Too busy to think strategically? By Bernadette Petitpas
This article has been written for the Ordre professionnel des conseillers en ressources humaines du Québec.
Your boss wants you to deliver results. Your days are too busy for you to enjoy the luxury of stopping and taking a step back. You want to be effective, putting out fires with the satisfaction of getting the job done mixed with the feeling that you never really move forward or finish what you care about. You do your best. Unfortunately, it seems that "it is possible in some cases to be busy, very busy, and perfectly inefficient ....”
In order to gain efficiency, in the short and long term, it is important to regularly look up from what keeps us busy on a daily basis. This is where the notion of strategy comes in, defined by Michael Porter and Igor Ansoff as “that which enables a company to adapt to its environment.” Strategic thinking is “flexible and collaborative,” as Jeanne Liedtka points out.
How does this apply to you, as a human resources professional or even as the head of this crucial function?
The primary objective of a support function is to support others in achieving their objectives, which is why it is important to understand what your organization is striving for and what it wants to accomplish.
Thinking strategically means asking yourself questions like:
If you are helping to develop the strategic plan: What human resource weaknesses do you see that could impede its achievement? What needs to be done to address them?
As part of your annual action plan: What will most contribute to the achievement of the organization's objectives this year? How can it be integrated with what is already in place? With other initiatives?
In your projects and actions: What do you need to consider so that actions to meet current needs do not need to be reviewed or repeated in the next 24 months?
Let's look at some concrete examples.
You need to recruit someone for a position in a key function. You have defined with the appropriate manager what is required to meet urgent needs. Thinking strategically means asking yourself and your internal client about the profile that will be required in 24 months, considering immediate needs and future expectations.
Another example: You are given the mandate to create a bonus program. Currently, the need is one of recognition, and dissatisfaction in this regard is linked to retention issues. Do you approach the matter differently if you remember that your organization wants to set up self-managed teams in the next 18 months?