1 Discussion “We Live & Work Through Challenges" Human Resource Strategies

W1 Lecture 1 “Rewards, Challenges and Strategies with Human Resource Planning”

 

Human Resource Strategies

Rewards, Challenges and Strategies with Human Resource Planning

As you move along with this course, keep in mind that even as you are reading through this lecture material, things are changing for the better in the Human Resource Management field.  So as things change we must adjust and pave the way for change as well. This is an exciting moment as well as a moment when we need to get out of our “familiar comfort zones” and begin to emerge to what we want to be over the course of the next 5-10 years for a strong foothold on global HRM. Here are some things to remember and questions to entertain as we move along with this week’s topics and discussions:

· Where do I fit in the reward and challenges associated with Human Resource Management?

· How do I engage myself in embracing Strategy and Human Resource Planning?

Why are these important to ask of yourself? Namely, because we are all creatures of habit, and we like to do things that make us feel proud of ourselves.  Recently, I heard a dear associate of mine mentioning how she was “A seasoned HR Professional in a good place and wanted to stay where she was this point of her life”. I imagine I have similar sentiments as well, and that is why her statement resonates in my mind. Does this sound familiar to you? Or perhaps you are in a “progressive Human Resource Management environment, with all of the latest technically savvy advances and systems and would like to share Best Practices with others so that they can succeed in their organizations as well.  The Rewards and Challenges of Human Resource Management On top of the many challenges that many companies and organizations face, there is one factor that is high on the list; finding human capital. So while many organization are trying to figure out how to begin to find the talent, there are some companies that are on the winners list.  And the winners are:

· Whole Foods, they incorporate the empowerment factor, allowing employees to make good decisions locally good for all stakeholders involved. 

· Nordstrom employees are believers in empowerment, using the notion of heroics to satisfy their customers.

· Google opens the window of opportunities to develop innovation, like Gmail, for example. 

Human capital is known to be an intangible asset as employees own their own human capital. As a result, everyone should be perceived as talent. Strategic and Global Challenges What makes many of the biggest 500 companies remain in business? These companies are making it because they are adaptable. Ten to twenty years ago, the HRM roles was administrative-focused. Now Human Resource Professional realize that there needs a streamlining of strategies to improve costs, by downsizing-planned elimination of jobs, outsourcing-contracting outside of the organization outsourcing, and offshoring-sending job to other countries. Getting to know and understanding the firm competition is also part of the challenge.

There is a balance here that needs to be addressed. Companies must toggle with a balance of organizational changes and changes at the individual level. The question is how do HR professionals manage the changes?

Successful ones link the change to business strategy. There needs to be a demonstration of how the change creates quantifiable benefits.

The engagement of key employees, customers, and supplies early in the process is crucial when making changes. Companies make an investment in implementing and sustaining the change. Have you ever heard about management referring to issues and problems with putting out fires? I have heard this regularly in various organizations and it appears to be a buzzword when things seem to be fast paced and stressful. The problem with this method is that this is the reactive way in dealing with competition and the recession, for example. The alternative method is to engage in proactive measures to drive organizational business strategies. One method is to assign HR personnel to core business teams. That way they gain knowledge about what goes on from the business end. Rotating non-HR Managers into HR positions are also ways to cross train and understand the important of both roles. 

· HR professional are provided key business statistics and numbers to use to measure effectiveness.

· The HRM’ role is to provide advance to the CEO’s and strategic planners.

· There is another important role that is also important. Listening and advocating for employee, making sure their interests are aligned with those of the firm. 

Chapter 2-Strategy and Human Resource Planning As we embark on this chapter, just note this statement:  “You are not alone”. This is typically a phrase that is widely used to find a common ground, a connection , a recurring theme that means more to a great deal of people who are in trouble,  ill, or in a crisis of some sort, needing an intervention to facilitate a change in their lives.  These timely reactive measures that are sometimes associated with some of the above-listed issues are very appropriate at an individual level. However, these are not acceptable methods in the workplace when it comes to Strategy and HR Planning. In one of the lower level business courses, many of the student find it becoming to share without reservation this statement, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” As HR professional and practitioners, if we fail to have a success strategy, we plan to fail.

Now, is the time to have a success strategy and be proactive and anticipate and forecast the vision for organizations. The earlier days of pushing paperwork through exclusively, then proceeding to our next onboarding and orientation sessions are still relevant, only that much of the paperwork has gone digital and we receive emails or alerts that we need to update our benefits during Open Enrollment when our submission is not complete. We now have a workplace where HR planning and the firm’s mission links to strategy. We must understand that the external as well as the internal environmental affects organizations strategic HR planning and it success.