Manage human resources strategic planning 2
strategic planning
Assessment_Task_1
BSBHRM602 Manage human resources strategic planning
BSBHRM602 Manage human resources strategic planning – Assessment 1 LAST UPDATED: Version No. 1
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Assessment 01: Research planning requirements; Develop and Implement human resource strategic plan (Project)
Submission details
The Assessment Task is due on the date specified by your trainer. Any variations to this arrangement
must be approved in writing by your trainer.
Submit this document with any required evidence attached. See specifications below
for details.
You must submit both soft copies and printed copies of your answers.
Soft copies-
Upload on the eLearning to the specific submission folder with a cover page clearly indicating your
name, student id, assessment no and the unit name or put those information in the header and
footer of your documents.
Printed copies-
Submit to your Trainer with the “Assessment Cover Sheet” (Filled out and signed appropriately)
attached on top of your documents.
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Assessment description
This Assessment will verify the skills and knowledge of the learners to required to develop, implement and maintain a strategic approach to managing human resources in an organisation ensuring that the organisation has the structure and staff to meet current and foreseeable business and performance objectives.
This assessment requires observation / practical demonstration which can be done either in a simulated work environment set by the trainer or in a real workplace environment. Third party evidence must be provided if the observation / demonstration has been done in student’s real workplace environment. Please refer to Observation/Demonstration Checklist and Third Party Checklist & Evidence provided for this assessment.
Procedure
This is a group assessment.
Identify a workgroup in your organisation or simulated work environment, agreed to and arranged with your assessor and answer the tasks given below –
Tasks
Activity 1A
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to analyse strategic plans to determine human resource strategic direction, objectives and targets.
Activity Why is it important to have a human resources (HR) strategic plan? What information do you need in order to determine the HR strategic plan? Why is it important to have clear and specific HR strategic objectives?
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Give an example of a clear and specific HR strategic objective.
Activity 1B
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to undertake additional environmental analysis to identify emerging practices and trends that may impact on human resources management in the organisation.
Activity Why is it important to undertake additional environmental analysis when developing the HR strategic plan?
Identify an organisation with which you are familiar. This may be your own organisation or another that you and the group are familiar with. Conduct a short PESTLE analysis, identifying at least five relevant factors in each of the PESTLE categories.
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Activity 1C
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to identify future labour needs, skill requirements and options for sourcing labour supply.
Activity What are the key questions you need to consider when assessing the organisation’s future labour needs?
What are the possible sources of labour supply?
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Activity 1D
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to consider new technology and its impact on job roles and job design.
Activity What potential impact could new technology have on job roles and job design?
Think about a technological change that has taken place in your organisation or sector in the past. From an HR strategic planning point of view, what worked well and what were the lessons learned from this experience? How does this inform your current strategic planning activity?
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Activity 1E
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to review recent and potential changes to industrial and legal requirements.
Activity Identify a forthcoming change in employment legislation. What are the implications of this for an organisation?
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Activity 2A
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to consult relevant managers about their human resources preferences.
Activity Why is it important to engage managers in discussions about their HR preferences, philosophies, values and policies? What methods can be used to consult with managers?
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Activity 2B
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to agree on human resources philosophies, values and policies with relevant managers.
Activity Imagine that you are planning a consultation meeting with a group of managers in your organisation, the purpose of which is to establish their views about the organisation’s values and HR philosophy. Create an outline agenda for this meeting.
Activity 2C
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to develop strategic objectives and targets for human resources services.
Activity What is the purpose of strategic objectives and targets for HR services?
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Imagine that you are the HR Manager of a small manufacturing organisation which employs 55 employees in a variety of production, warehousing, administration, sales and management roles. The organisation has ambitious plans for expansion, aiming to double its turnover within the next five years. What would be the key HR priorities for this organisation? For one of the priorities, draft a potential strategic objective.
Activity 2D
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to examine options for the provision of human resources services and analyse costs and benefits.
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Activity Why is it important to examine options for the provision of HR services? What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with each of the following options?
Advantages Disadvantages
External consultant
Outsourcing
Internal HR service
Internal non-human HR service
Merging business units
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Activity 2E
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to identify appropriate technology and systems to support agreed human resources programs and practices.
Activity Give three examples of technology and systems which can be used to support HR programs and practices. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
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Activity 2F
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to write strategic human resources plan and obtain senior management support for the plan.
Activity Why is it important to obtain senior management support for the strategic HR plan? What steps can be taken to enlist senior management support for the strategic HR plan?
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Activity 2G
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to develop risk management plans to support the strategic human resources plan.
Activity What factors might pose a risk to the strategic HR plan? How can risk to the implementation of the HR plan be minimised?
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Activity 3A
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to work with others to see that the plan is implemented.
Activity Who may be involved in the implementation of the strategic HR plan? Imagine that your strategic HR plan includes an action for a manager to lead a working party to explore different options for employee benefits. They have volunteered for this as part of their ongoing professional development. You are meeting with them to brief them on their role. Draft an outline agenda for this meeting, highlighting the key items that you would want to discuss with this person.
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Activity 3B
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to monitor and review the plan.
Activity Why is it important to monitor and review the implementation of the strategic HR plan? What steps can you take to monitor and review the plan?
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Activity 3C
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to adapt plan should circumstances change.
Activity What changes in circumstances have you encountered which have affected the implementation of strategic HR plans? What action can be taken if circumstances change during the implementation of the plan?
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Activity 3D
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to evaluate and review performance against plan objectives.
Activity Why is it important to evaluate and review performance against the plan objectives? What types of data might you review in order to evaluate performance against objectives?
BSBHRM602
Manage human resources strategic planning
Learner Guide
BSBHRM602 Manage human resources strategic planning – Learner Guide LASTUPDATED: May 2016, Version No. 1
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BSBHRM602 Manage human resources strategic planning
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Performance Criteria ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5
Foundation Skills …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
This section describes language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills incorporated in the
performance criteria that are required for competent performance. ………………………………………… 6
Performance Evidence ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
Knowledge Evidence ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
Housekeeping Items…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
Objectives ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
1. Research planning requirements ……………………………………………………………………………………. 11
1.1 – Analyse strategic plans to determine human resource strategic direction, objectives and targets
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
Human resources strategic planning ……………………………………………………………………………………. 12
Learning Task One ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14
Activity 1A ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15
1.2 – Undertake additional environmental analysis to identify emerging practices and trends that may
impact on human resources management in the organisation……………………………………………………. 16
Environmental analysis ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
PESTLE ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 16
Conducting a PESTLE analysis ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 19
Emerging practices and trends ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 20
Learning Task Two ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
Activity 1B ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 22
1.3 – Identify future labour needs, skill requirements and options for sourcing labour supply ………… 23
Future labour needs and skill requirements ………………………………………………………………………….. 23
Employing a range of recruitment options ……………………………………………………………………………. 25
Learning Task Three …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26
Activity 1C ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 27
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1.4 – Consider new technology and its impact on job roles and job design ………………………………….. 28
Technology ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 28
Learning Task Four …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 29
Activity 1D ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 30
1.5 – Review recent and potential changes to industrial and legal requirements ………………………….. 31
Industrial and legal requirements ………………………………………………………………………………………… 31
Learning Task Five ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 33
Activity 1E…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34
2. Develop human resources strategic plan ………………………………………………………………………….. 35
2.1 – Consult relevant managers about their human resources preferences ………………………………… 36
Consulting with managers ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 36
Learning Task Six ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 38
Activity 2A ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 39
2.2 – Agree on human resources philosophies, values and policies with relevant managers ………….. 40
Agreeing HR philosophies, values and policies ………………………………………………………………………. 40
Learning Task Seven …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 41
Activity 2B ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 42
2.3 – Develop strategic objectives and targets for human resources services ……………………………….. 43
Developing objective and targets ………………………………………………………………………………………… 43
Learning Task Eight ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 48
Activity 2C ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 49
2.4 – Examine options for the provision of human resources services and analyse costs and benefits 50
Options for the provision of HR services ………………………………………………………………………………. 50
Cost/benefit analysis ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 53
Learning Task Nine …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 56
Activity 2D ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 57
2.5 – Identify appropriate technology and systems to support agreed human resources programs and
practices ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 58
Learning Task Ten ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 59
Activity 2E…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 60
2.6 – Write strategic human resources plan and obtain senior management support for the plan ….. 61
Human resource plan …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 61
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Learning Task Eleven ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 64
Activity 2F …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 65
2.7 – Develop risk management plans to support the strategic human resources plan ………………….. 66
Risk management ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 66
Risk management plans ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 66
Learning Task Twelve …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 70
Activity 2G ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 71
3. Implement human resources strategic plan ………………………………………………………………………. 72
3.1 – Work with others to see that the plan is implemented ………………………………………………………. 73
Working with others ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 73
Learning Task Thirteen ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 75
Activity 3A ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 76
3.2 – Monitor and review the plan ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 77
Monitoring and reviewing …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 77
Learning Task Fourteen ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 79
Activity 3B ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 80
3.3 – Adapt plan should circumstances change …………………………………………………………………………. 81
Adapting to change in circumstances …………………………………………………………………………………… 81
Learning Task Fifteen …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 82
Activity 3C ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 83
3.4 – Evaluate and review performance against plan objectives …………………………………………………. 84
Evaluate and review performance ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 84
Learning Task Sixteen …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 86
Activity 3D ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 87
Skills and Knowledge Activity ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 88
Major Activity – An opportunity to revise the unit …………………………………………………………………….. 89
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Unit Description
This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to develop, implement and maintain a strategic approach to managing human resources in an organisation ensuring that the organisation has the structure and staff to meet current and foreseeable business and performance objectives
It applies to individuals employed as human resource managers after a firm grounding has been established in a range of human resource activities.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.Unit Sector
Performance Criteria
Element Performance Criteria
1. Research planning
requirements
1.1 Analyse strategic plans to determine human resource
strategic direction, objectives and targets
1.2 Undertake additional environmental analysis to
identify emerging practices and trends that may impact
on human resources management in the organisation
1.3 Identify future labour needs, skill requirements and
options for sourcing labour supply
1.4 Consider new technology and its impact on job roles
and job design
1.5 Review recent and potential changes to industrial and
legal requirements
2. Develop human
resources strategic
plan
2.1 Consult relevant managers about their human
resources preferences
2.2 Agree on human resources philosophies, values and
policies with relevant managers
2.3 Develop strategic objectives and targets for human
resources services
2.4 Examine options for the provision of human resources
services and analyse costs and benefits
2.5 Identify appropriate technology and systems to
support agreed human resources programs and
practices
2.6 Write strategic human resources plan and obtain senior
management support for the plan
2.7 Develop risk management plans to support the
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Element Performance Criteria
strategic human resources plan
3. Implement human
resources strategic
plan
3.1 Work with others to see that the plan is implemented
3.2 Monitor and review the plan
3.3 Adapt plan should circumstances change
3.4 Evaluate and review performance against plan
objectives
Foundation Skills
This section describes language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills incorporated
in the performance criteria that are required for competent performance.
