HR leaders have a new task as we approach the New Year: developing a people strategy for 2025 that supports current business goals AND anticipates future challenges and opportunities.
A successful people strategy involves more than workforce planning. It is about establishing a framework which empowers employees and encourages innovation.
Here is a guide on how to build a people strategy for 2025 that aligns with business goals, with concrete steps to put it into action.
1. Understanding your business goals
You need to first gain a complete understanding of the goals of your organization. This means that HR leaders need to engage with key stakeholders in the business and gain insight into strategic priorities.
Entering new markets is your goal? Investing in digital transformation? Planned rapid expansion? This is the first step to building a strategy for your people that supports and aligns with your organization’s vision of 2025.
Action 1: Engage leadership
Discuss the long-term objectives of your organisation with senior leaders. Interviews or focus groups can be used to gain insights about what will make a business successful in the next three to five year.
Action number two: Conduct SWOT Analysis: Use the SWOT Analysis to evaluate your workforce within this context. Find out where you are strong and where there may be gaps.
2. Define your people goals
Translate your business goals into specific people objectives. These goals should focus on how HR can help an organisation succeed by creating a workforce that is agile and engaged, equipped with the necessary skills.
If your organization plans to expand globally, for example, one of your goals in terms of people could be to create a diverse, inclusive team that can navigate global markets.
Set smart goals for your people
Make sure that your goals for people are Specific, Measurable Achievable Relevant and Time-bound. These goals must be realistic and ambitious, while contributing directly to the organization’s overall objectives.
Step two: Prioritise Prioritise the HR initiatives which will have the greatest impact on your organisation’s targets for 2025. You can’t be everywhere!
3. Investing in future capabilities and skills
In order to develop a People Strategy for 2025, you must identify the skills and abilities that your organization will require in the future. These skills may include those related to new technologies as well as other human skills such as adaptability, emotional intelligence, and collaboration. Investing in skills development will ensure that your workforce is capable of driving growth and innovation.
Take action one: Conduct an gap analysis Identify the current and future skill gaps in your organization. This analysis will allow you to determine the skills that are most important for your talent acquisition and training programs.
Action number two: Focus on culture of learning : Think about ways to create a culture where learning is valued by offering employees a variety and flexible range of training, certifications and resources, mentorship, and knowledge sharing opportunities. Encourage managers to encourage their teams to grow professionally through coaching and ongoing development.
4. Create a flexible workforce
A flexible workforce is crucial to navigating today’s uncertainty and complexity. This allows businesses to quickly adapt to changing conditions, helping them remain competitive and resilient.
Focus on flexible work arrangements and encourage cross-functional collaboration. Cultivate a culture that is innovative to build an agile workforce.
Action 1: Implement flexible working policies
Adopt flexible work arrangements, such as remote working, flexible hours and project-based positions. These flexible work arrangements allow employees to maximize productivity and adaptability.
Encourage cross-functional teams
Promote cross-functional collaboration within your organization by giving employees the opportunity to work with colleagues in other departments. This will foster a more cohesive and agile workforce.
5. Prioritise employee engagement and wellbeing
Healthy, engaged employees have been shown to be more innovative, productive and loyal. In order to align your business goals with 2025, you need to create a supportive environment that encourages work-life harmony, wellbeing and a sense purpose.
Action 1: Develop wellness initiatives
Adopt a holistic strategy for your well-being that addresses mental, physical, social, and digital wellbeing. Included are mental health resources and initiatives to support work-life harmony. Make sure your initiatives go beyond the surface level and that your benefits and support will have a real impact on your employees.
Action two: Create engagement opportunities
Encourage employee engagement through open communication, recognition of achievements and encouragement to take ownership over their work. Use tools like focus groups and surveys to gather feedback and gauge employee satisfaction.
6. Track progress using data-driven insights
HR leaders need to have powerful analytics and tools that support data-driven decisions.
Use data to measure your goals and the impact they have on your team. Make informed adjustments. Review data and KPIs regularly to ensure that your people strategy is aligned with the organisation’s objectives and produces measurable results.
Implement performance metrics
Track KPIs like employee turnover, engagement, completion rates of training, and productivity metrics. This data can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy for people and make adjustments based on data.
Action 2: Review and Adjust
Review data regularly to ensure that your people strategy is aligned with the changing goals of the business. Be ready to adjust your strategy based on feedback from employees, performance metrics and changing organisational needs.
Next Steps
A people strategy that is aligned with the business objectives of your organization for 2025 requires a proactive approach that includes agility, clarity and a commitment towards continuous improvement.
By following the steps above, HR leaders will be able to create a strategy that is both effective for individuals and organisations. This approach will ensure that your employees are not only ready to face current challenges, but also to take advantage of future opportunities.
