Studying a Method for Aligning Business Strategy & HR Practices

It is the objective of the present study to derive a method from the relevant literature for aligning business strategy and HR practices. The method should have a practical approach. For this reason, the alignment method then will be implemented in an example organization as a case study.

The research method is the case study. Data are collected in five stages. In order to identify the business strategy, the organization’s documents are subjected to thematic analysis. Business capabilities are identified through interviews with seven experts. In the next step, interviews are conducted with two experts and the organization’s procedures and practices are reviewed to identify the strategic processes and the strategic jobs corresponding to each capability. A competency profile is then defined for each strategic job using the DACUM method. Finally, HR practices in the example organization are studied using the internal procedures and practices as approved by an expert in the field.

The strategy of the case study organization comprises product development, market development, as well as quality improvement and consolidation. Eleven organizational capabilities and six strategic jobs are identified. Based on the competency profile, HR planning, performance appraisal and compensation are found to be uniformly implemented for all the competencies. However, differences are observed in the decision choices regarding staffing, recruitment, training, and career development due to differences in competencies.

Despite the need for this important matter, no research has so far examined the alignment of HR strategy and HR practice and proposed a mechanism for this alignment so the present study proposed an operational mechanism for moving from business strategy to HR practices and implemented it in an organization. This alignment method should develop a comprehensive understanding of the organization's strategic changes for human resource professionals to help them make necessary changes to HR practices concomitant with business changes.