Human Resources Guide For Business Managers

HR BUSINESS
OPERATIONS

PEOPLE IN
YOUR BUSINESS

MEASURING THE
IMPACT OF HR

CREATING A
SUCCESSFUL
HR STRATEGY
Navigate the complete guide or use the links below to jump
to a specific section.

HR BUSINESS OPERATIONS
The Role Of HR
Business efficiencies
Employee experience – onboarding
Software
Automation
The Role Of HR Leadership
Performance management
Business change and growth planning
Lean HR
HR & Compliance Best Practices
Policy and procedure development
Legal obligations and award summaries
HR health check and audit & Template resources (compliance)

PEOPLE IN YOUR BUSINESS
Workplace culture
Attracting talent
Recognise and reward your employees
Retaining the right talent

MEASURING THE IMPACT OF HR
The Metrics Of HR That Matter
Turnover
Attrition
Absenteeism

CREATING A SUCCESSFUL HR STRATEGY

HR BUSINESS OPERATIONS
The Role Of HR
Business efficiencies
Employee experience – onboarding
Software
Automation
The Role Of HR Leadership
Performance management
Business change and growth planning
Lean HR
HR & Compliance Best Practices
Policy and procedure development
Legal obligations and award summaries
HR health check and audit & Template resources (compliance)

PEOPLE IN YOUR BUSINESS
Workplace culture
Attracting talent
Recognise and reward your employees
Retaining the right talent

MEASURING THE IMPACT OF HR
The Metrics Of HR That Matter
Turnover
Attrition
Absenteeism

CREATING A SUCCESSFUL HR STRATEGY
Human Resources (HR) is the heart and soul of most companies. The HR department is responsible for managing the entire employee lifecycle – from hiring right through to administering benefits and creating a safe working environment. But stripped down to its simplest term, the primary function of any HR department is to maximize employee productivity.
On a day-to-day basis, HR tasks and responsibilities include recruitment and onboarding, employee relations, managing payroll and leave requests, overseeing workplace safety and training & development.
These everyday functions are integral to a company’s success. Without an HR department, businesses can suffer. If you are concerned about any of the following, it might be time to review your HR function:
- Sudden change in business growth
- High staff turnover rate
- Concerns with compliance
- Employee performance issues
- Poor planning and processes
- Legal responsibilities
- Sudden change in business growth
- High staff turnover rate
- Concerns with compliance
- Employee performance issues
- Poor planning and processes
- Legal responsibilities
Even small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are encouraged to have HR integrated into their business to ensure more strategic decision-making and full compliance with any or all legal obligations.

Section 1
HR BUSINESS OPERATIONS
HR business operations include recruitment, employee
relationship management and administrative tasks.

Section 1
HR BUSINESS OPERATIONS
HR business operations include recruitment, employee
relationship management and administrative tasks.
Operational HR performs the day-to-day operations central to managing the employee lifecycle. HR business operations can include:
- Recruitment (advertising potential openings, shortlisting and screening applicants, conducting job interviews)
- Onboarding (introductions, providing proper procedures and paperwork, using onboarding software, training and other administrative tasks)
- General activities (employee engagement and managing relationships, Payroll, employee benefits, managing events or training programs, etc.)
HR operations are focused on proactively identifying HR issues and anticipating problems before they arise. They also prioritise improving employee relations and creating a collaborative work environment. This can be done with help from HR technology and associated software and hardware designed for the automation and streamlining of daily HR business operations. Below, we’ll take a look at the role of technology in HR and how it relates to the improvement of management, engagement and recruiting.

THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN HR
HR departments around the world have embraced technology in many different forms to address HR challenges. HRIS, or HR Information Systems, have long been essential tools for improving business efficiencies in enterprises implementing best-practice HR.
BUSINESS EFFICIENCIES
HR tech has enabled the creation of efficient businesses. One way this has been evident is in automating and digitising what used to be manual, paper-based processes. At just about any point across the employee lifecycle, automation has saved the HR function considerably on time by reducing manual work. These range from candidate assessment to employment checks and induction training. For performance assessment, companies can use HR tech to embed KPIs into staff workstations and work processes.
Some benefits of HR tech include:

Making better, faster hiring decisions
Using software such as applicant tracking systems (ATS), companies can compile a database of qualified resumes to call on whenever a position needs to be filled. ATS can also help HR managers find candidates with certain skill sets or personality requirements to help select the right fit for the job.

