A GUIDE: DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE PEOPLE STRATEGY

Are you looking to develop a people strategy? This Guide: Developing an Effective People Strategy has been designed specifically by our expert HR Consultant team for Board Members, Senior Executives and Human Resources Leaders involved in setting the strategic agenda for people on behalf of their organisations.

An effective people strategy sets out the organisation’s aspirations and how it will achieve them through people.  It is a roadmap that can be shared externally and internally, that reflects a range of carefully selected people strategies and initiatives designed to differentiate an organisation as an employer of choice. 

What is a people strategy?

People strategy is a roadmap

A people strategy is a document setting out the organisation’s aspirations and how it will achieve them through people.  It is a roadmap that can be shared externally and internally, that reflects a range of people strategies and initiatives determined by executive decision makers based on the best available data and information at the time the strategy was agreed.  

Having a clear and effective people strategy is only the beginning.  An organisation must also have a detailed plan for implementing the people strategy and a set of indicators that can measure the performance of that plan.  These plans are generally referred to as workforce plans, action plans or Human Resources operating plans. 

Why do organisations need a people strategy?

Organisational purpose

Every organisation has a purpose.  That might be to deliver public value, provide a product or service or generate profit.  Regardless of whether you are operating a public sector organisation or private company, people are a critical enabler of achieving an organisation’s purpose.  Without people, there are no customers to serve, no community to govern and most importantly, no employees to deliver the organisations purpose.

Developing an effective people strategy is the process of deeply understanding the purpose of your organisation, and directly connecting the people to ‘how’ that purpose will be achieved.  People strategy has evolved, just like many Human Resources (HR) processes have over the past few years.  People strategy is becoming more contemporary and a powerful way to differentiate as an employer of choice.  High-performing organisations know exactly how to leverage people strategy to become model employers that attract and retain the best talent in the marketplace. 

What is the difference between a workforce strategy and a people strategy?

A workforce strategy is the product of workforce planning.  It is developed through a cyclical process of analysing, forecasting and planning workforce needs, assessing gaps and determining targeted capability and development initiatives to ensure an organisation can deliver.

A people strategy is best understood as the maturation of workforce planning.  It builds on the foundation concepts and data used to develop more traditional workforce strategy.  However, people strategy is distinct from workforce strategy in the way it focuses on directly connecting the people agenda to business strategy, clearly articulating how the organisation will deliver value through people.  People strategy is more contemporary in focus, less data driven and generally more reflective of the intention of the executive responsible for setting people strategy on behalf of the organisation. 

Download a FREE Copy of our Guide: Developing Effective People Strategy

The process of developing an effective people strategy is a complex one, that requires a different mindset from executive-decision makers, in comparison to the approach applied to the development of other organisational strategy.  This guide includes tools to help you get into the ‘people strategy mindset’.

The content included in this guide is general in nature and should not be relied on as a substitute for seeking specific professional advice on the development of an effective people strategy in the context of your organisations unique operating environment.  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at hello@humanifyhr.com.au.