Introduction
The reality today is that business environment has become very competitive and
operating within a narrow a market opportunities. This has made organisation to struggle
to achieve competitive advantage. A number of organisations that were hitherto reputable
have gone underground simply because they could not fashion out specific strategies that
can enable them outperform their competitors and consequently command competitive
advantage in the global market.
The inability of some of the organisations to cope with the high competitive global
market has been traced to their lack of clear cut strategies with which they could
tremendously improve on their performance and consequently create competitive
advantage that could sustain them in the global market. Competitive advantage occurs
when an organisation is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a lower
cost (cost advantage) or deliver benefits that exceed those of competing products. It is
noteworthy that before now, the traditional sources of competitive advantage had been
the natural resources, technology, financial capital and economics of scale.
However, it is clear that human resource is an invisible and strategic asset that creates
value when it is embedded in the operational system of organization. It also has the
potential to enhance organisational performance and provide a source of competitive
advantage because it is extremely hard for competitors to duplicate or substitute human
resource. Essentially, before human capital could enhance organisational performance
and ultimately serve as alternative source of competitive advantage, some elements of
strategy must be applied to the operation and management of human resource practices in
organisation. In other words, the integration of HR strategy into the business strategy will
enable the HR function to support an implement the strategic plan to achieve a
competitive advantage.
It is argued that when an organisation strives to adapt to different situations, it will need
people of different characteristics and will equally need to adjust its investment in human
resource. Thus, people are factors in driving the company’s strategic plans, hence the
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need to align the human resource strategies with the organisations business strategies in
order to achieve corporate objective of dominating the competitive market and maintain
sustained competitive advantage.
Definitions of Strategic Human Resources Management
Strategic human resources management is largely about integration and adaptation. Its
concern is to ensure that: human resources (HR) management is fully integrated with the
strategy and the strategic needs of the firm; HR policies cohere both across policy areas
and across hierarchies; and HR practices are adjusted, accepted, and used by line
managers and employees as part of their everyday work. Together, these viewpoints
suggest that strategic HR management has many different components, including
policies, culture, values, and practices. The various statements also imply what strategic
human resources management does, i.e., it links, it integrates, and it coheres across levels
in organizations. Implicitly or explicitly, its purpose is to effectively utilize human
resources vis-a-vis the strategic needs of the organization.
Strategic human resource management (strategic HRM, or SHRM) is an approach to
managing human resources that supports long-term business goals and outcomes with a
strategic framework. The approach focuses on longer-term people issues, matching
resources to future needs, and macro-concerns about structure, quality, culture, values
and commitment”.
Why is Strategic Human Resource Management Important?
Companies are more likely to be successful when all teams are working towards the same
objectives. Strategic HR carries out analysis of employees and determines the actions
required to increase their value to the company. Strategic human resource management
also uses the results of this analysis to develop HR techniques to address employee
weaknesses.
The following are benefits of strategic human resource management:
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
Increased job satisfaction.

Better work culture.

Improved rates of customer satisfaction.

Efficient resource management.

Low absenteeism

Low employee turnover

High efficiency

Boost productivity.

High profitability

Team work mentality

Motivated workforces

A proactive approach to managing employees.

Increased organization’s reputation

Increased revenue

High Loyalty

Employee engagement

Employee Development

High employee retention

Adoption to change

Optimum employee feedback

Managing Payroll Costs

Dropping Labor-Related Costs

Business growth

Business change

Re-skilling

Up-skilling

Succession planning
HR Requirements for Implementing The SHRM
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The required experience and other qualifications of the employees for making plan,
organize, design, as well as implementation of SHRM are as below:

Honesty, integrity and morality.

Adaptability, Flexibility.

Dedication and hard working.

Dependability/Reliability/Responsibility.

Loyalty.

Positive Attitude/Motivation/Energy/Passion.

Professionalism.

Self-Confidence.

Self-Motivated/Ability to Work with Little or No Supervision.

