Why Focus On HR
Responding to The Great Resignation
If you’ve been in business for any length of time that requires employees, you’re aware that its success depends on your having the right people in the right seats at the right time doing the right things. That’s a tall order but if you miss it, you’ll likely struggle to keep everything running smoothly.
A well-planned Human Resources strategy ensures that you have the resources and capability required to achieve your operational goals and objectives. It provides the drive behind your operational strategy, aligning people with the right competencies to the goals of the organization.
Recently many companies have witnessed the impact of the Great Resignation as employees have sought greener pastures at record numbers. As a matter of fact, the Houston Chronicle recently reported that the “turnover tsunami” may not have crested yet. Businesses will continue to battle it out for talent.
But when you’re a small business with so many competing priorities, what’s the benefit?
Why spend the time and money necessary to put this together? Because strategy is part of smart business. You get things done by creating and executing a plan rather than hoping that the right thing is going to happen on its own.
The value of a solid Human Resources strategy for your business is more important than ever. because it places you in a more competitive position when it comes to your ability to attract and retain those you need to keep the business running. The availability and effectiveness of your most important (and often most complex) resource (your employees) largely depends on the amount of time and effort you put into establishing solid HR practices. You set specific operational goals and action plans to ensure that your team achieves the desired performance at the end of the quarter or year. HR activity should be no different, especially when your employees have the potential to be a competitive advantage.
Your HR practices, policies and activities are going to have a significant impact on your ability to attract, engage, motivate and retain top talent. They fuel the machine that performs the work that delivers value to your customers. They create the culture that centers decisions, influences performance and tells the community what you stand for.
Research has repeatedly shown over the years that companies who focus heavily on Human Resources and the development of human capital outperform those who don’t when it comes to revenue and profitability. Perhaps part of the reason is that there is power in discretionary effort. And those companies who focus on their HR practices are more able to tap into the discretionary effort of their teams. That’s a significant part of becoming effective as an organization.
Right people, right seats, right time, right things. That’s a lot to leave to chance. You could leave it up to your supervisors or leaders to feel their way through it. But why not be intentional instead? In light of the business strategy, a well-planned HR strategy builds and supports organizational capability and yields better results.
