Imagine having a trusted human resources expert in your business. You are the perfect person to lead your team and help you navigate the challenges and opportunities that arise as you scale your business. Our people-focused, business-savvy advisors are by your side to help strengthen your business's foundation for sustainable growth.
For many companies, being able to afford to add a senior HR leader to their team may seem like a distant goal, but there are effective ways to access this talent more realistically.
Thousands of ambitious, fast-growing companies have already discovered the value of this way of working, and it's proving to be a game-changer for them.
The power of reliable human resources experts
Our survey of over 500 business leaders reveals significant opportunity for improvement in HR strategy impacting growth potential, talent attraction, retention, future readiness, investment opportunities and overall commercial performance. Only 16% of respondents felt confident in all areas of their HR strategy, indicating there is significant room for improvement for the majority.
However, most growing companies don't want, need, or can afford a full-time HR manager. The skills and guidance that HR managers provide to help companies tackle their toughest problems are undoubtedly valuable, but accessing that level of expertise has traditionally been out of reach. Therefore, having flexible and partial access to this resource is the perfect way for growing companies to access the talent they need in a way that works for them.
What is fractional consulting?
Fractional consulting is one of the fastest growing trends for small businesses, and it's easy to see why it can be a real benefit to your business.
Unlike traditional consulting, which is usually short-term and leaves companies with long to-do lists and large bills to pay, fractional work is a more long-term, flexible arrangement in which experienced professionals work part-time with senior management teams over the medium to long term, not only assessing the work that needs to be done, but also working within the company to implement the plan. They become trusted advisors to company leaders, providing an agreed roadmap for achieving both commercial and cultural objectives.
Why do growing companies need strategic talent planning?
Having a strategic HR plan in place has proven positive commercial benefits. Whether your business is expanding, proposing investment, undergoing mergers and acquisitions, or simply wants to build a strong foundation to support future growth, having a people-centric roadmap to follow is essential.
An experienced People Director can make a commercial impact from day one: for most clients we work with, HR plans are created and ready to run within around six weeks of commitment, often in just one or two days per week.
During this “Discover” phase, the HR Director conducts interviews across the company to diagnose and assess the current situation and help leaders clarify and communicate the vision and strategy, developing a customized plan to get each company to where it wants to go.
Our results show that only 10% of business leaders surveyed are confident that their broader teams are aware of or aligned with their business plans and commercial objectives. and only 16% feel their team understands how their role contributes to business goals.
Develop a compelling value proposition for employers
Attracting and retaining talent is one of the most common challenges we see at client companies every day, and our Director of Human Resources can help create and communicate a compelling Employer Value Proposition (EVP) to make your company more attractive to both applicants and employees, improving performance and productivity and keeping top talent on the job for longer.
The benefits of a good EVP are huge: not only will you attract higher quality candidates, but you'll also reduce recruitment and onboarding costs, develop talent more clearly in-house, and retain talent longer, increasing your company's value over time and providing a competitive commercial advantage.
A compelling EVP starts with a strong culture that talent directors can foster and nurture. From well-developed leadership capabilities to adhering to diversity and inclusion to creating a productive, motivating environment where people feel valued, safe and invested in, a great company culture is the foundation for great business performance. Again, survey results show significant gaps in these areas.
Future-ready leadership and organizational structure
Strategic organizational design is at the heart of any thriving business. Having the right people in the right positions and developing a long-term succession plan that aligns with your business vision is critical, but this is often lacking in fast-growing businesses.
In fact, 70% of respondents are confident that their medium- to long-term resource and skills plans are sufficiently well-planned to meet the needs of their business, but only 70% of respondents are confident that they have a strong talent development program in place. Only 11% felt this way. Only 9 percent had a clearly documented succession plan.
Attracting investment with strategic workforce planning
Around two-thirds of ambitious companies have raised external capital to fuel growth. But as the evolution of the private equity market is driven primarily by a volatile economy, making the quicker option of financial engineering less commercially attractive, more investors are looking for companies with well-designed strategic workforce plans in place to ensure sustainable long-term growth.
future of work
Technology may be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about the future of work. Of course, embracing the efficiencies and improvements that better technology brings is part of modern HR. But from a broader business perspective, the future of work must be people-centric if we are to continue to attract, develop and retain the best talent in the market and build a business that can thrive in the long term.
Operational HR will continue to have a well-developed talent strategy and creating democratised access to that talent represents a huge opportunity to grow businesses across the UK.
How are you and your business performing? Use the People Strategy Scorecard to get a complete picture of how your business is performing across six key areas. Visit www.peoplepuzzles.co.uk/scorecard.