Willingness to Learn.
The Seven Steps To Strategic Human Resource Management:
Strategic human resource management is key for the retention and development of
quality staff. It’s likely that employees will feel valued and want to stay with a company
that places a premium on employee retention and engagement. Before you implement
strategic human resource management, you will need to create a strategic HR planning
process using the steps below:
1. Develop a thorough understanding of your company’s objectives:
Since the success of strategic HR is dependent on how well it links to your company’s
goals, you need to have a thorough understanding of your aims, objectives, and mission.
You’ll need to be able to articulate both your short and long-term plans for growth to the
relevant HR personnel. Ensuring clear communication of your company’s goals will
make it easier for HR personnel to formulate an effective resource management strategy.
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2. Evaluate your HR capability:
Evaluating your current HR capabilities will enable you to understand the employees you
have and how they contribute to fulfilling your goals and objectives. Additionally, you
should also undertake a skills inventory for every employee. Skills inventories help you
to discover which employees are experts in particular areas. It also helps you to identify
the employees who have an interest in being trained in a particular aspect of your
company. A great time to assess skills is during a performance review. However, the
traditional performance review is dying. Check out how to conduct an efficient and
results driven performance review while obtaining the skills inventory you need from
your employees.
3. 3. Analyze your current HR capacity in light of your goals:
An assessment of your HR capacity will help you to recognize barriers and implement a
plan of action to capitalize on opportunities and effectively deal with threats. Strategic
HR personnel will analyze the number of employees as well as their skills and will work
with senior leadership to identify ways to better equip employees to serve the needs of
your company.
4. Estimate your company’s future HR requirements:
After an analysis of your company’s employees and skills has been done in relation to
your objectives, it’s time to forecast your HR needs. The forecast should be done in
relation to:

Demand – A prediction needs to be made in relation to the number of employees
with the associated skills that will be required in order for your company’s future
needs to be met.

Supply – Looks at the employees and skills that are currently available to help
your company achieve its strategic goals.
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Forecasting your company’s future HR requirements also determines the following:

New jobs and roles required to secure the future of the company.

Skills required by current employees to undertake the responsibilities of new jobs
and roles.

Whether your employees’ expertise is being sufficiently utilized.

Whether current HR personnel and practices can accommodate the company’s
growth.
5. Determine the tools required for employees to complete the job:
HR personnel need to liaise with the appropriate departments to find out how the tools
used by employees impact on their ability to perform their roles. For example, an audit of
hardware and software can be undertaken jointly with the I.T department to identify gaps
in tools that will facilitate a more organized workforce. For example, where a company
employs hourly staff, it’s crucial to utilize workforce management software. This
software manages important HR functions such as scheduling, holiday entitlement, and
sick leave.
6. Implement the human resource management strategy:
After the analysis and forecast of your company’s HR requirements have been
completed, it’s time to start the process of expanding your workforce and developing
current workers to equip your company for future growth.
You can achieve the implementation of your human resource management strategy by
doing the following:

Start with the recruitment stage – At this point, HR professionals begin searching
for candidates who possess skills that have been identified during the HR strategic
planning process.
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
Organize a selection process – Interviews and other selection criteria take place at
this time. Interview questions such as “what are your salary requirements?” and
relevant tests will be used to assess whether the candidate is suitable to carry out
the role.

Begin hiring applicants – Your company will make the candidate a job offer after
all appropriate checks have been carried out.

Design onboarding and training – Onboarding is a key determining factor as to
whether an employee remains with a company. A comprehensive onboarding and
training package must be put in place to increase employee retention. Once you
have onboarded your employees well, another important step to retaining them is
to keep them engaged.
7. Evaluation and corrective action:
HR personnel should decide on a timeline to carry out a strategic HR management
review. This review will track the progress made and also identify areas for
improvement. The review should be measured against whether changes are helping your
company to achieve their goals. Corrective action must be taken if strategic human
resource management is failing to meet its objectives.
Conclusion:
The SHRM looks after an effective human resource planning wherein the human capital
is properly managed along with the development of efficient process capabilities. The HR
manager makes sure that the HR strategies are well integrated with the business strategies
as a whole. The aim of SHRM is to have a balance between the interest of stakeholders,
the employees in general, owners and management of the organization. Thus, an HR
manager should plan the HR strategies keeping people in mind and considering the
aspirations or desires of all the members, who are directly or indirectly related to the
organization.
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