Has your budget planning process begun for 2014? Each year, this complex process seems to start earlier and earlier. You’ve hardly had time to implement your 2012 KPI’s, let alone your 2013 KPIs, yet here we are already planning for 2014.
As an HR, Rewards or Mobility leader, how are you going to approach this? If you had to identify three key initiatives for 2014 today, could you do it?
Today’s organisations demand evidence based business proposals. The days of “trust me, we need to do such and such” are over. Decision makers and budget approvers don’t care what you think, only what you know. So how can you manage to create a compelling, evidenced-based business plan in the next 2-3 months, to determine and support your budget request for more staff, more professional fees, more data, etc.?
Here are some suggestions, having been through this drill more times than I care to admit:
- Get the facts–survey/interview your key stakeholders to confirm business needs, get “customer” input
- Carefully examine engagement data and comments, conduct focus groups or informal conversations with key thought leaders at your company; don’t assume what rank-and-file are thinking
- Look at your benchmarking data for comp and benefits. Don’t just look at your aggregate market position, but look at each location, each function, each unit and identify gaps or issues.
- Involve your leadership team and invite finance to join you in your review of HR needs and priorities.
- Align global, regional and local HR practices properly
- Identify key initiatives and assign accountability, getting people to own customer needs not just their silos
If your organisation needs assistance with this process, I can help. For more information, see HR Planning under Total Rewards Services in the menu above, or follow this link: