This article is written by Viktorija Jordanoska, HR Associate, UNU-EGOV.
- The problem: HR employees are often not part of an organisation's strategic planning, and HR management is still traditional instead of strategic, particularly in the public sector.
- Why it matters: Only strategic HR management can deliver an organisation's strategic goals and plans.
- The solution: Including HR employees in an organisation's strategic planning will enable them to implement it in their activities and align HR services with the organisation's strategic goals.
When we talk about the role of employees in HR departments, I believe they should have a more strategic role, and should be specialists who help organisations to grow, not only in the public sector but also in other entities and organisations. Only with a strategic approach will HR services be efficient and aligned with an organisation's strategic goals.
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These employees are essential parts of the system and are responsible for many of the internal and external processes within an organisation.
Shifting from traditional to strategic ways of working and thinking will improve HR activities to be more qualitative, efficient and less time-consuming.
From my experience, this is mainly a problem in the public sector, and there is a need to change the approach within an organisation; within HR departments. In this article, I share some advice and ideas that may help organisations – and HR employees – work and think strategically.
HR employees should be included in the organisation's strategic planning.
Knowing an organisation's strategic goals is essential for someone who works in HR, especially in recruitment and other HR activities. Otherwise, the HR employees cannot plan their work accordingly and cannot address on-time problems that may arise.
HR employees should be proactive, try to improve their daily tasks and share ideas with management on what can be improved in their area.
Some employees, when replying to a given assignment, try to respond by applying the same solution they have used before, even though this solution may not correspond, especially if the circumstances and cases are entirely different. The real problem here is that employees in an HR department also need to be creative – to “think out of the box” – as the best way to understand an employee's needs and identify the organisation's needs. HR work is still relevant despite changes, innovation and digitalisation, and HR professionals require creativity and an ability to see the broader picture.
If you work in HR, your genuine concern should be employees – human resources.
To help colleagues adapt to organisational culture, you should get to know them better and understand their needs and potential problems. Communication is a significant factor here, and to gain a bigger picture of the overall wellbeing of employees, you need to talk with all of them, address potential problems and try to improve matters.
Use indicators and metrics to follow up/monitor the data to know when something is wrong or indicates a potential problem in an area.
Performance indicators and metrics are the best way to follow up on data and eventual developments that are not as planned. For better visualisation of the data, use HR dashboards. This is the basis for strategic planning.
Don't always go with the first solution that you are presented with.
When problem-solving, try to delve deeper to see what the roots of the problem are; when you analyse it, you may discover that the problem doesn’t arise from the reason that is most expected and visible. This is strategic thinking! HR employees usually have a lot to do, are overwhelmed with work and choose solutions which come quickly, but this is part of the traditional approach. To be one step ahead, HR employees must think strategically and analyse different views and aspects that will lead to medium and long-term outcomes.
Always be creative and try new ways of doing things that will ultimately result in higher productivity.
For some, creativity means making something, but think of creativity more broadly. If you are creative in your daily work, you might find easy ways to do tasks, fix something, or find an internet tool that will make a report look better. In the long run, it will make your life and work easier.
Don't wait to be asked to do something; take the initiative and suggest to management if you have an idea on how to improve things.
Feel free to suggest ideas if you believe that you have excellent and relevant arguments. Remember: your ideas may be valuable for the organisation.
All these aspects are essential in performing the primary responsibilities of HR civil servants or HR employees in other organisations. They are beneficial for dealing with the whole recruitment process, improving your work and how you interact with colleagues and external partners. If you constantly analyse and think strategically, you can implement an organisational retention policy by understanding the needs of employees together with the interests of the organisation. Shifting from traditional to strategic ways of working and thinking will improve HR activities to be more qualitative, efficient and less time-consuming.
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(Image credit: Unsplash)
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