HR Needs to Step Up to the Plate!

It is well documented that most companies have a formal strategic-planning process but don’t use it to make many of their most important decisions. Less than half of the respondents of a recent survey demonstrated that they are satisfied with their company’s approach to making strategic decisions. It has also been demonstrated that greater satisfaction could come from improving the company’s ability to align their people with their strategic plan and from monitoring progress against the plan.

So what are we doing wrong? Are we not looking at our current methodology for both the creation of the plan and the implementation of the needed actions? The missing link is usually found within the implementation or monitoring component. It is projected that 65% of the components of most plans never even get implemented. Is it because we aren’t willing to put the time and energy into the implementation process or we don’t consider it a high priority?

Strategic Planning is critical to the continued success of any organization yet most employees feel that critical decision-making is left to a select few. The two top suggestions for improving the company’s approach to strategic development are: improve the alignment with the strategic plan and develop better methods to monitor progress against the plan.

Surveys have also demonstrated that executive concerns about executing and aligning strategy are likely exacerbated by a perceived lack of integration between the company’s strategic-planning group and its human resource group. When asked to consider strategic planning’s integration with several corporate functions, respondents in a nationwide survey ranked HR as second-to-last in terms of degree of integration. Respondents who were dissatisfied with their company’s strategic planning see the least integration.

Isn’t it time that HR steps up to the plate and take the integration of strategy and people seriously? What does your Strategic Development Process look like? Who is willing to hold people accountable for the success of the plan? It sure sounds like HR or anyone else for that matter is not willing to focus on the outcome. It seems to me that we should all take time off and read the “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni. It talks about trust, conflict, commitment, accountability, and results……five things that we just seem like we don’t want to address. It sounds like no one is willing to stick around to see the outcome.