libey. His process is something that almost any HR manager can use.
Memos That Made Us All Think
Months before beginning the session, Don started us out with the task of writing 3-page memos about various phases and functions of the company’s history. My instinct was to assign these to specific people, particularly those with expertise in the area. But Don said, “No! You want everybody in the planning group to do these, and you want everybody to see everybody else’s unedited versions.”
So, off we all went to our computers and put together 10 3-page memos. The time needed wasn’t that much, and the effort was well worth the result. Here are the questions the memos addressed:
Question #1: Thinking about our last 5 years, what have been the three or four most seminal changes or events? What effect have these had? What were the causes?
Question #2: Who are, or are likely to be, our major competitors? What are their major strengths and weaknesses? (Note: This doesn’t have too much relevance to HR itself, but if HR professionals want to compete for talent successfully, we need to understand our industries.)
Question #3: What are the major economic, social, demographic, and political trends likely to affect us in the next 5 years, and how will they likely do so?
Question #4: What is your vision of the organization and department?
Question #5: From the above, compile your personal list of our three to five major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
As we completed the memos, we circulated and read one another’s contributions. Writing them individually discouraged “group think,” and the results generated reinforced the wisdom of getting input from everyone in the group.
Among other things, we concluded that we had to emphasize our electronic offerings, evolve our method of selling from “campaign-based” to “consultative,” and become more customer-focused. Looking back on the experience now, 3 years later, we got a lot of things right, and the memos I’ve outlined above helped us get there.
Whether you are an “HR Department of One,” operate a small department, or are part of a big organization, you will be better prepared to be a leading contributor in your organization if you go through this process, either individually or as part of a group. Try it!