Workplace of Choice

On a day to day basis, does everything seem to run relatively smoothly at your organization or do you feel like you're constantly putting out employee related fires?  Your answer to that question may vary based on your organization's Human Resources Strategy.  In short, your HR Strategy is your approach to how you treat your employees and will affect your strategic thinking for the business as a whole. There isn't a one-size-fits-all and your HR strategy may change as the business evolves. 

Although one organization's strategy may be vastly different from another's, in determining your HR Strategy, consider the following:

• Compensation - Where do your employee's salaries fall with respect to the marketplace?  Do you pay at the 50^th percentile, higher or lower and why? What is your philosophy on salary increases?  Does incentive pay play a significant role in compensation?  You should be able to effectively articulate to your employees your compensation philosophy, the salary guidelines and practice it on a regular basis.
• Employee Benefits - Do you offer premier benefits to your employees or just enough to stay competitive with other companies in your space?  Employee benefits may include time off, medical, dental, life insurance, disability, tuition reimbursement and other fringe benefits such as commuting reimbursement or concierge services.
• Communication - Developing a plan for employee communication is vital to employee morale and will also affect your corporate culture.  How do you want to disseminate information?  What is going to be most effective based on the company size, locations, and hours of operation?
• Training & Development - What is the value you place on training and development and at what expense?  Training can come in the form of tuition reimbursement, on-site training, on-the-job training, succession planning and many other formats.  How much money and time are you willing to spend?
• Recruiting - Developing a recruitment philosophy that supports your HR Strategy will help ensure that new employees are on the same page with your goals and objectives. The on-boarding process is another consideration you'll want to think about.
• Work Environment - What sort of workplace have you created? Highly-structured with limited flexibility?  More casual with greater freedom for employees to work as they like as long as the job gets done?  Planned time for fun to relieve stress and to show appreciation for a commitment to the business?

In short, does your HR Strategy enable your organization to hire and to keep the talent it needs to achieve the goals of the business?

Ultimately the value you place on your human resources (i.e. your employees) may dictate the success of your business, so understanding and living your strategy is essential.