How HR Professionals Can Align HR Goals with Company Goals
HR professionals often encounter challenges convincing executives and management to invest in HR programs. Some executives struggle to see the tangible impact of HR initiatives, which can lead to a perception that HR is merely a support function rather than a driver of strategic results. HR is sometimes seen as a cost center rather than a value-generating entity. How do you align HR goals with company goals?
Half of C-suite executives admitted they did not strategically or effectively use their HR team. They revealed they did not get enough input from them. Business leaders are inherently results-driven, focusing on metrics that reflect the company’s growth, profitability, and competitive advantage. This results-oriented approach often makes it difficult for your department to connect its goals with overarching company goals in a way that resonates with executives. How do you align wellness programs, training programs, employee engagement initiatives and other HR decisions with the overall goals of the company?
Why Aligning HR Goals with Company Goals Matters
Alignment is important in every process of managing the people in the business. You need it to focus on priorities that drive business growth and create measurable results that business executives cherish. Let’s go through some actionable steps you can follow to ensure you are not veering off the company’s path.
4 steps to Align HR Goals with Company Goals.
For example, your company wants to extend its services to a new geographical area. What can you do to help?
Familiarize Yourself with the Company’s Goals
You must understand what the company aims to achieve before you can contribute to any strategic initiative. For a company expanding to a new geographical area, this goal might involve increasing market share, reaching new customer demographics, or establishing a local workforce. Talk to executives, and understand the specific objectives and timelines associated with this expansion. Tailor your strategies to support these ambitions directly. This step ensures that HR’s efforts are targeted to maximize impact on the company’s success.
Identify How HR Can Enable Employees to Work Toward These Goals
The next step is to determine how HR can facilitate employee engagement and preparedness to support the expansion goal. This may include recruiting talent with the language skills and cultural knowledge needed for the new region, upskilling current employees on regional regulations and market practices, and developing onboarding programs specific to the new market.
Your role here is to assess what skills, behaviors, and competencies will be critical for the expansion.
Align with Other Stakeholders
To fully align with company goals, HR must collaborate closely with other departments. For example, communicating with line managers and department heads can provide you with insights into technical or operational requirements for the expansion. Understanding what is needed from the operations team, sales team, or customer service helps the HR professional to identify the specific competencies and processes that should be in place.
Aligning with stakeholders ensures that human resource strategies, such as targeted recruitment or training programs, complement other departments’ efforts. This coordinated approach enhances the company’s readiness and increases the chances of a successful expansion.
Set KPIs Related to HR’s Role in Achieving the Goal
Once HR strategies are aligned with the company’s expansion objectives, setting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) becomes critical. For instance, HR might set KPIs to track progress in recruiting local talent, new behaviors needed to work in the new environment, or how often they meet their expectations in the new area. KPIs should fit the context you are working in. Track and report on these KPIs regularly to allow for real-time adjustments that keep the company on track toward its goals.
Aligning HR goals with company goals transforms HR from a supportive function to a strategic asset. Link your goals to the company goals, attract support from executives and become a key driver in the company’s overall success.
