HR and

Organization Strategy
Steven V. Manderscheid, Ed.D.
 Road Map

 Introductions and course overview.

 Changes in the professional world.
 Strategic HR/strategy alignment and
competencies.
 Leadership and management.
 Strategy management and planning.
 Strategic formation and implementation.

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 Strategic HR Defined

Strategic HR increases an organization’s ability

to achieve its vision, mission and strategic
objectives. This is done by developing (not in a
vacuum) HR strategies (initiatives) that align
with the organization’s direction.

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 Strategic HR

What does it mean to be strategic from

an HR standpoint?

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 How Can this Be Done?

 One or more HR professionals (leaders) are

involved in the organization’s strategic planning
efforts (best-case scenario).
 HR will develop a strategic plan to support the
overarching plan.
 HR is asked to lead strategic planning for the
organization.
 HR is asked to find a professional to lead
strategic planning for the organization.
 HR is an advocate for strategic planning so the
organization has a foundation to develop its
plans.

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 Effective HR Leaders

 Identify someone you believe is an

effective HR leader. Then identify someone
you believe is a marginal HR leader.
 Identify the attributes and characteristics of
each. Why would you want to work or not
want to work with them in the future?
 Work in small groups. Share your
examples and create a list that shows
marginal leadership characteristics and
best leadership characteristics.

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 HR Competencies

Business Professional &

Competence Technical
Knowledge

HR Professional

Integrati Ability to Manage

on and/or Lead Change
Compete
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2000).
Humannceresource management: Gaining a competitive
advantage (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Irwin McGraw-Hill
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 HR Leaders

How do you differentiate between

HR leaders and HR managers?

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 Managers and Leaders

“Management is
responsible for
maintaining order;
leadership is responsible
for producing change or
movement.”

Kotter, J. P. (1990). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, May-June, p. 1

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 Managers and Leaders

In addition to Kotter’s definition, Bennis provides

the following for differentiating between managers
and leaders:
 Managers administer; leaders innovate.
 Managers maintain; leaders develop.
 Managers control; leaders inspire.
 Managers have a short-term view; leaders, a
long-term view.
 Managers ask “how” and “when”; leaders ask
“what” and “why”.
 Managers accept the status quo; leaders
challenge it.
Bennis, W. G. (1989). On becoming a leader. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley
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 Leadership Defined

Northouse defines leadership as a process.

Leadership involves influence; leadership occurs
within a group context; leadership involves goal
attainment. Based on the previous construct,
Northouse further defines leadership as “a process
whereby an individual influences a group of
individuals to achieve a common goal.”
According to Bennis, leaders tend to share some, if
not all, of the following three characteristics: they
establish a guiding vision; they have passion; and
they act with integrity. Bennis further defines
leadership as “a process by which an agent induces
a subordinate to behave in a desired manner.”

Bennis, W. G. (1989). On becoming a leader. Reading, MA:

Addison-Wesley.
Northouse, P. G. (2001). Leadership: theory and practice.
Thousand Oaks, CA:
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on Indian
 Consensus

Consensus is a decision that all team members

can support. It may be--but is not necessarily--the
alternative most preferred by all members. When
true consensus is reached through a process in
which everyone participates, the output is usually
a superior quality decision. Moreover, it is a
decision having widespread acceptance and
support for implementation. Most important, team
members are motivated to see the decision
through to completion (Brilhart and Galanes,
1989).

Brilhart, J. K., and Galanes, G. J. (1989). Effective Group Decisions.

Dubuque, IA: William C Brown Publishers. p. 201-203.

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 Involvement

Involvement is a key leadership practice to

ensure you facilitate ownership and gain
commitment and involvement. It results in
better decisions before moving forward with
valuable organizational resources.

Know who to involve, when, how much,

how often, etc. Each situation is different
but before moving forward with a strategic
initiative, be sure you have laid a
foundation for success.

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 What is Strategic Planning?

A strategic plan is a road map to lead an

organization from where it is now to where
it would like to be.
Strategy formation is a set of processes
involved in creating or determining the
organization’s strategies.
Strategy implementation are the methods
by which strategies are operationalized or
executed.

Griffin, R. W. (2002). Management (7th ed.). Boston:

Houghton Mifflin Company.

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 Strategic Planning

 Clarify or develop a vision, mission and

values.
 Conduct a SWOT analysis.
 Identify four to six key focus areas.
 Develop strategic goals.
 Create action plans.
 Develop a follow-up process and
communication plan.

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 Two Constructs to Consider

Operational Effectiveness – Is your organization

performing similar activities better than your
competitors?

Strategic Positioning – What actions can your

organization take to distinguish itself from
competitors? What does your organization consider
to be its competitive differentiators in the
marketplace?

Note: It is important to have clarity on these concepts before

starting the strategic formation process because they provide
a guide as the organization develops strategic initiatives.

Porter, M. (1996, November–December). What is

strategy? Harvard Business Review, 74(6), 61–78.
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 Active Inertia

Active inertia is an organization’s tendency

to follow established behavioral patterns
even in response to dramatic
environmental shifts. Because they are
stuck in the modes of thinking and working
that brought success in the past, leaders
perpetuate their tried-and-true activities.

Sull, D. (1999, July-August). Why good

companies go bad. Harvard Business Review,
77(4), 42-52.
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 Strategic Plan and Vision

A strategic plan is a road map to lead an

organization from where it is now to where
it would like to be.
A vision is an engineer’s rendering of the
achievement of that map.
HR should have a supporting vision and
strategic plan as well; there must be
alignment.