skill Performance Criteria Description
Reading 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5,
2.1-2.7, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
Organises, evaluates and applies content from a
range of structurally complex texts relating to
human resource strategic planning
Writing 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1 – 2.7, 3.3,
3.4
Communicates complex ideas relating to strategic
objectives, matching style of writing to purpose and
audience
Oral
Communication
2.1, 2.2, 2.6, 3.1 Establishes and maintains complex and effective
spoken communications in a broad range of
contexts with relevant managers to determine
resources preferences, philosophies and values.
Numeracy 1.1, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7 Selects and interprets mathematical information
that may be embedded in a range of tasks and texts
to analyse costs and benefits as well as dealing with
budgets and risk management plans
Navigate the world
of work
1.2, 1.5
Ensures knowledge of legislative
requirements and products is kept up to
date in order to provide accurate
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information
Develops and implements strategies that
ensure organisational policies, procedures
and regulatory requirements are being met
Interact with
others
2.1, 2.2, 2.6, 3.1 Selects and uses appropriate conventions
and protocols when communicating with
managers at various levels
Participates in conversations relevant to
role responding, explaining, negotiating and
persuading as required
Get the work done 1.1-1.4, 2.3-2.7, 3.2-3.4 Sequences and schedules complex
activities, monitors implementation and
manages relevant communication when
developing the strategic plan
Makes a range of critical and non-critical
decisions in relatively complex situations,
analysing data and taking a range of factors
into account when researching planning
requirements and developing the plan
Gathers and analyses data and seeks
feedback to improve plans and processes
Uses digital technologies to manage
business operations and actively
investigates new technologies for strategic
and operational purposes
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Performance Evidence
Evidence of the ability to:
analyse information from a range of internal and external sources to determine:
human resource strategic direction, objectives and targets
trends and emerging practices that may have an impact on human resource management
relevant technology
recent and potential changes to industrial and legal requirements
future labour needs and skills requirements
options for sourcing labour
organisation’s preferences regarding human resources
consult and communicate effectively with relevant stakeholders to develop, implement, monitor and
review a strategic human resource plan including:
budget
priorities
agreed objectives, targets, programs and practices based on cost-benefit analysis
timeframes
risk management
evaluation against objectives.
Note: If a specific volume or frequency is not stated, then evidence must be provided at least once.
Knowledge Evidence
To complete the unit requirements safely and effectively, the individual must:
describe human resource practices and functions
explain the relevant legislative, regulatory and industrial requirements for the business
outline common options for sourcing labour including:
recruitment options
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casual labour
new graduates or trainees
off shore workers
outsourcing
contractors
consultants
explain the impact of technology on job roles
outline labour market options for sourcing labour supply
describe the requirements of a strategic plan
Housekeeping Items
Your trainer will inform you of the following:
Where the toilets and fire exits are located, what the emergency procedures are and
where the breakout and refreshment areas are.
Any rules, for example asking that all mobile phones are set to silent and of any
security issues they need to be aware of.
What times the breaks will be held and what the smoking policy is.
That this is an interactive course and you should ask questions.
That to get the most out of this workshop, we must all work together, listen to each
other, explore new ideas, and make mistakes. After all, that’s how we learn.
Ground rules for participation:
o Smile
o Support and encourage other participants
o When someone is contributing everyone else is quiet
o Be patient with others who may not be grasping the ideas
o Be on time
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o Focus discussion on the topic
o Speak to the trainer if you have any concerns
Objectives
Discover how to research planning requirements
Know how to develop human resources strategic plan
Learn how to implement human resources strategic plan
Gain essential skills and knowledge required for this unit.
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1. Research planning requirements
1.1. Analyse strategic plans to determine human resource strategic direction, objectives and targets
1.2. Undertake additional environmental analysis to identify emerging practices and trends that may impact on human resources management in the organisation
1.3. Identify future labour needs, skill requirements and options for sourcing labour supply
1.4. Consider new technology and its impact on job roles and job design
1.5. Review recent and potential changes to industrial and legal requirements
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1.1 – Analyse strategic plans to determine human resource strategic direction, objectives and targets
Human resources strategic planning
Human resources (HR) strategic planning is an important business component. It links the ‘people’
aspect of the organisation directly to its overall strategic plan and vision. It enables the organisation’s
people to be ready to meet the demands of the future, ensuring that there is the right number of
people with the right skills, in the right place at the right time. Equipping the organisation with the right
workforce does not happen by accident. It takes planning and research to determine the organisation’s
‘people needs’.
A strategic HR plan enables good decision-making about the people aspect of the organisation. From a
budgetary point of view, it is essential to predict the costs of things like recruitment and training in the
organisation’s overall budget.
Finally, strategic HR planning is forward-looking and takes account of emerging trends and
developments in HR in general and also any changes in legislation affecting employment and training.
Strategic HR management can be defined as:
“Integrating human resources management strategies and systems to achieve the overall mission,
strategies and success of the firm while meeting the needs of employees and other stakeholders.”
Source: Human Resource Management: A Strategic Approach
The basic questions to be answered in strategic HR planning are:
Where are we now in terms of our HR capacity?
As an organisation, where are we going?
What HR strategies do we need to get there?
The strategic HR planning process can be summarised as:
Assessing current HR capacity
Forecasting HR requirements aligned to the
organisation’s future direction
Gap analysis
Developing HR strategies to support overall organisational strategy.
The first step involving an assessment of current HR capacity will depend on current systems and
processes. If systems are in place for tracking things like people’s development, this is a relatively simple
step to take. However, if no systems exist, then it would be essential to conduct a thorough analysis of
the current employees in terms of their job roles, competence and development needs.
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Assuming that the current HR capacity is known, the next step is to analyse the organisation’s strategic
plans. In some organisations, HR expertise is sought in the overall strategic planning process. However
in others, the overall strategy is determined without this input.
To analyse the organisation’s strategic plans, it may be useful to review written plans which detail the
organisation’s vision, mission, strategic and operational objectives for the next period. This will depend
on how far into the future the organisation plans. One year is typical, but increasingly organisations are
planning for the next five to ten years, or longer. It may also be beneficial to consult with senior leaders
in the organisation to ensure a full understanding of the strategic plans, priorities and context.
With a good understanding of what the organisation is aiming to achieve in the future, it is then possible
to determine the strategic direction in terms of the ‘people’ aspects of the business and to set
objectives and targets for the HR function.
These objectives and targets may relate to some or all of the following:
Recruitment
Retention
Training
Succession planning
Career development
Pay and reward
Performance management
Motivation and employee engagement.
Objectives should be SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic (or Relevant)
Time-bound.
SMART objectives are important as they state exactly what the HR function is aiming to achieve so that
it makes a full contribution to achieving the overall organisation vision. They enable priorities to be
determined, realistic budgets to be set, and good decisions to be made.
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Learning Task One
What information do you review when analysing your organisation’s strategic plans? How do you
ensure you have a thorough understanding of the organisation’s future direction?
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Activity 1A
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1.2 – Undertake additional environmental analysis to identify emerging practices and trends that may impact on human resources management in the organisation
Environmental analysis
Strategic HR planning should not take place in isolation from what’s happening outside the organisation.
To do so would be to miss opportunities and would fail to take account of and learn from a wide range
of external factors. An ‘environmental analysis’ may have taken place as part of the organisation’s
overall strategic planning. Indeed it would be very unwise for an organisation to plan for its future
whilst ignoring what’s going on around it. However, it is useful for the HR function to undertake its own
environmental analysis in addition to any research conducted at an overall organisational level. This
would ensure that all relevant factors are taken into account and the HR function can focus this further
analysis on HR-specific matters.
PESTLE
A tool that is commonly used to undertake an environmental analysis is PESTLE.
PESTLE is an acronym for the following external factors which can affect an organisation:
Political
Economic
Sociological
Technological
Legal
Environmental.
Political
What is happening politically in the environment in which you operate?
Tax policy
Employment laws
Environmental regulations
Trade restrictions and reform
Tariffs
Political stability.
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Economic
What is happening within the economy?
Economic growth and decline
Interest rates
Wage rates
Minimum wage
Working hours
Unemployment (local and national)
Cost of living.
Sociological
What is occurring socially in the markets in which you operate or expect to operate?
Cultural norms and expectations
Health consciousness
Population growth rate
Age distribution
Career attitudes
Emphasis on safety
Global warming.
