Wondering why a killer people strategy has become so relevant for HR teams? As you already know, retention and development are vital to the present and future of your organization. This is what makes a people strategy superior to traditional HR strategies. It focuses on keeping your staff sticky and developing them too.
So, just for a moment, forget about just attracting top-notch candidates. It’s a hollow victory if your talented new hires are coming and going faster than you can say “employee engagement”. This is what a solid people strategy helps you avoid.
You see, most businesses are tossing around terms like “employee engagement” and “employee experience” these days. The right noises are being made. But the policies to back it up are too often MIA, despite best intentions.
And here’s the thing… People-centric policies and initiatives go together with better performance. In short, happy employees = less turnover.
So, isn’t it time to savvy up and think about a people strategy? Read on to learn why you should – and what you need to help you get there.
What is a People Strategy?
Think of a people strategy like a HR strategy on rocket fuel. But this next generation strategy has so much more going for it than dealing with the nitty-gritty of staff logistics. Moreover, a people strategy is an organizational masterplan to recruit, retain, train, and engage your workforce.
“HR strategies include processes for how to recruit, onboard, evaluate, compensate, etc,” said the AIHR’s Andrea Boatman in her recent article, 9 Core Elements of a Future-Proof People Strategy. “People strategies outline ways to improve how employees carry out their roles by assessing and nurturing employees’ capabilities, as well as managing the relationship between the employees and the organization,” she continued. “This puts skilled people in the right position to deliver what it takes to achieve the business goals.”.”
It’s a prime opportunity for HR to take center stage, although it’s not a solo gig for HR leaders. C-level executives, Finance, and line managers also have roles to play. This is because a people strategy takes a broader approach. You could say it’s a blueprint for business success.
Let’s walk through the basics of crafting a people strategy to galvanize your staff while supporting your overall business goals.
Unleash the Data with HR Analytics
If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. But you can’t even measure it in the first place if you’re dealing with apples and oranges. This is what many HR professionals are up against. They’ve got exponential amounts of data in their ATS, HCM or HRIS, onboarding, L&D and payroll systems, and good old faithful spreadsheets!
The problem is pulling it all together and mixing in up to produce something of value to the business. This is where HR analytics has the power to transform an old school HR strategy into a future fit people strategy.
For this purpose, elite HR analytics software is a welcome addition to your team, combining everything locked in your existing systems. And yes, that means your spreadsheets too! It then processes your data to weave together all the different strands, such as:
- Turnover rates
- Sick leave
- Talent development
- Diversity and inclusion, e.g. gender ratios, employee ages, attrition versus promotion rates within underrepresented groups
- Leadership improvement
- And much more…
The gigantic difference is this… Your data is no longer just for show once HR analytics does something meaningful with it. And that something is equipping you with next level to inform and dictate your people strategy. As a result, you can identify any problems and plan a route towards desired business outcomes.
For example, L&D might come to light as something you should be doing more of and/or doing better.
Leverage Learning & Development
A people strategy without a L&D plan is like mac without cheese – dry and short on flavor! After all, you know more employees would stick around for more opportunities to spruce up their skill sets. So why are you sitting on the fence and watching them disappear?
Instead, think about what your people want AND what your business needs to stay ahead the pack. This might go beyond mandatory training to mentorship programs, coaching, and upskilling.
With the help of HR analytics, you can even identify the learning styles your people are responding best to. Do they prefer self-service e-learning modules, in-person, or blended workshops? When you know, you can tailor training to the unique needs of every team member.
Couple ‘what’ with ‘how’ and what have you got? A powerful recipe for cooking up personalized learning paths where one size doesn’t fit all.
Drill Down into Diversity
Any people strategy circa 2024 should account for a diverse workforce that mirrors your equally diverse customer bases. It should also focus on an equitable and inclusive environment for them to thrive in.
A good HR analytics software system provides thought-provoking insights into questions you might have around DEI. For example:
- Are you attracting and recruiting a diverse range of talent?
- Are you paying and promoting fairly?
- Are you providing L&D opportunities fairly?
- How successful are you at retaining your workforce?
- How inclusive is your company culture? How is it inclusive?
And when you know what you’re dealing with, you can strategize to shatter that glass ceiling and ensure equal opportunities in a workplace where everyone feels safe, included, and respected.
Ignite Their ‘Why’
A sense of purpose boosts performance and engagement. So, don’t confine your people strategy to bosses only. Share your game plan with everybody, across all levels.
It’s wasted potential if you treat it as another tick box document. Instead, be loud and proud about it. Enthusiasm is contagious. So, use it to inspire employees and instil a sense of everybody working together to shared goals.
Predict and Prepare
Creating and implementing your people strategy is just the start. Once you’re up and running, you can get really clever by tracking and analyzing results to map out the future.
With HR analytics, it’s as easy as the push of a button to:
- Measure your results regularly and consistently
- Identify areas where you’re exceeding expectations and seeing if you can duplicate the same success in other areas of the business
- Unearth any bottlenecks or problems holding the business back from hitting targets
- Tweak your strategy
And remember, flexibility is your secret ingredient. An effective people strategy isn’t set in stone. On the contrary, it should be a living, breathing entity that evolves with the business and market conditions. For this reason, HR analytics makes light work of what can be not impossible but really tough to achieve manually, without the necessary tools.
Creating a game-changing people strategy is effortless and rewarding with HireRoad’s PeopleInsight system. It’s purpose-designed by HR professionals for HR professionals, supplemented with state-of-the-art technology, empowering you to:
- Gather data
- Analyze insights
- Pay attention to the needs of your workforce in line with overall business objectives
- Plan and implement learning, development, and inclusion to support engagement and retention
Ready to get started without spending days crunching numbers and still not producing anything useable? If you want to learn more about HR analytics software, then book a free demo and see how it can help your HR team align your people situation with the present and future needs of the business.