Creating a productive and thriving workforce requires careful planning and intention. Even if you already have a people strategy in place, it must evolve alongside your business and workforce. 

In this article, we will delve into the essential role of a people strategy and explore innovative ways to modernize it, ensuring alignment between your business goals and your employees' needs.

People strategy outlines a plan to manage, optimize and grow your workforce for organizational success.  An effective people strategy rests on three key pillars:

While there’s some overlap between people and human resources (HR) strategies, their primary motivations differ.

A people strategy provides a high-level overview of how employees contribute to achieving the organization’s goals. In contrast, HR strategy focuses on the detailed, operational aspects of managing personnel, processes, systems, policies, compensation, and benefits.

People strategy is oriented toward long-term business goals, whereas HR strategy deals with day-to-day operations.

It's important to note that these definitions are fluid and can vary, as each business tailors its people and HR strategies to its unique objectives.

Having a people strategy is essential to maintaining the long-term success of your workforce and ultimately, your business.

An effective people strategy should seek to improve the overall employee experience so that employees want to come to work. This can involve everything from making physical improvements to the workplace to offering employee incentives and investing in their professional development.

The workday occupies a significant portion of people’s lives, and younger generations, in particular, seek meaning in their jobs beyond just a paycheck. Your team should actively seek to understand what employees want from their work experience and incorporate those insights into your people strategy.

Opportunities for learning and career growth are among the top priorities of employees today. A people strategy that involves ample learning and skill-building opportunities that allow employees to advance within your organization, can help you set clear trajectories for your talent and help with succession planning. 

By prioritizing internal talent for advancement, you won’t need to make as many external hires, which can be much more expensive in the long run.

Culture and professional development are key components of an effective people strategy. By combining these elements, you can cultivate a learning culture within your company that serves as a powerful motivator for employees.

In practice, this involves embedding learning and development (L&D) as core company values, integral to daily work life for all employees. When developing your people strategy, collaborate with your L&D team to discuss how to implement this at a granular level. This can include making learning resources more accessible, incorporating more learning opportunities into your employee events calendar, and devising new ways to recognize and reward employees for their achievements.

This approach supports their personal growth and helps your company maintain an engaged and effective workforce.

Here are some actionable tips to help you adapt your people strategy for the most impact today and in the future.

It's common to concentrate most of your time and resources on the early stages of the employee lifecycle, as this is when employees are often most engaged. However, your people strategy should aim to provide a positive and motivating experience at every stage to strengthen and extend the relationship. Consider actions you can take to address parts of the employee lifecycle that might otherwise be overlooked.

Growth doesn’t happen on its own. To get employees excited and involved in their own professional development, it’s important to put processes in place that are both transparent and accessible. This means spreading awareness for growth opportunities and providing employees with accessible resources to get the information they need. It also means training people managers so that they’re equipped to talk to direct reports about career growth.

Formal development plans, when combined with manager support and learning resources, equip employees with tangible means to kickstart their growth and move your people strategy forward.

In the same way that HR is a vital component of your people strategy, L&D plays an equally important role. Your ability to effectively develop employees depends heavily on the accessibility and relevance of the training and education opportunities that you give them. Be strategic about the types of learning opportunities that you offer.

Some questions to consider:

Company culture encompasses every aspect of a people strategy, including engagement, well-being, learning and development, and the broader purpose and meaning of work.

Rather than framing everything purely as a business strategy aimed at specific goals, ensure that your people strategy doesn’t lose sight of the human element of work. Including company culture throughout your people strategy can help you prioritize the people that keep the business thriving. 

Workplaces and people’s relationship to work have evolved significantly, especially in the last few years. A modern people strategy that takes this evolution into account can set both your business and your people on the path to long-term success. 

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