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A Comprehensive Guide to Developing an HR Strategic Plan

What is an HR strategic plan?

Why do you need an HR strategic plan?

• HR’s focus stays on the predetermined priorities
• Company leadership is already included and on board
• Internal customers have a clear picture of what HR is working on
• Goal setting and tracking are in place
• Resources are allocated appropriately because capacity has been determined
• HR teams understand where they’re headed and can become more engaged in their work
• Creating accountability for the HR strategy.

What should be in an HR strategic plan?

• HR mission and vision statements : It’s important to start by stating the plan’s direction. The vision statement declares HR’s purpose and destination, and the mission illustrates how it will get there.
• Organizational values and goals : Since an HR strategic plan must be linked to the organization’s aspirations, you should include the wording of official organizational values and goals.
• HR objectives and key results (OKRs) : List the plan’s objectives and the metrics for measuring progress. HR OKRs will help quantify the success of the HR strategic plan.
• Summary of key HR initiatives : Detail the main initiatives for each area of HR that will facilitate achieving the HR strategy’s goals. These are often focused on recruitment, compensation and benefits, organizational culture , employee experience, and employee performance management and development.
• HR operating model and skills needed : Outline how the HR department is organized and delivers its services, such as business partner, functional, or agile HR operating model . State which skills and technical expertise HR professionals need to uphold this type of operating model.
• Resources : Identify the budgetary, technology, and human capital resources needed to implement the HR initiatives. Summarize how they will be allocated to avoid cost overages and employees being overextended. 
• Risks and risk management : Name the potential barriers to executing the HR strategic plan and how your organization can mitigate the risks. For example, a tight labor market may require introducing innovative talent attraction and recruiting methods.
• Priorities : State the activities in the priority areas that HR will focus on while executing its agenda. Explain why the activities will improve HR service and support business objectives. For instance, how new succession planning techniques will ensure leadership roles are well-staffed.

Developing an HR strategic plan: 7 steps

1. understand the organization’s business strategy and goals, 2. assess current hr capabilities, 3. conduct a workforce analysis.

• Productivity
• Employee engagement
• Employee satisfaction .

4. Explain the priorities and objectives of your HR strategy

• Partner with local technical schools to recruit graduates with the required technical skills
• Create online training opportunities to upskill employees for new roles
• Evaluate and adapt compensation and benefits programs to be more competitive.

5. Create the document layout and design

6. develop a communication plan, 7. create specific action plans based on your strategic plan, hr strategic plan examples, example 1: pennsylvania state university, example 2: the county of san mateo, key takeaway, andrea boatman, related articles.

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HR Business Plan Template: Everything You Need to Know

With an HR business plan template, you can help your company recruit new employees, retain existing employees, and guide the development of the workforce. 4 min read updated on September 19, 2022

With an HR business plan template, you can help your company recruit new employees, retain existing employees, and guide the development of the workforce so that you collectively meet your business objectives, regardless of any changes in the industry or economy.

When creating your HR business plan, you need to perform a needs analysis of your workplace to tailor the plan to your company's requirements. You'll also need to learn about the industry standards for your field to make sure you're competitive.

Without such a plan in place, your workers will feel unprepared and won't know how to work towards your company's overall goals.

Steps for Developing a Human Resources Department Business Plan

There are several steps to creating an HR business plan. They include:

• Clarify the requirements . While you might be tempted to create a detailed plan that encompasses the entire company's next 10 years, hold off. Always talk with your boss to see how much detail he or she would like in the plan. This will save you time and help streamline the process. However, there's no harm in creating your own personalized strategic plan for your specific department.
• Read through the HR job descriptions . The HR department typically has employees such as HR assistants, HR generalists, and an HR director . Read through the job descriptions for each worker in the department and see what kind of duties are missing. Brainstorm additional functions that each job role could provide to the company.
• Curate your list . Take the different functions you've brainstormed and compare them to what each member of the HR department is already doing. Are there functions you could add or subtract from each employee for more productivity? You don't have to go into detail here, but just think about how you could improve each role.
• Schedule a meeting with the executives . Before you make any changes, you'll obviously need to get input and approval from the company's executives. They may have more feedback on how the HR department can provide additional services and support the company's overall goals and mission.
• Create a feedback form . Come up with a list of questions to ask leadership about HR's role in the company and provide it to them in advance of the meeting so they have time to think it over and talk with their staff. You may even want to provide a rating and ranking format for the questions, as this will make their responses easy to understand and implement. Overall, this is a key process to understanding what management and employees want and need from the HR department.
• Look at external resources . While the internal information you're collecting is the most important, it also doesn't hurt to take a look at data from professional organizations and websites, such as the Society for Human Resource Management , The Balance , or HR Magazine . You can also ask colleagues from other local organizations for tips on creating your business plan.
• Use this information to make a plan . With your ideas, feedback from executives, and tips from external resources, you should have a clear idea of what your plan should look like. The things that are missing from the HR department should now be clear, and this should guide you on what to focus on to improve HR's contribution to the company.
• Identify goals for this year and next . While your plan can have long-term goals, keep the majority of them a little bit shorter in scope to see how things work out. This gives you the chance to reorganize and restructure if things aren't going right. Consider creating a list of accomplishments you can reach for the end of this year and into the next.

A Real Life Example

If you're seeking more guidance on how to create a successful HR business plan, look to Starbucks as an example.

As the world's largest coffee chain, Starbucks had $21.3 billion in sales in 2016.

Despite these massive numbers, Starbucks maintains the same approach to their human resources department. All of the HR planning is guided by the company's organizational strategy and brand.

Their strategy is to use specific interview techniques when hiring new employees. This lets them identify potential leaders and place them in a "New Partner Orientation and Immersion" training program. With this system, Starbucks has achieved the lowest employee turnover rate in the quick-service restaurant industry.

Starbucks also offers numerous employee perks and dedicates a lot of time to employee training through an online portal that teaches employees essential job skills.

If you need help with your HR business plan template, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.

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Management and Human Resources Business Plans

The management portion of your business plan, the hr portion of your business plan, frequently asked questions (faqs).

As a startup, it’s never easy to come up with a business plan, let alone the management and human resources sections of a business plan. Despite that, it’s important that you start your business plan for human resources as soon as possible. Doing so gives your management goals a plan that will guide you and keep your business on track as it grows. 

The key components of your human resources business plan should include your organizational structure, the philosophy and needs of your HR department, the number of employees you want to hire, how you plan to manage them, and all the estimated costs related with personnel.

You’ll want to start your HR business plan by outlining your own managerial experience and skills as well as those of your team. Highlight the roles of each member of your team, and any particular areas of strength or deficiency in your personnel lineup. For example, your HR team may be strong in compliance and conflict resolution but weak in hiring. 

Don't worry if you don’t have a complete team in place when you write your HR business plan. Simply use this section to outline the organizational structure along with job descriptions, how you plan to recruit key team members, and what their responsibilities will be.

This section should look like a pyramid with you at the top and will likely have lateral positions. Be as specific as possible when defining an employee's responsibilities because this is what will drive your business.

Do You Need an HR Manager?

If you’re a solo practitioner, you may not think of including an HR manager in your management business plan. However, if you expect to hire non-managerial employees (such as salespeople or clerical workers), you should consider recruiting a human resources manager.

If hiring a human resources manager can’t be done, consider a human resources consultant. Human resource management requires an immense amount of time and paperwork, and an experienced HR consultant will be able to quickly get your payroll and benefits program up and running, affording you more time to concentrate on growing the business. Human resource responsibilities should include:

• Handling FICA and unemployment taxes and paperwork
• Ensuring compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act
• Staying on top of IRS filings

There are plenty of companies that offer HR management platforms tailored to each business's needs. Research these companies and be sure to include their estimated cost in your HR business plan.

When you develop the HR portion of your business plan, begin by including a brief overview of your HR strategy. Investors may be curious about how your payroll will be handled and the associated costs of administering it, as well as the type of corporate culture you plan to create. Specific items to highlight in the HR section include:

• Payscale: Show the salaries for managers and non-managers based on the market for those jobs.
• Vacation time: Describe your vacation-time policy. How much time do employees get? How quickly does it accrue? Vacation time is not required by law, but most firms offer vacation time to stay competitive and keep employees refreshed. 
• Insurance: Health insurance is a common staple benefit, although skyrocketing prices have forced many firms to cut back on this benefit. If you can’t afford a health plan, look into subsidizing one with employees paying the rest. Alternatively, inquire if a professional insurance representative can help you get a bulk rate.
• Additional benefits: Other things to consider include life insurance, a 401(k) and matching funds, bereavement leave, religious and floating holidays, and a bonus structure, if applicable.

In addition to the key elements above, it helps to have a framework from which to build your HR business plan. Here’s a basic outline that can help you get started: 

• Figure out what your human resources department would need. 
• Determine a strategy for recruiting talent.
• Formulate your hiring process. 
• Develop a training program for new employees. 
• Determine how much you want to pay your team (this is a good spot for payscale info)
• Create performance standards

It may be overwhelming to contemplate these benefits and their costs in the early stages of setting up your business, but in a competitive labor market, your firm needs to offer enough to entice qualified people and, more importantly, to keep them happy.

Consider revisiting your management and HR business plans every couple of years to see if you need to create action steps to refine your processes.

What should be in an HR business plan?

An HR business plan should include a mix of the steps you plan to take to launch an effective HR department, as well as specifics about how you plan to handle time off, insurance, and other benefits you plan to offer.

How do I write a human resources plan?

It helps to start with a simple framework. Try to break the plan down into sections: HR needs, recruitment, hiring, training, pay, and performance reviews. From there, incorporate other aspects of HR, like benefits and promotions.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce. " Does Your Small Business Need an HR Department? "

 University of Minnesota. “ Human Resources Management: 2.2 Writing the HRM Plan .”

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. “ FY 2020-2022 Strategic Business Plan: Human Resources .”

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A complete guide to effective HR strategy planning (& a free template!)

Businesses are beginning to recognize the strategic value of human resources. In fact, our State of People Enablement Report found that 79% of people ops leaders felt their C-suite saw them as important.* They no longer viewed HR as an administrative or supportive department, but as vital to the organization’s success.

As the role people teams play expands and grows in importance, taking a more systematic, data-driven approach is essential. Effective, intentional strategies ensure your human resources department stays aligned with overarching company goals while positively impacting the employee experience and making your organization a truly enjoyable place to work.