Manage workforce trends and access key insights
Cloud computing helps create a competitive edge by centralizing information and making it easier to turn data into fast, actionable insights. Cloud HR solutions can automate many data-heavy HR processes and allow staff to focus on the big-picture stuff. Cloud HR also ensures company data is secure and protected, giving access to only those who are permitted to do so.

Support for HR-related compliance issues
From payroll to record-keeping, compliance is a crucial HR issue that requires attention. HR automation software can help companies comply with benefits laws and regulations by cutting down the risk of human error and compiling all benefits data into one centralized database. Automatic updates to employment contracts mean employee’s agreements are up to date and compliant with legislative changes
EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE – ONBOARDING
As one of the first touchpoints with the organisation for new recruits, employee onboarding can be crucial for retention.
Fortunately, technology has enabled autonomous onboarding, saving HR teams considerable manual labour and time. Another outcome driven by technology tools is clearer communication with employees and more empowered new recruits.
How is your business documenting your employee feedback? Can it be changed to be better aligned with your HR strategy?
Using HR technology changes the entire onboarding process. With automation tools and HR management software, you can access past feedback or employee surveys to improve your recruitment and gain further insights into what is and isn’t working.
Read more
Onboarding has always been a rigid process for many businesses. Moreover, many companies would often use multiple tools rather than a single platform to manage their organizational socialization. Too many systems can make it difficult to see the bigger picture. With HR tech, you have full visibility of all departments, making it easier to structure the onboarding process to enable all key stakeholders to effectively engage and manage their key roles.
For example, a digital tool can direct a new employee to their onboarding buddy for feedback. Whereas in the past, they may have been directed to an employee handbook in order to learn the importance of having to ask for feedback rather than actually be given any.
This ensures all employees receive the information they need and are able to assimilate at their own pace – taking the pressure off both new staff and managers.
Compliance can also be streamlined as the necessary documents are integrated into the online portal and onboarding workflow, allowing for more accurate and efficient compliance.


SOFTWARE
HR software, HR information systems (HRIS) or HRM systems are centralised platforms that enable HR teams to collect, analyse, and process information. Prior to the advent of these systems, businesses of all sizes were reliant on manual and paper-based systems.
An HRIS can enhance HR workflows by reducing the risk of costly errors by promoting data integrity and increasing accuracy. HRIS can also be used for succession planning by providing those who have earmarked for promotion a chance to access training. This will ensure they have the skills and knowledge they need to progress into their new role when the time comes.
HR software automates processes that would otherwise take up precious time and resources.
With HR software, The HR team can avoid manual processes, streamline their operations, keep accurate records, and securely store staff details, among other benefits. For example, best-practice systems like Employment Hero can save your HR department up to 70% of its time spent on administration. HR software can support your HR team in its ultimate goal of strategically managing your organisation’s workforce to get the most from its investment in people.
AUTOMATION
Automation is sweeping through organisations and is already impacting HR, especially analytics. Offering electric or mechanised processes to execute work processes with minimised or no intervention by humans, automation can be leveraged for just about any HR function. Tasks within workforce planning, data analysis in the form of powerful HRIS and other HR tools, sourcing and hiring, training, benefits administration, and HR administration can all be automated to some extent.
Many HR departments are drowning in administrative tasks and paperwork. HR automation comes to the rescue by using software to digitise and automate repetitive tasks while improving accuracy, efficiency and security.

Reduced errors
Manually completing payroll, timesheets and other HR paperwork is time-consuming and can be prone to error. HR automation software means all manual tasks can be digitised – reducing error while helping you complete these tasks more quickly.

Positive hiring experience
If HR managers are up to their necks in admin tasks, they don’t have the time or energy to check in with new candidates or recruits. This may create a negative hiring experience that looks poorly on your company. HR automation means managers can keep tabs on staff and have more time to engage with candidates, improving engagement and the overall hiring experience.

Improved collaboration
HR software gives you a full view of all departments, processes and stages. This helps all staff to understand each other’s responsibilities and improves communication across different departments.

