Definition
Strategic human resources management is a set of managerial tasks and activities that are very comprehensive and related to the maintenance and development of a qualified workforce. As for me, strategic human resource management is an approach that human resource professionals use to develop and implement human resource plans. These strategies that are being implemented or developed are integrated with the business plans and make it possible for the organization to achieve its goals.
How HR Professionals Use Strategic HR in the Field
Strategic human resource management is the connection between the human resource of the company and the objectives, strategies, and goals that the department has. It aims to advance flexibility, competitive advantage, and innovation, developing a fit for the organizational culture and improving the performance of the business. Strategic human resource management mainly works intending to retain employees. To do this, human resource professionals should develop steps to ensure everything is in place and employees are retained (Jiang 27). The procedures to be used by HR professionals are developing a thorough understanding of the company’s objectives. These steps include evaluating the capabilities of the human resources, analyzing the current capacity of the human resources in light of the company’s goals, and estimating the company’s future with the requirements of the human resources. Determining the tools needed for employees to finish their tasks effectively, implementing the human resource management strategy that is effective to the business, and lastly, evaluating and coming up with corrective action.
Comparison between Traditional HRM and Strategic HRM
In traditional Human Resource Management (HRM), the human resource is managed in a structured and thorough manner, following rules and regulations strictly. In strategic HRM, the aim is to achieve the company’s goals. In traditional HRM, HR is reactive in its nature, while strategic HRM is proactive in its nature. Traditional HRM strictly depends on applying the principles of management and at the same time believing in the principles of management for managing employees and the department of HR. On the other hand, strategic HRM follows an integrated approach that matches the business strategy with the HR practices of the company.
In traditional HRM, the HR department must work within the scope of the different employment laws, factory act, labor laws, etc., while strategic HRM has a comprehensive approach. Traditional HRM policies are fragmented, rigid, structured, and they fail if there are changes in the business environment over a long time. On the other hand, strategic HRM is integrated, aligned, and flexible with the goals and strategies of the business. They quickly adapt to the changes in the business environment and act as success catalysts. In traditional HRM, money, and material are significant, while in strategic HRM, the quality of HR is crucial.
Current Issues in strategic HRM
The issues currently facing strategic HRM are recruitment, retention and motivation, and leadership development. When it comes to recruitment, employers design new methods to attract talents, which is always through social media. Strategic HRM is required to be diversified when they are employing new employees who can bring new ideas and be productive in the company and at the same time observe equality making it a complex task for the HR professionals. Retention of employees in organizations has become tougher day by day. To motivate the employees in the company, the company has to offer more benefits to the employees. Creating a workplace where workers are encouraged is an issue confronting HR professional. The workforce ages very quickly and successions are done more frequently, which comes with leadership issues. As companies advance, developing leaders becomes a significant initiative. With poor leadership in place, employees tend to look for new employment options making it difficult for an HR professional to retain employees.
Implications
When it takes time for the HR resource to recruit new employees to fill in the blank position, the company tends to slow its operations and thus affecting its productivity and business performance. Poor retention of employees in a company demoralizes the remaining employees due to low motivations (Hamid 14). And in turn, the productivity levels of the organization reduce. Poor leadership in an organization has some effects, such as lack of vision, reduction in customer satisfaction, reduction in productivity levels, low morale in the workforce, and failure in meeting the business goals.
Handling the Issues in Future
To handle recruitment issues, the HR department should develop strategies fitting the organization, switch from reactive to proactive hiring approaches, build a consistent candidate experience, and create a recruiting culture. Additionally, HR department can consolidate recruitment technology. When handling employee retention, the HR department should always recognize the employees’ hard work, embrace transparency in the organization, and improve leadership skills. In addition, leaders should be confident with their employees and not overpromise but take swift and meaningful actions (Alomari, 570). For the HR department to nurture good leaders in an organization, it has to hire leaders that are disciplined in the organization. The leaders should have the ability to work on more than one project and learn to follow. They should have the sense of inspiring their subordinates, be a discerning listener, and can resolve conflicts when they arise.
How Learning Strategic HRM has altered my View
Through the learning of strategic HRM, I have come to understand that the HR department mainly focuses on the organization’s human capital. The HR professionals have to manage all the employees and oversee the company’s success in their hands. They are the ones responsible for bringing talents to the organizations when recruiting. Thus, the business’s level of success can be attributed to the company’s human capital and indirectly to the HR department. With the available technological trends that are there currently, HR is the core aspect of a company’s success.
How the Trend May Affect Me in the Future
The trends such as diversity in the place of work, artificial intelligence, cloud-based HR technology, and productivity will drive me as an HR professional in the future to be better in my profession. It will help me develop corporate strategies and, at the same time, improve the employees’ engagements and boost the business that I will be working with. It will further build my career and mold my leadership skills.
How Strategic HR will be in the Future
Strategic human resource management will be different from what is there right now. Data analytics will increasingly drive the human resource job, and this will be the one leading the efforts. HR professionals will focus on the whole relationships of the workers with that of the company, from the benefits to training and career trajectory. The acquisition of new talents is evolving and emerging. This will comb through the HR profession and get the best for the business.
Works Cited
Alomari. “Does Human capital Moderate the Relationship Between Strategic Thinking and Strategic Human Resource Management?” Management Science Letters 10.3, 2020.
Hamid, Zainab, Muhammad Muzamil, and Shawkat Ahmad Shah. “Strategic Human Resource Management.” Research Anthology on Human Resource Practices for the Modern Workforce. IGI Global, 2022.
Jiang, Kaifeng, and Jake Messersmith. “On The Shoulders Of Giants: A Meta-review Of Strategic Human Resource Management.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 29.1, 2018.