To that end, this article covers the essential steps you need to take for successful HR strategy planning. We’ve also included a best practice HR strategy template you can customize or use as inspiration for your own team.

* Leapsome’s State of People Enablement Report , 2023 ‍

🤿 Dive right into HR strategy development Our customizable HR strategy template includes all the essential stages and action points you need to structure and flesh out your ideas. 👉 Download template here

What is an HR strategy & why does it matter?

An HR strategy is a comprehensive plan that aligns team management with organizational goals. By integrating the two, companies can ensure that they recruit and retain the right talent to keep their initiatives and long-term objectives on track.

However, an HR strategy goes beyond hiring and keeping positions filled — it can help you engage, empower, and develop employees in a way that supports sustainable growth and fosters a positive work environment. 

When human resources plays a more strategic role, the company can also take a more proactive stance in its industry and build workplace resilience . People teams can forecast staffing needs and spot potential gaps and issues before they escalate into larger problems. For instance, you might anticipate turnover and escalate or adjust hiring efforts instead of scrambling to bring people on board as team members leave. ‍

💭 “In the future of HR, the People function continues to be a strategic partner to the business that is highly integrated into company performance and no longer seen as just a support and administrative function. Well-supported People functions and teams will result in better business results, deeper engagement, high employee enablement, and happy customers.” ‍ — Luck Dookchitra , VP People at Leapsome

Last, remember that while HR managers may take the lead, the best strategies are a collaborative effort between leaders, team leads, and team members. Including stakeholders from every area of your business gives you a more holistic perspective, ensuring that your plan will benefit the entire company. ‍

Free download: Our actionable HR strategy template

Human resources strategies aren’t one-size-fits-all. It’s best to tailor them to your company’s unique needs, goals, and culture rather than adopting a generic blueprint.

That said, having a detailed template can provide you with a structure and save you time on planning. You can check that you haven’t missed any essential steps and customize the strategy to suit your context. 

That’s why we’ve provided this free, downloadable template based on Leapsome’s own strategies and values. ‍

🏆 Create a winning HR strategy Streamline your HR planning processes with our comprehensive template that covers every step and checkpoint.  👉 Download template here

8 steps to creating an effective HR strategy plan

Whether you’re working off a template or starting from scratch, there are some essential steps that should go into the development of any great human resources strategy . Here’s everything you need to consider at each stage. ‍

1. Establish your HR strategy’s aims

Setting clear goals is essential as they will guide all the future decisions you make about your HR strategy. This step involves understanding your organization’s broad objectives and determining how you can support them, ensuring your plan contributes directly to the company’s aspirations and long-term success.

For example, your leadership team might clarify that their long-term objective is to enter the European market and establish a strong presence within the next two years. HR and the C-suite could collaboratively decide on the following aims:

• Hire 80% of the team for the new branch locally
• Relocate the remaining 20% of team members from existing branches

Speaking to other departments allows you to assess where your interests align and how you can support each other most effectively. In the example, HR might work alongside legal and accounting to find potential regulatory roadblocks to hiring in Europe.

When you’re developing cross-departmental aims and sharing them across the organization, tracking them can be challenging. Using goal-setting software like Leapsome allows you to establish complex objectives and track your progress toward them. Choose a platform that accommodates various methodologies, such as OKRs and SMART goals , so you can easily tailor your workflow to your company’s needs and preferences.

2. Review your industry

Staying up-to-date with industry happenings is essential to keeping your HR strategy relevant and competitive. You need to research the current state of recruitment, retention, and team management to understand what’s realistic before you develop any plans.

Going back to the example in step one, imagine you’re investigating the current European job market. You discover that there’s a talent shortage in your industry, which means that you may struggle to hire locally.

Look at official sites like Eurostat , the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the most recent information. HR thought leaders such as SHRM and the Harvard Business Review also report on job market trends.

Evaluating your position within the market can give you extra insights into developing a realistic strategy. You can see where you need to improve, where you already shine, and where competitors outmatch you. For instance, while looking into European expansion, you may notice that another company already has a strong foothold in the job market.

During your research, see where you can update your current HR tools and resources to support your strategizing. People enablement platforms like Leapsome can automate time-consuming parts of your workflow, such as distributing surveys, data collection, and scheduling meetings, so you can prioritize the planning itself. Automation also has the power to make you more adaptive to changes during the strategizing process — 63% of companies said it helped them to pivot. ‍

3. Analyze & check in with your team

Consider your team’s composition to evaluate the talent you’ve got and look for gaps. You might look into:

• Employee demographics
• Tenure and experience levels
• Job performance
• Salary and benefits

Let’s say you’re considering which team members would be ideal candidates to relocate to your new European branches. You might note that a high percentage of the team are digital nomads who are highly likely to be interested in traveling and living abroad.

To conduct an effective analysis, you need to go deeper than superficial numbers to uncover your team’s needs and wants. Running engagement surveys can help you measure employee sentiment about upcoming company initiatives. Use a flexible tool like Leapsome’s Surveys module so you can come up with questions that are specific to your organizational goals and strategy or customize a ready-to-implement template. Setting up an anonymous suggestion box also creates a space where employees can share concerns that you haven’t covered in your survey.

To keep employees at the forefront of your initiatives, use their feedback to create action points for your strategy. For example, you might discover that team members would be willing to relocate to head an expansion abroad if it meant they were getting a promotion. Tools like Leapsome’s AI-powered sentiment analysis can help you summarize written responses while our post-survey action plans can analyze them to give you quick suggestions. 

🎯 Put employees at the center of every plan Our engagement surveys can help you uncover your team’s concerns and align your strategies with their best interests. 👉 Learn more

4. Consider development opportunities 

Now that you’ve got a better understanding of your current team, see whether your company has the skills and expertise it needs to meet its objectives in-house. If not, determine how quickly you can fill any gaps through learning and development initiatives.

Start by conducting a skills gap analysis to compare the talent you need against your team’s current capabilities. Visualizing the knowledge and expertise you need for your company initiatives on a competency framework can help you spot areas for development. You’ll also see how many steps employees need to take to reach an optimal skill level. Leapsome’s AI-powered competency framework can help you get started — just input your department name, number of competencies, and number of levels to generate a framework in minutes.

Let’s say that you’re looking for employees to manage payroll for new branches in the United Kingdom. While no one in the existing accounting department is familiar with British regulations, one person has experience in international finance.

Once you’ve got a clearer idea of your talent needs, explore how effectively you can meet them by developing existing team members. For instance, you might:

• Ask managers to hold career development talks and report on which team members would be open to learning new, critical skills.
• Assess your current learning and development programs to see if you can adjust them to include the desired expertise.
• Research which training courses on the market cover the competencies you need.
• Explore the possibility of creating personalized courses to equip team members with the specific skills they need.

5. Explore pathways for career progression

As you develop your HR strategy, decide how roles should change to align with organizational goals and employee needs. You may need to create new positions if your current team structure doesn’t support your plans, especially if you’re growing or expanding.

Again, a competency or career progression framework could help you determine which employees can be upskilled or are ready to move into the positions you need. Leapsome’s Compensation and Reviews modules could save you time here by providing you with relevant data on all your internal candidates. You can also use the platform to collaborate with each employee’s team lead to make informed, well-rounded decisions.

For example, your company might need a sales manager to head a new branch in another country. After looking at your employee data, you might identify a salesperson who’s got experience heading a team, and a quick chat with their team lead may reveal that they’re eager to advance professionally. You can then see how to support them and upskill them to move into the new role.  ‍

6. Examine recruitment & turnover

Hiring and retention are often at the heart of human resources initiatives. For example, reducing turnover can help businesses maintain a knowledgeable and experienced team while they launch new ventures. A stable team is also vital to protecting employee well-being and company culture during changes. When colleagues are constantly coming and going, surveys show that team members are up to 25% more likely to resign .

Using the following steps, you can get clarity into how hiring and retention may play into your HR strategy:

• Measure your recruitment and turnover levels
• Filter the results by department and role
• Benchmark your results against the industry standard
• Review reasons for job offer rejections and resignations
• Consider whether you can expect these numbers to change
• Estimate how many positions you’ll need to fill

A people analytics tool like Leapsome can help you implement many of these steps. Our platform not only collects and analyzes your HR data, but gives you AI-driven actionable insights . For instance, Leapsome can sort your information to indicate the biggest impact drivers and filter out less relevant details. You can also benchmark this data against competitors and use predictive analysis to uncover future trends in turnover.

Ultimately, you can see how to solve potential turnover issues at the same time as you discover them, saving valuable time. ‍

7. Design HR initiatives & strategies

Now, you should be ready to translate all the aims and the insights you’ve collected into actionable steps. Write objectives that relate to both the overarching business goals and your team’s needs. If you’re using a cascading goal framework like OKRs, you can tie them directly to each of your company’s aims. 

If you find the OKR methodology tricky to implement correctly, consider using Leapsome’s AI-powered OKR generation feature: Simply provide a descriptive objective as a prompt, and allow the AI tool to generate key results and initiatives tailored to your overall goal. You can then refine your choices from the generated list by selecting the most suitable key results, and include relevant and realistic deadlines and metrics for your organization.

Let’s return to our example of the organization that’s looking to expand abroad. You might establish the following objectives and key results:

Company-level

• Objective: We operate in the EU within the next two years to diversify our market presence and increase our resilience. 
• Key result: We have five teams of 750 local hires and 250 relocated employees working across offices in London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, and Rome.
• Objective: We have full teams with the best skills, experience, and culture add to run our European offices to ensure the success of our expansion.   ‍
• Key result: There are ten managers from our existing offices working in our new European ones who have successfully undergone our relocation program.  ‍
• ‍ Initiative: We arrange meetings to discuss career opportunities with the top 30 candidates.

Any key results should be measurable so you can track your progress and see whether you’re staying on course. For instance, the metrics in the examples above are the number of people hired and successful relocations.

Once you’ve written your objectives, finalize them with leadership, department heads, and employee representatives. You’ll need to double-check that everyone is aligned on the strategy. Returning to our example, perhaps the C-suite has agreed that ten managers can relocate and employees are on board, but department heads fear that it’ll leave them short-staffed. It’s essential to address these concerns: In this instance, you could consider implementing a transitional plan that outlines how the company will manage workload and resources during the relocation period. ‍

8. Monitor progress & review 

Your HR strategy plan doesn’t end with implementation — you need to decide how you’ll monitor how it’s going and potentially adjust your approach as your needs change and evolve. ‍

💭 “We’ve emphasized continuous improvement since our first HR strategy. Our approaches evolved as we gained insights from experiences and integrated more comprehensive training and development programs. We also honed our communication channels: Fostering transparent dialogues with staff proved essential in understanding their changing needs. By adopting the right technology, we’ve made HR processes more efficient and user-friendly. Our HR strategies have ensured we attract the right individuals who align with our company ethos and contribute meaningfully to our mission. We’ve seen significant benefits: increased productivity, improved teamwork, and a notable boost in our quality of service.” — Sarah Jeffries, Managing Director, First Aid Course Leicester

Using data analytics, you can continue to observe trends in:

• Recruitment and retention
• Onboarding, training, and development
• Engagement levels
• Punctuality and absenteeism

Looking at the data, you can determine whether you’re seeing the expected results. For example, if you’re expanding your organization abroad, you should see changes in recruitment levels and employee demographics. You might be interested in investigating your onboarding times if you’re hiring a lot of candidates to check that training is running smoothly.

You can also use the data to evaluate how well your company has managed the changes. Retention and engagement levels are often telltale signs — if the initiatives have improved job satisfaction, you can expect an increase in both.

You can run surveys to get a clearer idea of employee responses toward the initiatives. When you’re managing hundreds of people over different locations, reading every answer won’t be feasible. Instead, turn answers to Likert and multiple choice questions into data to gauge your team’s overall sentiment using data analytics.

If you ask open-ended questions, you could use a tool like Leapsome’s AI survey comment summaries . Our Natural Language Processor interprets qualitative survey results to give you a deep analysis of written responses.

How Leapsome enables HR professionals

‍ Human resource teams should be a vital part of any business’s big-picture strategies. With their input, organizations can strike an ideal balance between working toward ambitious company objectives and supporting team members.

To enable HR professionals to thrive as they take on more strategic roles within your organization, you need the right tools. Our people enablement platform is ideal for creating HR plans that are tailored to your specific business needs. We allow you to manage:

• Company-wide goals and OKRs
• Employee feedback and surveys
• Career advancement processes
• Onboarding, learning, and development
• People analytics

With Leapsome, you can easily collaborate on any human resources strategy and get data-driven insights to make the best possible decisions for your organization’s future.  ‍

🖼️ Focus on the big picture, not the fine print Leapsome automates data collection, survey distribution, and review cycles so you’re free to strategize. 👉 Book a demo

Leapsome Team

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The HR Strategic Plan to Take Your Business to the Next Level

Chances are the past couple of years have meant major changes for your business. That’s why it’s more important than ever to take stock of your business’s changing needs and rethink how HR can contribute to the big picture. The best way to plan for the future? An HR strategic plan.

An HR strategic plan and an Annual HR plan both help you identify your organization’s long-term goals and then chart a path for achieving them . By definition, a good plan will strategically drive intentional decision-making, up employee engagement, and avoid wasted resources.

In this post, we’ll walk you through how to write an HR strategic plan of your own and even give you an  HR strategic plan template to help you get started. Who knows what 2024 may bring— we’ll make sure your HR strategic plan for 2024 covers everything.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Benefits of an HR Strategic Plan Template for HR Strategic Plan Considerations When Designing an HR Strategic Plan How to Implement an HR Strategic Plan Boost your HR strategy with software ✅

Benefits of an HR Strategic Plan

Your HR team is nothing to sneeze at! They’ve done a great job supporting employees at every turn, from recruitment to the exit interview. So, why do you need an HR strategic plan?

A plan can help evaluate current HR and company policies and procedures to see if goals are aligned. Understanding where you are will help you understand where you need to go. This information means you can set specific goals to help your business reach new heights. And a good HR plan will set milestones to let you know you’re on the way.

The HR strategic planning process helps build team cohesion. Your HR staff will be primed to act in accordance with company goals even in situations that aren’t clearly outlined in the plan. Strong HR is vital to the success of any business. A strategic plan keeps everything shipshape and makes sure employees are supported, engaged, and productive.

Template for HR Strategic Plan

You get it; a plan is important. Now, how do you put one together?

There are four steps in our HR strategic plan template which can guide you as you create your own plan. We’ll include some strategic plan examples to show the types of goals to include.

Determine Guiding Principles

The first step is to determine your organization’s values or guiding principles. Ask yourself what is important to the business and be sure to consider the company’s mission statement and employee handbook . That is to say, what values does the HR department work to incorporate or reinforce? During this first step, don’t think about the plan. Just concentrate on what makes your organization great, different, or successful.

Values might include diversity, teamwork, respect, communication, integrity, innovation, leadership, transparency, employee well-being , or work-life balance. If you feel so moved, you can expand on these values with a sentence or two. Make sure to include the whole HR team in this process! It’s sure to be an interesting conversation starter.

Decide on Focus Areas for your HR Strategy

Next, use the guiding principles to zero in on where your organization needs to step up its game. For example, if you listed “diversity” as a guiding principle in the first section, in the second section you may want to list “recruitment” as a key focus area.

It may be time for a little SWOT analysis . SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Think about where your company shines and where it is falling short of the values you listed in the previous section.

Forecast how HR Requirements may change in the year ahead and take a look into change management practices. If your business is growing, focus on building employee engagement to make sure no one feels lost in the fray. If your business is tightening its belt (2020-21 have been tough!), concentrate on talent management to help employees make the most of available resources.

Be creative here! This part of the plan is for thinking big. You can adjust always adjust your goals later.

Set Concrete, Strategic HR Goals

Here is where we get into the nitty-gritty. Guiding principles? Check. Focus areas? Check. You know where you need to go. How will you get there? In this part of the plan, you need to set key objectives. For example, if you listed “diversity” as a core value in section one and “recruitment” as a focus area in section two, now it is time to think about how you can your HR team can build a diverse workforce through recruitment.

How do you reach a more diverse pool of applicants? Perhaps HR can launch a social media campaign or adjust company branding to tap into new demographics. Maybe they can promote alternative work plans, such as fellowships, internships, or flexible work schedules . Some of these questions may take time and research to answer. It can be a part of the HR strategic plan to “create a plan.”

Remember that the goals in your HR strategic plan need to be measurable. How else will you know that you’ve succeeded? For inspiration, you can check out successful HR strategies examples. For example, in 2015, Twitter publicly established “credible and achievable” goals . They wanted to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in tech jobs and leadership goals by about 1%. Think about what numbers make sense for your organization.

Communicate your HR Strategic Plan

Considerations When Designing an HR Strategic Plan

Some questions may arise while developing the plan but we are here to help you through them.

Is a strategic plan the same as a business plan; if not, how does it differ?

Business plans are very important for uniting workers toward a common goal when an organization is just getting started. An HR department business plan provides a structure for ideas in order to initially define the business. A strategic plan, however, is used to provide focus, direction, and actionable steps in order to move the organization forward. Use strategic plans in order to unite the major objectives the organization hopes to achieve with the steps it actions it will take to achieve them.

What are some HR Strategic Plan Examples?

Each organization’s HR strategic plan should be specifically tailored to the goals and needs of that business. Although no two plans should look alike, there are some general standards to keep in mind.  Consider statistics like the HR management to HR employee ratio while developing strategic hiring goals. With that said, different industries will have different priorities when it comes to setting goals.

For example, the finance industry regularly undergoes massive transformations as new technologies (“fintech”) reshape the field. An HR team in this sector will need to be agile, ready to manage organizational development or re-train employees to meet the demands of an ever-changing industry.

For retail businesses that see a lot of turnover, HR teams may want to focus on the recruitment of quality candidates. Improving training for new employees and offering strong talent management will ensure the knowledgeable and hard-working employees stick around.

How to Implement an HR Strategic Plan

The key to implementing an HR Strategic plan is communication! Make sure your HR staff gets a say in determining values, priorities, and goals for the coming year. Then, regularly check in to see how things are going. Be sure to set milestones for the coming year so that you can track progress.

If you follow our HR strategic plan template, your HR department will be in an ideal position to support your business in 2024, whatever arises. Though your 2024 HR strategic plan won’t cover all the situations which might arise, it will help your department to better understand and internalize compy goals.

Develop your HR Strategic Plan with the help of real-time people analytics data.

Written by: Valerie Slaughter

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Creating your strategic HR plan

What is an HR plan?

An HR plan provides a clear roadmap for HR professionals to deliver on their organization’s business goals. It encompasses the programs and plans around things like culture, tools, internal comms, hybrid/remote work, and benefits that the HR team owns. The introduction of an HR plan helps modern businesses prevent staffing shortages and surpluses—and ensures the best fit between employees and jobs.

HR plans consider your organization’s people today and forecast future work demands. With a clear HR plan, companies can remain productive and profitable. An HR plan supports the company’s business strategy for the coming year by ensuring a steady stream of skilled people is in place to keep everything on track.

Why is a strategic HR plan important?

Developing a strategic HR plan that connects your HR strategy with your broader business initiatives is invaluable. A strategic HR plan is a document that drives your business forward by evaluating where your workforce is at and comparing it to future needs. It sets out your organizational goals—and outlines how your HR team will help achieve them. 

A strategic HR plan requires your company’s HR department to act as a strategic rather than an administrative business function. And it demands HR’s active involvement in wider discussions throughout your business. In short, strategic planning for HR demonstrates how the HR function can support broad organizational initiatives and help your company thrive.

Planning your HR activity in this way and being proactive rather than reactive enables HR professionals to solve significant business challenges—from costly employee turnover to productivity pitfalls. And it helps to achieve organizational goals with strategic recruitment, compensation, talent management, and succession planning.

How to plan your HR strategy

Want to get HR a seat at the table? You need to be strategic. Set aside time to plan out your biggest goals for the year. This way, you can hit the ground running with all the facts, figures, and strategies you need to succeed.

Here’s a checklist to help you structure your strategic HR plan. You’ll need to block out some time to do this effectively, so make sure you allow yourself a few focused hours.

1. Ask the relevant questions

This first step is when you’ll define your priorities for creating an effective strategy that helps you reach your goals. Build a thorough overview of the organization’s challenges, opportunities, and capability gaps to plan how to overcome them during the year.

Ask yourself:

• What capabilities in the business need to be strengthened?
• Will these capabilities be improved through development or by hiring new talent?
• How does culture impact your HR goals ?
• What elements of your culture require bolstering?
• What tools, programs, comms, and strategies will be required to engage the organization at every level?

