This guide is part of a progression set comprised of Core, Advanced, and Emerging HR Strategy practices.

What it is

Advanced HR Strategy is a refined approach to planning long-term HR priorities. It involves increased specificity of plans and goals around key employee groupings and uses detailed workforce data and projections to clarify the needs and trends impacting those groups. It defines how HR work will be done and how its services will be delivered in a way that matches the resource and budget profile of the organization, leveraging technology to create efficiencies and drive increased efficiency and effectiveness. It generates guidance on the types and levels of roles needed to deliver the defined services, the number of employees needed in each role, how they will be allocated across areas of specialization, and by whom they will be managed.    

At this level, HR Strategy more clearly delineates what HR services will be delivered to targeted employee segments and how those will differ. The focus becomes one of attending to the needs of the most strategically valuable employees in a manner that suits their status while maintaining solid practices that encourage the quality recruitment, development, and retention of other employee groupings. It leverages HR technologies to streamline and improve employee and manager transactions, talent management processes, and information while providing access to insights that can be used to identify weaknesses or gaps in how well HR services meet employee needs.

Why use it

Advanced HR Strategy adds data and processes that hone the delivery of HR services designed to support the organization's pursuit of heightened outcomes. It leverages workforce segmentation to define the relative value of each role in the company and clarify the focus that will be placed on the roles that disproportionately impact the strategic objectives of the company. It uses that data and detailed assessments of supply and demand from workforce planning to clarify the areas to focus on as the company strives to add strategically essential skills and capabilities through recruitment, development, and retention. Data becomes an invaluable asset because it increases the objectivity of the challenges faced and thus the reliability of any resulting projections and plans to address those.

The advanced strategy also addresses how HR services will be delivered and by whom (e.g., HR Specialists or Business Partners) or what (e.g., technology), adding a business basis to the staffing and resourcing of the HR function. It further defines the improvements to be made by leveraging either existing or new HR technologies for providing more efficient and cost-effective processing of typical HR functions by employees and managers while producing invaluable insights via the metrics and reporting capabilities either inherent in or additive to those technologies.

Outcomes

The advanced HR strategy approach yields significant outcomes poised to drive organizational performance and growth. Firstly, a standout achievement is developing strategies tailored to key employee segments. This approach recognizes different workforce segments' diverse needs and aspirations, ensuring that HR initiatives are finely tuned to maximize engagement, retention, and productivity within each of these groups. It lays the foundation for a more personalized and impactful employee experience.

Secondly, a refined HR Service delivery model defines how HR services operate, streamlining processes, enhancing efficiency, and emphasizing employee self-service capabilities. It promises to simplify HR transactions while freeing up HR professionals to focus on more strategic and value-added activities, aligning HR with modern service delivery expectations.

Furthermore, the HR Organization structure is configured to match the evolving needs of the business. This structuring ensures that HR functions are aligned with the company's strategic priorities and fosters greater agility and responsiveness in HR operations. It assigns headcount to conduct and manage the business of HR, ensuring that sufficient resourcing is available to design, develop, and administer the variety of functions needed to meet business needs and goals. It creates a framework that promotes integration and cross-functional collaboration, enhancing the overall HR function's effectiveness.

Lastly, the HR Technology strategy sets the stage for technological advancement, efficiency, and effectiveness across HR. This strategy empowers HR to leverage data analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence to make data-driven decisions, enhance talent management, and optimize HR processes by identifying and prioritizing the right HR technologies. It positions HR as a driver of digital transformation within the organization.

Incorporating advanced HR strategy practices brings more effective and targeted approaches to understanding and addressing the specific needs of the highest-impact workforce segments, driving improved talent management solutions where they will make the greatest impact. It also enhances HR service and support delivery capabilities through more refined design, distribution, and assignment of HR resources and infrastructure in a manner that is best aligned with operational efficiencies and business needs.

Practice guides at this level

Leveraging workforce planning and analysis to assess the current state of key employee segments.

Generating inputs and insights from workforce planning and analysis to inform advance planning and refinement of HR programs and services in priority workforce segments.  

Evaluating and selecting an HR service delivery model that optimizes short and longer-term impact.

Identifying the most appropriate vehicles and roles for delivering different types of HR services to the organization given the business structure, manager and employee needs, and support expectations.

Structuring the HR organization to best meet business needs.

Designing an HR organization to support business initiatives and requirements, considering the available HR budget, business organizational structure, strategic plans, critical workforce segments, and the company's culture. 

Using technology to deliver streamlined HR services and insights.

Defining an HR technology strategy that considers productivity gains in processing HR transactions and seeks increased efficiencies and enhanced user experiences.