Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy

As featured in 'PERSONNEL TODAY'

Profiles and case studies from Top HR Strategists.

What difference can an aspiring HR Strategist really make to business value? In this inspirational book, Linda Holbeche provides a set of tools and case studies to show how HR strategists can impress at the highest level by delivering a variety of key business objectives, often within their current job role. The relationship betwen an effective people strategy and business success is hard to quantify in financial terms, but Holbeche provides persuasive examples to add to the growing body of evidence.

Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy contains profiles of several top strategists, including Dr. Candy Albertsson of BP Amoco and Geoff Rogers of Standard Chartered Bank. It builds on surveys and features from Personnel Today magazine and Roffey Park.

Companies include:

• BNFL
• BP Amoco
• Dow Corning
• Ericsson
• Hoechst Roussel
• KPMG
• Local Government Association
• NATS (National Air Traffic Services)
• NatWest Group
• Richer Sounds
• Saratoga Europe
• Sears Roebuck & Co
• Standard Chartered Bank
• Standard Life
• Sun Microsystems
• Thresher
• Whitbread

• Foreword by David Hussey
• Foreword by Clive Morton
• Preface
• Part 1: The need for strategic HRM
  1. Beyond internal consultancy — the need for strategic Human Resources
     • The changing role of Personnel
     • People as assets
     • Raising the game
     • What makes strategic HRM 'more strategic' than HRM?
     • 'Fit' with business strategy
     • Operating as a business partner —what do CEOs need from HR?
     • Reorienting HR to high added-value contributions
     • Transforming HR's role
     • What HR can be valued for and should build on
     • Towards a strategic HR role
     • Checklists on the role of HR
     • References
  2. The context for strategic Human Resources
     • The changing business environment
     • Governance of society is mutating
     • The changing nature of the workplace
     • What can HR do about balance?
     • The future
     • Conclusion
     • Checklists on organizational design
     • References
  3. Measuring the impact of strategic HRM
     • The business case for addressing employee neeeds
     • Predictors of business results
     • Holistic frameworks — the Business Excellence
     • Model and the Balanced Scorecard
     • The Executive Scorecard
     • How can HR add value?
     • Benchmarking
     • The service-profit chain
     • The Sears turnaround
     • Strategic planning in Dow Corning
     • Conclusion
     • Measurement checklists
     • References
  4. Aligning business and HR strategies
     • Apporaches to developing corporate strategy
     • Planned versus emergent
     • Aligning the organization to the business direction
     • Building competitive advantage
     • How can HR strategies be fully aligned?
     • Aligning HR and business strategies through HR planning
     • Alignment through organization development
     • Aligning the structure of HR with the organizational strategy
     • Empowerment
     • Aligning training and development to business strategy
     • Strategic alignment through competencies
     • Integrating HR processes at BNFL
     • Aligning HR strategies in UK local government
     • Alignment checklists
     • References
• Part 2: Strategies for managing and developing talent
  5. Managing and rewarding for high performance
     • The role of HR in creating integration
     • High-performance work practices
     • How can HR help to implement high-performance work practices?
     • Performance management
     • Reward strategies
     • The need to revise reward strategies
     • What reward strategies are approapriate in changing organizations?
     • Flexible benefits
     • How do people want to be rewarded?
     • Recognition
     • Conclusion
     • Checklist for reward strategies
     • References
  6. Working across organizational boundaries
     • Forms of cross-boundary working
     • The challenge of working across boundaries
     • Cross-boundary working — a manufacturing case study
     • The characteristics of successful cross-boundary teamworking
     • International teamworking at Ericsson
     • Conclusion
     • Checklist for cross-boundary teams
     • References
  7. Recruitment and retention strategies
     • Strategic recruitment
     • The recruitment process
     • Generation X
     • Recruiting and getting the best out of Generation X
     • Motivation and retention
     • Towards a strategic approach to retention
     • Elements of a retention strategy
     • Helping managers to make a difference
     • Conclusion
     • Recruitment and retention checklist
     • References
  8. Strategies for developing people
     • Needs analysis
     • Evaluation
     • Prioritizing development needs using competencies
     • Prioritizing resource allocation according to different development needs
     • Development needs of high flyers
     • How do high flyers learn best?
     • Supporting the development of high flyers
     • How can directors be developed?
     • Supporting managers' development
     • Methods of learning
     • Conclusion
     • Checklist for development needs
     • References
  9. Developing effective career strategies
