Overview

By now it should have become clear that real HR strategy is a tall order. Whatever you may have come across under the guise of HR strategy in the past would probably not match the specification being drawn up here. Therefore I think it is very important to view true HR strategy as being a very new subject. By the same token it must be a very underdeveloped discipline. Very few people can agree on exactly what it is (although by this stage in the book readers should at least start to get a clear idea of one workable version) and, as a consequence, much of HR practice happens by default. Where it is planned it tends to follow the business rather than lead it. Unfortunately, though, the words by default and following do not sit at all well with the concept of strategic thinking.

Instead of strategy, the reality is that we still see large-scale redundancies when a business finally decides to shut a plant down. The strategist would have sorted out long-term manpower planning and would have constantly re-tuned the size and profile of the workforce to business needs. This failure to plan the workforce sends mixed signals about the board s view on their loyalty and lifetime, secure employment. Such default actions can have damaging effects on employee morale, with employees not knowing whether giving complete commitment to their employer would be recognized, never mind appreciated. But then a true HR strategist, of course, would never give...