Gather as many facts and figures as you can, getting specific about teams, job roles, and territories

2. Do research

It’s also important to consider the world beyond your organization, including trends and factors to take into account when considering your strategic plan. This will involve some research via third-party organizations such as government, independent research bodies, and consultancies.

• Any new legal requirements or regulations to consider
• Demographic trends in your territories
• Social and technological changes in the short- and mid-term
• Political movements within your business footprint
• Salary expectations for business-critical roles

3. Plan your initiatives

Based on your priorities and the micro and macro trends, it’s now time to start planning what strategies, projects, and initiatives you’ll put into place to achieve your goals for the year:

• What hiring strategies, development , pipelining, training, and compensation will be required to achieve your goals?
• What external and internal resources will be required to implement your strategies and projects?
• What is the anticipated budget requirement?

4. Check-in with your stakeholders

Often you’ll need buy-in from different parts of the organization to achieve your goals. This means you need to represent to the C-suite what your team’s contributions will be to achieving business goals.

5. Measure and analyze

HR strategies live and die by their data and analytics, so it’s important to rigorously plan out how you intend to capture, measure, and analyze the effectiveness of your strategies to report back to stakeholders.

It could be useful to compare this data to any external data you can find from other organizations, for example, via case studies. Measurement metrics can be collected through the following steps:

• Identifying and measuring KPIs
• Determining the different kinds of data that will need and compare it with? to be gathered, such as qualitative, quantitative, and self-reported from employees and team leaders.
• Establishing how your statistics will be measured. What software or platforms will you gather, measure,and compare it with?

What are the benefits of strategic human resources planning?

Strategic planning for HR syncs your HR strategy with your broader business initiatives.

As an HR professional, taking a strategic approach to planning offers many benefits, like improving levels of engagement within your organization, attracting superior talent, and reducing turnover.

Strategic analysis helps you determine if your people have everything they need to be productive—and identify the need for added resources to enhance productivity where necessary.

Assessing your existing talent and auditing compensation , benefits, work environments, and levels of engagement helps you enact better policies and retain valued talent. And introducing development plans can further support people’s professional growth within your business.

Best practices for implementing an HR strategy

While there isn’t a right or wrong way to build a successful HR strategy, you can follow certain best practices when developing and implementing yours.

• Align your HR strategy to your business needs by activating your people and processes to reach the goals and growth outlined in your business strategy
• Know your budget and focus on strategic initiatives that fit within your organization’s budget
• Identify what success looks like, establish key performance indicators, and track progress against them over the year
• Focus on collaboration and involve your key stakeholders and other business partners across your organization to get their support, buy-in, and sign-off
• Drive engagement through communication and use multiple channels to encourage everyone in your organization to support your HR strategy 
• Measure your results in real-time and study what the data tells you to strengthen and reinforce your HR strategy with your stakeholders
• Monitor and adjust your HR strategy over time and revise it to achieve your desired results  

Your strategic HR plan template

Practical and actionable—HR professionals can use this strategic HR plan template to ensure their business is well-staffed and well-served.

1.   Look at your business—identify what you want to achieve

Start your strategic HR plan by establishing your current state, outlining what you’d like to achieve, and identifying the metrics to get you there. Focus on:

• Clarifying your overarching business strategy and goals
• Identifying the metrics related to your desired outcomes

2.   Look at your people—and identify their skill sets

Next, consider your people and their collective performance, productivity, and skill sets. Your HR plan will support your company’s business strategy for the coming year by ensuring a steady stream of skilled people is ready to keep everything on track.

3.   Do your people need anything?

A skills gap analysis will help you identify if your people could benefit from additional help, training, or resources to increase their productivity, knowledge, or abilities.

4.   Where do you shine?

Assess your work environments and levels of engagement and audit the compensation and benefits you offer. Understanding your current state of where you stand can help you retain the people you value—and compete for new talent in the job market.

5.   Grow your talent

Reviewing and understanding your current state allows HR professionals to look at their people, identify anyone ready to grow, and create a talent development plan.

6.   Leaving so soon?

Your HR plan supports your company’s business strategy by ensuring a steady stream of skilled people is ready to keep everything on track. If you’re seeing a high talent turnover, now’s the time to investigate what’s happening and why— finding out what’s causing people to leave and addressing the root cause of their unhappiness. 

7.   Looking ahead

  Succession planning can help HR professionals to reduce disruption. Identifying those people who could fill positions if they became vacant can smooth the way for people in the event of a sudden departure from the business.

8.   Make data-driven decisions

Use data and analytics to guide your strategic decision-making. You can access a wealth of information by analyzing your compensation history, turnover rates, levels of engagement, and other HR metrics.

9.   Where you’re going, why—and how

Developing mission and vision statements can help HR professionals stay on course as they implement a strategic HR plan. Refer to your mission and vision statements to check that you align with the broader business initiatives and connect with your strategic HR plan.

Documenting your strategic HR plan

HR strategy plans can be any length, but it’s helpful when thinking about writing an HR strategic plan to focus on clarity and simplicity so that HR leaders and the wider business can easily refer to the contents.

Try to be concise, relay the facts, and, where possible, use data visualizations to illustrate your point. By documenting your HR strategic plan, you also have a record of where you started and can course-correct where and when necessary as time passes.

Keep your mission and vision statements to hand as you deliver the organizational business goals outlined in your strategic HR plan. Referring to the statements often will ensure you align with the broader corporate strategy as you go.

What does a good HR strategy look like? 

While a business strategy outlines how a business will achieve its goals and growth, a good HR strategy creates the internal structures needed to activate people and processes to reach those goals. 

VaynerMedia

VaynerMedia is a mid-size marketing and advertising agency based in New York City, with additional offices in Los Angeles, London, Singapore, and Mexico City. The company’s strategy is all about people, putting human beings at the forefront of everything it does—ensuring its ideas and plans are culturally rich and consumer-led.

VaynerMedia approaches strategy with practicality, humility, and empathy and believes the most effective way to drive relevance and growth is by speaking specifically and differently to people based on who they are, by listening and understanding.

VaynerMedia is a perfect example of how an HR strategy can align seamlessly with a company’s broader business goals. Its people are not just its greatest asset—they’re a community. With an HRIS that manages the entire employee lifecycle, VaynerMedia puts its own people front and center and welcomes new hires into its positive culture and inclusive and friendly workplace.

Fiverr’s culture is built around its people-first perspective. The company’s mission is to change how the world works together, and it has fundamentally changed the way businesses and freelancers work with each other.

Fiverr prioritizes the individual members of its community and continuously strives to build an atmosphere of connection and inclusivity. The ‘people company’ loves its team members for who they are and celebrates their diverse backgrounds.

Fiverr’s HR strategy and mindset focus on the personal touch. With an HR team made up of 25 professionals, the company is dedicated to supporting its people. It sought a powerful HRIS to support its people throughout their entire employee lifecycle and provide a friendly and engaging way to communicate with its people worldwide.

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For over 100 years, Save the Children has been improving the lives of children and provides emergency aid during times of natural disaster, war, and other conflicts. Save the Children Italia , the organization’s Italian branch, has sites in Rome and Milan and employs 219 permanent employees and 84 temporary workers with fixed-term contracts. 

Following a period of growth in headcount and projects, Save the Children Italia decided to implement a modern HR platform to replace their spreadsheets and manual processes, modernize their performance management process, and create a sense of community for their people working remotely and in the field. They were passionate about moving from annual performance reviews to a continuous feedback model and replacing their top-down approach with 360-degree feedback for a more holistic and engaging experience.

At HiBob, we’ve built a modern HR platform designed for modern business needs—today and beyond.

An HR platform such as Bob offers a one-stop shop for all things HR. It sits at the center of your HR ecosystem, is fully customizable, and grows with your organization. 

For HR, it delivers automation of many common processes, allows greater oversight and visibility of the business, and centralizes all people data in a secure, user-friendly environment.

For managers, it provides access to data and insights to help them lead more effectively and streamline processes.

For employees, it’s the tools and information they need to connect, develop, and grow throughout their journey.  

In a short time, Bob can be deployed to enable communication, collaboration, and connectivity that drives stronger engagement, productivity, and business outcomes.

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HR Business Plan: What Is It And What Are Its Steps?

Every company that has an HR department needs an HR business plan. Without it, you will have inconsistencies when you deal with your employees.

Human resources manage the relationship between your company and its employees. Due to this, it is only natural for human resources to have their own plan of approach to their tasks.

Key Takeaways:

An HR business plan is the strategic approach of the human resources department.

The HR business plan should clarify responsibilities, organize its processes, and create performance standards in which to gauge its success.

First assess the current HR situation, then establish goals and strategies to enact those goals for the HR department.

Make sure your HR strategies comply with legal requirements.

What Is A HR Business Plan?

An HR business plan is a strategic approach your human resource department will follow to accomplish its goals.

Like all business plans, an HR business plan needs to define its objectives, organize systems of measured success, and incorporate a flexible framework. A robust plan can adapt to new scenarios and still focus on its long-term aims.

Though this will vary by company, in general, every HR business plan will want to:

Clarify roles and responsibilities. Focus on the roles and responsibilities of the department and its members. You want to understand the job descriptions of each member of the human resource department. Then decide what the overall purpose of the department is and connect it back to each member. Be aware of any conflicting or contradictory agendas and seek to streamline.

Design and organize processes. Human resources helps hire, train, onboard, and terminate staff. There should be well-detailed plans for each process that keeps the human resources department prepared for any scenario.

Address compensation and benefits. Human resources manages the implementation of benefits and compensation. Therefore, the department’s plan must discuss how this will be handled.

Comply with legal requirements. The human resource department needs to be well-versed in the legal requirements and protections of the employees. The plan should provide a clear compliance with the law.

Create performance standards. A business plan is useless unless it can be evaluated against measures of success. It helps to provide metrics with results to be more objective in analysis.

Tie in to overall business plan. The HR business plan needs to complement the overarching business plan of the company. Avoid any policies or procedures that conflict with the overall business plan.

A human resource business plan will develop these points into a coherent strategy.

Steps To Develop A HR Business Plan

Assess current human resource situation. Before a plan is made, the human resources department and the company executives need to know what they have already. Your company should evaluate the roles and responsibilities of its human resource staff. You will want to see if anything is missing or if there is anything that is expendable.

Establish goals for human resource department. Now that you know what you’re working with, it is time now to think about what you want the human resource department to accomplish. Use the roles and responsibilities you just clarified to arrange practical benchmarks you want the department to make. Make sure goals do not interfere with one another but build toward an overall objective.

