UNIVERSITY OF MINDANAO

PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS
Matina, Davao City

Strategic Human Resource Management – The Value of Planning

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements in MBA 200
Human Resource Management

Submitted to:
Prof. Joel Tan

Prepared by:
Zeon Lorico

October 2019
Background of the Study

James stumbled into his position as the human resource manager. He had
been working for Techno, Inc. for three years, and when the company grew, James
moved from a management position into a human resource management position.
Techno, Inc. is a technology and software consulting company for the music industry.

James didn’t have a good handle on how to effectively run a human resources
(HR) department, so for much of the time he tried to figure it out as he went. When
Techno started seeing rapid growth, he hired thirty people within a one-month period
to meet the demand. Proud of his ability to accomplish his task of meeting the
business’s current needs, James was rather pleased with himself. He had spent
numerous hours mulling over recruitment strategies, putting together excellent
compensation plans, and then eventually sifting through résumés as a small part of
the hiring process. Now the organization had the right number of people needed to
carry out its projects.

Fast forward five months, however, and it turned out the rapid growth was only
temporary. James met with the executives of the business who told him the contracts
they had acquired were finished, and there wasn’t enough new work coming in to make
payroll next month if they didn’t let some people go. James felt frustrated because he
had gone through so much effort to hire people, and now they would be laid off. Never
mind the costs of hiring and training his department had taken on to make this happen.
As James sat with the executives to determine who should be laid off, he felt sad for
the people who had given up other jobs just five months before, only to be laid off.

After the meeting, James reflected on this situation and realized that if he had
spoken with the executives of the company sooner, they would have shared
information on the duration of the contracts, and he likely would have hired people
differently, perhaps on a contract basis rather than on a full-time basis. He also
considered the fact that the organization could have hired an outsourcing company to
recruit workers for him. As Jason mulled this over, he realized that he needed a
strategic plan to make sure his department was meeting the needs of the organization.
He vowed to work with the company executives to find out more about the company’s
strategic plan and then develop a human resource management (HRM) strategic plan
to make sure Techno, Inc. has the right number of workers with the right skills, at the
right time in the future.
Reflection/Insight

Strategic human resource management is the practice of attracting,

developing, rewarding, and retaining employees for the benefit of both the employees
as individuals and the organization as a whole. HR departments that practice strategic
human resource management do not work independently within a silo; they interact
with other departments within an organization in order to understand their goals and
then create strategies that align with those objectives, as well as those of the
organization. As a result, the goals of a human resource department reflect and
support the goals of the rest of the organization. Strategic HRM is seen as a partner in
organizational success, as opposed to a necessity for legal compliance or
compensation. Strategic HRM utilizes the talent and opportunity within the human
resources department to make other departments stronger and more effective.

As for the case, James did his best for the company’s goal. He hired employees
who are relevantly helpful in response to the needs of the company thus it’s an
accomplishment on both parties. However, as soon as he discovered that the
employees he have hired are only temporary and they will be forced to leave the
company regardless of how they have helped achieving the goal of the company.
James felt that he is an incompetent Human Resource Manager because he didn’t
know that he wasted competent employees with the executive’s decision. He could
have known earlier what are the grounds of the employment, and the terms and
conditions enclosed on their employee’s contracts. James might have limited the
employees to hire and won’t mind their qualifications because he only needs those
who are capable enough in attaining the goals of the company in a short span of time.

James, as a Human Resource Manager strategically develops its plans for

recruitment, training, and compensation based on the goals of the organization, it is
ensuring a greater chance of organizational success. The closer the alignment
between James and the organization's overall business strategy, the better the
company's ability to anticipate and respond to customer needs and to maintain
competitive advantage. Rigorous research, planning and development involving
workforce culture, behaviours and competencies promote the successful execution of
business strategy.
Recommendation

Companies are more likely to be successful when all teams are working
towards the same objectives. Strategic HR carries out analysis of employees and
determines the actions required to increase their value to the company. Strategic
human resource management also uses the results of this analysis to develop HR
techniques to address employee weaknesses. There are benefits of Strategic Human
Resource Management and that include (1) Increased Job Satisfaction, (2) Better
Work Culture, (3) Improved Rates of Customer Satisfaction, (4) Efficient Resource
Management, (5) A Proactive Approach to Managing Employees, and (6) Boost
Productivity.

