Definition of HR Strategy

 “ A HR Strategy expresses the intentions

of the corporation both explicit and covert
toward the management of its employees,
expressed through philosophies, policies
and practices”

(Tyson, 1995)

HR Strategy 1
 The Basic Contents of a HR
Strategy

 Aims

 Critical success factors

 Performance indicators

 Action / implementation plan

(Armstrong, 2006)
HR Strategy 2
 Relationships between
Organisational and HR strategy
Organisational Separation HR
strategy strategy

Organisational Fit HR
strategy strategy

Dialogue
Organisational HR
strategy strategy

HR Strategy 3
 Relationships between Organisational
and HR strategy

Organisational
HR
strategy
strategy Holistic

HR Driven
Organisational HR
strategy strategy

(Torrington, Hall &Taylor, 2005)

HR Strategy 4
 Exercise
 Compare the approach taken towards
relating Business Strategy with HR
strategy within your own organisation
based on Torrington, Hall and Taylor’s
model.
 Produce some supporting evidence to
back up your views.

HR Strategy 5
What are some strategic questions and issues that
HR professionals may need to ask?
 Should we outsource all our recruitment or keep it
in-house?

 What are the staffing implications of our business

strategy for each occupation and department over
the next few years? Where will we need to
increase staff numbers and where will we need to
make redundancies?

 What length of stay (tenure) do we regard as

acceptable for new staff at different levels? How
are existing employee lengths of tenure related to
our selection decisions and methods?

HR Strategy 6
What are some strategic questions and issues that
HR professionals may need to ask?

 What are the implications of our new ‘customer

first’ strategy for selection, performance appraisal
and management, reward and pay systems and
staff training? What changes should we make to
these practices to help the organization improve
the way staff at all levels deal with customer
care?

HR Strategy 7
What are some strategic questions and issues that
HR professionals may need to ask ?

 We know that in some areas of the business we

need to greatly improve the competency levels of
the workforce over the next few years but should
we recruit people with these higher level skills
from outside the company and manage the
performance of the existing workforce more
tightly or alternatively should we simply try and
train our existing workforce so they attain higher
level skills?
 What will the impact of either approach be on our
pay systems and on motivation?

HR Strategy 8
 Exercise
 What are 3 strategic issues of importance
to your own organisation currently?

 Why are they vital to the organisation?

HR Strategy 9
 ‘Being strategic’ in HR may
involve:
 Knowing the Business strategy and key
goals

 Developing HR critical success factors

based on this

 Knowing the core business competences

and how HR can support these

 Assessing the most appropriate attitudes

and behaviours needed

HR Strategy 10
 Being strategic’ in HR may
involve:

 Conducting SWOT analysis on HR

issues stemming from the business
plan

 Taking account of environmental

issues (ie political, economic, legal
etc)

 Developing Action Plans for the

implementation of a HR Strategy
HR Strategy 11
 Different approaches to HR
Strategy
 Best Practice

 Best fit

 The Resource based View ( RBV)

HR Strategy 12
 The meaning of Vertical and
Horizontal Integration
 Vertical Integration = clear links between the HR
strategy and the business plan
Therefore different business plans call for different
HR strategies

 Horizontal Integration = the need for all the

main HR policies to be consistent in the way
they influence employee attitudes and
behaviour
Therefore the aims and effects of policies must be
monitored

HR Strategy 13
 Barriers and Blockages
 One aspect of strategic HRM is developing
a Strategy that will help the organisation
succeed, however an area that is often
overlooked with fatal consequences is the
implementation of the strategy.

 There can be numerous barriers and

blockages and an effective strategy should
have a plan for overcoming these within it

HR Strategy 14
 Exercise - Barriers and Blockages
 Examples of barriers are:
 A lack of reward for implementing parts of the strategy
 Ignorance of strategic aims
 Low status of the HR function
 Trade union opposition
 EXERCISE

 What do you believe some of the other main

barriers can be ? For each barrier you identify
discuss how it can be overcome.
HR Strategy 15