Strategies for Human Resources

SHR Newsletters: On Planning

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Summer is ending - do you know where your human resources plan is? While formal plans are rare outside medium/larger organizations, most executives have a set of ideas from staff meetings and such. Take a hour out soon and pay some attention to your larger needs.

The next four months are usually full of critical HR issues. Annual benefits contracts often are calendar year based. Budgets and strategic or business plans are being put together. Deadlines for various legal compliance issues loom.

So what is on your notepad?

BENEFITS
You spend a lot of money on benefits:
Are you getting your money's worth?
Do your employees value what you offer?
Do you really know the answer to these questions?

EMPLOYMENT
Hiring people is expensive, losing them moreso.
What is your total attrition rate?
Why are you losing employees?
How effective is your hiring?
What are you doing to retain and develop staff?

PRODUCTIVITY
Do you actively manage employee performance?
Are managers held accountable for productivity?
Do they have the knowledge and tools needed?

I could list questions for you for pages. But mostly what you really need to do is to take a bit of time to think of your own critical issues. And the resulting human resources issues and needs. And then TAKE ACTION!

And if you need help making connections or developing solutions, contact me.

And an interesting article from HBR: Balancing the Future Against Today's Needs
It's hard to dream five years out when your organization is doing all it can to take care of the here and now. This article from Harvard Management Update offers a new lens for positioning growth efforts within your company while staying focused on your core strengths today.

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