Reduced costs
Paper-based processing requires printing and filing – a costly and time-consuming exercise! Automation reduces the need for paper-based record keeping and ensures all important documents can be accessed with a single click of a button.
THE ROLE OF HR LEADERSHIP
The HR leader is a key link between HR managers and staff.
High-performing HR leaders can be an internal hire or you can outsource this function, and their role creates exceptional value for the business, reducing turnover, enhancing appeal as an employer, and building greater adaptability in the face of disruptive change from technology. Performance management, business change and growth planning, and lean HR are the core areas HR leaders focus on in a business. The following explores these initiatives and how they benefit the organisation as a whole.
A good HR leader provides an open line of communication between HR and the entire workforce,
improving employee relationships and collaboration between departments.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Performance management is one of the most important duties for HR leaders as well managers and senior leadership. The organisation’s performance management system could be viewed from the perspective of a number of stages.
Prior to appraisal, there’s performance planning. This step should include setting goals and objectives, with clear metrics linked to the organisation’s broader strategic goals, so employees and managers are clear on expectations. Then throughout the year, managers and supervisors should provide regular feedback, along with direction and support for performance coaching to guide employees to success. Then reviews or appraisals can take place. Managers should make it clear why appraisals are done so employees feel included and understand the process.
Breaking down the performance management stages:
- Pre-appraisal stage: Collating feedback from all relevant touchpoints
- Self-appraisal stage: Utilise tools like surveys and questionnaires to gain insight into how the employee views their performance.
- Feedback stage: Deciphering and transforming employee feedback to improve business processes.
- Customer appraisal: Speculating how well employees relate to clients and other staff.
- Employee appraisal: Gaining appraisal from the employee’s direct reports and subordinates for insight into communication and leadership skills.
- Managers appraisal: Managers and/or supervisors provide commentary on the employee’s performance.
- Post-appraisal: Providing employees with feedback and the guidance they need to continue meeting their goals.


Benefits of performance management:
Creating an appropriate performance management process for your organisation’s unique needs can boost the bottom line by highlighting your training needs, addressing employee skill gaps, and boosting accountability and productivity. The right technology tools could make the process easier and more successful. Fair performance appraisals can enhance employee satisfaction and improve productivity. From line managers to senior leadership, mastering constructive feedback and how to conduct unbiased, accurate assessments through a consistent, uniform performance management system is essential. It can raise morale and reduce turnover by recognising employee contribution and identifying the right employees for promotion.
A comprehensive performance management system not only ensures consistency; it can deliver the effectiveness required to funnel employees through their time at the organisation. Performance management can assist with identifying the best career paths for employees and inform your workforce planning. Performance management can reduce employee stress by deepening communication and supporting transparency. With a clear process, you’ll have better documentation, improved compliance with employment laws, and reduced risk of legal issues.
BUSINESS CHANGE & GROWTH PLANNING
Businesses are experiencing many changes at the moment. Whether economic or otherwise, having a systematic change-management approach can enable organisations to cultivate a truly agile working culture and deal with any changes that may affect their growth.
Creating a growth plan is essential for any company. Daily changes – negative or positive – can lead to many problems including the failure to attract and retain staff, neglecting employee needs or training, and not having the capabilities to keep up with a rapidly expanding business.
One common mistake for growing companies is not defining roles and responsibilities. This can make it hard for staff to know what needs to be accomplished and what skills or experience are required to perform their role effectively.
For the HR leadership, their contribution to successful change management entails good planning and execution, for a smooth transformation. HR can assist with consultations with stakeholders before firm decisions are made, so employees who will be most affected by the proposed changes can voice any concerns. Facilitating dialogue on feedback before creating and executing a strategic communication plan can also be part of the HR department’s contribution. The changes may require employees to upskill, and so HR will play an important role in the training and support for employees in this case.
LEAN HR PRINCIPLE
At Employment Innovations, our decades of experience in HR have led us to incorporate a set of core principles that have enabled us to be successful with managing HR for businesses. Encapsulated in the Lean HR model, these eight principles are based on the idea that your line managers can absorb many HR responsibilities and play a principal role in successful talent management when given access to the right tools, training, and expertise.
Our experience has taught us the benefits of the following for innovative, best-practice HR:

Cloud software
Simplifying HR management and administration through cloud HR software. You can easily automate and improve tasks like onboarding, employee communication, and compliance with the right platform.

