Explain with examples each of the seven steps in the strategic planning process

Human resource management, shortly known as HRM, involves a variety of tasks that enables a company to accomplish its goals. A strategic management process allows human resources to improve a company’s growth effectively. It aims at determining the actions needed for setting up short-term goals and long-term goals in an organization. Apart from that, strategic HR is necessary for a company because it results in more advantages. Running a successful organization involves various factors that need more attention. Strategic management enables businesses to deploy strategies effectively after analyzing a company’s present position.

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7 steps involved in the strategic management process

Companies should know the 7 steps involved in strategic HRM that can help experience the desired outcomes while planning important tasks.

1. Understanding and developing objectives clearly

The first stage in strategic management is developing objectives clearly. A company should understand the mission, aim, and goals before setting goals. Moreover, it should share the same with others to explain how it will impact the growth of a company. In other words, an organization should communicate its goals to employees through proper channels that can help obtain optimal results.

2. Initial assessment

Gathering more data and information is the second stage in strategic management which gives ways to plan everything accordingly. A company should identify its mission and vision in this stage to implement both of them as soon as possible. The vision component provides a clear idea to a company about its establishment and other things. On the other hand, the mission part describes the activities involved in a company’s business.

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3. Situation analysis

An organization should assess its current situation in the markets after identifying the mission and vision. It also involves analyzing the internal and external business environment with more attention. Besides that, situation analysis aims at knowing the competitors in the markets that can help make the right decision. It even gives ways to gain ideas that show ways to manage problems that affect the growth of a company.

4. Formulating strategies

A situation analysis enables a company to create long-term goals and objectives properly. It should focus on formulating strategies in the next steps to reduce the competition levels. On the other hand, there are three different levels meant for any goal-orientated organization that can do major wonders. All of them will help a company to run the operations successfully for a long-time.

5. Implementing strategies

Implementing strategy is the next important thing in the strategic management process because it contributes more to attain top positions. Managerial skills are important in this stage and a company should give more importance to them. Furthermore, communication is essential for a firm when it wants to get support from others while implementing strategies.

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6. Monitoring strategies

An organization should consider monitoring strategies after implementing them correctly. In addition, it helps make them successful one to ensure better prospects. A company should focus more on utilizing SWOT analysis to know the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in detail. SWOT techniques allow a company to reach the next levels. Moreover, they offer solutions for various problems significantly that help plan operations with ease.

7. Evaluation and corrective action

A company should evaluate the strategic management process that can help track the progress levels. Also, it gives methods to identify the areas properly that need improvement in an organization. Reviewing strategies allow a company to know whether changes are helping when it wants to achieve the goals. Moreover, HR personnel should determine the tools needed for employees while carrying out important tasks. This will help complete them with high accuracy enabling an organization to experience more changes.

7 Steps to Improve Your Strategic Planning Process

Do your strategic planning process seem more like an exercise? You’re not alone. McKinsey explored some key shifts impacting the strategic planning process.  In this post we’ll explore 7 steps to “achieve more” satisfaction for one of the most valuable endeavors for every company – your strategic plan.

What We Know About Strategic Planning and its Process

1. Many executives are unsatisfied with their company’s approach to planning and strategy.
2. While many companies have a formal planning process, many leaders don’t find the process useful for making their most important decisions.
3. In some CEO that leads the strategic planning process in others, it is lead by the Chief Strategy Office or a strategy group that exists at the corporate or business unit level.

Yes, I Want My Growth Idea

Do these reflect your experience with strategic planning? Your strategic plan provides the direction and outlines measurable goals for an organization. It serves as the tool for guiding day-to-day decisions and evaluating progress.

7 Steps to Improve Your Strategic Plan

We have found these 7 steps enable our customers to achieve more satisfaction with their strategic plans. You might find these helpful as well.

1. Formalize your process. First and foremost, have a process. No matter who leads the decision making, executives at companies that make good use of a formal process seem to be more satisfied with strategic plans. There are various approaches, pick one that works for your organization. Document it by creating a process map. Employ the process regularly and consistently..

2. Define the decision making criteria. Evaluate your strategy options against your preset company priorities. For example, degree of customer pain, market size potential, fit with your current product portfolio may be important considerations against which to evaluate challenges and opportunities.

3. Engage the board the right way. Whether private or public you have key stakeholders. Engage these stakeholders during the development process to gain buy-in for the final strategy. Research has found that boards where respondents are satisfied with their planning are twice as likely to monitor the company’s progress against the strategic plan and three times as likely to spend time identifying key strategic issues facing the company.

4. Focus on growth opportunities. Sadly, many companies don’t particularly focus their planning on new opportunities for growth. A key reason for having a strategic plan is to understand the opportunities for growth and to make decisions on how best to pursue these opportunities. Assess your strategic options. Evaluate the market and competitive environment to identify your best opportunities.  Develop and use a process for weighting and ranking growth opportunities.

5. Address strategic issues. It is very easy to get mired down in the day-to-day. Avoid turning your strategic planning into a tactical working session. Focus your strategic plan on strategic NOT tactical issues. Consider using strategic issues, rather than a calendar-based planning cycle, to drive your company’s approach to strategic planning. Focus your strategic plan on decisions that allow the company to overcome and capitalize on these issues.

6. Execute, execute, execute. Producing a strategic plan that reflects your company’s goals and challenges only matters if you execute it correctly. Aligning management with the strategy is essential to supporting the plan’s execution. Ensure that all the outcomes are explicitly communicated throughout the company.

7. Monitor and report progress. Develop the measures of success during the planning process. Measure and report on progress to the plan – at least monthly.

Planning is in our DNA.  Facilitated planning sessions allow everyone on the team to be active participants.

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