Create strategies to enact goals. Once you have your goals in place, it is time to build strategies to accomplish those goals. These strategies should work in tandem, so make sure each one has a logical progression. Like the goals, you do not want your strategies to interfere with one another but instead build towards an overall objective.

Evaluate business plan. Once you enact the plan, you need to make sure you accomplish your goals. Have a feedback system put in place where you can measure the success and failures of your plan. Come up with contingency plans in case your initial plans need to be re-evaluated.

Why Have A Human Resource Business Plan

An HR business plan is needed to establish long-term success with your employees.

Your plan gives focuses on the roles and responsibilities of the department. Human resources play a critical role in the hiring, training, and retention of staff. A business plan will clarify these procedures.

A HR business plan also provides consistency in the implementation of benefits and managing the welfare of the employees.

The human resource business plan empowers the department to perform at its best. In turn, it will help employees be equipped and compensated to perform at their best.

Without a HR business plan, your company is at risk conflicted and contradictory procedures that impede growth and success.

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Conor McMahon is a writer for Zippia, with previous experience in the nonprofit, customer service, and technical support industries. He has a degree in Music Industry from Northeastern University and in his free time he plays guitar with his friends. Conor enjoys creative writing between his work doing professional content creation and technical documentation.

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Gary Tomlinson

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How to create an HR business plan that delivers

The word strategy comes from the Greek 'strategos' meaning generalship. In Greek mythology Athena the goddess of warfare and strategy is a guide leading people in the right direction.

The essence of strategy then is to provide a plan of direction to achieve the longer-term aims of the organisation.

So where does the new HRD begin with developing her HR strategy?

HR can help deliver better business performance

Five top tips for HR professionals

What do innovative HRDs have in common?

Step one: understanding the business

She must first know the terrain, resources, and current barriers if she is to develop a sustainable plan. Knowing the business as ever is key.

Sun Tzu in the Art of War , written 2,000 years ago, stated: "He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight". The maxim encapsulating a profound lesson; before any action first know organisational strengths and weaknesses .

The HRD needs to look at all the data at their fingertips and that currently beyond her fingertips. This includes assessing factors such as workforce demographics, skills gaps, and employee engagement levels, plus big data insights or even simple coffee break chats- anything that tells them about the state the organisation is in.

For more clarity, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis can provide structure and priority to the plethora of business data generated. The analysis should consider both internal and external factors such as the current workforce, organisational culture, market trends, and competition.

Step two: defining HR objectives

Dave Ulrich describes the purpose of strategic HR as being to turn business strategy into HR plans.

It does this by addressing the fundamental question: what are the major business goals HR must support?

To ensure alignment between HR plans and business objectives, it is important to involve key stakeholders in the planning process. Investing the time to conduct those discussions one-to-one will pay big dividends.

An appreciative nod here to McKinsey which refers to this approach as 'pre-wiring' i.e., conducting individual discussions before the group meeting to gain buy-in.

Providing the twin value of insights from the senior team and reducing the risk of adverse reactions later when presenting to the board.

Thereby (hopefully) avoiding hearing those pejorative words 'it’s an HR initiative'.

Step three: HR strategy

Between understanding the business state and agreeing collectively on HR objectives, exists the clear gap for potential improvement and how to achieve it.

So now the HRD can start to develop the strategic interventions to close that gap. These will differ depending on the organisation and the context. The initiatives can be divided into specific projects and resourcing teams to deliver those interventions.

Step four: communicating the 'why' of the strategy

It is also important to communicate the 'why' behind the plan to build support across the organisation. The HRD must articulate the reasons for implementing the plan and its benefits . By helping employees understand how the plan fits into the bigger picture to drive organisational success, she can build buy-in and support at all levels of the organisation.

Step five: implementation and monitoring

The strategy is implemented and now the plan meets reality. The HR plan that delivers must remain flexible at all times to feedback.

Lessons can be applied here from lean start up methodology on the 'minimal viable product' gaining maximum feedback from the least amount of effort.

Being sensitively acute to the feedback from all stakeholders on what is working and what needs a 'little tinkering' (or more) will ensure her plan truly delivers.

Gary Tomlinson is chief learning officer at Pando Training

Further reading

How to create a wellbeing strategy that works for all

Listen now: How to create an outcomes-based culture

Navigating talent management without clear strategies can be an opportunity

How to create a zero-waste office

How to create a diversity strategy that delivers

Stepping up: How to become an effective HR board director

How to create a performance improvement plan fit for hybrid working and Gen Z

How creating a culture that supports time-blindness can benefit your business

8+ SAMPLE HR Department Plan in PDF

Hr department plan, 8+ sample hr department plan,  hr department plan, benefits of hr department planning, tips for hr planning, how to conduct an hr department plan, why are human resources so critical, what is human resource strategy, what is referred to as staffing, is human resources responsible for payroll.

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• Hiring new personnel for the process.
• Automating operations to reduce employee count.
• Enhancing the knowledge and skill levels of existing employees.

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• 5 Steps To Creating An Effective HR Business Plan

5 steps to creating an effective HR business plan May 3, 2018

5 steps to creating an effective HR business plan

A basic business plan will involve creating goals to start a business, expand an existing business or implement a project, and developing ways to achieve the goals. Human resources generally refers to an internal department that handles the hiring, training and paying of employees. Without adequate staff, in terms of quantity and quality, a business will be unprepared to execute its plan.

Small business owners often face setbacks without a written HR business plan, such as, costly employee turnover, procedural bottlenecks and inconsistent productivity. A HR plan is a practical and tactical tool that can help you determine exactly where you're going and drive your business forward.

Here are five critical steps to creating an effective HR plan for your company:

Assess current hr capacity.

The first step in the human resources planning process is to assess your current staff. Before making any moves to hire new employees for your company, it’s important to understand the talent you already have at your disposal.

Develop a skills inventory for each of your current employees. You can do this in a number of ways, such as asking employees to self-evaluate with a questionnaire, looking over past performance reviews, or using an approach that combines the two.

Have a Succession Plan 

Eventually your business will face changes in management; this is an unavoidable part of the natural growth of any organisation. Managers will come and go and positions will be created and dissolved as you continue to expand and re-organise.

You'll want to be ready for this when it happens by having a succession plan already in place. It will be up to you whether you want to include your employees in the creation of this succession plan or not. Either way, be aware of their career goals and what their plans are for the future - don’t hesitate to inform them when changes are taking place.

By doing this you’ll be aware of what the most important positions in your company are and who may have the skills to fill those positions.

Outline how you will motivate and retain employees

You need the right people to stay on board to take your company further. A HR plan will outline your key strategies to motivate employees and maintain their loyalty.

Being creative with employee perks, rewards and compensation is one of the first steps. For example, your HR plan can clearly address motivational strategies such as profit-sharing or short-term rewards that involve personal or family life, such as entertainment vouchers.

Matching demand and supply

Matching the demand and supply is where the hiring process gets tricky—and where the rest of the human resources management planning process comes into place. You’ll develop a plan to link your organization’s demand for quality staff with the supply available in the market. You can achieve this by training current employees, hiring new employees, or combining the two approaches.

Conduct a Gap Analysis

A gap analysis is a formal study comparing the resources your company currently has to what they may need as they grow and develop in the future. If your HR services are outdated, or in danger of becoming outdated, a gap analysis will reveal this and allow you to make the necessary improvements to keep your company going strong for years to come.

HR planning is an ongoing process. Your strategy should be reviewed regularly and updated as your organisation changes.

Looking for HR management courses to help with your HR business plan? Read about our HR courses and contact us for information on the human resources courses we can offer you.

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5 Steps To Developing A Strategic HR Plan

by Amy Letke | Apr 18, 2018 | Blog

Amy Newbanks Letke, SPHR, GPHR, is the Founder of Integrity HR, Inc. Amy provides workplace solutions to improve performance, reduce liability and increase profits. She is passionate about helping other entrepreneurs and business owners achieve success. Contact us for more insights - 502-753-0970 or [email protected]

You’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it again – every business needs a strategic plan.

The most successful companies develop and implement an effective strategic plan to help them pursue their organizational goals. But, even the best strategic plan won’t be very effective if the human resources function isn’t in alignment with it.

A Strategic HR Plan is a tool to help businesses align their organizational goals with their HR capabilities , and every business should have one in place to support the growth outlined in their strategic plan.

If you haven’t developed a Strategic HR Plan for your business (or if you’re still not quite sure what it is!), don’t worry!

Below we share our 5 Steps To Developing A Strategic HR Plan to help you effectively support and achieve your organization’s strategic goals.

If you’re interested in learning more about developing a  Strategic HR Plan  or a Strategic Plan for your business, schedule an appointment with one of our HR professionals or give us a call at 877-753-0970 .

What is a Strategic HR Plan?

A Strategic HR Plan helps organizations to align human resources to corporate strategy. It is an essential planning document built upon the corporate mission, vision, values, and goals established in the strategic business plan.

It provides information on how the HR function will support the goals and strategies of the organization, while also ensuring that HR planning and practices are consistent.

The ideal Strategic HR Plan outlines how the gaps between present and future capabilities will be addressed, enabling businesses to effectively pursue their company goals.

Why develop a Strategic HR Plan?

In most organizations, managers have a responsibility to fulfill expectations in the areas of corporate governance, transparency of policies, accountability, and economic efficiency.

For your business to be successful in these areas, you need to have the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, at the right time to carry out the strategy.

A comprehensive Strategic HR Plan will ensure that you have the capacity to deliver on strategy and the ability to monitor progress towards your organization’s goals. It should also establish:

• HR practices that are consistent across the organization
• Training and skill development policies that are linked to strategy
• Succession planning processes that identify and minimize capability risks

How do you create a Strategic HR Plan?

The process for developing a Strategic HR Plan begins by identifying where your organization is now in the life-cycle of an enterprise: the start-up stage, the growth stage, the mature stage, or the decline stage.

Once you’ve decided where your company is today, formulate a clear picture of your company’s future along with ways to get there. Your Strategic HR Plan will be built upon the foundation of this strategic business plan.

Step 1: Identify Future HR Needs

Using your business’ strategic plan as a guide, identify the future HR needs of the organization. Ask questions like:

• What is the nature of our work?
• What type of culture will support productivity?
• What skills do we need to deliver results?
• Where are those skills and how are we tapping into them?
• How large is our organization?
• What systems and processes do we need?
• How are we making sure peoples’ skills match our needs?
• What risks are associated with this future?

