How it works

As with the development of any HR strategy, process, practice, program, or technology, it is crucial to understand the business strategies that a Lean HR approach must align with. Not only does this establish a clear business purpose for fostering this mindset and capability within and across HR, but it also enhances HR's credibility as a valued contributor to achieving business and operational missions, strategies, and objectives. This practice focuses on increasing HR efficiency and reducing activities that do not add value, providing a critical starting point for implementing Lean HR.

looks_oneIdentify critical mission, business, and operational objectives and translate those into Lean HR improvement opportunities

The first crucial step is to identify key business goals by engaging with leadership and understanding the organization's strategic vision, including its long-term mission and strategic goals. That starts by collecting all relevant information and documents that reflect the organization’s direction and challenges, typically documented in annual or longer-term strategic plans (at the top, market, business unit, and functional levels). This process also involves participating in regular strategic planning sessions and leadership meetings where business objectives and priorities are discussed, reviewed, and refined. HR’s role in these discussions is to translate how their processes, systems, and actions directly impact business outcomes beyond their traditional HR responsibilities. Once the overall business goals are clear, HR translates these into specific, measurable objectives. Those become the starting point that can be refined over time as lessons are learned through the application of Lean methodologies.