Technological
What is happening technology-wise which can impact on what you do? New technologies are
continually being developed and the rate of change itself is increasing.
Mobile phone technology
Web 2.0
Social networking websites.
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Legal
What is happening with changes to legislation which may impact:
Employment
Access to material
Quotas
Resources
Imports and exports
Taxation?
Environmental
What is happening with respect to ecological and environmental issues?
Conducting a PESTLE analysis
Follow the steps below to conduct a PESTLE analysis:
Decide how the information is to be collected and by whom (a team approach is much
more powerful than one person’s view)
Identify appropriate sources of information
Gather the information, it is useful to use a template as the basis for exploring the
factors and recording the information
Analyse the findings and identify the most important issues
Identify strategic options
Incorporate the findings in strategic planning processes
Decide which trends should be monitored on an ongoing basis and what actions need
to be taken.
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Emerging practices and trends
Conducting a PESTLE analysis may uncover information relating to one or more of the following emerging practices and trends, any of which will have an impact on the HR strategic plan:
Ageing workforce
Changes in consumer patterns or community expectations
Economic trends
Labour market trends
Multi-generational teams
New products or services
New technologies
Political or legislative changes
Qualification or educational changes
Working internationally.
It is important to consider what is happening in the broader HR sphere so that good practice can be
emulated and to ensure that the organisation is modern and up-to-date in its HR philosophies and
practices. For example, people are living and working longer than in the past. This has implications for
organisations in terms of attracting and retaining older workers. This may involve flexible working
hours.
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Learning Task Two
From your own environmental analysis, identify and briefly describe two emerging practices and trends
which are relevant to your organisation.
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Activity 1B
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1.3 – Identify future labour needs, skill requirements and options for sourcing labour supply
Future labour needs and skill requirements
As part of the HR strategic planning process, it is essential to identify the future labour needs and skill
requirements so that the necessary action can be carried out to ensure that there are sufficient people
with the right skills in the workforce. For example, if a company was planning to develop a new product
which makes use of technological advances; this may involve investment in new premises, new
equipment, and new manufacturing processes. However, there would also be an impact on the
workforce, to ensure that there were enough people with the right skills and knowledge to make the
new product.
Having identified the current HR capacity earlier in the strategic planning process, it should now be
possible to identify the gap between the current and future HR requirements. In other words, it should
be possible to predict how many people are required, with what skills and expertise and other
attributes and how they may be working (full-time or part-time).
Future labour needs can be summarised as follows:
Competency
Number
Quality
Type.
Identifying future labour needs is an essential part of the planning process and can ensure that the
organisation’s goals can be achieved. If a food manufacturer built a new factory with new equipment
and manufacturing processes but assumed that all existing employees would simply move to the new
site with only a minimal degree of training, it is likely to result in a number of undesirable
consequences.
For example:
Insufficient staff if only some of the existing workforce move to the new site
Production errors and delays if staff have not been adequately trained in the new
processes
Frustration amongst staff and managers, impacting on motivation and levels of
engagement
Shortfalls in achieving production targets
Failure to achieve the organisational goal.
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Employing a range of recruitment options
A range of recruitment options may be used to attract new workers. This may include traditional routes such as press advertising and online recruitment websites alongside other options which make use of mobile technology and social media.
Hiring casual labour
It may not be possible to accurately predict the number of workers required for a period of time and so hiring casual labour may be a cost-effective and low-risk option. This has the advantage that the organisation only employs the casual workers when they are needed. It means that the organisation can be ‘light on its feet’ in that it is unencumbered by the costs associated with employing people on a permanent basis and it can flex the size and nature of the workforce to meet demand. However, there are disadvantages too, including the fact that the casual workforce may lack the detailed knowledge, level of skill and commitment of permanent workers. Casual labour undoubtedly offers a flexible way of increasing the workforce to meet peaks in demand.
Hiring new graduates or trainees
Many organisations have an HR strategy which involves the recruitment of new graduates or trainees. Although this group will typically lack industry-specific knowledge and skills, they tend to have energy and enthusiasm which some of the existing workforce may lack. They also bring a fresh perspective and can be at the heart of innovation in the organisation. There is also a key advantage that new graduates and trainees can be trained to work in the way that the organisation wants them to without bringing ways of working from previous jobs.
Employing off-shore workers
Off-shore workers work in another country, typically at a cheaper cost than local workers. It is often used to complete tasks that the company may not be equipped to handle in-house. Call centres are a popular service that is often provided by workers in other countries.
Outsourcing
Some functions or services may be outsourced to other organisations. Examples of functions which are often outsourced include; legal and/or HR services, call centres and maintenance services. Outsourcing has the advantage of being more cost-effective than providing the service internally and it can also offer flexibility with options to increase and decrease demand for that service as and when required. However, there are also disadvantages associated with monitoring the quality of the service provided and controlling how the work is completed.
Using contractors or consultants
This is a popular option when specific skills are required for a short period of time. For example, there may be a need to increase the quantity of training in the organisation in preparation for some major changes. A viable option would be to hire a full or part time consultant to provide the training during the period that their services are required. This offers the organisation a great deal of flexibility in terms of when and how the contractors’ and consultants’ services are used. It also carries the disadvantage of those personnel being external workers who will not be as familiar with the organisation’s systems and processes.
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Learning Task Three
What options do you (or can you) use for sourcing labour supply? Which are your preferred options and
why?
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Activity 1C
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1.4 – Consider new technology and its impact on job roles and job design
Technology
Technology is advancing at a rapid pace. The job roles that exist now may not be appropriate in the
future due to technological advances. Even in the space of a few years, technology can advance so far
that the old ways of working are no longer relevant.
When conducting the HR strategic planning process, it is important to consider how technological
advances might impact on the ways of working and hence the job roles that people do. Whilst it’s not
possible to predict the future of course, it is possible to look at emerging trends and developments in
areas of technology that are relevant to your organisation.
The following questions may be useful to ask when considering this aspect of the HR strategic plan:
Do any of the organisation’s strategic objectives relate to the use of new technology?
What information was gathered about technology from the environmental analysis
exercise?
Is investment being made in new technology? If so, what specifically is being
introduced?
What’s happening in your sector generally in terms of technological advances? (e.g. is
new equipment being developed?)
If new technology is introduced, how will that affect job roles?
When considering the impact of technology on job roles, it may be useful to think in terms of how the technology will affect:
The work that people do
The number of people required to do the work
The location of people doing the work
Working practices and procedures
The knowledge and skills required to do the work.
For example, in a manufacturing organisation, new equipment and machinery that is designed to
improve production and efficiency may require fewer workers to operate the equipment. However,
there may also be an impact on the engineers who repair and maintain the equipment in terms of up-
skilling them to be able to perform their roles competently.
In another context, digital technology may be introduced to enable workers to work from remote
locations, to exchange data more quickly and efficiently and to work more productively. This may not
impact on the numbers of workers, but it would have a significant impact on ways of working and may
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require considerable changes in procedures. The impact on the job roles in this example would be more
about getting people to accept and embrace the changes and to follow the new ways of working. This
may well be represented in redefined job roles with changes in responsibilities and expectations.
Learning Task Four
What new technology will impact on job roles in your organisation? Briefly describe the extent of the
impact.
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Activity 1D
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1.5 – Review recent and potential changes to industrial and legal requirements
Industrial and legal requirements
As part of your environmental analysis, you may have considered the legal aspect of the external
environment. It is important to keep abreast of developments in legislation and the industry as a whole
in order to ensure compliance with any new legal requirements and to ensure a smooth transition to
new policies and procedures, if necessary.
It is useful to be aware of recent and potential changes in employment law. Consider the following recent/forthcoming changes in legislation:
Small business, enterprise and employment bill
Zero hours contracts
Workplace bullying
Shared parental leave
Adoption leave.
These are just some of the changes taking place currently. The impact of these changes will depend on
your operating context; zero hours contracts may not apply to your organisation, although legislation
concerning workplace bullying will apply everywhere.
To take this further, it is important to consider the potential impact of workplace bullying legislation which may include:
Writing new policies and procedures to make explicit reference to workplace bullying
and how it is reported and handled in your organisation
Rewriting employee guidance on standards of expected behaviour
Training for staff and managers in how to recognise workplace bullying and the
procedures to follow if it occurs
Training for HR personnel in implementing new procedures.
Some legislation changes will have minimal impact, but others will be more significant and will require
careful research before taking action to implement it. The HR strategic planning process is the perfect
time to take note of any legislative developments that affect your organisation and to take account of
that in planning the direction of the HR function for the forthcoming period.
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Changes in your industry sector will also have an impact on the HR strategic plan. Customer
expectations change over time as do industry standards. What was considered ‘cutting edge’ a few
years ago may be viewed as a basic minimum requirement these days. Where it was once acceptable to
deliver a bespoke customer order within a week for example, changes in production techniques,
equipment and technology may now make it possible to deliver the same service within 24 hours.
Across the industry, if one organisation starts delivering its services within 24 hours, this puts pressure
on their competitors to do the same, thereby making it an industry-wide ‘standard’ that this type of
service can be delivered within a short timeframe.
Again, from your environmental analysis of external factors affecting your organisation, you may have
considered your organisation’s competitors, your suppliers and the industry as a whole to identify
changes and developments which affect what you do.
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Learning Task Five
Identify two recent or potential changes to industrial or legal requirements. Briefly describe these
changes and the implications for your organisation from an HR perspective.