Step 2: Consider Present HR Capabilities

Now consider your company’s present HR situation by asking questions like:

• With the future in mind, what is our current capability?
• How are we doing against benchmarks?
• What are our strengths and weaknesses?
• Are there legislative requirements we need to consider?
• What are we doing well now, that we need to do more of in the future?
• Where do the risks lie?
• What HR issues may prevent us from getting to the future?
• What current systems will support or hinder our progress?

Step 3: Identify Gaps Between Future Needs & Present Capability

Compare your future HR needs from step 1 with your present HR capabilities from step 2, and identify any significant gaps that appear.

Gaps can develop in a number of areas including policies and procedures, capability, and resource allocation. Start with these questions:

• Where do significant gaps appear between the present and future?
• How can these gaps be classified?

Step 4: Formulate Gap Strategies

Next, work to develop strategies that will address the gaps you identified in Step 3. These gap strategies may affect:

• Job/Work Design
• Selection/Staffing
• Performance Management
• Compensation/Rewards
• Training/Development
• Employee Relations
• Safety and Health
• Workforce Diversity

Not all gaps will be of the same strategic importance, so you will need to set priorities for addressing them.

For example, imagine you discovered a need to update your HR information system. Investing in a new system would provide you with employee progress data that you deemed essential for your future company goals.

The need for an upgraded HR information system should be prioritized as urgent because it’s necessary to succeed in your long-term strategic plan.

Questions you can ask to help you determine the priority of your needs include:

• What are the top priorities?
• Where can we experience rapid progress?
• How do these strategies work with our budgets?
• What is the degree of change needed?

Step 5:  Share & Monitor The Plan

Sharing the Strategic HR Plan with your senior leadership and those connected to the HR function of your organization is a crucial component of its success. The more your team understands and supports the plan, the more empowered they will be to help the company achieve its goals.

It’s also important to monitor the progress of the Strategic HR Plan you develop and to communicate successes or modifications to your team.

At the very least, you should review the plan on an annual basis to verify that the goals on which the plan was based are still accurate and to make adjustments as needed.

Developing Your Plan

Developing a comprehensive Strategic HR Plan is an essential investment in helping your company achieve its goals.

A Strategic HR Plan aligns your corporate mission with your business plan, ensuring you have the capacity to deliver on strategy as you pursue your organization’s goals.

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8 Actionable Long-term HR Strategy Plan Examples

Failing to plan is the same as planning to fail when it comes to managing your people. here are five essential reasons why you need to think strategically about human resources..

In any organisation, large or small, three fundamental systems of record form the business backbone; accounting and finance, customer relationship management and HR and employee management.

Many businesses now take a strategic approach to managing these key areas by using cloud technologies to run their accounting and finance processes in real-time, as well as manage their customer relationships.

However, many businesses continue to persist with a more reactive approach to HR. That’s why it’s time to start building your own human resources strategic plan (otherwise known as an HR strategy). Failing to plan is the same as planning to fail when it comes to managing your people.

What is a Human Resources Strategy plan?

An HR department in every business is responsible for finding and training employees. Besides that, they also help with conflict resolution, employee benefits, employee retention and development. A human resource strategy plan is taking those responsibilities and making sure they meet the goals, mission and future needs of the company.

What are the benefits of creating HR strategies?

We all know that the role of human resources and people management is changing . By implementing strategic human resources management, you’ll have a crystal clear vision of your goals and how to achieve them.

To understand how HR has evolved and continues to change, read more about the evolution of HR and people management.

Read on to find out the benefits of having an HR strategy in place.

1. Forecasting talent requirements

Being able to develop realistic forecasts of your people’s needs now and in the future is essential if you’re going to win the war on talent. On a day-to-day level, being able to optimise shift allocation will help you achieve efficiencies and reduce your wage bill.

Also, if you know how many staff you require to achieve the future strategic goals of the business and what jobs need to be filled, you can get an early start on finding the right talent.

2. Non-compliance costs

Everything from payroll to onboarding, performance management and employee data management comes with a huge amount of compliance and paperwork. Using spreadsheets and manual processes is not only time-consuming, but they are also prone to human error. And this means business risk.

By using strategic planning, you can identify any possible compliance gaps and keep your business in line with employment legislation.

To avoid common HR mistakes, consider these 8 common HR mistakes to avoid.

3. Happy employees are more productive

Beyond hiring the right candidate, a good HR strategy plays an important role in promoting employee engagement and satisfaction. These areas are crucial to developing a happy, productive workforce who become great ambassadors for your business.

With an HR strategic plan, you can formulate what is required of you to take care of your employees’ needs. It also keeps a check on morale, measures productivity and your employees’ sense of commitment.

4. Retention

Employee engagement goes hand in hand with retention. Once you’ve built a team of great people, you need to keep hold of them. So a big part of the overall business strategy needs to be focused on what you can do to retain employees. This includes ways to build your employees careers through formal recognition programs and career development pathways.

For strategies to retain top talent, explore how Employment Hero can help retain top talent.

5. Continuous improvement

Everyone knows that you can’t improve what you don’t measure. Without a strategic HR plan, how can you possibly understand what’s working and what’s not?

Through HR strategies, you can formally evaluate specific and measurable factors such as; employee turnover, the number of vacant positions, employee grievances, as well as satisfaction and dissatisfaction levels.

If you periodically gather and report data on what’s working, you’re much more likely to make consistent and accurate decisions.

To learn more about the future of HR automation, read what is the future of HR automation?.

Read more: All you need to know about HR management

Intro to HR Management

8 things to implement for a successful HR strategy

Taking a proactive approach to managing your people will put your business on the front foot— ready to identify and solve HR issues. By developing an HR strategic plan, you can reflect on the successes and failures of previous quarters. Doing so will help you effectively plan for attracting and retaining the right talent, which is key to your business achieving success.

Here are some HR strategy examples you can implement to gain a competitive advantage through your HR department.

1. Conduct regular HR audits

The beginning of the year is the perfect time to conduct a review of your HR processes and compliance. While these should continually be reviewed, it’s important to assess them at the start of each calendar year.

Human resources audits are an effective way to perform a gap analysis and review your current people management processes and obligations. By conducting an audit, you will be able to update any legalities and also see where improvements can be made, which can be included in your new HR strategy.

Common areas to complete an HR audit include:

• Record keeping
• Remuneration
• Performance reviews
• Policies and procedures
• Health and Safety

For more insights on HR audits, see our ultimate guide to HRIS systems.

Read more: The future of HR automation

2. Set goals aligning with your business strategy

If you’re looking for information on how to introduce a goal-setting framework so you (and your entire team) can plan your goals effectively, we suggest giving thought to OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) .

While OKRs are not as well known as their popular counterpart, key performance indicators (KPI), OKRs are a great tool to complement your company’s HR strategy.

They’re a transparent way to keep your team accountable and motivated whilst ensuring that your goals are 100% aligned at an individual, team and company level. If you’re looking for an all-in-one HR software that includes a visual OKR feature, get in touch with us today .

We can walk you through how Employment Hero can help simplify and align your company goals, so you continue to create a team of engaged, high performers.

3. Design the employee experience

When it comes to business, your employees are everything. They keep the wheels turning and are the heart and soul of everything you do. But have you ever thought about the experience they have as an employee?

From acquisition to onboarding, training and recognition, there are so many pieces to the employee experience puzzle that can set your workplace above the rest. When designing the employee experience, it’s crucial you map out every stage of the employee lifecycle and visualise your ideal scenario.

This allows you to create the perfect recipe for your employee experience.

Read more: How to empower employees with employee self service

An example of a designed employee experience

1. Attraction : Work with marketing to have a strong employer branding presence across social. Using social media and employee advocacy to recruit top talent to your business is a great way to keep your candidate funnel full.

2. Recruitment : Having a set interview process that ensures you hire the right person. This may include candidates having to complete a task or assignment.

3. Onboarding : Ensuring that the onboarding process includes information about their specific role and the wider organisation. It might also see you start new employees in a cohort instead of scattered days so they can complete induction together. Beyond the more technical parts of onboarding, consider ‘surprise and delight’ elements such as branded company merch and organising a special lunch with the hiring manager.

4. Development : Encouraging your employees to access online training and attend industry events that will improve their skills. Setting up an annual self-learning fund for each employee could be a good way to do this.

5. Retention : Creating professional development plans for your employees and rewarding them for great work. Using a goal-setting framework like OKRs and a well-thought-out career plan can make all the difference.

6. Separation : Create a way to support your employees through the exit process. This could be by a formal exit interview so you can improve and learn from experiences.

4. Improve your Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

If you’re not sure what an EVP is , it’s the balance of rewards, benefits and culture that the company can offer in return for amazing employee performance. In saying this, it’s important to remember that your employee value proposition extends beyond perks and benefits.

Why should you care about improving your EVP?

It’s an important piece of attracting top talent to your business. If you present well to a potential star candidate, they’re going to want to work for you. This in return, helps the human resources department recruit candidates a whole lot easier.

You might also even find that your time to fill roles decreases significantly. According to a study by People Scout , “when organisations live up to their marketed EVP, new employees arrive with a higher level of commitment at 38%, compared to organisations that don’t live up to their marketed EVP, which are at just 9%”.

When you get your EVP right and have star talent in your business, you can expect greater business growth as they’ll be more engaged in their role.

Read more: Emerging HR trends in the job market

5. Implement HR systems

If you’re looking to reduce the amount of time you spend on manual admin tasks and get strategic in your day-to-day, an HRIS can help you. By implementing an HR tech system like Employment Hero, you can reduce the amount of time you spend on admin tasks by up to 80%.

Just imagine no longer having to manually onboard an employee or keep employee files in dusty old filing cabinets! It’s also a great piece of tech to add to your long-term HR strategy!

6. Provide professional development plans for employees

According to LinkedIn’s 2018 Learning Report , a massive 93% of employees said they would stay at a job longer if the company invested in their learning and development. This is a sign that the majority of employees place this as a top factor when determining whether or not to jump ship. But the benefits aren’t just for the employee.

Creating a professional development plan for your employees is a two-way street and a vital piece of your long-term HR strategy. When you have acquired top talent and develop their skills even further, you’ll have star employees that will be just as invested in your company as much as you’re invested in them!

You’ll also save money in the long run, as you won’t face the hidden costs of recruitment associated with employee turnover.

Saving costs, developing your team and giving your employees what they want? It sounds like a great strategic HR move to us!