     • The changing psychological contract
     • The effect of flatter structures on employees
     • The growth of flatter structures
     • New forms of career development?
     • The paradoxical effects of flatter structures on roles
     • A 'success template'?
     • The role of HR professionals
     • Towards a new psychological contract —helping people to help themselves
     • Career development at Standard Life —an update
     • Developing innovative career tracks in a scientific environment
     • Career management within KPMG UK
     • Corporate-wide support mechanisms
     • Some local initiatives
     • Tensions relating to achieving career success
     • Careers in the future — opportunities and challenges
     • Conclusion
     • Checklist for the new career structures
     • References
  10. Developing international managers
      • The growth of international business
      • What is an international organization?
      • The role of the international manager
      • What does an international' role look like?
      • How willing are managers to accept an international assignment?
      • Organizational versus individual expectations
      • The role of HR in managing assignments
      • International mobility at Ericsson
      • Selecting international managers
      • Recruiting and developing international managers at BP Amoco
      • The skills of international high flyers
      • Developing international managers
      • Developing international managers at Standard Chartered Bank
      • Conclusion — benefiting from international leadership
      • Checklist for international management strategies
      • References
  11. High-potential assessment and succession planning
      • The changing shape of succession
      • Conventional fast-track shcemes and succession planning
      • Changing career messages
      • The assessment and development of high potential at BP Amoco
      • Succession planning for the top jobs in BP Amoco — a strategic approach
      • The changing employment context
      • What's happening to fast tracking?
      • Recommendation one: Integrate succession planning with other initiatives
      • Recommendation two: Be clear about what else you want to achieve through succession planning
      • Recommendation three: Create the processes, then assess and monitor performance
      • A partnership — balancing the needs of the organization with those of the individual
      • Conclusion
      • Checklist for succession planning
      • References
• Part 3: HR as a strategic function
  12. HR strategists in action
      • Developing a strategic HR agenda
      • Repositioning HR — from transactional to value added
      • HR competencies
      • Adding value at Standard Life
      • Conclusion
      • Checklist for strategic HR practitioners
      • References
  13. International approaches to HRM
      • A global HR agenda
      • Developing global leaders
      • Supporting transnational teams
      • Building a global culture in Standard Chartered Bank
      • Checklists on globalizing and supporting the international business
      • References
• Part 4: Implementing strategic change
  14. Bringing about strategic change
      • What is meant by culture change'?
      • Approaches to changing cultures
      • Communication and leadership
      • Helps and hindrances in managing change
      • Checklist — Developing a positive climate for change
      • Developing a customer-focused culture in Standard Life
      • The role of HR in supporting change
      • Measuring progress — and success
      • Lessons learned
      • Change at Thresher — updating the Operations Development Project story
      • Winning board commitment
      • Creating the principles for managing change
      • The HR contribution
      • Capturing the learning
      • A success story…
      • An individual's experience of the change process
      • Getting the balance right
      • 1999 and beyond
      • Key learning points
      • Checklists on change management
      • References
  15. Mergers and strategic alliances
      • The growth of mergers
      • What separates merger partners
      • Mergers need managing
      • Communication
      • Waves of change
      • The Whitbread case: the integration of Peter Dominic with Thresher
      • Key learning points
      • How HR can help an organization through a merger
      • Alliances
      • Making alliances work
      • Conclusion
      • References
  16. Creating a learning culture
      • Knowledge management
      • How can barriers to the sharing of knowledge be overcome?
      • How organizations are developing intellectual capital
      • Moving towards organizational learning
      • Networking
      • Culture change at Sainsbury's Logistics division
      • Open Access Development Centres at Standard Life
      • Sun Microsystems
      • Creating a self-development culture at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS)
      • Conclusion
      • References
  • Conclusion

The title promises more than it can deliver. Yes, it tries to align HRM with Strategy, but mostly it tries to teach the basics of strategy to HR people and gives some basics about HR to strategy people. It is not totally worthless, but there are other stuff you should be reading instead of this.