The Second Step To Great Management
More and more companies are asking HR people to be strategic thinkers and planners which brings me to my next step for great management:
Effective Business Planning
Every business and function (including Human Resources) should have a business plan that is a living, breathing thing that is kept in the forefront of everyone concerned. I worked for a CEO who reviewed the progress against the key indicators from the annual plan at the weekly staff meeting. We had charts on every important metric – sales, shipments, production, hiring, etc. We also had a three year plan that we reviewed progress at each quarterly meeting.
Most importantly, there should be as much participation within the organization as possible to develop the business plan so you have total ownership. The Plan should be more than numbers; it should be the documentation of an exciting journey towards the vision of the organization.
My favorite business plan model includes these sections:
Executive Summary – A one page synopsis of the plan
A list of stakeholders
External Trends – financial climate, industry trends, marketing stats, etc. (for Human Resources these could include workforce availability numbers, government pending legislation)
Present State – where are we now (includes metrics)
Desired State – where we want to be (includes metrics)
Our Vision and our Mission
SWOT – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats
Execution of the Plan – Actions
Next, I will describe, in more detail, a Human Resource Business Plan model.
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