subject: Build An Effective Hr Business Plan [print this page] If you are at the helm of the HR division in your company, you may find your boss confronting you with this question one day, What business scheme do you have for your department? Such a question is to be expected, especially if you have been appointed to spearhead your department. One of the primary responsibilities of a leader is to have a specific plan of action detailing the needs and direction his or her department would take in accomplishing its objectives. Since each company has needs differentiated from the others, the answer to this question cannot be generic. Every HR department plan is tailor-fitted to the needs and objectives of the company it serves.
But as a general guide, you can follow the first four of the seven steps in this two-part article on how you can effectively create a business plan for your HR department.
Step 1
Get started on the right foot by getting all the needed information from your boss. Allow him to detail his expectations of you (needs and wants) and the surrounding details involved therein. The importance of this first move could not be argued upon. Developing your plan without getting the facts from your boss first puts you at risk of toiling over nothing should your plan fail to meet your bosss needs and wants. With this, it is only apt to get your hr services department started toward the right path by doing this first, as you would find it more convenient and practical as the process runs its course.
Step 2
Go over the detailed job descriptions for all positions under your department: HR Director/VP, HR Generalist, and HR Assistant. Know if there are functions included in the list of these job descriptions that no one is doing. Then, ask yourself if you would be willing to perform them so you can add value to your organization.
You may opt to either make a function list or use an HR department audit book/program, which is developed commercially. Another option you can try using are free HR department audit plan lists found online.
Step 3
Go over the list carefully. Add (or subtract) to the list the following: the current functions performed by your HR department and those you want to add and take away. Do not go into the details just yet. You would have them prepared by the time you have assembled your HR department business plan after completing the steps for this procedure.
Step 4
Schedule a meeting with other executives. Have them evaluate their level of satisfaction with your services and allow them to express what services they want you to add. Also, have them express their ideas on the different ways whereby HR can advocate your organizations vision, mission, and goals. Prior to the meeting, ready the queries you would ask them. To encourage them to obtain feedback from their staff, inform them that you have disseminated the questions ahead of time. By collating these information (external and internal), you get the opportunity to present the opportunity in a ranking format.
