HR Strategic Plan: adapted to 2021

Lead the change of your Human Resources to become a strategic area.

HR today has evolved into a more strategic department where the role of HR becomes a driver of organisational change. Technology streamlines administrative processes, transforms the way we attract, develop and engage talent and allows us to focus on people strategyIn this article, we explain the basic pillars on which the new role of HR in small and medium-sized companies is centred and the elements that enable it to fulfil its annual strategic plan.

1. Matching culture and talent.

Some of the biggest challenges facing the people department are: attracting, selecting, developing and engaging the right talent. These four factors will determine whether or not a person stays with a company. To create this fit we have, among other tools, several solutions such as:

• employer branding strategies
• Applicant Tracking System
• competence assessment systems
• ongoing development talks
• the Learning Management System(LMS )

All these elements are basic to efficiently manage all the processes that depend on the HR department:

1. talent attraction
2. selection of that talent
3. communication with the candidate
4. welcome process
5. talent and performance assessment
6. personal development and lifelong learning
7. commitment

Through digitalisation and automation, the role of HR takes on a strategic leadership role in the business by considering the entire lifecycle of employees in the company and focusing on what is important: delivering value to people.

2. Employee engagement.

As we saw in our previous post on strategies to reduce staff turnover, engagement starts before talent is hired. The first step to create it is in the employer brand strategy: knowing how to honestly convey the culture and values of the company will be a key part of building talent loyalty. In addition, we can also analyse how employees feel about the organisation, and this data will help us to focus our strategy for attracting talent and engagement. To do this, we have digital tools that measure the impact of our actions as a brand both externally and internally. One way to analyse this is through regular surveys. They allow us to easily find out how the team feels and act accordingly.

3. Frameworks under agility.

In a VUCA environment such as the one we are living in, agility takes on a special role. The people area works together with all business departments, is aware of their reality and acts as a driver of change. Defining an objective, a vision for the future and a common strategy will help the transformation that the company needs. For this, communication will play a key role and in a pandemic environment it becomes even more relevant. Having tools that facilitate online communication and create continuous feedback will help foster an agile culture.

Over the coming months, companies will focus on transforming their operating model to adapt to the new environment and become more agile. This is according to Mercer's Global Talent Trends 2021 study.

4. Data analysis or Big Data, a strategic ally in decision-making.

The digital transformation of HR has helped companies to improve their processes and to have the capacity to
analyse large databases at the click of a button. Talent management software allows for quick analysis of information and helps the department to create strategies based on data analysis.

• For example, a prediction could be made of which employees are most likely to stay or not to stay with the company.
• One could also analyse which type of training will be more successful.
• Alternatively, future selection needs could be identified based on recruitment trends.

5. Seat at the negotiating table.

The future of people work depends on the evolution of the HR role. Whether the people department moves from being an operational department to a strategic department depends on multiple factors such as culture, leadership and openness to change.

However, there are essential aspects that can help transform the area. One of them is knowing how to ask the right questions in order to achieve the strategic objectives.
Daring to question the status quo of the organisation, knowing how to respond to business requirements or identifying people's needs is a good first step towards change.

In short, HR transformation is about analysing the needs of the organisation, creating transformation plans, identifying where it wants to be in the future and being the transformational role that people need. Innovation is a constant process; it is not about implementing a digital management tool but about changing a way of thinking, acting and being in the company. And, above all, digital transformation is about adding value to people.

"The ultimate goal of digital transformation is to create memorable user experiences." - Joana Sanchez, President of Incipy & Inesdi Digital Business School.