In a world constantly being disrupted by changes to market conditions, the legal landscape, and workplace trends, how an organization responds to internal and external factors can either make it more resilient or cause it to lose momentum. Adopting an agile mindset enables businesses to innovate and adapt to changes with greater flexibility to maximize customer value and satisfaction.
If your mindset is agile, you’ll be adaptable and resourceful, helping drive success even during times of uncertainty.
As HR professionals, your customers are the organization and the workforce that drives business success. As businesses are preparing their budgets for 2025, this is an ideal time for HR professionals to think about how to balance long-term goals with the flexibility needed for a rapidly changing workforce and align financial targets accordingly. Here are a few considerations HR professionals should keep in mind to make the most out of financial resources.
Break Down Strategic Goals into Shorter Time Frames
Much can change within an organization in a budget year. Breaking down specific strategic goals into shorter time frames can make it easier for HR professionals to adjust as business needs change. One way to break down strategic goals into smaller actionable steps is to identify key milestones or phases needed to reach your goal.
Breaking down strategic goals into smaller milestones can also make it easier to track progress. Adopting an agile mindset can make it easier to pivot and adapt to any surprises. This approach can also help HR professionals get a better understanding of how finances impact operations.
View Workforce Planning as a Continuous Process
A large part of an HR professional’s role is being able to keep the workforce aligned with organizational needs. Agile HR professionals can successfully shape and mold the employee experience in the face of disruption. Traditionally, workforce planning needs have been carefully budgeted for the year. However, the business landscape can be unpredictable. Having an agile mindset toward workforce planning and seeing it as a continuous process that can easily change can help organizations minimize risks.
Breaking workforce planning into shorter cycles can also make it easier for HR professionals to readjust and reallocate resources. Agile workforce planning helps HR professionals be better equipped to deliver on what the organization is trying to achieve, while also being prepared to change course.
Perform an HR Gap Analysis
Budget season is the perfect time for HR professionals to conduct a gap analysis to determine what resources you have vs. what you need for future success. Where is your HR department today compared to where you would like to be in the future? How do you develop your financial targets to bridge those gaps while remaining flexible if business needs change? Having an agile mindset can help HR professionals develop clear and concrete answers to these questions to adapt the HR strategy and the finances needed to support the vision.
Leverage Cross-Functional Collaboration to Maximize Resources
Every business function within an organization is responsible for delivering value. Getting insights from other departments during the budget planning process can help HR professionals gain additional insights on processes and relationship dynamics that impact the workforce. There may be information gained through cross-functional collaboration that can help HR professionals identify new and innovative ways to provide support.
Cross-functional collaboration can also help establish clarity on priorities and business goals, while providing HR professionals with a more holistic approach to setting financial targets.
What agility looks like in practice and how HR professionals will shape the evolving workforce are going to be different for every organization. But what remains the same is that business leaders and HR professionals must remain resilient and flexible in a world that is constantly being disrupted. Approaching your budget and resources with an agile mindset can help ensure that you make the most out of what you have so that the workforce can make the most of the resources provided to them.
Consulting and Enterprise members that want to learn more about maximizing the use of resources are encouraged to reach out to Employers Council. Employers Council also offers a class on strategic talent planning, which you can learn more about by clicking here.
Brittanie Young is a human resources consultant for Employers Council.