Strategic Human Resource Management is a key for the retention and

development of quality staff. It’s likely that employees will feel valued and want to stay
with a company that places a premium on employee retention and engagement. Before
you implement strategic human resource management, you will need to create a
strategic HR planning process using the steps mentioned below.

1. Develop a thorough understanding of your company’s objectives.

Since the success of strategic HR is dependent on how well it links to your

company’s goals, you need to have a thorough understanding of your aims, objectives,
and mission. You’ll need to be able to articulate both your short and long-term plans
for growth to the relevant HR personnel. Ensuring clear communication of your
company’s goals will make it easier for HR personnel to formulate an effective resource
management strategy.

2. Evaluate your HR capability.

Evaluating your current HR capabilities will enable you to understand the

employees you have and how they contribute to fulfilling your goals and objectives.
Additionally, you should also undertake a skills inventory for every employee. Skills
inventories help you to discover which employees are experts in particular areas.

It also helps you to identify the employees who have an interest in being trained
in a particular aspect of your company. A great time to asses’ skills is during a
performance review.

3. Analyze your current HR capacity in light of your goals.

An assessment of your HR capacity will help you to recognize barriers and

implement a plan of action to capitalize on opportunities and effectively deal with
threats. Strategic HR personnel will analyze the number of employees as well as their
skills and will work with senior leadership to identify ways to better equip employees to
serve the needs of your company.

4. Estimate your company’s future HR requirements.

After an analysis of your company’s employees and skills has been done in relation
to your objectives, it’s time to forecast your HR needs. The forecast should be done in
relation to:

 Demand – A prediction needs to be made in relation to the number of

employees with the associated skills that will be required in order for your
company’s future needs to be met.
 Supply – Looks at the employees and skills that are currently available to help
your company achieve its strategic goals.

Forecasting your company’s future HR requirements also determines the following:

 New jobs and roles required to secure the future of the company.
 Skills required by current employees to undertake the responsibilities of new
jobs and roles.
 Whether your employees’ expertise are being sufficiently utilized.
 Whether current HR personnel and practices can accommodate the company’s
growth.

5. Determine the tools required for employees to complete the job.

HR personnel need to liaise with the appropriate departments to find out how
the tools used by employees impact on their ability to perform their roles. For example,
an audit of hardware and software can be undertaken jointly with the I.T department to
identify gaps in tools that will facilitate a more organized workforce.

For example, where a company employs hourly staff, it’s crucial to utilize workforce
management software. This software manages important HR functions such as
scheduling, holiday entitlement, and sick leave management.

6. Implement the human resource management strategy.

After the analysis and forecast of your company’s HR requirements have been
completed, it’s time to start the process of expanding your workforce and developing
current workers to equip your company for future growth. You can achieve the
implementation of your human resource management strategy by doing the following:

 Start with the recruitment stage – At this point, HR professionals begin

searching for candidates who possess skills that have been identified during
the HR strategic planning process.
 Organize a selection process – Interviews and other selection criteria take
place at this time. Interview questions such as “what are your salary
requirements?” and relevant tests will be used to assess whether the candidate
is suitable to carry out the role.
 Begin hiring applicants – Your company will make the candidate a job offer
after all appropriate checks have been carried out.
 Design on boarding and training – Employee On boarding is a key determining
factor as to whether an employee remains with a company. A comprehensive
on boarding and training package must be put in place to increase employee
retention.

7. Evaluation and corrective action.

HR personnel should decide on a timeline to carry out a strategic HR

management review. This review will track the progress made and also identify areas
for improvement. The review should be measured against whether changes are
helping your company to achieve their goals. Corrective action must be taken if
strategic human resource management is failing to meet its objectives.

References

Developing and Implementing Strategic HRM Plans. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_human-resource-management/s06-developing-
and-implementing-
st.html?fbclid=IwAR0jN1ig5jpuzbmHJN_KhkKwbjqJFV65FDDcRYPWZ0h5La3NaLqh
DGEBjeI

7 Key Steps: Strategic Human Resource Management. (2019, September 17).

Retrieved from https://www.deputy.com/blog/7-steps-to-strategic-human-resource-
management