HR tools
Providing HR tools to ensure role clarity, drive the right behaviours, manage performance and develop employees.

Cloud software
Simplifying HR management and administration through cloud HR software. You can easily automate and improve tasks like onboarding, employee communication, and compliance with the right platform.

HR tools
Providing HR tools to ensure role clarity, drive the right behaviours, manage performance and develop employees.

Access to HR expertise
Giving managers access to HR expertise for better and faster decision making.

Feedback
Measuring and improving employee engagement by collecting and acting on regular feedback.

Access to HR expertise
Giving managers access to HR expertise for better and faster decision making.

Feedback
Measuring and improving employee engagement by collecting and acting on regular feedback.

Alignment with objectives
Aligning HR goals with company objectives.

Anticipating turnover
Reasonably predicting turnover to reduce time to hire

Alignment with objectives
Aligning HR goals with company objectives.

Anticipating turnover
Reasonably predicting turnover to reduce time to hire

Coaching and conversations
Promoting genuine coaching and conversations between managers and employees.

Continuous improvement
Continuously improving the health of HR in the business.

Coaching and conversations
Promoting genuine coaching and conversations between managers and employees.

Continuous improvement
Continuously improving the health of HR in the business.
HR & COMPLIANCE BEST PRACTICES
Compliance is one of the critical functions of HR departments. Your hiring practices, your workplace rules, how you treat employees, your employment contracts, and a wide range of other elements must all comply with applicable laws. Given businesses operate under stringent employment laws and regulations, it’s a strong motivator for outsourcing HR, especially compliance-related processes.
POLICY & PROCEDURE DEVELOPMENT
Establishing clear HR policies and procedures is one of the best ways to ensure both your business and your employees are protected. These policies and procedures should build compliance considerations into everything from onboarding and inductions to performance reviews and offboarding. These policies and procedures need to be carefully reviewed and regularly audited by HR and legal advisors to optimise compliance, ensure they’re up to date in conformance with regulatory changes, and minimise the risk of legal claims by employees. Making sure your policies are compliant can also provide the added advantage of ensuring your workplace practices reflect the best-practice standards. For example, if you have clear, legally compliant policies and procedures, you’ll provide your staff with clearer expectations about their employment conditions.
Given the complexities of employment laws and regulations, implementing your organisation’s HR policies and procedures can be an intricate, involved process. Working with outside experts is prudent, so you can focus on your core business activities. In addition, using an HRIS that’s regularly updated by the vendor can simplify your policies and procedures. It can help you stay current with the latest changes in pay and leave entitlements and award requirements. It can set the foundation for accurate records as well as create uniformity for every staff member. Finally, a quality HRIS can also minimise manual processes, automate a significant amount of your administration workflows. It can improve business efficiency, productivity, and performance by allowing HR and other departments to access better reporting and analytics as well as dedicate more time to value-add activities that support business growth and employee productivity.
LEGAL OBLIGATIONS & AWARD SUMMARIES
Pay and leave entitlements and other award requirements are subject to constant change. For businesses, navigating these complex standards can be a challenge, and it’s no surprise many organisations have been caught out and found themselves on the wrong side of compliance by failing to adhere to the latest legal changes, which may not be a simple matter of keeping up with legislation and the relevant Award Summaries.
The Fair Work Ombudsman’s investigation of Yogurberry’s underpayments offers an excellent example of legal uncertainties and changes. Although franchisors aren’t technically the legal employer, the courts may be prepared to hold franchisors responsible when seeking to protect employees from underpayments by franchisees. It’s important for all businesses to stay up to date with these types of legal changes so they can change their policies to reflect the developments in a timely manner.
Staying compliant with employment laws and standards not only minimises the risk of litigation and related costs for your business. It can ensure business continuity by reducing or eliminating the risk of legal penalties for non-compliance.

HR HEALTH CHECK AND AUDITS + TEMPLATE RESOURCES (COMPLIANCE)
At Employment Innovations, we’re always looking for ways to help businesses stay ahead on their compliance. We invite you to explore our employment, HR, and WHS resources library, as they can offer valuable guidance on HR-related compliance if you’re doing some self-auditing.

Guides and Whitepapers
Our guides and whitepapers cover topics such as casual employee conversion, strategic HR planning, employees working from home, and disciplinary processes.

