Walton and Burgoyne 7 Stages

Strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) is the link between the employees of a given firm and its proposed strategies and aims. Strategic HRM investigates on how the human resources may contribute directly to the growth of the company. The HR Function is anticipated to strategically identify the potential employees and develop ways of retaining them in the firm to allow the firm realise its long-run goal. According to Emerald (2021), among the strategic HRM practices which organisations could adapt for their execution include: training, development, employee retention as well as good pay. Strategic HRM has many benefits including;

Improved innovation and flexibility- Strategic HRM has always been key in supporting innovation of employees. This empowers them to make changes to various systems and processes that they use to ensure continuous improvement. With these innovations, the flexibility of the firm increases as the employees are able to make decisions on their own without much consultation with the senior management.

Enhanced business performance- Strategic HRM assists in improving the overall business performance as it ensures that all the stakeholders (management and employees) are well versed with their expectations. They should be well aware of their duties and responsibilities and how they contribute to the actualisation of the set goals and objectives.

Fit for the firm’s culture- strategic HRM also ensures that the employees are a fit to the organisational culture. This entails the employees being well oriented and coached with regards to the culture of the firm to guarantee suitability. When all employees adapt to the culture of the firm, they become more effective and they are able to uphold the brand and reputation of the company.

Increased job satisfaction- with Strategic HRM, the employees are satisfied with the operations of the firm as they know that their concerns are always addressed and they feel appreciated and recognised at work. This gives them motivation and creates a conducive environment to work in.

Increased productivity- when employees enjoy Strategic HRM, they become more productive as compared to others. They feel the need to actualise the goals since they feel part and parcel of the team. This makes each team member accountable for their actions which results to increased productivity by the entire team. When there is a good relationship between the firm’s commitment and strategic HRM, the productivity of the firm is duly increased (Wright 2021).

Enhanced customer satisfaction – when there is Strategic HRM, employees’ concerns and issues are handle much faster and efficiently and therefore, the employees tend to stay longer in the firm. This increased employee retention makes a good impression to the clients that the firm cares for its employees and hence the relationships built with the customers are strengthened and customer satisfaction is improved.

Proactive approach to managing employees- when Strategic HRM is employed, the employees are better managed. This allows for their concerns to be quickly resolved and make them feel more appreciated. Proactive approach also allows for solutions to be identified of potential problems and challenges and allows the HR to suggest to the employees how to cope or deal with potential challenges.

Below are the seven steps of actualising Strategic HRM;

Understand the organisation’s goals- a thorough comprehension of the firm’s goals and objectives allow for Strategic HRM to be effected. This is due to the fact that once the HR function is conversant with the goals of the firm, they will be able to create a connection as to how handling HR matters is key and what its contribution is to the realisation of the goals. This makes them ensure quality staff retention and frequent trainings to allow for the employees to be conversant with current trends in their operations resulting to better performance.

Evaluate HR capability- the HR Function also should be critically analysed. Here, their strengths and weaknesses should be keenly monitored to allow the management make suggestions on the possible areas of improvement. Further, the HR team should be well trained, experienced and qualified to allow them tackle their work as expected. In case there is a shortage, more personnel should be hired to ensure that there is fair division of labour and that each team member is well aware of their expectations and performs their obligations as expected (Sawyer 2019). When the HR Function is well run, the firm stands to gain a lot from both employee retention and increased productivity.

Evaluating the HR potential in line with your objectives- the management ought to analyse the potential of the HR Function in light of their aims. This will help to establish their suitability and investigate their potential to assist the firm actualise their goals. The HR Function should have objectives and goals similar to those of the organisation to ensure that they are both working towards the same goal. This matching of goals allows for growth and for the firm to make suitable strategies that will be implemented with ease by the HR Function.

Estimate the future HR needs- next is to approximate the future needs of HR and coming up with ways to satisfy them. Here, the management examines the current and future HR needs and tries to come up with ways of cushioning the firm from future necessities. For instance, the management may point to the lack of suitable employees in future and thus decide to invest more in their employees through regular trainings and forums, exchange programs as well as getting experienced and qualified employees on board to cater for their future needs. These strategies will ensure that the firm is well prepared to deal with its future needs in the organisation.

Define the resources necessary for effecting work- the management then should study what are the resources expected to assist in the effecting of the employees work. The provision of such resources allows the employees a smooth environment for them to work and be productive. Provision of necessary resources also saves on time as no time will be lost during operations. This not only increases productivity but also boosts the morale of employees at work thus becoming more effective and efficient in their work. This also improves the line manager’s work as they are able to easily monitor and assess the performance of each employee.

Execution of the Human Resource Management Strategy- upon the successful completion of defining the required resources, the management then proceeds to implement the HRM strategies. These can be evidenced in the on boarding process, dealing with the employees’ concerns and complaints as well as human resource retention. These strategies have to be clearly defined and elaborated to ensure that the HR Function is well aware of its role in actualising the firm’s goals. These HRM strategies also have to be tested to assess their validity before being rolled out to ensure that they are aligned with the company’s policies and procedures.

Evaluation and corrective actions- periodically, the Human Resources strategies have to be reviewed to determine their effectiveness. This review is significant as it allows for tracking and monitoring of the performance. It also allows for the management to point out the areas which are going wrongly and apply corrective measures to minimise chances of digression from the set strategies. Constant reviews also point out to areas where improvements can be made to ensure that the firm remains competitive in the market. Strategic HRM also ensures that the firm adapts the latest technology to help in the operations of the firm.

References

Emerald 2021, “Strategic Human Resources Management” Emerald, Available on www.emerald.com (Accessed on 24/02/2021)

Sawyer K 2019, “7 Steps to Strategic Human Resource Management” Deputy Available on www.deputy.com (Accessed on 24/02/2021)

Wright P 2021, “Human Resource Practices and Organizational Commitment: A deeper Examination” Sage Journal Available on: www.journals.sagepub.com (Accessed on 24/02/2021)