August 1, 2011 - Are Your HR and Corporate Goals Aligned?
Written by Stephen Mihalik, Chief Revenue Officer
There is much discussion around the importance of optimizing our job efficiency. We all know that it’s always a lot easier said than done. Pursuit of such a lofty goal often pushes us outside of our comfort zone.
Why is that?
Usually, we are already working the best we can—assuming that is we knew a better way to produce efficiencies, we’d be doing so.
Lately, I have found myself drawn to this topic of strategy--specifically talent strategy. We all know that in order for a human resources department to be successful, a plan or strategy must be in place for them to succeed and this plan needs to be supported top down. Workforce and succession planning are necessary in human resources, but how well are we herding these strategies?
Are we aligning our HR goals with the company’s overall business goals? Are we truly being efficient?
Pairing company goals with HR goals is the first step in any strategic planning; and ultimately, better efficiency.
Here’s an easy example.
Business Goal: Going green; promoting corporate social responsibility
HR Goal: Reducing paper volumes associated with job applications
Strategy: Eliminate the paper in the recruiting, hiring and onboarding process.
Action: Utilize an online resume tool to parse and store all resume information for your company and install onsite kiosks to eliminate the paper associated with “walk-in applicants”
Applying this action to all HR processes such as applicant screening, I9 management and onboarding is an effective measure toward the organizations greater business goal.. It doesn’t have to be a complicated process or a stress-inducing task. The principles are simple. More companies are leveraging applicant tracking systems to streamline and develop their recruiting and hiring process; and thus, efficiency.
“Lean Methodology” to identify and eliminate unnecessary steps in the hiring process is a good and necessary adjunct to this process Without a method of continuous improvement, it’s very easy to go back to the old ways—especially when the organization is under pressure.
By creating a strategic HR plan, preparing for the future is easy. Align HR goals and Company goals. Implement a process improvement plan. Efficiencies happen—and they not only stay but get better.