Checklists
Use our detailed checklists for guidance on issues ranging from general compliance, hospitality industry compliance, and payroll compliance to managing underperformance and record keeping.

Templates
In our helpful template library, you’ll find free employment contracts templates and HR policies, an HR toolkit for creating an HR plan, HR policy templates, COVID-19 safe plan templates, and much more.

Industry award summary
In our industry award summary section, you’ll be able to download award summaries for industries such as hospitality, restaurant, SCHADS, retail, and more.

Section 2
PEOPLE IN YOUR BUSINESS
Your business’s HR functions fulfil a very important
function to provide the care and guidance that your
staff needs to thrive in their role.

Section 2
PEOPLE IN YOUR BUSINESS
Your business’s HR functions fulfil a very important
function to provide the care and guidance that your
staff needs to thrive in their role.

HR can support employees by guiding them on their career path and helping them make informed decisions as well as be granted access to relevant training and benefit schemes.
If an employee wants progression within your company, then it is the job of the HR department to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses and provide a roadmap to reach their goal.
It is expected that the HR department always focuses on the success of the people within your business. From hiring the right employees to managing relationships, building a stronger workplace culture will deliver measurable benefits for your business.
WORKPLACE CULTURE
Your organisation’s workplace culture underpins your employee satisfaction, brand, and business serviceability. Workplace culture can have a wide range of definitions depending on your opinion.
However, it could be defined as the characteristics and personalities that establish the overall tone and approach of an organisation. In concrete terms, this could be reflected in how people behave and work and how they speak to each other, as well as your values, traditions, beliefs, mission, vision, and attitudes. Put succinctly, it’s the environment a business creates for its staff.
Good workplace culture should be welcoming, non-discriminatory, and supportive of employee needs. From offering flexible or remote work, recognising and rewarding valuable contributions and promoting a team atmosphere – improving your company’s organisational culture will encourage an ongoing positive atmosphere and happier, more productive employees.
ATTRACT TALENT
The strength of your business’s brand, along with strong HR practices such as a positive recruitment strategy, can help you attract and retain the right people with the right sentiments to support your business in its goals. Your employer brand or employee value proposition is what your business and its people stand for, and it’s demonstrated in how you represent yourself, whether that’s in person or online.
Promoting an innovative business environment can ensure that only high-performing employees in your industry are suited and matched to your company.
What sets your business apart? How can you communicate that to prospective employees?
Some companies are using unconventional social media techniques, such as leveraging Snapchat and YouTube, to find employees. Further techniques for sourcing talent include job casting, hosting skills challenges, peer-to-peer recruiting, and hosting open houses.

RECOGNISE AND REWARD YOUR EMPLOYEES
Ensuring your rewards and incentives are fit for purpose is key to keeping your staff focused and happy in their jobs. Employees who feel appreciated and recognised for their contribution may feel more satisfied and, in turn, their morale and productivity could rise. The sense of achievement can motivate them to achieve further milestones. These translate into bottom-line benefits for businesses. So how do you ensure rewards and incentives are fit for purpose? A pay and total rewards strategy ensures that you attract the talent your business needs to thrive and obtain the best performance from them. It also helps you retain your valued talent for the long haul.
Some great ways to increase employee motivation include:
- Showing appreciation by thanking employees for a job well done
- Providing exciting incentives such as raises, bonuses or gift packs and coupons can attract, engage and retain employees while making them feel acknowledged and not just some faceless mask behind a screen.
- Give holiday rewards for outstanding performance
- Recognise their passions and hobbies outside of work. Bring it up in conversation and figure out ways they can apply this passion to their work.
- Use social media to publicise accomplishments
Employee recognition and rewards are powerful ways to get the most out of staff and improve workplace culture. Such incentives prevent employees from feeling like they’re just cogs in the business machine, and can really boost morale among staff and departments. It also shows that your company’s most valuable resource is your staff.

