As we approach the end of one year and prepare for next year, most organizations undertake some version of strategic planning. This can often be exciting as we optimistically look to the future and lay out steps to accomplish those growth goals; sometimes it’s overwhelming as we battle to get the leadership team to agree on a realistic, if not short, list of goals to be accomplished. When it’s all said and done, we’re relieved, and energized to achieve that expected growth.
So why not create a strategic talent plan to align and support the overall strategic plan?
As a recovering HR person, I distinctly remember one international organization to which I belonged and the December we had 3 openings our singular recruiter was trying to fill. She was busy, but it was a reasonable workload. Then, January 2nd hit. We suddenly had 92 openings for the new year to fill with one in-house recruiter, no heads up, and every one of those was needed NOW!
That example may appear obvious, but think about some not so obvious strategic talent planning that needed to be considered. Of course, it would have been useful for me to know this was going to hit January 1 so I could have prepared to staff-up for this effort - either by using outsourced resources, or hiring in-house team members based on even more future growth. If we were hiring an additional 92 people, of which 70ish were going to be in one area, what were the plans for the individuals to whom they’re going to report? Do we need to promote additional people to leadership roles? Do those people need some leadership development? Do we need to hire additional people from outside for those leadership roles? When do they need to be brought on? Will they be expected to contribute to the selection process of people who will be on their team therefore needing to be hired first?
Now think about your strategic plan. Are you planning to expand and grow, or contract? Are you planning some acquisitions? Are you planning to implement or streamline extensive processes?
What are the primary focuses for next year and how might having the right strategic talent plan allow you to achieve those goals more efficiently, more quickly, more smoothly?