How is your human capital management strategy working out for the organization?

The strategy, also referred to as HCM, is important when considering all the pieces of the strategy.  Gartner¹, for instance, breaks the strategy down in to one main category called core administrative support initiatives.  Those include:

• Personnel administration
• Benefits administration
• Payroll
• Portal/employee self-service
• Service center

Under that, Gartner lists strategic HCM initiatives, some of which include workforce planning, performance management, onboarding, learning and even recruitment.  Finally, the organization lists other HCM processes such as workforce analytics and workflow.

Human Capital Management

HCM Defined

Because human capital management is so broad in its scope, how is it defined?  bambooHR² says HCM is…

“….the comprehensive set of an organization’s practices for recruiting, managing, developing and optimizing employees (as an intangible asset) in order to maximize their business value.”

Why is HCM important?

All of the above information is essential to understanding why HCM is important to HR professionals.  Basically, human capital management is all about making sure the employees within a company are contributing to the success of the business.³  HR professionals are, in many ways, responsible for setting the tone here and making sure the right processes are in place to allow for success. 

Improving the HCM

Four Strategies

In addition to the employees within the organization, HCM is about bringing similarly minded individuals in to the employee ranks.  It’s here the focus is, not only on recruitment, but on the candidate fit; does the candidate’s personality and mentality fit the company workforce and culture?  If the answer is yes, that’s the type of person the organization should hire.  If not, avoid that hire.  It can be detrimental to the organization.  HR must get out of the habit of hiring just to fill a spot.  That’s not always the case, but it can be a concern especially as one considers the shrinking of the talent pool.

A second improvement to make is in the onboarding strategy.  Look to technology for this.  There are several technologies that can help facilitate and streamline the process.  Take automation for instance.  It can help with managing new hire paperwork, managing tasks, monitor progress and event help when it socialization.⁴   Most importantly, it helps the new employee acclimate to their new company culture.

Third, think about managing each employee based on their needs.  Taking their individual personalities and preferences into account goes a long way in managing and communicating with them.

“Things like leadership development and employee engagement are ‘ongoing processes designed to be strategic, sustainable and measurable,’ and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for managers. Initiatives and programs should be evaluated to provide personalized and effective results for workers.”⁵

Finally, consider the performance review process.  The day of annual performance review is on the way out, but re-thinking the way those are conducted could help better manage employees.

WHITEPAPER:  Raising the Standard for Performance Management

For instance, keep the process as simple as possible.  Ask employees the most important questions and focus on the core competencies.  HR should also build a culture of feedback.  Allow the employee to do some self-assessment and be open to discussing it.⁶

In Summation

HR is continuing to evolve and so is the workforce.  Managing these workers is becoming even more important as new generations enter the employee ranks.  Continuing to embrace new recruiting strategies and improving the culture along with the change will help propel the organization to business success.  Remember, the human capital management strategy not only supports the business, but develops the organization’s people.

NEXT:  Human Capital Management:  Our Role, Our Emerging Responsibilities

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