7. Improve employee advocacy

Your employees are your best cheerleaders, so it makes sense to use them to leverage your brand. Whether it’s by incorporating employee advocacy into your HR strategy or getting your teams’ LinkedIn profiles up to speed (hello branded cover images and profile pictures!), there are many ways you can leverage your employees’ professional networks.

Social media is one of the most cost-effective places to reach new and potential customers, so we say this is something you might want to get on board with, and pronto! While employee advocacy strategies are a fairly new concept, they’re beginning to gain momentum.

With this being said, those who take advantage of employee advocacy will be the ones reaping the rewards!

What are the benefits of employee advocacy?

• Improves the company’s social media reach
• Attracts new business and potential clients
• Improves company culture and office buzz
• Improves retention rates

8. Gen Z talent acquisition and retention strategy

Gen Z is beginning to enter the workforce, so it’s important you have a long-term HR strategy in place to attract them. Born between 1995 and 2015, Gen Z’ers are different from previous generations that have entered the job market.

Why is it important to have an acquisition strategy for Gen Z?

While Millennials have been in the spotlight for many years, we’re beginning to investigate the traits of Gen Z. With Gen Z entering by the masses, it’s important you know how to hire and retain them.

Gen Z has grown up around digital technology and are naturally tech-savvy compared to their older counterparts. This alone changes how you should recruit Gen Z.

According to our recent Gen Z at work report , Gen Z characteristics are:

• Risk adverse
• Independent
• Competitive
• Open minded

As Gen Z are naturally tech-savvy and connected on social media, we would suggest advertising job ads with social media first approach. We could even see Tik Tok become the ‘it’ place to recruit top talent from Gen Z!

For more insights on how HR can support managers and enhance their roles, read how can HR help managers succeed in their role?.

The wrap-up

This is the perfect time of year to start looking into long-term HR strategy. From implementing an HR automation system like Employment Hero, to getting prepared for the influx of Gen Z candidates you’ll be recruiting for in the future, now’s the time to get planning.

If you need help demonstrating the value of implementing HR software as part of your HR strategy, read our blog on building a business case for HR software here.

To learn more about you can improve HR strategy and achieve your HR goals, get in touch and one of our small business HR experts to show you how today!

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The Easy Guide to Human Resource Planning with Tools & Templates

Updated on: 23 June 2022

It’s no secret that the key to the continued smooth operation of an organization is its employees – well, the right kind of skillful employees doing their job right. And the way to get that kind of employee working in your organization can only be made possible through proper human resource planning software . 

In this post, we have simplified the human resource process for you by breaking it down into four steps and providing you with ready-made templates to immediately execute those tasks.

What is Human Resource Planning 

Human resource planning is the process by which organizations assess the current human resources, forecast future requirements or necessities, identify the gaps and come up with a plan to fill them. 

Basically, human resource planning, also known as workforce planning and manpower planning, helps you ensure that you have the right number of people with relevant skills in the right kind of job position at the right time.   

Importance of human resource planning 

Human resource planning plays a major role in making sure that the necessary skills are made available to the organization whenever needed to meet its strategic goals. In addition, there are several more important reasons why human resource planning is crucial to an organization. 

• It helps make sure that the existing manpower is being used optimally 
• It supports achieving the organization’s strategic goals and objectives by ensuring that the right kind of people are hired to fulfill the demand for labor in a timely manner
• It provides information necessary to carry out other HR functions such as recruitment, selection, promotion, training and development , etc. and define HR policies
• It helps the organization adapt to the changes in the environment caused by competition, technology, government policies, etc. that may result in a need for new employees, new skills, etc.  
• It helps identify labor requirements needed to successfully implement expansion and diversification plans 
• It also assists with anticipating deficiencies or surpluses in manpower and take the necessary steps to handle the situation   
• It helps develop career plans for individual employees and determine the training and development they need

4 Steps in the Human Resource Planning Process 

There are 4 broad steps involved in the human resource planning process. 

Step 1: Identify the current supply of human resources   

The planning process starts by analyzing the current labor pool. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your organization with regard to the number of employees, their skills, experiences, qualifications, positions, performance levels, age, benefits, salary levels, languages spoken, prior employment, etc. 

There are several ways you can go about this step. 

• Refer to the past performance reviews
• Gather data from your human resource information system
• Talk to the department heads to get an idea about the employees working under them
• Ask the employees themselves with a questionnaire 
• Get employees to do a self-evaluation of themselves with a SWOT analysis

Once you have collected an abundance of information on current employees, transfer them to a skills inventory report . A visual template for a skills inventory that is easier to refer to and understand is given below.

Step 2: Forecast future demand for human resources

This step requires you to understand the future goals of the organization first, as they would have a significant impact on the future human resource demands. 

Prior to determining the future needs, you also need to consider factors such as employee turnover rates, market or industry trends, technological advances that will help automate processes, retirements, promotions, layoffs, etc. 

Step 3: Analyze the gap between supply and demand for labor

Now that you have clarified what skills are available in your inventory and which you will need for the future, you can clearly see the gaps that exist.

Can the current supply of employees in the organization help fulfill future requirements?

Will you have to offer training and development programs to upgrade the current employees to meet company objectives?

If this is not sufficient, then you will have to recruit new employees with relevant skill sets to match the demand for manpower in the future. 

It’s important that you maintain the balance between demand and supply in human resource planning. 

Step 4: Develop and implement the plan to meet the gaps 

Then comes developing an action plan .

If there’s a deficit of employees, you can spend your efforts on hiring new employees, training existing ones, outsourcing or interdepartmental transfers.

On the other hand, if there’s a surplus of employees, you may need to consider layoff, voluntary retirement schemes, transfers, etc. 

Once a plan is devised, it should be integrated with the overall strategy of the organization. And it’s important to monitor the plan and evaluate its effectiveness throughout time.

Human Resource Planning Tools

You can use these tools throughout the different steps of the workforce planning process. They can assist you in analyzing the capability of your current staff, and determine future needs. The templates provided are editable online; simply click on the template to edit it online. 

SWOT Analysis 

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It can be used as a tool for self-evaluation by individual employees, or as a strategic tool to assess the current state of the organization. 

Strengths and weaknesses are the factors that are internal. For example, a strength of your organization could be the presence of skilled employees, but a weakness could be the insufficient numbers of skilled employees. 

Opportunities and threats are external factors. For example, the availability of skilled employees in the market could be a great opportunity for you if you are hiring. On the other hand, your competitor poaching your employees with better salaries could pose a threat to you.  

 The SWOT analysis is one of the most popular tools used during a situation analysis. Some other situation analysis tools you can use with manpower planning are described in our guide to situation analysis . 

Organizational Chart 

An organizational chart is a visual representation of the hierarchy/ structure of an organization. It also highlights reporting relationships between employees, their roles and responsibilities. In human resource planning, it can be used in a number of ways,

• To record information about current employee roles, responsibilities, skills, experiences, etc. You can also add additional information such as their educational qualifications, and demographical data. This will help you quickly identify the right personnel for the job. 
• To create a roadmap of the staffing needs. You can mark labor deficiencies and surplusses on your company organizational chart as well.

RACI Matrix 

This is a chart, project managers use to assign roles and responsibilities to tasks in a project. It highlights who should be responsible, accountable, consulted and informed during a project.

9 Box Grid 

The 9 box grid, also known as the performance-potential matrix, is widely used in employee development and succession planning. It helps evaluate your existing employees against their current performance and their future potential performance.  

Rating your employees with the help of the 9 box grid helps you identify strong employees and those who are falling behind.

Scenario Planning 

There are many scenarios, like technological advancements, natural disasters, political or economic changes that could drastically alter the future direction of your company. Ordinarily, you may not see them coming or plan for them. 

By incorporating scenario planning in your strategic planning process, you can identify these different future scenarios, discuss how they will affect your organization and take precautionary measures.

You can incorporate scenario planning with human resource planning by examining scenarios that involve your changing future labor requirements. 

Refer to our resource on scenario planning to learn about this tool in more detail. 

Replacement Chart

This is a diagram that is similar to the organizational chart . It is used to identify potential candidates who can replace an employee who is retiring, transferring, etc. Individual replacement charts can be developed for each significant position in a company along with potential replacements.

Any Tips for Improving Manpower Planning? 

In this post, we’ve basically covered everything you need to know about human resource planning , especially if you are a newbie. And we believe the templates provided will help you kickstart your project. 

Already an expert in workforce planning? Do share the tips on tools and processes you swear by in the comments section below.

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HR Strategic Plan

There are many aspects of business that you have to get right consistently. Due to the number of people that will be involved in your company, human resources should be among the top of those aspects. Flip through almost any corporate magazine and you should see successful HR strategies examples clear as day. They may not always spell it out, but read between the lines and you should find them. With that said, any company can make good use of a HR strategic plan. If you want to get your own sample of HR strategic plan templates and learn more, you best scroll on.

HR Strategic Plan Example

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Basic Human Resource Strategic Plan Example

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Process Human Resource Strategic Plan Example

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The Importance of a Human Resource Department

There are various reasons why a human resource department is important to a company’s success and survival. First, there’s its responsibility as far as recruitment is concerned. This is the most basic task of any individual working in a human resource department. Anybody looking to find and edit an HR strategic plan template should always keep recruitment policies in mind. Another important function of a HR department is employee engagement . Together with management, HR officers formulate policies to keep employees motivated and productive. Lastly, there is counseling. HR departments must also aim to create a positive working environment for all employees in the company. To achieve this, HR people do counseling and discuss with employees their issues or other problems being encountered in the office.

Tips for Creating an HR Strategic Plan

Acquiring an HR strategy template or a downloadable HR strategic plan PDF sample is easy. Coming up with your own strategic plan from scratch is hard. However, it doesn’t have to be too difficult. Below are some tips that are bound to come in handy down the line.

Tip 1: Always Think of Your Future Needs

Being proactive and thinking of the future is often the right way to go whenever you develop any kind of strategic plan. The same goes for HR-related issues. When planning, ask yourself specific questions like ‘what skills will we require in the future?’ or ‘how large do we want our company to be?’

Tip 2: Consider What Your Company is Presently Capable of

Although thinking of the future is a must, you must also not neglect to look into what your present needs and capabilities are. You can even perform a SWOT analysis of your overall workforce to determine your strengths and weaknesses. Consider the risks and look for where your future opportunities are realistically. In learning both your present and future needs, you can better bridge the gap.

