If nothing else, the past few years have taught us all how important it is to have the right people, with the right skills and motivation in our businesses. Having staff that will cope with change, support each other and make the right decisions has been a critical part of organisations successfully weathering this extremely difficult period.
And 2023 is shaping up already to be another year full of curve balls and surprises that your business, and team, must cope with.
Being prepared, focusing on the right HR areas, and having a strong HR plan in place will take centre stage this year as we navigate the year ahead.
So, how do you get the right plan in place?
- Start with your business goals.
Key to having the right HR plan in place is being clear about your business goals for 2023, and understanding what you need from your people to achieve them.
- Are you planning growth? Then you will need a strong employment brand and recruitment strategy to attract top quality candidates
- Are you changing your product or service offering? This will mean you need a team which is comfortable with change, and ready to grow and develop their skills.
- Do you expect it to be a tough year? Your team will need to be resilient and engaged, to help them cope with the challenges this brings.
Knowing what you need from your team for success will enable you to focus on the right areas and ensure your plan is meaningful.
- Conduct an environmental scan.
Legislation, economic conditions and immigration settings all impact on your people. In today’s world it is essential to understand what is going on around you and to plan how you can work around impediments by having strong HR initiatives which enable performance and deliver staff retention.
- Do you expect a fair pay agreement to be initiated, or has one been already?
- How will immigration impact your talent pipeline? Do you need to work hard to retain staff as it is difficult to recruit?
- How will your people cope with the increased cost of living? Do they need help with financial planning and are your wage levels keeping up with the market to support them through this?
- Assess your current HR practices.
Most Companies have gaps or improvement areas in their HR practices. Having a real understanding of deficiencies by working through each HR topic thoroughly will give you a clear overview of potential focus areas. It is important to dig deeper and go beneath the surface when undertaking this assessment.
- You may have a performance review process in place, but do the reviews actually happen? And does it result in improved performance or is it a tick box exercise?
- If you do conduct engagement surveys, do you create a strong plan off the back of them? And does your plan improve engagement?
Be honest as a business on what you do well and what areas don’t work as intended. This will ensure you identify the right areas to work on.
- Prioritise and create your plan.
Once you have assessed your current practices and highlighted areas for improvement, it is time to link these back to your business goals and environmental scan.
- What HR areas will have the most impact?
- What improvement initiatives will support your business goals the most?
- What areas will cause your plans to fail if you don’t get them right?
In every business there are always any number of people initiatives that you can introduce.
Identifying the key actions in your HR plan will ensure you take the right steps in 2023 to create a highly engaged and productive workforce.
Positive People has been helping businesses create fit-for-purpose HR plans for organisations for over 25 years. Contact us now or call 09 445 1077 to discuss your 2023 HR Plan.