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Activity 1E
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2. Develop human resources strategic plan
2.1. Consult relevant managers about their human resources preferences
2.2. Agree on human resources philosophies, values and policies with relevant managers
2.3. Develop strategic objectives and targets for human resources services
2.4. Examine options for the provision of human resources services and analyse costs and benefits
2.5. Identify appropriate technology and systems to support agreed human resources programs and practices
2.6. Write strategic human resources plan and obtain senior management support for the plan
2.7. Develop risk management plans to support the strategic human resources plan
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2.1 – Consult relevant managers about their human resources preferences
Consulting with managers
As the person leading the HR strategic planning process in your organisation, you cannot work in
isolation. Even if you have a large team of HR colleagues, it is extremely wise, if not essential, to consult
with managers as part of the process. Not only will they be able to offer a viewpoint that may be
different from your own, but you will also depend on their support in the implementation of the HR
strategic plan. Getting management input and support at key points in the planning process will help to
pave the way for successful implementation later.
The managers in your organisation are at the ‘sharp end’ of the operation; they are the people who are
recruiting, training, developing and managing the workforce and so their insights into how the future
should look are invaluable.
Your managers will have their own views about their human resources preferences which may include:
Numbers of workers required
Working hours
Workers’ locations, if relevant
Job roles and responsibilities
Levels of knowledge and skills required.
Taking their views into account when developing the HR strategic plan is essential to ensure that your
plans are affordable, realistic and effective.
Managers can be consulted via a range of different methods. How you consult with your managers will
depend on the size and complexity of your organisation. In a large, complex and geographically
dispersed organisation, it may only be possible to consult with a sample of the management population
and this may need to be conducted remotely. In a small organisation with only a few managers working
at the same site, it may be feasible to have individual meetings with them all.
Here is an overview of the methods that may be used to consult with managers:
Face-to-face meetings, either individually or in groups
Group presentations
Questionnaires
Telephone or video-conferencing.
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Whichever methods are used, it is important to inform them about:
What you are doing, how and why
What you are looking for from them
What you will do with their input and by when.
It would be important to give them advance warning of the input you are asking of them; they will need
to think about it before they contribute to the process.
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Learning Task Six
Describe how you consult with managers about their human resources preferences.
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Activity 2A
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2.2 – Agree on human resources philosophies, values and policies with relevant managers
Agreeing HR philosophies, values and policies
Since you will be reliant upon the managers in your organisation to support the implementation of the
HR strategic plan, the planning process provides a useful opportunity to discuss and agree on the nature
of HR in your organisation and how it should operate.
Philosophies and values are the guiding principles which set out ‘this is how we do things here’. The HR
philosophy is not just about the HR function. It is more about the leadership style of the senior
management team, the corporate culture and values. The philosophy is usually informal and it is not
always written down, although some organisations do publish their philosophies.
The leadership style is very important. It can be very uncomfortable and confusing for everyone if a
manager has an autocratic leadership style in an organisation which has a more consultative and open
style. The reverse is also true. Managers and leaders within the organisation will emulate the leadership
style that is demonstrated by the most senior leaders; the senior leaders set the tone and pace of the
organisation. Involving them, the middle managers and the junior managers is a crucial step in defining
the organisation’s philosophy, values and policies.
Agreeing the philosophies and values of an organisation is a very complex process. If people are to
believe in and demonstrate the values in everything that they do, they need to be involved in their
creation. If the values are determined by the senior leaders in the organisation and are then pushed
down through the ranks, the values will be lost and will be regarded as a piece of bureaucracy which
have no meaning or substance. It is vital that employees across the whole organisation are engaged in
the process in some form.
So in summary, engagement with relevant managers is important and the level of engagement will
depend on their level of seniority and the numbers/locations of the people involved. It is likely that the
entire senior leadership team would be involved in agreeing HR philosophies and values, and that a
good representation (if not all) of the other managers should also be engaged, as should a cross-section
of employees.
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Learning Task Seven
Describe how you have agreed HR philosophies, value and policies with your managers.
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Activity 2B
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2.3 – Develop strategic objectives and targets for human resources services
Developing objective and targets
Having completed the necessary research and consultation, the next step is to develop strategic
objectives and targets for HR services for the forthcoming period.
Objectives and targets may relate to:
Equal employment opportunity and diversity
Human resources information systems
Induction
Industrial relations
Job analysis and design
OHS
Performance management
Professional development
Recruitment and selection
Remuneration
Staff retention and succession planning.
Equal employment opportunity and diversity
Targets may be set for improving equality of opportunity and diversity amongst the workforce. This may
involve changes to policies and practices to attract a more diverse workforce. It may also require
training and awareness-raising amongst managers and other employees to support the implementation
of these targets.
Human resources information systems
HR information systems may be fairly basic in some organisations and targets may be set around the
implementation or updating of systems to provide better quality information about the workforce to
support good decision-making. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to assess the achievement of
equality targets, for example; if there is no data concerning employees’ age, gender, ethnicity, or
disability.
Induction
Developing or improving the induction process may also be a key area for the HR strategic plan.
Induction is increasingly delivered using a variety of media including e-learning and mobile learning
technologies.
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Industrial relations
Changes in legislation will have an impact on the industrial relations within the organisation and so
there may be targets relating to working with representative groups to devise and implement new
policies and procedures. Or there may be an increasing trend for employees raising grievances and so
there may be a target concerning the identification of the root cause of grievances and the training of
managers to respond to grievances both informally and formally before the escalation of matters to a
more senior and more formal level.
Job analysis and design
As described earlier in this unit, the future direction of the organisation can have a considerable impact
on the number of jobs, the roles and responsibilities required. Depending on the scale of the impact of
the overall strategic plans, a full job analysis exercise may need to be conducted which is a lengthy and
time-consuming exercise which would need to be carefully planned and executed.
OHS
Occupational health and safety may feature in an HR strategic plan. Any changes in legislation or
policies and procedures, improvements in working practices or the introduction of new equipment or
technology would all have an impact on OHS.
Performance management
Performance management processes may also feature in the HR strategic plan if they are non-existent,
ineffective and inconsistently applied. Good performance management processes and practices are an
essential tool for ensuring that the workforce can and does deliver what is expected of them. Processes
may be formal or informal but the important thing is that managers do actively manage the
performance of their staff and that they know how and when to do this.
Professional development
A well-trained workforce is key to any organisation. Again, depending on the nature of the overall
strategic objectives of the organisation, there may be a requirement for the professional development
of the entire workforce or of key personnel.
Recruitment and selection
Recruitment and selection targets may be defined to ensure the provision of the right number of
employees, with the right skills and competences in the right place at
the right time. Organisations are using ever-more creative ways of
attracting potential new recruits using a wide variety of media,
including social media.
Remuneration
Changes in legislation or changes in the market may require a different
approach to remuneration in the organisation. Pay and reward
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strategies may have to be streamlined or modernised to reflect current industry norms and the
expectations of the workforce.
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Staff retention and succession planning
Attracting and then keeping good staff can be a real challenge for many organisations and so having an
effective succession planning process and a staff retention strategy may be key to the success of the
organisation.
Whatever the ‘headlines’ are in your organisation, it is important that the HR strategic objectives clearly
set out, in measurable terms, what the HR function’s contribution to the organisation’s success will be.
These enable:
The allocation of an HR budget
Good decision-making in the allocation of budgets for various projects and activities
Prioritisation of plans and activities
Communication of plans and activities
Measurement of success.
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Learning Task Eight
Give one example of a strategic objective for HR services in your organisation and explain its relevance
to the overall organisation’s strategic objectives.
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Activity 2C
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2.4 – Examine options for the provision of human resources services and analyse costs and benefits
Options for the provision of HR services
With the strategic objectives and targets in place, the next step is to consider how to achieve them.
There are several options available for the provision of HR services, including:
External provision by a consultant or contractor
Having the work performed elsewhere (outsourcing)
Internal human resources provision of the service
Internal non-human resources provision of the
service
Merging of business units.
External provision by a consultant or contractor
This is a very popular and cost-effective means of providing HR services. External consultants and
contractors can be used to carry out a wide range of HR services including; recruitment, training, policy
development, job design, industrial relations advice and support. In many smaller organisations it is not
cost-effective or desirable to employ HR specialists and so their particular expertise can be bought in as
and when required. This gives a great deal of flexibility in terms of how and when the services of an
external consultant or contractor are used, but there can sometimes be difficulties in their
responsiveness as they will have other organisations which they provide their services to. It can also be
challenging to manage the external contractor’s performance and so it is advisable to have very clear
agreements in place governing things like confidentiality, fees, standards of performance and
cancellation agreements.
Outsourcing
Some HR services may be outsourced to another organisation. For example, this is very common in
small organisations which do not require a permanent employee in the HR function. In such cases, the
organisation typically subscribes to a broad HR service which can undertake HR activities across the full
spectrum. The organisation usually enters an agreement with the outsourcing agency for a period of
time for the provision of specific HR services. This is attractive as it enables access to HR expertise as
and when required, without the cost burden of employing an HR department. In some cases, only a few
specific HR services may be outsourced. For example, in large organisations, although they have a
comprehensive HR function, there may be some projects or activities that are more cost effective and
more effective in general if they are provided by a third party organisations. For example, for a large
scale recruitment campaign, this would stretch the capacity of the existing HR function and so it may be
outsourced for the period of the recruitment campaign only.
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Internal HR provision
Many organisations choose to employ dedicated HR professionals within the organisation’s staffing
structure. This may involve full or part time employees, either with a dedicated HR-only role, or with
responsibilities in a number of different areas. It is not uncommon to find a full time HR Manager who
also has responsibility for finance, or administration or workplace health and safety. The benefit of
having its own internal HR provision is that priorities can be determined and controlled for individual
members of staff and the HR personnel will have an in-depth knowledge of the organisation and its
people which external providers are likely to lack. However, there may be challenges associated with
internal HR personnel keeping their skills and knowledge up-to-date although this should not be an
insurmountable challenge.
