How can strategic HRM contribute to strategic planning - Essay Example

The purpose of HRM is the proper deployment of an organisation's workforce to ensure achievement of organisational goals, simultaneously taking care of the interests of the workforce. Strategic HRM involves the development of an HRM policy that supports the strategic planning and management of an organisation. HRM strategies can support organisational strategies in the following areas; A strategic HRM ensures job satisfaction, justice, and congruence. Congruence implies that there are no discrepancies between different groups of employees, or disparity between an employee's organisational responsibilities and personal commitments.

Every organisation needs to train and develop its staff to get the most out of them. Small and Medium Enterprises, especially, as compared to larger organisations operate with less manpower, so they must focus on getting the maximum out of their workforce to succeed in a competitive environment. Training is both formal and informal. Informal training is what an employee picks up on the job, and formal training involves being sent for a specific programme by the organisation. Training is of three types - to improve knowledge, skills or attitude.

If a person learning to drive is told how to do it (turning the ignition, changing gears, using the steering) he acquires knowledge. He acquires skill when he can drive by himself; he acquires the correct attitude when he learns how to drive safely and without annoying others. An SME needs to assess the training requirements for its employees by first making a list of the knowledge and skills required to perform well, and then checking on how far its employees are qualified, and who needs what training.

A company should take care of training right from the recruitment stage, by looking out for the right employees, who have the required qualities, and require less training, as training is costly. However, many companies are willing to recruit people with less formal qualification if they have the right attitude, because teaching skills/ knowledge to a person with the right attitude is easier, than getting work out of a person who has skills but is not interested in working. Once assessment is done, a plan should be formulated to send the employees for training, and this plan should to followed.

Training activity should be seriously undertaken. The activity itself could be fun, without in any way reducing its seriousness. The training should also be relevant. In fact it should be clear to the employee that what he learns in a programme should be put into practice at the workplace, as soon as he is back.Training evaluation can be done by the