5 Steps to Strategic HR Management

Also known as analytical human resources management, strategic HR uses the collection and analysis of key workforce data and statistics to build relevant organizational strategies. All business decisions are therefore supported by clear HR KPIs, which allow for the optimization of human resources management in your company.

Workforce analytics are becoming increasingly important for organizations wishing to ensure their success in an increasingly competitive and flexible working world. And for good reason: making better, evidence-based strategic decisions is the key to long-term organizational health. Indeed, the ability to make quick and relevant strategic choices allows you to stay on track in an environment where everything is changing more and more rapidly.

Here are some concrete examples of the benefits of strategic HR management:

• Optimization of retention rates;
• Better talent management and staffing levels;
• Improved business performance results;
• Global vision of your organization’s health over time;
• Ability to act proactively and quickly resolve internal issues.

As you can see, the benefits of human resources analytical management are numerous and crucial for your company. If you follow the essential steps for efficient strategic management, you will be sure to succeed!

Before choosing the indicators that you will use for your analysis, you must establish your main HR goals for the coming or current year. Afterwards, you can determine which KPIs are most relevant to your context. Betting on everything rarely gets you anywhere, and it’s best to set a clear goal so you don’t get lost in data that isn’t directly relevant to your organizational reality. Therefore, clearly define your key indicators according to the impact they will have in achieving your business strategy.

For example, suppose your most important issue is related to employee retention. In that case, your analytical management will focus primarily on your organization’s employee turnover and retention rates, with specific attention for voluntary turnover rate.

In short, the first step of your strategic management is to establish a clear plan of your objectives and the means you will use to reach them: determine which processes and which indicators will allow you to make the best decisions and analysis.

Take the time to pick the tool to obtain the indicators needed to establish your HR strategy. There are several ways to collect employee data.

However, the usual Excel files are incompatible with efficient and relevant HR analytical management. They result in loss of information, multiple data entries, a significant waste of time daily, and create an administrative burden that will discourage employees.

In the long run, you would be wise to turn to the automation of your analytical processes, which will help you save time and gain efficiency every day. HR technology is your best ally for HR analytics, offering KPI features and global visibility with the possibility to refine your search by period of time or employee category.

Choosing an HRIS will therefore prevent organizational headaches and optimize your strategic human resources management!

Centralizing HR information is crucial to the success of your strategic management. First and foremost, it represents a way to save on your system costs by using a single platform. Furthermore, it is also the best tactic for gaining greater visibility into your metrics, effectively controlling different accesses to key information, avoiding duplicate data, and obtaining a global view and optimal analysis.

How do you go about centralizing HR information within your organization? First of all, it is essential to identify your current needs and to project yourself into the future in terms of organizational objectives. Then, you will have to evaluate different options (HR management software, HR database…) and determine which one best suits your reality.

Our advice is to centralize your HR information as soon as possible. For optimal analytical management, it is always better to work with a well-stocked database built up over several years of information collection.

Folks HR offers many integration possibilities with other solutions to centralize your information efficiently. In addition, your HR dashboard will provide you with a global view of your performance indicators.

Still not convinced? Read our HRIS case study here.

To effectively analyze the data you collect, make connections between your issues and the indicators you use. Start with the basics before beginning a more in-depth study, and determine how much your current situation needs to be improved to reach the goals you have set.

Do not hesitate to compare the rates collected between groups (job types, departments or teams…) to perform an in-depth analysis and identify on which issues and employees to focus your HR strategy.

By thoroughly analyzing your data, you can quickly determine which indicator you need to work on –turnover or absenteeism rates, for example – and therefore save time and efficiency in your decision-making!

Now that you have all the tools and data you need to make the best strategic decisions for your company, you still need to present them concisely and powerfully to solidify your HR projects. Here is a short checklist of points not to miss when preparing your HR reporting:

• Who is the presentation for? (administration, managers, shareholders, strategic partners)
• Which indicators should be highlighted (which are the most relevant to achieve your objectives)
• How to use these indicators? (concrete decisions, how often will you use this analytical data)
• What form will your presentation take? (what type of graph, diagram)

Answering all these questions beforehand will allow you to refine your HR reports so that they are both adapted to your audience and striking in the facts and visuals put forward.

By following these 5 essential steps, you will quickly become a pro at HR analytics! Data-driven decisions will no longer hold any secrets for you, and your impressions will finally be supported by performance indicators for the establishment of ever more relevant strategic projects. In addition, managers and executives alike will appreciate obtaining a quantified analysis of organizational health, and all your management processes will be optimized.

In short, strategic HR management is a must for business success, and an essential asset for all human resources professionals!

Do you want to get started with HR analytics and centralize your information? For more visibility on your company’s organizational health, Folks HR management software includes a dashboard to analyze all performance indicators in a matter of seconds!

This article is based on a workshop given by Simon Duchesneau, Senior Human Resources Consultant at Perreault & Associés.

For more information or for guidance in your reflections, do not hesitate to contact him!

sduchesneau@perreaultsassocies.com | LinkedIn