Internal non-human provision
Non-human provision includes any aspect of the HR function that can be automated, usually with the
application of IT. This might include areas such as e-learning and payroll administration. These
approaches are useful in organisations which employ large numbers of people, possibly in numerous
different locations. Automated services have the advantage of speed and cost-effectiveness, but they
lack the ability to handle non-routine matters. One true example was when a new recruit in a
supermarket completed a series of e-learning modules, but due to a systems error, there was no record
of him having done so. This then showed as a gap on his training record and so his manager then asked
him to complete the training again, but in his own time which caused some frustration. The system
didn’t allow for the manager to over-ride the system and update the record manually despite him being
satisfied that the employee had in fact completed the training adequately first time around. A key
disadvantage of automated services is the restricted ability to handle unusual circumstances or
individual cases; although for the majority of cases it is more efficient than paying an individual to carry
out the same tasks.
Merging of business units
Another option for the provision of HR services might be to merge business units to create a new unit or
department. This may simplify procedures and processes and reduce duplication. In retailing, for
example, some organisations have been structured in the past so that each retail store has its own
dedicated internal HR personnel to carry out a range of HR functions. A popular and cost-effective
model is to merge the internal HR functions into a district or regional function where each HR specialist
is responsible for the provision of their specialist service to a number of stores. This works well in areas
such as training, development and generalist HR advice.
There is no single option that is guaranteed to be better than all the others. The key is to choose the
most appropriate and effective option which will support the delivery of the HR strategic plan and
ultimately the organisation’s plan. In practice, the final
solution is often a combination of some or all of the
above options.
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Cost/benefit analysis
Cost/benefit analysis is a tool that is commonly used to aid the decision-making process. It can be
applied in a wide range of contexts and is relatively simple to use.
To complete a cost/benefit analysis, complete the following steps:
List costs and benefits
Assign a monetary value to the costs
Assign a monetary value to the benefits
Compare costs and benefits.
List costs and benefits
First, list all of the costs associated with the project and then do the same for all of the benefits of the
project. You should also try to anticipate any unexpected costs and any benefits that you may not
initially have expected. You should also consider the costs and benefits over the lifetime of the project,
not just the initial start-up costs.
Assign a monetary value to the costs
Costs include the costs of any physical resources needed, as well as the cost of the
human effort involved in all phases of a project.
Costs are often relatively easy to estimate and may include things like the cost of:
New equipment and materials
New or altered premises
Recruitment and/or training
Rebranding.
It’s also important to consider any associated intangible costs. For example, there may be a temporary
decrease in productivity whilst new equipment is installed and the workforces learn how to use it.
Ongoing costs should also be factored in to the calculations; this might include things like ongoing
training and recruitment or other increased overheads such as energy use.
Assign a monetary value to the benefits
This step is more challenging than Step 2. It’s often very difficult to predict revenues accurately,
especially for new products. Also, alongside the anticipated financial benefits, there are often intangible
benefits that are important outcomes of the project. An example of an intangible benefit might be
‘greater customer goodwill’ or ‘better brand awareness’. These are valuable benefits but difficult to
quantify. In HR terms, a project may impact on employee satisfaction or health and safety.
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Compare costs and benefits
The final step is to compare the total value of your costs to the total value of your benefits and use this
to identify whether or not the benefits outweigh the costs. This analysis will help you to decide your
course of action. It is important at this stage to consider the ‘payback time’. That is, how long it will take
to reach the point at which the benefits have repaid the costs.
Decisions can sometimes be made on the basis of ‘gut feel’. In other words, a decision feels right
intuitively. This can sometimes work but a more robust and systematic approach is to conduct a
cost/benefit analysis. This shows that you have been thorough in your thinking and that you have
objectively analysed the data. Senior leaders who will be required to support the HR strategic plan by
committing a budget to it are going to want to see the proposed benefits of your plan weighed against
the costs of it. The cost/benefit analysis is a simple and effective way of making this case to senior
leaders.
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Learning Task Nine
Take one aspect of your HR service provision and explain why it is provided in that way (e.g. internal HR
provision; external consultant; automated service; outsourced service; etc.). Summarise the costs and
benefits associated with this aspect of your HR service.
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Activity 2D
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2.5 – Identify appropriate technology and systems to support agreed human resources programs and practices
When the HR strategic plan is developing, it’s a useful time to consider the role that technology can play
in implementing the plan.
Technology may be used to support:
Non-human HR services such as payroll administration and e-learning
Performance management processes, using automated reminders and documentation
to support the interaction between a manager and employee
Training and development to plan, record and manage training records and activities.
Some technology is available ‘off-the-shelf’ and generic packages can be purchased. These include systems such as:
Learning Management Systems
Employee record systems
Payroll administration.
These are used by many organisations and are popular as they improve the efficiency of record-keeping
and data analysis. It is possible to extract data according to a wide range of factors. For example, at the
press of a button, it is possible with a Learning Management System to identify all part-time employees
who have not yet completed the company induction programme. This would enable a targeted
approach to ensuring that all employees have completed this. Some of the generic packages can be
customised to include functions and features that are useful for your organisation.
Some organisations have developed bespoke systems which are tailored to their exact requirements
and context. This can be useful if the organisation has unique circumstances, although the cost of
developing a fully tailored solution can be prohibitive. It can also be a very lengthy and time-consuming
process to generate a system that works exactly in the way it’s intended.
Technology and systems do have a part to play in the delivery of HR programs and practices and it
would be important to consider how new or existing systems can support the delivery of the HR
strategic plan.
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Learning Task Ten
What technology and systems do you use to support the HR programs and practices in your
organisation?
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Activity 2E
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2.6 – Write strategic human resources plan and obtain senior management support for the plan
Human resource plan
The HR plan is a way of the HR function saying: ‘this is how we are going to help achieve the
organisation’s overall plan’. It is a key tool for guiding the work of the HR function over the next period
and it affords reassurance that the HR function is working to support delivery of the overall corporate
goals.
The format of the strategic HR plan will be unique to your organisation. It’s a good idea for it to follow a
similar format to the overall strategic plan for the organisation as this is a simple and effective way of
showing clear links between the two plans. For example, if business objective two has HR implications,
then the strategic HR plan can make reference to ‘business objective two’ where relevant to illustrate
the connection between the items on the HR plan and the overall organisational plan. This helps to
clarify people’s understanding about ‘why are we doing this?’
Whatever format is used, the following are key ingredients of a strategic HR plan:
Budget
Priorities
Objectives
Timeframes.
The plan should set out what you are seeking to achieve, by when and at what cost. It should also be
possible to see the inter-relationship and dependencies between items on the HR plan. For example,
there may be an objective to recruit 100 new employees within the next 6 months but a more pressing
priority would be to define the new job roles first. Recruitment cannot take place in the absence of the
job descriptions and so defining job roles would take a higher priority on the plan. The plan helps to set
out those dependencies so that priorities can be established and communicated to those involved in
delivering them.
Senior management support for the plan is vital if it is to
succeed. It would be a great shame to put an enormous amount
of effort into preparing a plan only for it to fall at the last hurdle
and fail to get approval from the senior management team.
Gaining senior management support should not be an after-
thought; it should be built into the research and development
stages of producing the plan. If senior managers have been
involved in articulating their vision for the future or the
organisation, determining the HR philosophy and values and
setting out their HR preferences, then they are more likely to
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support the plan if they can see that their input has been listened to and incorporated into the HR plan.
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Senior management support can be obtained by:
Working with all senior managers to gain an intimate and detailed understanding of the
corporate goals
Gaining senior management’s input to defining the HR philosophy and values of the
organisation
Listening to senior managers’ HR preferences
Requesting senior managers’ opinions and advice regarding matters concerning the HR
plan
Demonstrating credibility in your own knowledge and expertise
Demonstrating that senior managers’ input has been incorporated into the HR plan
Keeping senior managers informed about any changes in direction that are being
proposed and the reasons for this.
Senior management support will be needed if obstacles in implementing the plan are predicted. Even if
no obstacles are predicted; to have senior management agreement to the plan can pave the way for its
successful implementation.
Some managers and/or employees may be resistant to some of the actions resulting from the HR plan.
For example, they may resist further training, the implementation of new HR procedures or changes in
performance management processes. A clear and firm message from the most senior leaders in support
of the changes can be critical in gaining widespread acceptance to them.
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Learning Task Eleven
Explain how you have gained support for the strategic HR plan from your senior managers? How have
they demonstrated their support?
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Activity 2F
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2.7 – Develop risk management plans to support the strategic human resources plan
Risk management
Risk can never be eliminated entirely but steps can be taken to minimise risks which may jeopardise the
implementation of the strategic HR plan.
A range of factors can pose a risk including:
Decrease in sales
Financial difficulties
Emergence of new competitors
Problems associated with products/services
Non-delivery or problems with new equipment
Legal difficulties
Problems associated with suppliers
Problems with the workforce.
Any of the above problems could seriously hinder the implementation of the organisation’s strategic
plan and also the HR plan. Imagine an organisation is dependent upon a key third party for the
outsourcing of a major recruitment campaign; if this third party fails to deliver its agreed services, this
will jeopardise the success of the HR function and the organisation as a whole.
Risk management plans
A risk management plan anticipates possible risk and identifies action required to either avoid or
accommodate the risk.
For example, if the organisation was dependent on a third party for the outsourcing of a major recruitment campaign, the risk of non-delivery can be minimised by:
A thorough vetting process to select the third party (background
financial checks, references and evidence of delivery of similar
campaigns)
Clear and specific service level agreements to set out what is to be
delivered, how, when, to what standard
Regular and appropriate monitoring to ensure the service level
agreement is being met
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Deploying the use of financial/other penalties or incentives for satisfactory delivery.
