HR Leadership and Strategy

HR Leadership and Strategy

Initiatives that originate at the executive level tend to be more abstract and philosophical in nature. Most small-medium sized businesses aren’t dealing with this on a regular, ongoing basis, so they may not have an executive HR practitioner with the experience to support. We can help! We fill in your leadership gaps in the areas of strategy development, defining values, HR service delivery & optimization, and more.

HR Design and Service Delivery / Scaling-Up HR

Have you ever wondered if your HR team is structured in the most optimal way? Is it time to create a shared services team, outsource work, or bring work in-house? Is your technology working for you? These are big questions! We are passionate about creating high performing, strategic HR teams: whether you have a team of ten or one hundred, we’ll take the time to learn the scope and needs of your organization and present alternative operating models. We use RACI’s, Functional Accountability Charts, time/activity tracking tools or bespoke tools to define the optimal HR design and structure for your business.

Add-ons for this include:

  • Leading the set-up HR shared service centres, domestic and international.

  • Recruitment of new team members

  • Skills development of existing team members (in certain areas.)

Strategy Development

This one is for the HR leader who is awesome at running the HR function, but may need support engaging in general strategy development, people and culture strategy, or defining values. This may also be for a company that has a more operational HR function, but sees a temporary need for executive-level HR partnership to build foundations. Services in this area include:

  • Defining Strategy: we will work with your executive team to define strategy. Strategy is not an internal plan of how resources will be deployed, it’s an integrated set of choices that positions you on a playing field of your choice in a way that you win. A properly defined strategy serves as both anchor and guide for your people decisions.

  • Defining “People Strategy”: This is the other side of the strategic coin. You know where you want your organization to go - so what do you need from your people? And what do they need from you? A well-defined People Strategy anchors and guides people decisions, programs and policies. It answers the ‘why’ of all that HR does

Defining Values

Values are the cornerstone of organizational culture. They are much more than a section on a website or a poster on the wall: they represent the filter through which organizational decisions are made. Employees notice very quickly if stated values are out of line with reality, and this can create tension and distrust in the workplace. Whether your stating them for the first time, or refreshing your existing values, we help you not only define values that are authentic to you, we translate them into real-life scenarios and ensure your people processes and programs reflect these values

Organizational design

After strategy comes structure: what is the best structure for your organization given the goals and opportunities on your horizon? An project in organizational design can feel straight forward at first, but as you get into decisions about spans and layers, job levels, future plans for new systems and workflows, cost accounting, service-level agreements - it can make your head spin! You’ve got to eat the elephant one bite at a time. We’ll show you where to take the first chomp and how to move through it. We are thorough, sensitive and discrete. We will create a comprehensive overview of structure, functions and workflows. Additionally, we can provide oversight to the reorganization process.

Compliance audits and legislation readiness

Do you hear that sound? It’s the dust collecting on your outdated policies and employee handbooks. We’ve all been there: you know they need review and updating, but it’s so hard to make time for it when you’re just trying to keep up with demand. This is very normal and it doesn’t have to languish. We provide a comprehensive review of your processes and policies from start to depart, complete with a thorough summary and recommendations. We’ll not only look at these from a compliance perspective, we’ll look from the perspective of the culture and employee experience you are trying to create. Your policies say a lot to your employees - make sure they’re saying the right thing.

We also help organizations prepare for changes in employment legislation. We develop policies, review procedures and provide training for leaders/HR, as needed, to ensure your organization remains fully compliant in the face of change.

Fractional HR Leadership

If you have a temporary need to fill in an HR leadership gap, we can also provide temporary/fractional HR leadership on a part-time or full-time basis as needed, and as availability permits. Please inquire for more details.