Strategic Human Resources Planning – Part 2 of 2 (Talent Development and Diversity)

This blog is loaded with lots of useful links – please explore them!

In part 1 (link), published last week, I argued that Human Resources Strategic Planning should be one of the foundational activities for any enterprise since expenditures on people resources are most often the largest expense . In addition, in an increasingly commoditized world, talented people are now most often the differentiating factor in outpacing competition and winning market share. I find it very ironic that many executives do not get this and spend very little time or money developing human resources and leveraging their talent.
HR March 2014
I then summarized an outstanding practical workshop that Molly Hegeman, VP of HR Services for CAI (link) presented at the January monthly meeting of TSHRM (Triangle Society of Human Resource Management.) In this session, Molly defined strategic planning, provided the steps to do it, and highlighted key emerging areas to consider while planning.

In part 2, I will highlight my two areas of consulting expertise and how they fit strategically into Human Resources Planning: talent development and diversity management.

My first area is in employee talent and career development with my innovative Total Engagement Career Mapping services. This is a process that is customized for the individual enterprise to engage employees in longer range career planning. In addition to assisting employees to gain key competencies for their current position, companies should prepare their talent for positions 3, 5 or 10 years down the road and build a robust leadership pipeline. When employees are engaged in meaningful career planning, they are more excited about their work and productivity improves. In addition, companies experience lower attrition and can save millions of dollars in additional recruiting and onboarding costs.

Additional resources:

An online article in ZipRecruiter about his process: How to Attract and Retain Top Talent through Career Mapping.

A blog: Are You Protecting Your Company’s Largest Investment?

A blog: How to demonstrate the business case for investment in employee development

My second area is Diversity Management – I can handle all areas of diversity strategy, program execution and training, with a deep specialty in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) workplace and marketplace. Companies are increasingly understanding that an organizational diversity strategy is not just simply a good thing to do, but is a critical component for business success. Recruiting top talent from the widest possible talent pool, leveraging diverse talent with innovative ideas, connecting positively with a wide range of community organizations, and reaching out to new diverse markets are all key factors in increase profitability.

An additional resource:

A Blog: Demonstrating a business case for investment in diversity initiatives.

Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] to set up a call to discuss how my expertise in these two areas can benefit your enterprise!

The Business Case for Diversity

One of the three core expertise areas I offer in my consulting practice is diversity management with a specialization in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) workplace and marketplace. Earlier this week I published a similar blog on another area of expertise titled “The Business Case for Career Road Mapping / Skills Development.” Click on that title to link to the article.

Senior corporate leaders and stockholders expect to see a financially based business case for practically any business initiative, and this of course would include corporate diversity programs. Can I show with actual dollars how investing in diversity initiatives (for example, targeted constituency marketing, benefits programs, management training, sponsoring employee network groups, supporting community organizations, targeted recruiting…) can add to a company’s bottom line? Absolutely yes! I agree this is important and can be done.

Many studies on diversity management highlight that robust diversity initiatives positively impact employee engagement / employee productivity, employee retention, and constituency sales. As an example, I will use LGBT diversity programs since that is my area of specialization within diversity management, though the methodology could easily be used for any other constituency (Women, Black, Hispanic, Asian …) or even for cross-constituency programs.

For this example, I will use a 2,000 person business with an average employee salary of $40,000 and annual revenue of $250M. And I will conservatively estimate that 6% of employees and business revenue is from the LGBT constituency.

PRODUCTIVITY CALCULATION: number of employees x constituency percentage x average salary x percent productivity gain = productivity gain in $. For example, with 2000 employees with 6% being LGBT, salaries of $40,000 per year, a 5% productivity gain nets 2000 x .06 x $40,000 x .05 or $240,000.

ATTRITION SAVINGS: number of employees x constituency percentage x average salary x time for fully onboarding new employees x decrease in attrition percentage = saving in attrition $. For example, again using 2000 employees at $40,000, if it take 2/3rds of a year for onboarding and you can avoid 5% of the LGBT population from departing, the savings is 2000 x .06 x $40,000 x 2/3 x .05 or $160,000.

REVENUE GAIN: annual revenue x constituency percentage x percent increase in constituency sales = potential revenue gain. For this example with $250M in revenue, the potential net new revenue from a 5% increase in LGBT market share would be $250M x .06 x .05 = $750,000.

So overall in this case, bottom line we are looking at executing LGBT diversity programs providing a net expense savings of $400,000 and net new revenue of $750,000 to the business.

In addition you would get the “soft” benefits of overall higher employee morale, being able to attract the best talent as word spreads and your enterprise is viewed as an “employer of choice,” and overall community good will.