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A combination of tactics can be used to minimise the risk in such situations and this degree of vetting,
setting service levels agreements and monitoring can be used in relation to many different aspects of
HR service delivery.
However, despite the most careful and thorough planning, things can still go wrong. A financially secure
third party organisation with an excellent track record could still crash overnight resulting in non-
delivery of the key services. In this event, the organisation would need to move swiftly to secure an
alternative service provider. This is so much easier and less stressful if a contingency plan is already in
places which provides for the worst case scenarios. When something unexpected happens and disrupts
plans, it can be difficult to think clearly, especially if senior managers and other stakeholders are making
a lot of noise and wanting to see action being taken to remedy the situation. This is easier to manage if
it has been anticipated and planned for.
There are some key questions to ask when developing a risk management plan:
Event: What could happen?
Probability: What is the probability of this happening (ranked High, Medium or Low)?
Impact: What would be the impact of this happening (ranked High, Medium or Low)?
Mitigation: How can I reduce the probability of this happening?
Contingency: How can I reduce the impact of this happening?
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Let’s look at how this might play out in practice using the example of the outsourced recruitment campaign again:
Event: What could happen? Recruiter could fail to deliver the recruitment
campaign
Probability: What is the probability of this
happening?
Medium
Impact: What would be the impact of this
happening?
High:
Unable to recruit the staff needed
Increased pressure on internal HR team
Inability to meet targets (both HR targets and
production targets)
Mitigation: How can I reduce the probability of
this happening?
Rigorous tendering process to select recruitment
organisation
Clear and firm service level agreement
Regular monitoring of service provided
Contingency: How can I reduce the impact of this
happening?
Phase recruitment over a period of several months
Use a variety of recruitment methods
Identify an alternative supplier (perhaps via the
tendering process)
As a result of conducting thinking similar to the above, it should be possible to identify those actions
which will help to reduce the probability of things going wrong and that if they do go wrong, there are
contingency plans in place to react to the situation to ensure minimal impact on the delivery of the HR
strategic objectives and targets.
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Learning Task Twelve
Taking one key objective or action from the strategic HR plan, describe how you will manage (or have
managed) risk using the following categories to explain your thinking:
Event
Probability
Impact
Mitigation
Contingency.
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Activity 2G
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3. Implement human resources strategic plan
3.1. Work with others to see that the plan is implemented
3.2. Monitor and review the plan
3.3. Adapt plan should circumstances change
3.4. Evaluate and review performance against plan objectives
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3.1 – Work with others to see that the plan is implemented
Working with others
The strategic HR plan is the document which will guide all HR activity in the period ahead. It sets out
priorities, key actions and key dependencies (i.e. those actions which depend on, or are affected by, the
completion of others). It is very unlikely that implementing the plan will be just one person’s
responsibility. Even in the smallest organisation with the simplest plan, it is likely that the range of
actions that is required will be the responsibility of more than one person.
Others involved in implementing the plan may include:
HR personnel
Line managers
Senior managers
Employee representative groups
External contractors
Outsourcing agencies
Suppliers.
Everyone (or every organisation) which has a part to play in the implementation of the plan needs to be very clear about:
What they are required to do
By when
To what standard
Within what budget (if applicable).
This can be achieved with individuals within the organisation
using individual action plans if appropriate. With external
partners, it would be advisable to have formal written
agreements setting out the expectations of things like the
delivery, timescales and costs.
It would be important to gain agreement to the actions listed in
the plan and to give the necessary authorisation for work to
proceed. This may involve an informal conversation with a
manager who is supporting a key action on the plan or it may
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require a formal tendering process to select and engage a third party HR services provider.
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Learning Task Thirteen
Identify at least three other groups or individuals who are involved in the implementation of the
strategic HR plan. Briefly describe the nature of their involvement and how you have worked with them
to engage them in the process.
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Activity 3A
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3.2 – Monitor and review the plan
Monitoring and reviewing
Monitoring and reviewing the plan is a crucial step in its implementation. An enormous amount of effort
goes into producing the plan and yet there is a real danger that initial enthusiasm for implementing it
wanes quickly after it has been approved. Within the actual plan itself, it is a good idea to build in key
review dates so that key personnel have a very clear expectation that they will be required to report on
their progress at certain milestones. Nothing focuses the mind quite like a deadline!
Whilst monitoring and review dates can be built into the strategic HR plan itself, it is also a good idea to
highlight key dates in your own personal planning system to act as a reminder that key actions need to
be followed up. It should not be necessary for the person with overall responsibility for the plan to
chase every single individual who has actions arising from it; instead, give the reporting responsibility to
the individuals themselves. Make it clear at the outset that there is an expectation that not only will
they carry out their agreed actions, but also that they will report back their progress at agreed intervals.
This puts the onus for reporting back squarely at the feet of those who are carrying out the actions and
the person with overall responsibility can then focus their attention on the overall picture in terms of
what’s being achieved.
In reviewing the plan, you will want to know:
Have actions been completed according to the plan?
If not, why is this and what is now being done to rectify this?
How will any incomplete actions affect the rest of the plan?
Has the budget been adhered to?
If not, why is this and what is now being done to rectify this?
What is the outcome of the actions taken so far?
What obstacles have there been and how have they been overcome?
Are any changes required to this part of the plan (or the overall plan) taking into
account current progress?
What new actions have emerged?
What are the implications of these new actions (e.g.
budget; time; people; etc.)?
What are the implications of progress so far on the
delivery of the overall strategic HR plan?
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Reviewing the plan satisfies a number of needs including:
Assurance that progress is being made
Ability to highlight problems and difficulties on a regular basis and take action to
address these
Ability to monitor expenditure and ensure it is in line with the budget
Opportunity to report progress to senior leadership team
Opportunity to give feedback to teams and individuals regarding the progress being
made.
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Learning Task Fourteen
Describe how you monitored and reviewed the implementation of your strategic HR plan.
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Activity 3B
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3.3 – Adapt plan should circumstances change
Adapting to change in circumstances
Things can change during the lifetime of a strategic plan. The circumstances in play at the time that plan
was developed may be quite different 12 months later. Hopefully, if the research stage has been
thorough, the strategic HR plan will have taken account of possible internal and external developments
that would affect the implementation of the plan. However, despite the more meticulous and rigorous
research, circumstances can change unexpectedly and this may have a significant impact on the delivery
of the strategic HR plan.
Some examples of changing circumstances that might affect the HR plan include:
Change in direction in the organisation’s strategic plan
Availability of newer, better, more cost effective technology, systems and processes.
Unexpected change in legislation or industry requirements
Closure of third party HR services provider
Unexpected illness of external contractor/consultant.
Regular monitoring and reviewing of the strategic HR plan will enable changes in circumstances such as
these to come to light so that decisions can be made to re-plan if necessary. The sooner that changes in
circumstances are identified, the sooner action can be taken to adapt the plan accordingly. This may
involve a complete review of the plan, almost starting back at the drawing board. However, it is more
realistic that changing circumstances will result in the organisation revisiting the contingencies that
have already been identified earlier in the strategic HR planning process and it should be a relatively
straightforward step to adjust the plans and then continue with the overall implementation.
The key to success in implementing a complex strategic plan is to be well-informed of developments as
they arise. Imagine if you were dependent upon a third party HR services provider to run a large scale
recruitment campaign by a certain date. What would happen if one week before the deadline you asked
for a progress update only to learn that there have been some personnel difficulties at the HR services
provider and they have only recruited 20% of the people needed? Earlier monitoring and notification
would probably mitigate the situation.
It is clear that regular and effective monitoring and review, and subsequent adjustments to plans are
essential parts of implementing the plan.
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Learning Task Fifteen
What adjustments did you make to the plan (if any), and why was this?
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Activity 3C
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3.4 – Evaluate and review performance against plan objectives
Evaluate and review performance
Review and evaluation is an important final step in the implementation of the strategic HR plan.
It enables you to:
Assess to what extent the original objectives in the plan were accurate appropriate and
feasible
Assess what has been achieved and the impact of this
Identify whether or not deadlines and budgets have been adhered to
Learn from what has worked well and what has not worked so well
Accurately report progress to stakeholders (e.g. senior management team).
Evaluation is often feared as a particularly intangible and challenging process to carry out. This should
not be the case if the objectives in the plan are clearly defined. If the objectives are vague, then it is not
surprising that they would be difficult to measure.
Compare the following objectives. How would you measure the achievement of each?
1. Improve workforce morale
2. Increase employee engagement through a 10% increase in participation in employee
consultation.
Objective 1 is written in vague terms and is therefore very difficult to measure. How would you know if
there had been an improvement in morale? The assessment of this is likely to be very subjective and
possibly based upon a person’s own observations and experiences. It would be hard to quantify how
much improvement, if any, had been achieved.
In contrast, Objective 2 includes a clear measure. What was the level of employee participation in
consultation activities? If it was 10% greater than previous levels, then the objective has been achieved.
If it was less than this, then it is clear how much has been achieved and what is still left to do. There is a
clear measure of success which can be reported and analysed.
Practical steps that can be taken to evaluate performance should already be
written into the objectives themselves. This demystifies the evaluation
process. If you know what you are aiming to achieve in the first place, it
should be relatively straightforward to assess whether or not you have
achieved it. You use the same data to evaluate as you did when drawing up
the objectives in the first place.
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For example, if your research was telling you that you need to increase the workforce by 15% within 12
months, then evaluating this is a simple process of calculating the increase that has been achieved in
that timescale. If you are aiming to reduce sickness absence by 25%, then calculating the current rate of
sickness will tell you whether or not this has been achieved.
