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February 25, 2025

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The HR Strategy Framework – How to Write an HR Strategy.

The HR strategy is a tailored plan that aligns the company’s workforce goals with its overall business strategy. The HR Strategy Framework 2025 will be driven by advancements in technology and changing workforce expectations.

A strategic HR function aligns talent management with the company’s goals by ensuring the right people are in the right roles to foster growth, drive innovation, and enhance adaptability. To achieve this, developing a well-defined HR strategy is essential and this article will provide you with the insights.

Table of Contents

What Does Strategic HR look like?

Strategic HR is a forward-thinking approach to managing employees and includes four elements:

Planning for the future

Supporting business goals

Building a strong culture

Leveraging HR metrics and analytics to improve the HR performance

What Is an HR Strategy?

The HR strategy is a tailored plan that aligns the company’s workforce goals with its overall business strategy. Think of it as the “big picture” plan for HR. The purpose of the strategy is to ensure the human capital side of the business is as strong and future-ready as the operational and financial aspects.

The resource strategy is like a blueprint for how your organisation uses its assets: the employees, technology, and capital to achieve its objectives. For HR this will mean ensuring the company has access to the skills and talents it needs now and in the future. A good resource strategy balances efficiency with effectiveness.

Difference Between HR Strategy and HR Planning

The HR strategy is about the what and the why. It is the overarching vision: Where does the business need to go, and how can HR support. The HR planning, on the other hand, is about the how. This is the detailed roadmap for turning the strategy into reality, with actions embedded in HR processes.

HR Strategy Blueprint – Steps Writing an HR Strategy

External HR Focus

Step 1: Assess Regional & Global Market and Trends

The first step in creating an HR strategy is to review the regional market and trends. It is important to identify the key trends that are shaping your industry.

Additionally, assess broader global trends in workforce dynamics. Understanding these factors allows you to anticipate challenges, recognise opportunities, and align your HR efforts with both external realities and internal goals.

Internal HR Focus

Step 2: Know the Business Strategy

The internal HR process begins with understanding the business strategy by identifying the company’s objectives, challenges, and future direction, which serve as the foundation for the HR plan.

Step 3: Analyse the Current Employee Population

Next, a thorough analysis of the current employee population is essential. This includes evaluating existing skills, identifying strengths, addressing gaps, and pinpointing areas for development.

Step 4: Set HR Priorities

Once the workforce analysis is complete, it’s important to set clear HR priorities. These may include objectives such as improving employee retention, fostering a leadership pipeline, or enhancing diversity and inclusion efforts.

Step 5: Define Actionable Steps

With priorities established, actionable steps must be outlined to achieve these objectives. These steps might include implementing training programmes, designing effective recruitment plans, or upgrading HR technology to support the initiatives. It is essential to evaluate whether the current HR Operating Model is capable of supporting and executing the HR strategy.

Step 6: Develop HR Metrics to Measure the Impact

The success HR metrics are a crucial part of the strategy. These define how the effectiveness of the HR plan will be measured, whether through employee engagement scores, turnover rates, or other key performance indicators.

Step 7: HR Communication Strategy

After creating the strategy, a communication and implementation plan should be made to inform stakeholders and implemented in a way that ensures alignment with the company’s broader objectives. The communication and implementation are key elements, cause when the strategy is visualised effectively, becomes a powerful tool for communicating HR’s role as a strategic partner.

Step 8: Review and Adjust the HR Strategy

Finally, the strategy should not remain as-is. Regular reviews and adjustments are necessary to ensure its ongoing relevance and effectiveness. This process allows the plan to adapt to evolving business needs and workforce dynamics.

For further guidance on how to write your HR strategy 2025, read more in our article The HR Strategy 2025 Framework.

Summary of the HR Strategy Framework

Strategic Focus Areas and Rationale
The strategy must identify the primary areas of focus for HR (why), articulating the reasoning behind these priorities. This involves determining where HR efforts can most effectively support the organisation’s goals, considering both current needs and future challenges.

HR Actions and Business Contribution
For each identified focus area, the HR strategy should specify the HR actions to undertake and clearly demonstrate how these actions embedded in HR processes, contribute to achieving broader business objectives.

Critical Success Priorities
The strategy should clearly state which HR initiatives and goals that are essential to driving impactful results. These priorities serve as a guiding compass, focusing resources and efforts on what matters most.

Measurement of Progress and Success
Establishing clear metrics is vital for tracking the progress and evaluating the success of the HR strategy. These metrics should align with key performance indicators (KPIs) and provide actionable insights into the effectiveness of HR initiatives.

Key Milestones
The strategy must include a roadmap of key milestones, outlining specific goals and timelines. These milestones serve as benchmarks for progress, enabling regular assessment and course correction where necessary.

Communicate and Review
The HR strategy should be shared with stakeholders and regularly be reviewed and adjusted to maintain its relevance and effectiveness.

HR Strategy Framework 2025

The HR Strategy in 2025 will be driven by advancements in technology and changing workforce expectations. One major HR trends will be the increasing use of AI and automation in HR processes. Read more about the content of the HR strategy for 2025, in our article The HR Strategy 2025 Framework.