An effective HR strategy supports the rule implementation and creates conditions for a clear and structured human resources.

1. Jürgen Schmidt
White Paper
The HR strategy workshop:
a key planning tool and practical
implementation resource

2. Why does HR need a tool like the HR strategy workshop? The role of
HR is increasingly to support change and prepare the company for the
future. More than ever before, HR teams are having to engage with the
corporate vision and building up in-depth knowledge of their company’s
business strategy. One indication of this development is the role of HR
in management and on executive boards, or units providing a direct link
between these bodies and HR. If business strategy can effectively be
translated into a strategic human resource strategy, HR measures will
in future have to be defined in standard procedures and subject to
ongoing review.
HR strategy workshops are a useful tool in this process. Concise
sessions (0.5 – 1 day) with external facilitators can help to pinpoint the
important questions and define a timescale for planning. A structured
approach breaks down the corporate vision into key elements, and the
strategy and the goals and actions involved are defined and discussed.
When is a workshop useful?
There are three main reasons for a workshop: to review and if
necessary approve existing strategies; to develop or adapt those
strategies to changing needs, and of course to develop new strategies.
HR strategy workshops are particularly useful for small and medium-
sized businesses. SME experiencing strong growth must ultimately
develop or consolidate their structures if they are successfully to move
their communication dynamics to a broader stage. In larger businesses,
HR strategy workshops can be used to rate and work on the suitability
of new tools for measures already launched. Often, companies appear
able usefully to employ multiple HR tools but do not combine them
effectively. An HR strategy workshop provides a clear structure for
the effective coordination of the individual elements in the ‘toolbox’.
Analyzing interactions, scale and sequences of processes and events
brings clarity and efficiency.
Examining HR strategy is also useful following restructuring or the
launch of new business models, and after mergers. Further challenges
are posed by the increasingly global and international nature of
companies, and there is greater pressure to adapt HR strategy when
core processes are to be moved to subsidiaries or processes are to be
harmonized across subsidiaries and parent companies. No matter what
the specific scenario, HR defines the need and the exact scope.
2© USP-D 2015 / Jürgen Schmidt: The HR strategy workshop: a key planning tool and practical implementation resource
Companies are
constantly changing,
but need
long-term solutions.
In a changing
environment – for example
strong growth in SME –
there is growing pressure
to adapt to market
requirements.

3. How does HR benefit from an HR strategy workshop?
HR looks at its own changing requirements.
HR now has a new key role in companies. With digitalization, Industry
4.0, virtual leadership, the individualization of personnel development
and new leadership paradigms, the role of HR has undergone a
dramatic shift in recent years and the speed of change in the field is set
to increase. An HR strategy process is a chance to get, for a moment, a
metaperspective on challenging daily work and to observe and critically
assess HR’s own roles (change agent, business partner, etc.).
- Who do we want to be in the change process?
- How can we be effective for the organization?
- What resources do we need?
These and similar questions on the department’s own position should
be asked at an early stage in order to strengthen the HR identity and
focus on the options that HR has chosen.
HR considers and finds the right scope and core issues.
The wide range of areas that HR has to deal with can cause frustration.
The following questions often arise:
- What aspects need to be considered together; what aspects can
usefully be combined in the process or if necessary dealt with later?
- What are the relevant areas?
- How will the organization recognize that something has changed?
Human resource planning, development, administration and acquisition
need a comprehensive approach. Developing the bigger, shared picture
is a powerful tool when the value to the company is clear. The under-
lying competencies remain, but general awareness of how roles interact
within the HR team improves.
HR sets process and performance targets.
A detailed analysis of the current situation is essential at the start
of the HR strategy process. In the best case, that analysis reveals
clear strengths and highlights future potential for development. An
assessment of opportunities and difficulties helps you to create an
attractive vision for the future, and usually suggests the first ideas. For
the choice of personnel development tools, the focus will for example
be on an initial definition of the target group.
As part of the process of defining targets, HR indicators (KPI) can be
set to allow results to be reported to the organization using performance
criteria. HR should define these quick wins for its own department and
for the company, and develop a vision on which its success is to be
measured. For many management bodies, this is a sign that HR is
firmly in the role of strategic partner.
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The HR strategy workshop
focuses on key strategic
personnel issues
for the good of the
organization as a whole.
© USP-D 2015 / Jürgen Schmidt: The HR strategy workshop: a key planning tool and practical implementation resource