Evaluation may involve the use of a wide range of HR data including:
Sickness absence
Lateness/time-keeping
Training
Promotions
Leavers
New recruits
Grievances
Disciplinary action.
Evaluation is a vital part of the strategic HR planning process. It tells you what has been achieved and
what has not been achieved. This is valuable information for improving the planning and
implementation process the next time.
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Learning Task Sixteen
Briefly describe how you evaluated performance against one objective in your strategic HR plan. What
methods of evaluation did you use and what did you learn from this?
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Activity 3D
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Skills and Knowledge Activity
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Nearly there…
Major Activity – An opportunity to revise the unit
At the end of your Learner Workbook, you will find an activity titled ‘Major Activity’. This is an
opportunity to revise the entire unit and allows your trainer to check your knowledge and
understanding of what you have covered. It should take between and 1-2 hours to complete and your
trainer will let you know whether they wish for you to complete it in your own time or during session.
Once this is completed, you will have finished this unit and be ready to move onto the next, well done!
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Congratulations!
You have now finished the unit ‘Manage human resources strategic planning’.
BSBHRM602
Manage human resources strategic planning
Learner Workbook
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
Candidate Details …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3
Assessment – BSBHRM602: Manage human resources strategic planning. ……………………………. 3
Competency Record to be completed by Assessor ……………………………………………………………… 4
Activities ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Activity 1A ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6
Activity 1B ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7
Activity 1C ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 8
Activity 1D ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9
Activity 1E…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
Activity 2A ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11
Activity 2B ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12
Activity 2C ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
Activity 2D ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 14
Activity 2E…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16
Activity 2F …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
Activity 2G ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 18
Activity 3A ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 19
Activity 3B ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 20
Activity 3C ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 21
Activity 3D ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 22
Skills and Knowledge Activity ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23
Major Activity ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 24
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Candidate Details
Assessment – BSBHRM602: Manage human resources strategic planning.
Please complete the following activities and hand in to your trainer for marking. This forms part of
your assessment for BSBHRM602: Manage human resources strategic planning.
Name: _____________________________________________________________
Address: _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Email: _____________________________________________________________
Employer: _____________________________________________________________
Declaration
I declare that no part of this assessment has been copied from another person’s work with the
exception of where I have listed or referenced documents or work and that no part of this
assessment has been written for me by another person.
Signed: ____________________________________________________________
Date: ____________________________________________________________
If activities have been completed as part of a small group or in pairs, details of the learners
involved should be provided below:
This activity workbook has been completed by the following persons and we acknowledge that it
was a fair team effort where everyone contributed equally to the work completed. We declare that
no part of this assessment has been copied from another person’s work with the exception of where
we have listed or referenced documents or work and that no part of this assessment has been
written for us by another person.
Learner 1: ____________________________________________________________
Signed: ____________________________________________________________
Learner 2: ____________________________________________________________
Signed: ____________________________________________________________
Learner 3: ____________________________________________________________
Signed: ____________________________________________________________
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Competency Record to be completed by Assessor
Learner Name: _______________________________________________________
Date of Assessment: _______________________________________________________
The learner has been assessed as competent in the elements and performance criteria and the
evidence has been presented as:
Assessor Initials
Authentic
Valid
Reliable
Current
Sufficient
Learner is deemed: COMPETENT NOT YET COMPETENT (Please circle)
If not yet competent, date for re-assessment: ____________________________________
Comments from Trainer / Assessor:
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Assessor Signature: ________________________________________________________
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Observation/Demonstration Throughout this unit, you will be expected to show your competency of the elements through
observations or demonstrations. Your instructor will have a list of demonstrations you must
complete or tasks to be observed. The observations and demonstrations will be completed as well as
the activities found in this workbook. An explanation of demonstrations and observations:
Demonstration is off-the-job
A demonstration will require:
Performing a skill or task that is asked of you
Undertaking a simulation exercise
Observation is on-the-job
The observation will usually require:
Performing a work based skill or task
Interaction with colleagues and/or customers
Your instructor will inform you of which one of the above they would like you to do. The
demonstration/observation will cover one of the unit’s elements.
The observation/demonstration will take place either in the workplace or the training environment,
depending on the task to be undertaken and whether it is an observation or demonstration. Your
instructor will ensure you are provided with the correct equipment and/or materials to complete the
task. They will also inform you of how long you have to complete the task.
You should be able to demonstrate you can:
Research planning requirements
Develop human resources strategic plan
Implement human resources strategic plan.
You will also need to show:
Literacy skills
Numeracy skills
Planning and organisational skills
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Research, learning and analysis skills.
Activities
Activity 1A
Estimated Time 30 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to analyse strategic plans to determine human resource strategic direction, objectives and targets.
Activity Why is it important to have a human resources (HR) strategic plan? What information do you need in order to determine the HR strategic plan? Why is it important to have clear and specific HR strategic objectives? Give an example of a clear and specific HR strategic objective.
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Activity 1B
Estimated Time 30 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to undertake additional environmental analysis to identify emerging practices and trends that may impact on human resources management in the organisation.
Activity Why is it important to undertake additional environmental analysis when developing the HR strategic plan?
Identify an organisation with which you are familiar. This may be your own organisation or another that you and the group are familiar with. Conduct a short PESTLE analysis, identifying at least five relevant factors in each of the PESTLE categories.
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Activity 1C
Estimated Time 30 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to identify future labour needs, skill requirements and options for sourcing labour supply.
Activity What are the key questions you need to consider when assessing the organisation’s future labour needs?
What are the possible sources of labour supply?
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Activity 1D
Estimated Time 20 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to consider new technology and its impact on job roles and job design.
Activity What potential impact could new technology have on job roles and job design?
Think about a technological change that has taken place in your organisation or sector in the past. From an HR strategic planning point of view, what worked well and what were the lessons learned from this experience? How does this inform your current strategic planning activity?
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Activity 1E
Estimated Time 15 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to review recent and potential changes to industrial and legal requirements.
Activity Identify a forthcoming change in employment legislation. What are the implications of this for an organisation?
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Activity 2A
Estimated Time 15 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to consult relevant managers about their human resources preferences.
Activity Why is it important to engage managers in discussions about their HR preferences, philosophies, values and policies? What methods can be used to consult with managers?
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Activity 2B
Estimated Time 15 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to agree on human resources philosophies, values and policies with relevant managers.
Activity Imagine that you are planning a consultation meeting with a group of managers in your organisation, the purpose of which is to establish their views about the organisation’s values and HR philosophy. Create an outline agenda for this meeting.
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Activity 2C
Estimated Time 30 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to develop strategic objectives and targets for human resources services.
Activity What is the purpose of strategic objectives and targets for HR services? Imagine that you are the HR Manager of a small manufacturing organisation which employs 55 employees in a variety of production, warehousing, administration, sales and management roles. The organisation has ambitious plans for expansion, aiming to double its turnover within the next five years. What would be the key HR priorities for this organisation? For one of the priorities, draft a potential strategic objective.
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Activity 2D
Estimated Time 30 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to examine options for the provision of human resources services and analyse costs and benefits.
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Activity Why is it important to examine options for the provision of HR services? What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with each of the following options?
Advantages Disadvantages
External consultant
Outsourcing
Internal HR service
Internal non-human HR service
Merging business units
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Activity 2E
Estimated Time 15 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to identify appropriate technology and systems to support agreed human resources programs and practices.
Activity Give three examples of technology and systems which can be used to support HR programs and practices. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
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Activity 2F
Estimated Time 15 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to write strategic human resources plan and obtain senior management support for the plan.
Activity Why is it important to obtain senior management support for the strategic HR plan? What steps can be taken to enlist senior management support for the strategic HR plan?
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Activity 2G
Estimated Time 10 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to develop risk management plans to support the strategic human resources plan.
Activity What factors might pose a risk to the strategic HR plan? How can risk to the implementation of the HR plan be minimised?
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Activity 3A
Estimated Time 20 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to work with others to see that the plan is implemented.
Activity Who may be involved in the implementation of the strategic HR plan? Imagine that your strategic HR plan includes an action for a manager to lead a working party to explore different options for employee benefits. They have volunteered for this as part of their ongoing professional development. You are meeting with them to brief them on their role. Draft an outline agenda for this meeting, highlighting the key items that you would want to discuss with this person.
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Activity 3B
Estimated Time 10 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to monitor and review the plan.
Activity Why is it important to monitor and review the implementation of the strategic HR plan? What steps can you take to monitor and review the plan?
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Activity 3C
Estimated Time 10 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to adapt plan should circumstances change.
Activity What changes in circumstances have you encountered which have affected the implementation of strategic HR plans? What action can be taken if circumstances change during the implementation of the plan?
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Activity 3D
Estimated Time 15 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to evaluate and review performance against plan objectives.
Activity Why is it important to evaluate and review performance against the plan objectives? What types of data might you review in order to evaluate performance against objectives?
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Skills and Knowledge Activity
Estimated Time 45 Minutes
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the required skills, knowledge and critical aspects of assessment.
Activity Complete the following individually and attach your completed work to your workbook. The answers to the following questions will enable you to demonstrate your
knowledge of:
Literacy skills
Numeracy skills
Planning and organisational skills
Research, learning and analysis skills
Human resources practices and functions
Impact of technology on job roles
Labour market options for sourcing labour supply
Requirements of a strategic plan.
Answer each question in as much detail as possible, considering your organisational requirements for each one. 1. What HR practices and functions may be incorporated into or affected by
the strategic HR plan?
What is the potential impact of technology on job roles? What options exist for sourcing labour supply?
What are the key elements of a strategic plan?
