Strategic HR Planning for 2024

Chances are, your employer has set some ambitious business goals for 2024. Chances are, it’s developed a strategy for achieving them, too—one that’s largely people-powered. But if HR hasn’t created an accompanying human resources strategy, your planning isn’t truly complete. 

Learn why it’s in your company’s interest to engage in a strategic HR planning process—and how to jumpstart your plan.

What is Strategic HR Planning, Exactly?

Simply put, strategic HR planning is the process of aligning your HR capacity with your business objectives—and it can be a game-changer.

Because if you don’t ensure you have the right talent in place when it’s needed, how can you possibly meet those lofty 2024 goals?

Your 5-Step HR Strategic Plan Template

Every strategic HR plan is unique to its organization. But to develop one, it’s best to follow a proven process—such as our HR strategic plan template:

1. Evaluate your current HR capacity/capabilities

First, inventory your current talent pool, taking stock of relevant skills (i.e., communication, tech-savviness, problem-solving, etc.) and proficiency levels (i.e., beginner, intermediate, and advanced). For clarity, conduct your assessment department by department, identifying relevant skills for each.

This is your current HR capacity.

2. Engage in forecasting your future needs

To forecast upcoming personnel needs, you need to know your employer’s 2024 business goals and plans.

For example, if your primary goal is to bring a new product to market, what will be required from each department—product development, marketing, sales, support, etc.—to make that happen? How many people will it take, and what skills do they need?

3. Identify gaps between current HR capacity and future needs

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Compare your current HR capacity to your forecasted HR needs, identifying each gap that must be filled.

For example, you may discover that, to successfully launch that new product, you’ll need to expand your sales and/or marketing teams.

4. Develop suitable talent strategies

Once you know your talent needs, you can develop an acquisition plan. Your HR strategic plan example will likely include:

• Hiring a fixed number of new employees with specific skill sets/expertise
• Training current employees in key areas, so they’re better equipped to support your 2024 initiatives
• Retaining valued employees by working to ensure their engagement and job satisfaction

5. Evaluate results

Once you begin executing your strategic HR plan, you’ll want to assess how it’s performing.

There are several ways to do this. For example, you can track HR metrics relevant to your plan—see below. Or, you can monitor how each department or team is delivering on its assigned tasks, gauging if greater HR support is needed.

Key Components of a Strategic HR Plan

Here’s another way to look at it. Although your human resources strategy is unique to your company and its goals, it will undoubtedly contain some universal HR components, including:

• Workforce analysis and forecasting –i.e., identifying in-house talent and determining what/who else is needed.
• Talent acquisition and recruitment strategies – Specifically, finetuning your hiring process to target prime candidates, while taking pains to retain your current workforce.
• Skills gap analysis and training programs – That is, identifying your training needs and planning your program accordingly.    
• Leadership development and succession planning – i.e., confirming that management can provide the necessary leadership—and making sure there’s a backup plan, too.      

HR Metrics and KPIs: Evaluating the Success of Strategic HR Initiatives

Ideally, your HR software offers you straightforward access to key HR metrics. In this case, monitoring these KPIs will be especially valuable:

• Recruitment Overview – By tracking the number of new hires per quarter, you can monitor your hiring progress.
• New Hires by Department - This HR metric indicates more specifically if you’re meeting your hiring goals in light of your company’s 2024 objectives.
• Retention Overview – Tracking your turnover rate per quarter (and comparing it to the prior quarter) is important when retention is key to achieving your business goals.
• Top Reasons for Turnover by Quarter –This particular HR metric—based on exit interviews and surveys—offers a roadmap for improving engagement and retention.
• Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) – This KPI measures employee satisfaction—an indicator of engagement and long-term commitment to the company.

Prepare for 2024 with a Strategic HR Plan

If you haven’t engaged in such an HR planning process before, 2024 is a great time to start. Your HR team is more than an administrative body: it has the power to help your organization achieve its goals—and strategic HR planning holds the key.

For additional ideas for accomplishing more in the new year, check out our 2024 Survival Kit. For more information on HR metrics, learn about Namely’s HR analytics solution.

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