Why Risk the Success of Your Business?
Whether you lead a small entrepreneurial business, a non-profit organization comprised of a few staff or a business with over 100 employees, success will be more difficult to attain without a business strategy that aligns your human capital to the growth plan. While this may not be a revelation to many of the readers, how to get there is sometimes illusive.
Business leaders usually believe they understand how to manage the people side of the business because it is their vision that is framing the roadmap for success. However, they may have also found out the hard way that their businesses can be crippled by a lack of understanding of the very fundamentals of Human Resources.
How many of you have lost critical talent because of poor management, competition in the marketplace, lack of promotional or developmental opportunities or even possibly a poor workplace environment? With every business leader watching the bottom line, an integral piece of the plan for the business is an HR strategy that focuses on the three R’s (recruit, reward and retain). The cost of turnover has been well documented over the years – between 150 to 250 percent of the total compensation, depending on the position of the employee.
HR’s Role in Creating the Formula for Strategic Success
While HR historically has been seen as primarily focused on compliance, transaction and enabling the business, there are many competencies that can add value to the success of any enterprise. While risk mitigation is critical to the smooth running of any business, there is need to deliver value in both strategic growth and compliance. This can include a lack of compliance to provincial and federal regulations as well as the absence of a cohesive talent management plan; comprehensive and competitive compensation and benefit plans; understanding of employee engagement; succession planning; and employee training and development, to mention a few.
If your business currently has an HR practitioner or someone within the organization handling the Human Resources responsibility, you should assess the function to determine if there is alignment with your vision of the business. Are there aspects of the function that can be outsourced to maximize their impact? This could include areas such as compensation planning, recruiting strategy or training.
How do you as a business leader build talent, create a culture and capability to match your vision for growth? In order for employees to better align their expectations of success within the organization, the business should define the culture and values that will drive their experience and expectations. An experienced HR Specialist can be a true business partner working with the leadership to ensure the HR agenda anticipates business and customer needs. The areas below are only some of the building blocks of an HR strategy, and with the guidance of an Osborne HR Specialist, an assessment of your organization can be made and a prioritized action plan developed and executed over a realistic period of time. To build that human capital strategy the business should consider the following:
Defined Values and Culture
- Determine and communicate the values that you as a business leader live and work by and instill them into the culture of the organization (eg. integrity, customer focus, innovation, risk taking, entrepreneurial attitude).
- Ensure the working environment reflects the type of business where employees feel valued for their contributions, expertise and ideas.
- May also include expectations around flexibility of work hours, dress code, organization communication.
Employee Engagement
- Communicate vision and mission of business; maintain constant communication with employees regarding the status of the company.
- Understand what excites employees within the organization and endeavor to align their expertise, passion and aspirations to a position that will meet these expectations.
- Ensure employees understand the value of their contribution to the business’s success.
Staffing and Development
- Develop and implement a strategic staffing and succession plan that supports business goals and attracts, develops and retains the best talent.
- Effectively identify, assess and manage the selection and development of the best candidates.
- Deliver programs to meet the development needs of individuals, teams, and the organization.
Compensation and Benefits
- Understand the marketplace. Identify the competition for your key talent which could include networking with various small business associations.
- Develop a strategy to monitor employee satisfaction, particularly in the area of salary which can demotivate employees and impact productivity.
- Research benefits for small businesses to ensure business is competitive and current.
An experienced interim HR executive can assist with developing your business and align a human capital strategy that facilitates the growth you are trying to achieve.
Judy Conrad
Principal