Growing a successful business is all about having the right strategy. Most leaders know this, which is why they pour so much energy into crafting the ideal market-facing strategy.
But your internal strategy is just as important. You need to think about how to balance your finances, how to be efficient, and how to build a great team that can deliver success. In other words, you need an HR strategy.
Creating an HR strategy isn’t easy. It's a job for people with lots of HR expertise, who know how to attract, engage, and retain great talent. That’s why it’s often a good idea to form an HR partnership with a Strategic HR consultant.
What is Strategic HR?
Strategic Human Resources is all about planning for your team’s future and ensuring that your business always has the talent you need. Strategic HR is often the responsibility of the HR Director or Chief Human Resources Office (CHRO), and their remit covers things like:
- Resource planning: If your long-term strategy is to grow, then the Strategic HR leader will need to plan recruitment and onboarding. They will also plan for voluntary turnover (such as retirement) and manage employee retention.
- Labor cost management: Labor is the biggest cost center for most organizations. The strategic HR leader will help develop a salary structure that is sustainable, but also attractive to new candidates.
- Mission alignment: Can your team deliver your long-term business goals? Your Strategic HR leader will work to ensure you have the right people with the right mix of skills, giving you a vital competitive advantage.
Your success depends on your ability to deliver your people strategy. A Strategic HR leader helps put that plan into action so that you always have a winning team.
What can a Human Resources partnership do for your business?
The problem for many companies is this: you just don’t have someone who can be your strategic HR leader. And you need someone now.
Strategic HR Outsourcing can be an attractive option in this scenario. You can bring in someone with extensive industry experience, and they can get started immediately. Best of all, they can work on a flexible arrangement that suits your needs.
So, what can a strategic HR consultant deliver for your business? Here are a few of the ways in which our consultants help our clients.
Organizational Development
Many organizations look for a Strategic HR consultant when they’re having problems with human capital management, such as high employee turnover or lengthy time-to-hire. A consultant will cast an objective eye over your existing processes, such as talent strategy and organizational culture, and they will help you identify the areas in which you can improve.
Then, they’ll work with your team to develop new processes that support your long-term goals. They will put metrics in place to monitor things like employee engagement, and they will help train your HR team on current best practices.
HR alignment
The HR function can help you turn business strategy into action. They do this with a strategic HR plan involving hiring, training, and developing the right people to deliver your business goals and improve your bottom line.
Sometimes, organizations can drift off-course, or develop a culture that doesn’t align with your goals. A Strategic HR consultant can help to identify these structural problems and implement solutions that will get the whole team pulling in the right direction.
Executive Recruitment
Executive-level talent is not easy to find, and putting the wrong person in your C-Suite can lead to disaster. You’ll need guidance from an HR professional who knows how to find an executive that aligns with your vision and fits your culture.
A Strategic HR consultant can help guide you through the challenges of hiring a new executive, or even a new CEO. They’ll help you find talent, put together an appropriate screening process, and ensure all stakeholders are heard. Your consultant will also help put together an enticing offer to your chosen candidate and guide them through the onboarding process.
Leadership Development and Coaching
Leaders are employees too. Like all employees, they have professional development needs, and the HR can help them grow. The difference is that leaders often require very unique training—including high-level performance management and leadership coaching.
Strategic HR consultants can help build a program of training initiatives that meets the needs of individual leaders. Your executives will get the coaching they need to support their department’s culture and help their team deliver its goals.
Workforce Planning
Workforce planning is a very challenging job. Not only do you have to predict future growth, but you also have to predict certain other variables. For example, will automation mean that you need fewer people? Or will your customers require a human touch, meaning that you need more client-facing team members?
Strategic HR consultants are experienced in the art of demand planning. They will model the available data and create functional estimates for your hiring needs in the coming years. They will also help you identify potential pitfalls and obstacles, such as a need for hard-to-find experts on your team.
Employer Branding
Recruitment strategy is an important part of HR success, and employer branding is a vital element of that strategy. Your employer brand defines your relationship with potential candidates. Build a great brand, and they will beg you to hire them.
A positive employer brand doesn’t happen by accident. It requires careful strategic planning, which is something your consultant can do for you. They will also use technology to build ongoing relationships with candidates so that you have a pool of talent to draw from when you’re next hiring.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
DE&I is an essential consideration for every employer today. You are legally obligated to treat people equally (and you may face lawsuits if you don’t). On top of that, candidates are highly aware of which companies are inclusive, with nearly half of Gen Z candidates saying they would turn down an employer if they had a poor DE&I record.
Your strategic HR outsourcing consultant can help you create a truly inclusive culture. They’ll look at DE&I as it affects each part of your business, from hiring to Total Rewards to having a respectful work environment. Your consultant will also help you gather DE&I data so that you know you’re a truly inclusive employer.
Let’s start our HR partnership!
Helios HR has supported businesses in the greater D.C. area for over 20 years. Our strategic HR consultants have worked in every environment, and they know how to deliver long-term success.
Want some help executing your HR strategy? Book a consultation call with Helios HR today, and let’s talk about our HR partnership.