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 Vision

 A vision is a depiction of what you would like

your organization and HR department to be
like in the future.
 A vision statement is a brief explanation (one
or two sentences) with some explicit
commentary about why the vision is desirable.
Vision statements should be more than
slogans. They are a distillation of your
organization’s values, dreams and priorities.

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 Characteristics of an Effective Vision

Imaginable: Conveys a picture of what the future will look

like.
Desirable: Appeals to your long-term interests and the
interests of other stakeholders.
Feasible: Has realistic, attainable goals.
Focused: Is clear enough to help guide decision-making.
Flexible: Is general enough to allow for individual initiative
and alternative responses in light of changing conditions.
Comprehensible: Is easy to communicate; can be
successfully explained within five minutes.

Kotter, J. (1996). Leading Change. Boston, MA: Harvard

Business
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on IndianPress.
HR industry, click here
 Mission

Effective mission statements include the

following elements:
 The concept of your organization.
 The nature of your business.
 The reason your organization exists.
 The people you serve.
 The principles and values under which you
intend to operate.

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 Sample Mission Statements

XYZ is committed to delivering exemplary,

compassionate and professionally rewarding
internal medicine care to patients with complex
multi-system diseases.

XYZ’s HR department is committed to providing

professional, progressive and strategic human
resource leadership to all stakeholders.

XYZ’s HR department provides the organization

with people, policies, processes and practices that
best support a flow of talent capable of meeting
businesses’ needs.

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 Values

Values are the essential and enduring

tenets of an organization--the guiding
principles that have a profound effect on
how everyone in the organization thinks
and acts.

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 Types of Values

Core values are the values applied in daily

choices. For example, a core value might be
honesty; you act on it when you consistently tell
the truth and are frank and open with people.

Inspirational values are the values you want

more of in your life. A good example might be to
achieve better work/life balance. If you are not
actively working on it, develop strategies about
how to achieve it.

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 Why Values?

Why is it important to identify and

articulate values?
Values create alignment and drive
behavior. They provide a framework to
help make decisions, prioritize actions
and interact with each other.
Articulating values is a representation of
the organization to the outside world…
your stakeholders.

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 SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool

used to evaluate strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats. A SWOT analysis
informs the goal-setting process and provides
a context for future strategic planning
discussions.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal to

an organization.
Opportunities and threats originate from
outside the organization.

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 A Sample SWOT Analysis Matrix

Positive Negative
Strengths Weaknesses
High-quality employees. Vagueness of role in our acquisition
Strong, committed HR staff. strategy.
Good reputation in the Lack of data or measurements.
organization. Poor communication.
Internal

Location (close to our HR partner bandwidth.

stakeholders). The volume of HR initiative on the table.
Good rapport with other Compensation design and benefit
departments. program.
Work well as a team.
Good technical competence and
tools.

Opportunities Threats
External

Stability in leadership. Budgetary constraints.

Expansion of services. Stagnation/complacency.
Referral centers. Turnover/leadership changes.
Integrate talent management Rising health care costs.
systems. Internal conflicts & overworked
Secure new talent via our merger. employees.
Further develop our self-service Marketplace uncertainty.
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 Key Focus Areas

Key focus areas are the areas in which the

organization will focus its attention in the next 1-3
years.
Leaders should assign ownership of each key focus
area and identify objectives and action plans. From
an HR perspective, key owners could be HRD
managers, compensation specialists, HR regional
directors, etc.
Note: Ensure consensus on 4-6 key focus areas. This
will increase the likelihood of cross organizational
support.

Kusy, M., & McBain, R. (2000). Putting real value into strategic
planning: Moving beyond never-never land! Organization
Development Practitioner, 32(2), 22.
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 Sample Key Focus Areas

Employees: XYZ Corporation will proactively

attract and retain a committed and qualified
professional staff to meet our clients’ needs.
Programs: The HR department will define HR IT
systems and programs to streamline processes
and better serve our stakeholders.

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 SMARTS Goals

 Specific: Is the statement clear

and concise?
 Measurable: Is the statement
quantifiable?
 Attainable: Is the statement
realistic?
 Reasonable: Can it be
accomplished under current
conditions and with current
resources?
 Time For more on Indian HR industry, click here
Specific: Does have a
 Sample SMARTS Goals

 By June 15, reduce the average human

resource service center response time by 15
percent.
Performance measure: Response time.

 Develop and communicate an organization-

wide total rewards and value proposition by
May 1.
Performance measure: A plan with strategies, action
steps and measures that starts in late May.

 Conduct two formal manager feedback

sessions every three months and use the
feedback to develop a written report with
recommendations to improve the
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organization’s talent acquisition process.
 Template

Owner:
Team:

Key Focus Area:

Strategic Objective Activities Completion Measureme

#1 Date nt

Strategic Objective
#2

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 Implementing Strategy

 Ensure that leaders can communicate the plan

and manage performance.
 Assign ownership of key focus areas and
goals.
 Establish interim debrief sessions with owners
and measure the progress.
 Acknowledge and make success visible.
 Link strategic goals and values to the
performance systems.

Manderscheid, S., & Kusy, M. (2005). How to Design Strategy With

No Dust—Just Results!
Organization
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 Emergent v. Intended Strategies

 An intended or deliberate strategy is an intended

plan which is then realized.

 An emergent strategy is a set of actions or behavior

that is consistent over time; a “realized pattern [that]
was not expressly intended” in the original planning
of strategy.

Most strategies involve a bit of both. A pure

deliberate strategy requires that the outcome was
realized totally as intended (unlikely). An emergent
strategy typically incorporates consistent actions that
will have some intentionality.

Mintzberg, H. (1994). The rise and fall of strategic planning. New

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 Thank You!

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Resource made available by SHRM US