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Major Activity
Estimated Time 1 Hour
Objective To provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of the entire unit.
Activity This is a major activity – your instructor will let you know whether you will complete it during class or in your own time.
Attach your completed answers to the workbook.
You must individually, answer the following questions in full to show your competency of each element:
1. Research planning requirements
2. Develop human resources strategic plan
3. Implement human resources strategic plan
1. Describe how you researched the requirements for the strategic HR plan.
You should mention the following: Overall organisational strategic plans Environmental analysis to identify emerging practices and trends Future labour needs and options for sourcing labour supply New technology and the impact on job roles Recent and potential changes in legislation and industrial requirements
2. Describe how you developed the strategic HR plan. You should mention the
following: Managers’ HR preferences HR philosophies, values and policies Strategic HR objectives and targets Options for the provision of HR services Technology and systems to support HR programs and practices
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Senior management support for the plan Risk management
3. Describe how you implemented the strategic HR plan. You should mention the following: How you worked with others to implement the plan How you monitored and reviewed the plan Any changes in circumstances which led to the plan being adapted How you evaluated and reviewed performance against the plan
BSBHRM602 Manage human resources
strategic planning
Housekeeping
Emergency procedures
Mobiles, security issues
Break times/smoking policy
This course is “interactive” – ask questions
Respect, confidentiality, practice
Ground rules
Objectives
Discover how to research planning requirements
Know how to develop human resources strategic plan
Learn how to implement human resources strategic plan
Gain essential skills and knowledge required for this unit.
Research planning requirements
1.1 Analyse strategic plans to determine human resource strategic direction, objectives and targets
Human resources strategic planning
Important business component
Links the ‘people’ aspect directly to overall plan
Enables people to be ready to meet demands
Ensures right number of people with the right skills are in the right place at the right time
Enables good decision-making
Can predict costs.
Strategic HR planning process
Assessing current HR capacity
Forecasting HR requirements aligned to the organisation’s future direction
Gap analysis
Developing HR strategies to support overall organisational strategy.
SMART objectives
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic (or Relevant)
Time-bound.
Learning Task One
Activity 1A
Research planning requirements
1.2 Undertake additional environmental analysis to identify emerging practices and trends that may impact on human resources management in the organisation
PESTLE
A tool that is commonly used to undertake an environmental analysis is PESTLE.
Political
Economic
Sociological
Technological
Legal
Environmental.
Conducting a PESTLE analysis
Decide how the information is to be collected and by whom
Identify appropriate sources of information
Gather the information
Analyse the findings and identify the most important issues
Identify strategic options
Incorporate the findings in strategic planning processes
Decide which trends should be monitored on an ongoing basis and what actions need to be taken.
Learning Task Two
Activity 1B
Research planning requirements
1.3 Identify future labour needs, skill requirements and options for sourcing labour supply
Future labour needs
Competency
Number
Quality
Type.
Recruitment options
Hiring casual labour
Hiring new graduates or trainees
Employing off-shore workers
Outsourcing
Using contractors or consultants.
Learning Task Three
Activity 1C
Research planning requirements
1.4 Consider new technology and its impact on job roles and job design
Technology
When creating a HR strategic plan, consider: Do any of the organisation’s strategic objectives
relate to the use of new technology? What information was gathered about technology
from the environmental analysis exercise? Is investment being made in new technology? If so,
what specifically is being introduced? What’s happening in your sector generally in terms
of technological advances? (e.g. is new equipment being developed?)
If new technology is introduced, how will that affect job roles?
The impact of technology on job roles
Technology may affect:
The work that people do
The number of people required to do the work
The location of people doing the work
Working practices and procedures
The knowledge and skills required to do the work.
Learning Task Four
Activity 1D
Research planning requirements
1.5 Review recent and potential changes to industrial and legal requirements
Industrial and legal requirements
It is useful to be aware of recent and potential changes in employment law.
Consider the following recent/forthcoming changes in legislation:
o Small business, enterprise and employment bill
o Zero hours contracts
o Workplace bullying
o Shared parental leave
o Adoption leave.
Learning Task Five
Activity 1E
Develop human resources strategic plan
2.1 Consult relevant managers about their human resources preferences
Consulting with managers
You cannot work in isolation
Essential to consult with managers
Will help with successful implementation later
Ensures plans are affordable, realistic and effective.
Managers views
Numbers of workers required
Working hours
Workers’ locations, if relevant
Job roles and responsibilities
Levels of knowledge and skills required.
Learning Task Six
Activity 2A
Develop human resources strategic plan
2.2 Agree on human resources philosophies, values and policies with relevant managers
HR philosophies, values and policies
Guiding principles
‘This is how we do things here’
The leadership style of management team
Corporate culture and values
Philosophy is normally informal.
Agreeing philosophies and values
Complex process
Vital that employees across the whole organisation are engaged in the process
Learning Task Seven
Activity 2B
Develop human resources strategic plan
2.3 Develop strategic objectives and targets for human resources services
Developing objectives and targets
Objectives and targets may relate to:
Equal employment opportunity and diversity
Human resources information systems
Industrial relations
Job analysis and design
OHS
Performance management
Professional development
Recruitment and selection
Staff retention and succession planning.
Learning Task Eight
Activity 2C
Develop human resources strategic plan
2.4 Examine options for the provision of human resources services and analyse costs and benefits
Options for the provision of HR services
External provision by a consultant or contractor
Having the work performed elsewhere (outsourcing)
Internal human resources provision of the service
Internal non-human resources provision of the service
Merging of business units.
Cost/benefit analysis
List costs and benefits
Assign a monetary value to the costs
Assign a monetary value to the benefits
Compare costs and benefits.
Learning Task Nine
Activity 2D
Develop human resources strategic plan
2.5 Identify appropriate technology and systems to support agreed human resources programs and practices
Technology
Technology may be used to support:
Non-human HR services such as payroll administration and e-learning
Performance management processes, using automated reminders and documentation to support the interaction between a manager and employee
Training and development to plan, record and manage training records and activities.
Advantages of using technology
Can improve efficiency of record-keeping and data analysis
Possible to extract data according to a wide range of factors
Can be customised to include useful functions.
Learning Task Ten
Activity 2E
Develop human resources strategic plan
2.6 Write strategic human resources plan and obtain senior management support for the plan
Human resource plan
‘This is how we are going to help achieve the organisation’s overall plan’
Guides HR function over next period
Give reassurance that the HR function is working
Format will be unique to your organisation.
Key factors
Budget
Priorities
Objectives
Timeframes.
Learning Task Eleven
Activity 2F
Develop human resources strategic plan
2.7 Develop risk management plans to support the strategic human resources plan
Risk management
A range of factors can pose a risk, including:
Decrease in sales
Financial difficulties
Emergence of new competitors
Problems associated with products/services
Non-delivery or problems with new equipment
Legal difficulties
Problems associated with suppliers
Problems with the workforce.
Risk management plans
Event: What could happen?
Probability: What is the probability of this happening (ranked High, Medium or Low)?
Impact: What would be the impact of this happening (ranked High, Medium or Low)?
Mitigation: How can I reduce the probability of this happening?
Contingency: How can I reduce the impact of this happening?
Learning Task Twelve
Activity 2G
Implement human resources strategic plan
3.1 Work with others to see that the plan is implemented
Working with others
Others involved in implementing the plan may include:
HR personnel
Line managers
Senior managers
Employee representative groups
External contractors
Outsourcing agencies
Suppliers.
What should they know?
What they are required to do?
By when?
To what standard?
Within what budget (if applicable)?
Learning Task Thirteen
Activity 3A
Implement human resources strategic plan
3.2 Monitor and review the plan
Reviewing the plan
Have actions been completed according to the plan?
If not, why is this and what is now being done to rectify this?
How will any incomplete actions affect the rest of the plan?
Has the budget been adhered to?
If not, why is this and what is now being done to rectify this?
What is the outcome of the actions taken so far?
Reviewing the plan
What obstacles have there been and how have they been overcome?
Are any changes required to this part of the plan (or the overall plan) taking into account current progress?
What new actions have emerged?
What are the implications of these new actions (e.g. budget; time; people; etc.)?
What are the implications of progress so far on the delivery of the overall strategic HR plan?
Learning Task Fourteen
Activity 3B
Implement human resources strategic plan
3.3 Adapt plan should circumstances change
Changing circumstances
Some examples of changing circumstances that might affect the HR plan include:
Change in direction in the organisation’s strategic plan
Availability of newer, better, more cost effective technology, systems and processes.
Unexpected change in legislation or industry requirements
Closure of third party HR services provider
Unexpected illness of external contractor/consultant.
Adapting to changes
Unexpected changes have a significant impact on the delivery of the plan
May need to re-plan
Complete review and start again
Or adjust the plans.
Learning Task Fifteen
Activity 3C
Implement human resources strategic plan
3.4 Evaluate and review performance against plan objectives
Evaluate performance
It enables you to:
Assess whether objectives were appropriate and feasible
Assess what has been achieved and the impact of this
Identify whether or not deadlines and budgets have been adhered to
Learn from what has worked well and what has not worked so well
Accurately report progress to stakeholders (e.g. senior management team).
Evaluation process
Use HR data including:
Sickness absence
Lateness/time-keeping
Training
Promotions
Leavers
New recruits
Grievances
Disciplinary action.
Learning Task Sixteen
Activity 3D
Skills and Knowledge Activity
Major Activity
This activity should take anywhere between an 1-2 hours to complete and can be found at the end of your workbook.
Your instructor will let you know whether they wish for you to complete it in session time or your own time.
Summary and Feedback
Did we meet our objectives?
How did you find this session?
Any questions?
Congratulations!
You have now finished the unit…
‘Manage human resources strategic planning’