Tip 3: Lay Out Specific Plans

Having assessed what you need and what you are capable of, the next thing we can advise you to do is to lay out your specific plans. Keep them as detailed and realistic as possible. This should be easier for you to do now that you are better aware of your present capabilities. Another tip would be to keep the SMART acronym in mind: make sure everything is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.

Tip 4: Re-evaluate as Often as Needed

Even when you think you already have the most well-thought-out plan, there may be parts of it that still require tinkering in the future. Or perhaps new developments will arise that make your plans less than ideal. Since no action plan can be accurately called foolproof, then you must prepare to adapt to any new circumstances that you and your company find yourselves in.

What are the essential components of a human resource strategic plan?

A developed vision-mission statement for your company is one. Without that component, your strategies won’t be guided in a proper manner. Then there is the intimate knowledge of what your HR department has at its disposal.

What role does HR play in a company’s overall planning process?

HR professionals often contribute to a company’s plans in various ways. One, they often formulate tactics designed to encourage greater interaction within the company. Their recruitment tasks also lead to the right people entering into the company’s plans as those professionals get slotted into key roles in the organization.

What are the two types of strategies employed by HR departments?

HR departments often employ two general kinds of strategies: one is called overarching strategies and the other is called specific strategies. The latter hones in on particular HR strategies and tactics while the latter branches off and involve the other departments of the company.

Any human resource strategic plan sample is always going to be better than having no plan at all. HR is a nuanced department with several pitfalls to navigate away from. Do it right and you set your company on the path of greater success. Do it wrong, and you should see yourself riddled with excruciating problems to solve. Which situation do you prefer? Take what you’ve learned from this article, along with any human resource strategic plan template or human resource strategic plan sample, and act on them today!

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HR Strategic Plan Template

Customize, design, and edit this HR Strategic Plan template to effectively communicate your HR goals. With a vibrant design and clear layout, this template is ideal for outlining leadership development, employee wellness, and company culture initiatives. Perfect for internal presentations. Explore more business plans templates on Venngage to meet your diverse communication needs.

• Design style modern
• Colors light
• Size Letter (11 x 8.5 in)
• File type PNG, PDF, PowerPoint
• Plan business

This HR strategic plan template is a great starting point for visualizing and communicating your own HR strategic plan. An HR strategic plan allows HR to communicate how HR operates and identify areas of improvement. HR Strategic Plan Template HR personnel should look at the HR strategy every year, maybe more than once a year. An HR Strategic Plan Template can be used to guide short and long term planning. HR must complete an HR strategic plan template for HR management purposes HR must conduct research before developing this HR strategy because it will help with specifying goals and outlining HR initiatives. HR may also use HR research to identify HR hiring methods and HR skills that will be needed in the future. HR needs this HR strategic plan template to increase organizational success and improve HR procedures among its employees. To get started you won't need any design experience. Venngge's online editor and professionally-designed HR strategic plan template is perfect for non-designers. Just click on ""create"" to begin customizing the template. To start, make your own content. You can stick

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Strategic Human Resource Management (2024 Guide)

Updated: Jun 8, 2024, 9:04am

Table of Contents

What is strategic human resources, why strategic human resources is important, 5 steps to strategic human resources, bottom line, frequently asked questions (faqs).

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is a process that organizations use to manage their employees. It is a way to ensure that the organization’s HR are used in a way that supports the organization’s goals. Think of it as a bridge connecting human resources and the goals of the company. With SHRM, businesses can more effectively manage employee performance and development, as well as create programs and policies that support the company’s overall strategy.

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The goal of SHRM is to create policies and programs that align with the company’s business strategy. The main difference between human resources and strategic human resources is that human resources focus on the day-to-day management of employees, while strategic human resources focus on how employees can achieve the company’s overall goals. This means that SHRM must first understand the company’s business goals and then create programs and policies that support those goals.

Some common examples of SHRM programs and policies include:

• Performance management: Creating systems to track and improve employee performance
• Training and development: Identifying employees’ development needs and providing training and resources to help them improve
• Compensation and benefits: Designing compensation and benefits programs that attract and retain employees
• Employee relations: Managing employee relations to create a positive work environment

These are just a few examples of the types of programs and policies that can be part of SHRM. The specific programs and policies will vary depending on the company’s goals and the needs of its employees.

SHRM is important because it helps businesses achieve their goals. By aligning HR programs and policies with the company’s business strategy, SHRM can help businesses improve employee performance, develop the workforce and create a positive work environment. SHRM can also help businesses save money by reducing turnover and improving productivity.

• Improve employee performance: SHRM can help businesses improve employee performance by creating systems to track and improve performance.
• Develop the workforce: SHRM can help businesses develop the workforce by identifying employees’ development needs and providing training and resources to help them improve.
• Create a positive work environment: SHRM can help businesses create a positive work environment by managing employee relations.
• Reduce turnover: SHRM can help businesses reduce turnover by designing compensation and benefits programs that attract and retain employees.
• Improve productivity: SHRM can help businesses improve productivity by improving employee performance and creating a positive work environment.

Now that you know what SHRM is and why it’s important, you may wonder how to get started. The process involves knowing the goals of your company, its abilities, future needs and resources. From there, you put your plan into action, then reassess and pivot if necessary.

Here are the five steps to strategic human resources plan:

1. Know your company’s goals and abilities

The first step to SHRM is understanding your company’s goals and abilities. When you know your company goals and can articulate them, you’ll have an easier time creating programs and policies that support those goals. You’ll also be able to more effectively measure the success of your SHRM programs and make changes as needed.

Consider the following questions:

• What are your company’s long-term goals?
• What are your company’s strengths and weaknesses?
• What resources does your company have now?
• What skills does your workforce currently have?
• Are there any gaps in talent or skills?

Answering these questions will help you understand your company’s goals and abilities, and how SHRM can help you achieve those goals.

2. Forecast future needs

Now that you have an idea of your company’s goals and abilities, you need to forecast future needs. In order to ensure your company’s future success, you need to predict how many employees with the required skills will be necessary and measure it against your company’s current workforce. This will help you determine what skills your company will need in the future and how to develop those skills in your workforce.

• What skills will your company need in the future?
• How many employees with those skills will you need?
• How does that compare to your current workforce?

By answering these questions, you will be able to comprehend what abilities your company will need in the future and how to cultivate a workforce with those required skills.

3. Determine the resources needed to achieve company goals

After you know your company’s goals and have forecasted future needs, you need to determine the resources needed to achieve those goals. This includes identifying the financial resources, human resources and physical resources required.

• What financial resources will you need to achieve your company’s goals?
• What human resources will you need to achieve your company’s goals?
• What physical resources will you need to achieve your company’s goals?

To determine these, you’ve got to conduct an audit of both your internal and external resources. This will give you a sense of what types of resources you have available to achieve your goals and where you may need to supplement.

For example, if you’re looking to expand your workforce, you may need to invest in recruiting programs. Or, after conducting a needs assessment, you may find that your current workforce doesn’t have the necessary skills to achieve your company’s goals, so you’ll need to invest in training programs.

Another example is if you’re looking to launch a new product. In this case, you’ll need to consider the financial resources required to develop and market the product, as well as the physical resources required to produce it. You’ve also got to consider talent and skill set when launching a new product. Do you have the right people in place to bring your product to market? And do they have the necessary skills to do so?

4. Execute your plan

Now that you’ve set your company’s goals, forecasted its future needs and gathered the resources required to achieve those goals, it’s time to put your SHRM plan into action. Most companies start by recruiting the right candidates, training and development and then performance management. However, this will vary depending on your company’s specific needs.

If you already have a large talent pool to choose from, you may be better off cultivating skills of current employees before recruiting outside talent. After you’ve satisfied that resource, you may find you still need to hire. If so, you’ll need to have clear expectations and skill requirements before recruiting.

Once you’ve hired talent, it’s imperative to have a proper onboarding process. This will help ensure that your new hires are set up for success and understand what’s expected of them. After you’ve brought new talent into the fold, you need to focus on development. This includes training programs as well as opportunities for professional growth. By offering these opportunities, you’ll be able to retain top talent and keep them engaged in their work.

Last but not least is performance management. This includes setting clear expectations, providing feedback and conducting performance reviews. Performance management is a key part of SHRM as it helps ensure that your workforce is meeting expectations and contributing to your company’s bottom line.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when executing your SHRM plan:

• Set realistic goals and timelines. Trying to accomplish too much in a short period of time can be overwhelming and lead to mistakes.
• Get buy-in from upper management. If those at the top aren’t on board with your SHRM plan, it’s going to be difficult to get everyone else on board.
• Communicate with your employees. Employees should be aware of the goals of the SHRM plan and how it will affect them. This will help get them on board and ensure that they’re working towards the same goals.
• Be prepared to adjust your plan. As with any plan, things may not go as expected. Be prepared to make adjustments to ensure that you’re still on track to achieve your company’s goals. We’ll discuss this in detail in the next section.

5. Assess and pivot

After you’ve executed your SHRM plan, it’s important to assess how things are going. This includes looking at what’s working and what’s not. Based on your assessment, you may need to make adjustments to your plan. For example, if you’re not seeing the results you want, you may need to change your recruiting strategy. Or, if you’re finding that your training programs aren’t effective, you may need to make changes to those as well.

It’s also important to keep in mind that your SHRM plan is not a one-time thing. As your company grows and changes, so too will your SHRM needs. As such, it’s important to revisit your SHRM plan on a regular basis to ensure that it’s still relevant and effective.

Strategic human resource management is a process that helps companies achieve their goals by better managing their workforce. By taking the time to develop a SHRM plan, companies can ensure that they have the right people in place to achieve their goals. While developing a SHRM plan can be time-consuming, the benefits outweigh the costs. Not only will a well-executed SHRM plan help you achieve your company’s goals, but it will also help you retain top talent and keep your employees engaged in their work.

What is strategic human resource management (SHRM)?

Strategic human resource management is a process that helps companies manage their workforce in a way that aligns with their company’s goals.

Why is SHRM important?

SHRM is important because it helps companies ensure that they have the right people in place to achieve their company’s goals. Additionally, SHRM can help companies retain top talent and keep their employees engaged in their work.

What's the difference between human resources and strategic human resource management?

The difference between human resources and strategic human resource management is that human resources focuses on the day-to-day management of employees while SHRM takes a more strategic approach.

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Katherine Haan is a small business owner with nearly two decades of experience helping other business owners increase their incomes.