4. HR develops strategic action plans.
An awareness of performance and process targets makes it easier
to define specific action plans, for example with a timescale of 2 to 5
years. Where such plans are in place, they are a reliable basis for the
introduction, continuation and/or extension of measures implemented.
Action plans also make it possible to assess and discuss different
scales of projects such as pilot projects or potential roll-outs, and the
necessary support as part of the overall architecture or project plans.
HR defines internal and external jobs and lines of communication.
Depending on the participants, the HR strategy workshop is a chance
to return to any job aspects that are unclear, and to address those
points – with the help of the external facilitator. This applies in particular
when top management and key stakeholders are involved from an early
stage, which is to be strongly recommended. What communication tools
are needed for stakeholder management, for example the establish-
ment of a steering group for ongoing project support, can also be
decided at the workshop and the initial agreements drawn up.
HR ensures sustainability for the selected tools.
If, for example, the question of a development program for specialists or
managers is raised, the HR strategy workshop can be used to analyze
how best to schedule initial Potential Diagnostics and supporting
measures such as reviews or conferences. The workshop is also a
useful platform for addressing budgeting and assessing the
organizational framework.
Certain benefits are a specific result of external facilitation:
HR can focus on its own contribution.
External facilitation has a key part to play here. Those in the HR team
can concentrate on engaging with each other and the relevant
stakeholders to generate the necessary resources and commitment.
External facilitation guarantees results and ensures that ‘lacking’ or
‘useful’ perspectives are brought into the process.
HR learns how potential implementation partners work.
The workshop is an effective initial partnership that should ideally build
up trust and offer encouragement for all those involved for the next
stage of implementation. A joint design process emerges, that presents
the methods to be used and the underlying procedures or philosophy as
a shared choice and achievement. This offers certainty and inspiration –
provided that the company and consultants are well matched. Effective
HR services are increasingly a result of a joint creative process
involving both HR and external consultants. The HR strategy workshop
should ideally represent just such a creative process.
4© USP-D 2015 / Jürgen Schmidt: The HR strategy workshop: a key planning tool and practical implementation resource

5. 5
HR ‘practices’ the planned approach.
Silo structures and isolated solutions in HR are too much a product of
the past to still offer sustainable success in a changing environment.
That is why HR measures should, as of a certain scale, be defined
on a project-specific basis and implemented along project management
lines (project management, kick off, milestones, transfer to routine
processes, etc.).
An HR strategy workshop focuses on the following key points:
Relevance of measures
(must-haves, suitability, service depth, evaluation...)
Effectiveness of measures
(effectiveness, quick wins, feedback, communication...)
Sustainability of measures
(adjustments after pilot phase, evaluation, reviews, training
monitoring...)
Economics and cost-effectiveness of measures
(cost-benefit, feasibility, conditions...)
What content can an HR strategy workshop cover?
An HR strategy workshop will always reflect the diversity of the HR
landscape. The key is to work together to define the relevant criteria
and responsibilities, so that a useful selection can be made from the
wide range of possible issues. It will then be easier to address the
differing expectations within the organization and agree on the right
priorities.
Possible workshop themes (not exhaustive) include
The learning organization/know-how transfer
Talent management
Personnel planning/succession planning
Developing leadership guidelines/principles
Developing competency criteria
Developing career models (management/project/specialist career)
A common understanding of values/list of values
HR communication guidelines
Selecting and scheduling suitable tools
(coaching models, mentoring, Potential Diagnostics,
performance appraisals and team development)
Employer branding
Recruiting/HR marketing
Manager responsibility for Personnel Development
.....
Workshops retain the
diversity and excitement
of the HR landscape,
but structure and shape it
to your needs.
© USP-D 2015 / Jürgen Schmidt: The HR strategy workshop: a key planning tool and practical implementation resource

6. We can help you to choose your core issues and plan your HR strategy
workshop in close consultation with you and in line with the needs of
your company.
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Author:
Jürgen Schmidt
juergen.schmidt@usp-d.com
USP-D
Deutschland Consulting GmbH
Moltkestraße 101
D-40479 Düsseldorf
Tel. +49 (0)211 913 697 00
Fax +49 (0)211 913 697 10
office.duesseldorf@usp-d.com
USP-D Consulting GmbH
Winckelmannstraße 8/6+7
A-1150 Wien
Tel. +43 (0)1 585 55 94
Fax +43 (0)1 585 62 26
office.wien@usp-d.com
www.usp-d.com
© USP-D 2015 / Jürgen Schmidt: The HR strategy workshop: a key planning tool and practical implementation resource