Financial Objectives
To improve earnings per share from “X” to “Y” dollars/share.
- With Finance, implement a Cost Control/Profit Improvement workshop to identify and quantify potential cost savings and profit improvement opportunities.
- With Engineering and Marketing, implement a Product Improvement workshop to identify product/service innovations that can gain market share +/or reduce product cost.
To increase cash flow by “Z” dollars.
- To train Sales staff how to resolve and collect outstanding receivables to bring in more cash.
- With Manufacturing, implement an Inventory Reduction workshop to identify and quantify items that can be eliminated, reduced or replaced by less expensive ones.
Strategic Objectives
To develop 20 general managers who can operate a $50M/year business.
- With outside experts, develop a seminar workshop that covers strategic planning, financial management, product/market development, sales, and leadership.
- Set up a personalized development plan for each general manager.
- Review the entire compensation package for each general manager annually.
To increase sales 20% by acquiring a business that uses an important new technology.
- Update the Sales Incentive plan to recognize the new technology and improved profit.
- With Sales, evaluate the competency level of Sales staff in the new technology.
- Evaluate the current recruiting sources in the new technology and identify new ones.
Operating Objectives
To reduce time-to-market for product “A” by 30% to exceed industry standards.
- With Engineering and Marketing, implement several team efforts to re-engineer and streamline the entire design and launch cycle. Retrain management on key changes.
- Conduct a Project Management workshop to ensure that this project, and all subsequent product development projects, are achieved on time.
To improve customer care to exceed industry standards.
- With Customer Care, survey outside and company experts to catalog new key service principles, standards, measures, and reporting requirements.
- Determine the new key skills areas required for success and assess the competency level of these skills on current staff.
- Hire new personnel and retrain all staff on new principles, processes, and measures.
- Review findings with top management and acquire implementation approval.
- When HR is considering a new or improved HR software package, ensure that the first priority is given to which software package will best directly support the company’s business objectives. Once that is satisfied, the second priority should be which software package will best improve the effectiveness and efficiency of HR performing its administrative duties.
- In all interactions with the CEO and line executives, think and act like a business person FIRST and an HR person SECOND.
SUMMARY
The above guidelines are primarily designed to facilitate the career growth of any HR leader who has the potential to work in senior or upper management while supporting or elevating the respect for the HR function within the company.
Nicely balanced advice, Jack. I started my civilian career in retail. No one, on matter how HR qualified, could get into HR without starting on the sales floor. That lesson has stayed with me. My thought, HR MUST venture into operations at some point or risk becoming irrelevant.
Thanks Carol. Couldn’t agree with you more. Jack