HR’s Strategic Roles

II.         HR’s Strategic Roles

            A.   Introduction

                  1.   HR is increasingly assuming more strategic planning responsibilities and involvement in the process.  Among their contribution to strategic planning are identification of human issues that are vital to the business strategic, helping to establish and execute strategy, and forecast potential obstacles to success.  HR Managers can provide alternative insights and are centrally involved in creating responsive and market driven organizations.

2.   In order to play this role, HR managers need an in-depth understanding of the value creating proposition of the firm.

            B.   HR’s Strategy Execution Role

Strategy execution is traditionally the heart of the HR manager’s strategic planning job.  The company’s HR strategies should flow directly from its company-wide and competitive strategies. 

C.    HR’s Strategy Formulation Role

              

1.     HR increasingly plays an expanded strategic planning role, to include working with top management to formulate the company’s strategic plans.  Formulating a company’s strategic plan requires identifying, analyzing, and balancing the company’s external opportunities and threats on the one hand and its internal strengths and weaknesses on the other.

2.     HR Management is in a unique position to supply competitive intelligence that may be useful in the strategic planning process, such as competitors’ incentive plans, pending legislation, and the company’s internal human strengths and weaknesses.

3.     By working closely with top management, HR is able to build a persuasive case through a strategy oriented HR system to shows how the firm’s HR activities contribute to creating value for the company.