RETAINING THE RIGHT TALENT
It’s well established that high turnover costs businesses. Standards for tenure can range depending on the industry, but ultimately, creating a workplace where your employees are engaged, have the opportunity to learn and grow, and enjoy professional success can maximise retention for your business.
As stated above, recognition and rewards can be a great way to retain staff. Your employees want to be recognised for their achievements and valued for their contribution, so these factors are essential as well. At the same time, as a leader, offer transparent and honest communication and give employees the opportunity to provide feedback. Asking questions to gain insights on employees gives HR managers a chance to help guide staff to their ideal learning opportunities to gain more from their employment. You can organise one-on-one meetings to facilitate this and use the time to inquire about any areas they are struggling in.
Read more
Understanding and empathy go a long way in building employee relations and improving retention. Similarly, creating more on the job opportunities and learning experiences gives employees more scope to flex their skills and refine their knowledge. When HR leaders make an effort to provide employees with actionable steps to expand and succeed within their job, they are more likely to help employees to stay engaged and motivated so that they stay at your company longer.

Section 3
MEASURING THE IMPACT OF HR
Only by measuring the effectiveness of your HR
initiatives can you understand how you’re doing and
how to keep refining your HR policies. The HR metrics
that matter most include turnover, attrition, and
absenteeism. We look at their unique importance for
organisations and how to measure them.

Section 3
MEASURING THE IMPACT OF HR
Only by measuring the effectiveness of your HR
initiatives can you understand how you’re doing and
how to keep refining your HR policies. The HR metrics
that matter most include turnover, attrition, and
absenteeism. We look at their unique importance for
organisations and how to measure them.
THE METRICS OF HR THAT MATTER
TURNOVER
Turnover refers to the rate at which employees you intend to replace depart over a given period of time. Turnover is costly for businesses, with some estimates suggesting each instance costs around 33% of the relevant employee’s annual salary. The costs related to the replacement of the employee, with recruitment, onboarding, and training expenses. As such, it’s important for HR departments to monitor turnover trends so they can minimise the causes.
Employee Turnover %
number of employee separations per month
average number of employees
X 100

The average of this is the average figure you obtain from your HR department’s regular headcounts, whether that’s two, three, or more times a month. Separations should include both voluntary and involuntary departures. For an annual turnover rate, add all the monthly turnover rates for the year.
ATTRITION
Attrition refers to situations where employees depart and the company doesn’t intend to fill the vacancy. In situations of attrition, the employee may leave due to causes ranging from retirement and resignation to restructuring eliminating certain roles.
Attrition Rate %
average number of employee departures (in a given period)
average number of employees (across the same period)
X 100

In a post-pandemic era, HR teams should rethink their priorities to better manage employee turnover.
For example, companies can manage attrition by determining how they’re going to ensure the safety of employees who have to work but cannot do so remotely, as well as those who have been forced to work remotely. This can include establishing effective communication between HR leaders and staff to organise a safe working environment and access to psychological or financial support.
For HR departments, responding to attrition can be a matter of leveraging policies to retain existing valuable talent. Creating new positions that drive business productivity and strategic goals can also be an appropriate response. Supporting leaving employees with suitable offboarding programs could see employees leaving the enterprise on a positive note, thereby minimising potential legal issues and security risks.
ABSENTEEISM
Employees have to show up to be productive. As such, absenteeism remains a critical metric for organisations and HR departments. Generally, absenteeism refers to employees not turning up to work when they’re not sick or on holiday. Absenteeism can reflect engagement, morale, and workplace culture. High absenteeism could be linked to workplace stress, toxic management culture, burnout, and other related factors.
At a practical level, measuring and tracking absenteeism can tell you how much working time you’re losing and how much of your employee’s absence from work is or isn’t due to factors like illness, injury, or carer’s responsibilities. It can provide valuable insights into which departments or roles experience the most absenteeism, whether individual employees are more likely to be absent than others, and other general patterns.
Tracking this metric gives managers the opportunity to flag situations that might need investigation. For example, supervisors can take appropriate action to manage frequently absent employees who often call in sick on Mondays or Fridays. Another way this metric can be important is identifying how much personal leave is being taken and so accurate benchmarking of employee performance can be undertaken. Management can take the opportunity to address employee wellbeing, engagement, incentivise attendance, and intervene early when there are frequent absences.
Absenteeism can be measured in several different ways.

Annual Absenteeism Rate %
number of unexcused absences in a given period
total period
X 100

Unexcused absences can be defined as everything except for sick days and sick leave, personal days, paid time off, and unpaid time off.
Lost Time Rate %
total absence into hours or days in the given period
possible total in hours or days in the given period
X 100


Section 4
CREATING A SUCCESSFUL HR STRATEGY
A successful HR strategy for your business should
bring together all the above elements to support your
overarching vision, strategy, and growth goals.

Section 4
CREATING A SUCCESSFUL HR STRATEGY
A successful HR strategy for your business should
bring together all the above elements to support your
overarching vision, strategy, and growth goals.
Your HR plan should encompass and take into account technology tools, and the vital role of HR leadership. It should include compliance and best-practice standards along with how to best nurture the human resources in your business. A sound plan also draws upon the key metrics that indicate how effective your HR function and plan is. So what should your HR plan look like?
As your company expands, you’ll need to ensure your human resources can keep up with your needs. Your HR plan should allow you to recruit the best people, train them where necessary, and it should identify the essential roles to support your growth.
The 5 Elements of an HR Strategy:

Roles and responsibilities – Plan your human resource needs by linking HR requirements to your immediate growth strategy. Start by defining roles and responsibilities. Then you can work out the experience and skills required before recruiting. It can be helpful to write out job descriptions for each position and create an organisational chart outlining your organisational structure.

Hiring schedule – For the longer term, set out a hiring schedule for when you’ll likely need to recruit new employees when your business reaches certain growth targets. Again, outline the roles and responsibilities, and the experience, knowledge, and skills required in each role. In the same way, organisational charts and job descriptions will also help you visualise and plan for HR for the longer term.

Recruitment – How will you recruit the top talent you’re looking for? Outline the types of expertise you’ll need. Engaging prospective hires through novel channels like social media as well as in traditional channels like online advertisements might be part of your plan. Screening, reference checks, and assessing cultural fit with your business can be part of the process.

Training and support – Formal training can be an essential part of your growth strategy. Training your employees can keep them engaged, provide them with career progression opportunities, and drive higher morale and retention. Other ways to support your employees’ development include buddy programs and regular catch-ups with their managers. As your employees’ progress in their roles, having guidance from colleagues and mentors can help them grow and develop to become even more valuable to your organisation.

Retention – Incorporate a plan for retaining employees to reduce the costly implications of high turnover. Your retention program could include providing a positive workplace to maintain high morale. It could include offering a combination of different types of remuneration to motivate and reward employees in the ways they most value. It could also include leading with an inspiring mission.
To help you with your strategic HR planning, we’ve created the Strategic HR Planning Made Simpler eBook. This free downloadable resource can help you create a one-page HR plan for your business to focus on key issues. These considerations may include compliance and workplace regulations. They also cover concerns like whether your managers have the appropriate skills and tools to lead, and how you could start planning now for the talent you need next year.
“HR can completely transform the culture of an organisation.”
A skilled HR department will ensure your employees are performing at the highest level possible, and that all staff are fairly treated and valued. The goal of HR is to increase employee retention and maximise the efficiency of your business, motivating all workers and departments to work together and increase productivity and growth.
HR principles or pillars can vary depending on the business, but at the core, for any type of organisation, they encompass management of the employee lifecycle. This includes recruitment, which can include position analysis, sourcing, and screening and selection. Onboarding, employee development and training, and performance management are also key principles for the HR function. Your organisation will likely also have its HR team managing career progression and succession planning and administering employee incentives like compensation and benefits. Employee relations, communication, and engagement, along with work health and safety, redundancy, and offboarding can also be part of the HR function.
“Ultimately, your HR function is about managing your human resources to optimise your organisation’s performance, while complying with the legal requirements.”
To address these key principles, the HR function will rely on tools and elements like human resource information systems and HR data and analysis to carry out its work effectively. Using the Lean HR principles outlined above can also help HR better achieve its goals under the key HR pillars. These HR pillars or areas also can be understood with reference to the four Cs Harvard Map principles. From offering job security, providing training, giving and receiving feedback and ensuring all workforce management goals align with the overall company goal – HR is the key to a successful and forward-moving business.
At Employment Innovations, we see Human Resources as a strategic function in every business, whether small or
large, because we know the key to being a successful
business is to be a great employer.
We offer a full range of tailored solutions to make your HR planning easier.
If you’d like to work with an industry leader in:
- HR
- Payroll
- Compliance solutions
WE CAN HELP!
Reach out to our team today to get more information about how you can streamline your HR functions in your business and ensure you are compliant.