The progression of the HR discipline has transitioned from an administrative function to one that is now a strategic partner.
When is human resource management strategic?
There is an increasing concern of HR being isolated from business goals and becoming more of a support and ‘’nice to have’’ function, rather than being an integral one to your organization. There is also an increasing requirement felt across sectors of HR for improving productivity to achieve a competitive edge – this therefore led to sSrategic Human Resources Management (SHRM) coming into existence.
Strategic Human Resource Management is defined as the alignment of strategic business goals with human resources. Why? In order to drive innovation and improve motivation, satisfaction, productivity, and subsequently overall performance. A relatively new term, Strategic HRM differentiates itself from traditional HRM which was merely an organisational function. SHRM involves people management geared towards matching the human resources with future organisational needs.
The strategic role of human resource management is to support businesses to better understand and meet the needs of their employees. While simultaneously promoting company goals, it adds value by developing and maintaining a workforce that is high performing, engaged, flexible and agile towards change.
How to make HRM strategically effective
Firstly there must be alignment and strong cooperation between the executive team and the HR function. There must be a mutual commitment between management and their employees where they treat the employees as their partners in the business, instead of just employees. That’s how senior management can improve performance – by focusing on improving key skills such as productivity, growth and development of its people with HR. HR must also play a vital role as a strategic partner when organizational policies are designed and implemented, instead of being just management-led. Tangible ways of demonstrating SHRM can be done through a diverse range of activities such as recruitment, training and development and reward, to name a few!
Organizations are more likely to be successful when all teams are aligned. SHRM carries out analysis of employees and determines the actions required to increase their value to the company. Strategic human resource management also uses the results of this analysis to develop HR techniques to improve employee development.
The following are benefits of strategic human resource management:
- Increased job satisfaction
- Enhanced work culture
- Higher customer satisfaction rates
- Efficient resource optimization and employee productivity
- A proactive approach to managing employees
In summary, why is Strategic Human Resource Management important? SHRM is the foundation of a strong business because, when properly applied, it makes sure that the entire organization is working together to reach its goals. As a result, this gives the business a greater chance to succeed!
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