Setting Effective HR Goals: A Comprehensive Guide for HR Professionals

Until a decade back, the only goal HR had was to have the right people at the right place at the right time. Not anymore. Since then, the purpose and role of HR have changed significantly and become broader and much more complex. HR is not just people management, but with people-led cultures now, they also need to ensure employees' welfare and professional life. They do it by setting goals first. 

HR business partner (HRBP) is a strategic alliance between the business and HR. They set short-term and long-term goals for business expansion. Usually, short-term goals refer to goals that are achievable in three months to a year, while long-term goals can take five years or longer. 

What are short-term HR goals for HRBPs?

Depending on a particular business or organization, the short-term goals and objectives for HR might vary. But here are a few common examples applicable to all companies

• Recruitment and hiring: Expedite the recruitment process to fill up positions in time and make the hiring process more efficient using technology.
• Onboarding and orientation: Ensure a smoother onboarding process for new hires. It improves productivity and helps start the relationship with the organization on the right foot.
• Employee training and development: Improve employee performance and skills by creating targeted training programs.
• Performance management: Implementing performance management systems for timely goal setting, regular feedback and reviews, and performance appraisals.
• Employee engagement: Create and conduct regular surveys to increase employee engagement. Leverage team-building activities, wellness programs, and employee recognition.
• Diversity and inclusion: Cultivate the right company culture by introducing strategies for diversity recruitment and implementing programs in training and resource groups.
• Compliance and HR policies: Update HR policies, procedures, and documentation to ensure they comply with laws and regulations.
• Compensation and benefits: Conduct in-depth research and analyze the results to update compensation and benefits. Keep at industry standards, which will help attract and retain top talent. 
• Employee retention: Conduct surveys and analyze feedback to find critical factors affecting retention and implement the right strategies to improve employee satisfaction and reduce churn.
• HR technology: Automate manual processes and use technology wherever applicable. 
  
  

What are long-term HR goals for HRBPs?

HRBPs play a crucial role in an organization’s growth by aligning HR strategies with the company’s goals and objectives. Here are some long-term HR goal examples.

Strategic workforce planning: Coordinate with company leaders to understand the kind of talent required in the future to strengthen the workforce and ensure there is no skill gap.

Succession planning and talent development: Identify and nurture employees with great potential for leadership roles and create a thorough succession plan that works effectively whenever a vacant position arises.

Organizational development: Collaborate with business leaders to understand what will drive organizational growth, improve teamwork, and enhance employee performance.

Employee satisfaction and engagement: Craft employee engagement strategies considering the changing times and work culture. Keep them on the forefront and develop wellness programs, upskilling opportunities, and employee recognition initiatives.

Data-driven HR analytics: For data-driven decision-making, analyze HR metrics, identify emerging trends, and develop predictive models to enhance hiring processes and workforce planning programs.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI): Implement DEI principles into HR processes and policies to create an inclusive work culture where all employees can thrive.

Employer branding and recruitment strategy: Develop the organization's brand image to attract the best talent in the industry and associate with talent acquisition consultants to maximize the hiring process for long-term needs.

HR technology and digital transformation: Learn about emerging technologies. Determine their impact on the organization's strategies by optimizing traditional processes and enhancing the employee experience.

What are SMART HR goals, and how do you implement them?

Now that we know the short-term and long-term goals for HRBPs, applying the SMART criteria to all HR goals is vital. SMART stands for -

Specific (S)

Measurable (M)

Achievable (A)

Relevant (R)

Time-bound (T)

SMART HR goals are beneficial for the growth of the organization. Here is why -

• To align individual employees’ goals and values with the company’s goals and values.
• To boost morale
• To measure the critical metrics and understand the progress every quarter.
• To enhance employee experience
• To help employees be accountable
• To show that you care

Here are four examples of HR goals aligned with the SMART criteria:

A clear set of core values - An organization's core values are the foundation on which its work culture depends. Try to build a list of seven fundamental values of your company by the end of the month. It could be a mix of current values, new ones from recent books, or those born from a discussion with business leaders.

Employee-first company culture - Give your employees more focus than customers. To implement this, create a new set of guidelines to ensure a positive work environment at the next meeting. These guidelines can be about managing sensitive topics, conflict management, and  language.

Employee engagement and retention - Help employees grow by partnering with LinkedIn learning resources or similar platforms. Incentivize employee recognition and ask managers to nominate employees. Ask for feedback and take notes from them. Make mental health a priority and give them paid leave to attend wellness programs.

A flexible and inclusive environment - Embrace hybrid work mode and flexible work hours. Ensure the work environment is diverse and inclusive. Ask employees to develop ideas, concerns, or questions regarding inclusivity to create a workplace haven.

HR goals for 2023 and how to align them with the changing times

inFeedo analyses millions of data daily to determine the pain points affecting HR goals and solve these challenges.

Improve employee engagement-  inFeedo enables HR to boost employee engagement with real-time data and provides a cheat sheet to build a winning culture. It helps collect feedback across the employee journey, identify areas of concern, collaborate with HRBPs, and offer personalized guidance to improve employee engagement. inFeedo’s Amber, the HR bot, is not just another chatbot. It has been built to be empathetic and warm. No wonder employees feel good talking to it and sharing honest experiences!

Digital transformation of HR - Powerful people analytics software like Amber from inFeedo can detect a change in engagement score, find employees at risk of leaving, determine where your engagement drivers need work, timely resolve critical cases for employees at risk of leaving, and constantly monitor response rate. It helps personalize employee experience and increase engagement, leading to a productive, happy, and safe work environment.

Boost employee experience - Improve employee experience with continuous listening and proactive data-driven decisions. Remote work, flexible hours, professional growth, and manager effectiveness are other parameters that will determine employee experience. 

Offer flexibility within the organization - The pandemic has taught us many lessons, and one of the biggest affecting HR goals this year is organizational agility. This means the ability to address business challenges effectively by first enhancing your listening program to understand employee sentiment and their needs. 

Enhance company culture and values - The next generation of the workforce believes in working for a company that stands for a cause or has a purpose of serving through their work. Hence, HR must build the company’s brand image and benchmark its culture with the best.

Achieve your HR goals more efficiently with inFeedo 

The changing role of HR can take a lot of work for organizations to keep up with. Thankfully, inFeedo can elevate your HR programs and make them future-ready. Leverage AI-enabled technology to increase your workforce performance and revolutionize HR strategies.

Invest in technology that works FOR your employees and experience the future of HR.

Book a demo with our experts now.