HR strategies are often well-planned and part of the organizational strategy formation process. Sometimes, however, HR strategies emerge in ways that were not originally planned and result from the actions taken by employees, line managers, and executive managers. Either way, the HR and organizational strategies must be clearly defined in order to develop HR goals to meet them. In addition, HR professionals must also understand the organization’s workforce: What are the skills, structure, and motivation of the underlying human resources, and how are HR practices influencing these in a way that is positively or negatively impacting performance and organizational outcomes?

Given the HR and organizational strategy, HR goal planning identifies human capital requirements, including both the types and numbers of people needed to reach the HR goals. HRM practices might include training or succession planning aligned with an appropriate job design. Recruitment and selection activities focus on acquiring talent. Once hired, practices to engage employees can assist in creating motivated and dedicated talent so that the organization sustains the acquired talent pool. Talent management practices aim to encourage learning, which provides opportunities for development. Performance management can identify key talent and focus on career development. This often results in increased engagement and motivation through positive feedback and well-aligned reward systems.

For this week’s Application Assignment, you will build upon the Application Assignments in Weeks 2 and 3 and prepare strategic HR goals for the organization you have chosen. Consider the list below, as a guide when completing this assignment. The list is meant to be illustrative, and is far from an exhaustive list of possible strategic HR goals. Tailor your list to your chosen organization.

Possible HR strategic goals:

Improve communication and knowledge transfer

Allow employees to have a voice

Ensure the organization is considered an “employer of choice”

Retain key talent

Compensate employees for performance

For this week’s Assignment, in a 2- to 3-page paper: