Corporate Research Forum

2 February 2012
Developing an Effective HR Strategy

Overview

Who is it for?

HR directors and senior HR professionals involved in developing, implementing and evaluating strategy.

Overview

The importance of a clear and compelling strategy is a well-chronicled topic. HR’s role in formulating and implementing strategy depends on circumstance, history and capability. This will be a very practical session based not on the debate as to whether HR should be involved in strategy formulation but on the practicalities of ‘how’ and ‘what’. The meeting will embrace business strategy formulation, HR’s role and its subsequent responsibilities. The workshop will be led by Pat Wright with three supporting case studies.

Content

The report and workshop will build on the topics explored by Marcus Alexander in his session ‘Business Strategy and Common Sense’ at CRF’s Budapest conference in October 2010, and consider how these apply to HR. The report will explore the following issues.

What is strategy and how do organisations develop it?
What role does HR have in developing business strategy? What skills and knowledge does HR need to contribute?
What happens once business strategy has been developed? How does HR put this into practice?
What are the strategic levers that HR can pull when engaged in implementation?
How is strategy evaluated and what is HR’s role in evaluation?

The report and workshop will review the latest thinking on this topic and include in-depth case studies exploring how organisations differ in their approach to strategy development and implementation, and why. A practical model will be developed based on the key elements of the debate.

Report Author:

Gillian Pillans has worked as a senior HR practitioner and OD specialist for a number of organisations including Swiss Re, Vodafone and BAA. Prior to her HR career, she was a management consultant with Deloitte Consulting. She is also a qualified solicitor and has recently advised on several high value discrimination claims.

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Agenda

Speakers

Location

Patrick Wright
William J. Conaty GE Professor of Strategic Human Resources in the ILR School (Industrial and Labor Relations) at Cornell University

Trinity House, Trinity Square, Tower Hill, London EC3N 4DH

Timetable

Developing an Effective HR Strategy

09:00Registration & coffee
09:30Welcome & introductions
Mike Haffenden
09:40Introductions on tables – what are the hot issues for you in relation to this topic and what do you hope to get out of the day?
10:00The Strategic HR Organisation – Gaining Competitive Advantage through People
Pat Wright
10:25Table discussions
10:50TEA & COFFEE BREAK
11:20Case study: Developing People Strategy - Logica's story
Stephen Kelly, Chief People Officer, Logica
11:40Case study Q&A
11:55Case study: Developing People Strategy – AB Sugar’s story
Quintin Heath, HR Director, AB Sugar
12:15Case study Q&A
12:30LUNCH
13:30The Challenges for the Strategic HRD
Pat Wright
13:55Discussions at tables
14:20Q&A session with Pat
14:45Pat to interview Stephen & Quintin
15:10Concluding comments from Pat
15:20Summary of the day
Mike
15:30CLOSE

2 February 2012Developing an Effective HR Strategy

London