Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM)

 

Human Resource Management (HRM) involves all management decisions and practices that directly affect or influence the people, or human resources, who work for the organization. HRM regulates how work is done in the workplace and embodies what people call administration or personnel management. The nature of HRM practice has changed significantly in recent times. Society has witnessed a shift from bureaucratic to more flexible organizational structures. Employees are increasingly being encouraged to develop their skills in an environment where they are stretched to their limits. Rewards are more likely to be found in individual recognition, financial rewards, and opportunities. Traditional Human Resource Management is often tactical in focus. Pay and reward scales are determined by market forces; appraisals are carried out annually (if at all); training is encouraged (if there's time), but only to fulfill immediate skill requirements. Employee status and how their performance affects the bottom line and customer satisfaction are often overlooked. These transactional, personnel centered policies are being replaced by commitment-oriented, strategic policies in many organizations. Once critically appraised in terms of its impact upon the company's mission and goals, HRM can be a powerful tool in determining financial success. This is an integral part of Strategic HRM. Are you ready to leverage HR as a strategic asset?

What is Strategic Human Resource Management? Strategic Human Resource Management is a broad, general approach to managing people and organizations. It involves practices with strong business-related meanings. Rather than planning how best to manage people in the current or soon-to-be future, it involves developing people-related priorities that are integrated with the corporation's strategy. The term strategic is concerned with goals, objectives, and long-range development. Thus, it implies a concern for the goals and objectives of people satisfying the essential conditions of the organization's current and future business standards. Strategic Human Resource Management is an important concept that bridges the long-term business needs with those of HR.

Why is Strategic Human Resource Management important? The effective management of people is increasingly recognized as a major determinant of organizational success. Consequently, people-related concerns have succeeded in attracting more attention. Beyond that, it is the business itself that is changing profoundly - its imperatives and guiding principles, its essential conditions and systems. These changes have been so profound that organizations and Human Resource professionals need fundamentally new models of HRM to deal effectively with them. Traditional approaches to HRM no longer apply. The old way of thinking no longer fits. More than ever, HR professionals will be challenged to either change or perish.