A Little Strategic HR for Bigger Business Success

2009 is quickly coming to a close, and many small business owners and executives like you are reflecting on the performance of the current year and already planning for 2010 and beyond. With the recent economic challenges and the myriad of employment law changes, businesses have been taking a much closer look towards its existing workforce. As you assess new best practices to help advance the goals and success of your company, consider how strategic HR plays a key role.

What is strategic HR? Strategic HR is simply about focusing on the performance of each employee and the organization with direct measures to determine the success of your company's business strategy.

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  Where does your business stand in terms of strategic HR?You can get a better idea by answering the following types of questions:
  



• Do you need different knowledge, skills, and / or abilities from your workforce in order for the business to grow?
  



• Do you clearly convey the expectations and the business value of each person's role in the company's direction?
  



• Does Management address employee training and performance development well?
  



• Do you have established programs to recognize and reward performance?
  



• Do you consistently provide competitive market pay and benefits for the right sets of skills and competencies?
  



• Does your company further minimize risk by remaining compliant to employment laws?
  The more no's or don't know's you answer, the greater efforts your company needs to improve.
  

How can you apply strategic HR to your small business environment? Strategic HR is not just for big corporations. Small businesses can also put this concept into motion. Some action items include:

Create a succession plan in case the business leadership and / or ownership changes.
Find out how your top competitors get and keep their talent.

Develop a clear and accountable feedback process to support employees in their professional development (i.e. skills training, workshop seminars, coaching, etc.).

With strategic HR in mind, your goal is to ensure that the talent of all your employees line up with the company's business objectives. Accomplish this, and you're well on track to much greater success.