Strategic human resource management

Human Resources

Strategic HRM

Strategic human resource management is intended to aid companies to best meet the needs of their workers while supporting company goals. Human resource management deals with any part of a business that has to do with staff. Strategic human resource management is the hands-on management of people. It necessitates thinking ahead, and planning ways for a company to better meet the needs of its workers, and for the workers to better meet the needs of the company. This can affect the manner in which things are done at a business site, improving everything from hiring practices and worker training programs to evaluation techniques and discipline (Trahant, Steckler & Sonnesyn, 2007).

Discussion

The HRM department at Humana does not really play a strategic role in the organization. Presently they spend the majority of their time doing the day-to-day things like hiring people, training, and other HR efforts that allow the business to function everyday. In order for business to achieve success in the every changing business world it is important for HR departments to become more strategically aligned with the overall goals and efforts of companies. It is important for companies to streamline their current HR administrative practices in order to remain or become competitive in the current market. Humana is focusing in the wrong area instead of concentrating on their most precious asset of people.

The HR professional who will succeed in guiding their organizations into the future will be those who understand and use business strategy; understand corporate culture, plans and policies; recognize future problems and work solutions; can deal with all types of people; can communicate well verbally and in writing; and can recognize, recruit and train future executives. As organizations continue to move towards collective systems and combined financial resources for managing their human capital, we are likely to see more organizational structures combining both HR and Organizational Development (OD). The time has come to quit debating OD's involvement in HR systems and seek the present opportunities of showcasing the skills of OD in building organizational capacity and having a measurable impact on workforce productivity. OD practitioners must show that they are capable of working faster, deeper, wider, smarter, and with larger numbers of constituents, like human resources, than ever before. HR, on the other hand, needs the benefits from the strengths brought by O.D. To have a strategic impact on organizations (Dunn, 2006).

Today human resource professionals must struggle with issues across the HR spectrum, everything from workforce planning and HR strategy development to recruitment, hiring, retention, training, performance management, leadership development, succession planning, and employee retirement. Through thoughtful planning, they can administer these challenges and help their companies address current and emerging HR needs. Increasingly, companies are developing strategic HR plans to help them meet evolving and ever expanding mission requirements and take a purposeful, long-term approach to HR management (Trahant, Steckler & Sonnesyn, 2007).

There are currently many areas in which the HR department should impact the organizations goals but fails to do so. The company appears to be focusing too much on the results that they want to achieve and are not giving any thought to the plan on how to get there. One of these areas is that of employee development. This process begins when a company is recruiting and interviewing potential workers. Enhanced interviewing methods can help to weed out candidates that may not be a good match for the company. After being hired on, a strong training and mentoring curriculum can help a new member of the staff get up to speed on company policies and any present or ongoing projects they will be working on. To assist workers execute at their best, a company can follow up with recurrent training programs, coaching, and regular appraisals. Investing in the development of its workers can permit a company to turn out more dependable products or services (Kiger, 2007).

When developing a human resources arrangement, it is vital to consider workers may want or need and what the company can practically provide. A larger company can frequently afford training and benefit programs that smaller companies cannot afford to put forward. This does not mean that a smaller company should not take part in strategic human resource management. Offering dedicated on-site training, even if provided by senior members of the company, and offering one-on-one evaluation and coaching sessions, can aid workers to reach peak performance rates (Kiger, 2007).