Implementation Stages for Strategic Human Resource Planning

1.       Assessing the current HR capacity

  • Develop a skills catalog for your employees so that you have a clear understanding of what your staff currently holds. This employee catalog should include everything from volunteer activities to certifications, of all degrees not just topics pertaining to their particular position.  These catalogs can be assessed to deem whether or not an employee is ready to add more responsibility, or to forecast the employee's future development plans.

2.       Forecasting HR requirements

  • This step includes projecting what the HR needs for the future will be based on the strategic goals of the organization. Keep in mind you will need to also accommodate for external challenges that can affect your organization.
  • Some questions to ask during this stage include:
    • Which jobs will need to be filled in the upcoming period?
    • What skill sets will people need?
    • How many staff will be required to meet the strategic goals of our organization?
    • Is the economy affecting our work and ability to appeal to new employees?
    • How is our community evolving or expected to change in the upcoming period?

3.       Gap analysis

  • During this step you will observe where your organization is currently, and where you want to be in the future.  You will identify things such as, the employee count, and the skills evaluation and compare it to what will be needed to achieve your future goal.  During this phase you should also review your current HR practices and identify what you are doing that is useful and what you can add, that will help you achieve your goal.
  • Questions to answer in this stage include:
    • What new jobs will we need?
    • What new skills will we need?
    • Do our present employees have the necessary skills?
    • Are employees currently aligned to their strengths?
    • Are current HR practices adequate to meet our future goal?

4.       Developing HR strategies to support the strategies of the organization.

  • There are 5 HR strategies that you can follow to meet your organizational goals.
    • Restructuring strategies
      • This includes reducing staff, regrouping tasks to create well-designed jobs, and reorganizing work groups to perform more efficiently.
    • Training and development strategies
      • This includes providing the current staff with training and development opportunities to encompass new roles in the organization
    • Recruitment Strategies
      • This includes recruiting new hires that already have the skills the organization will need in the future.
    • Outsourcing strategies
      • This includes outreaching to external individuals or organizations to complete certain tasks.
    • Collaboration Strategies.
      • This includes collaborating with other organizations to learn from how others do things, allow employees to gain skills and knowledge not previously available in their own organization.