Strategy and Quantitative Analysis in Human Resources

Human resource is a field that incorporates many different occupations and eludes proper definition and perspective within many organizations. Human resources encompass different specializations that have roots in various other fields and sciences. For example, human resource departments at larger companies include payroll, training and development, labor relations, legal reviews, EEO compliance and diversity management, compensation specialists, insurance managers, and health and safety. The wide range of fields can create difficulty in developing proper strategic objectives and quantitative measurements

Despite the specializations of human resource professionals there is some confusion about what the purpose of the department should entail. This confusion has created a lack of focus and strategic development. According to Oxford University?s explanation in their book Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy organizations Human Resource departments should consider following roles of (Holbeche, 2011):

1.) Employee advocate

2.) Functional Expert

3.) Human Capital Developer

4.) Strategic Partner

5.) HR Leader

Human capital is one of the strongest roles Human Resource professionals should understand. By utilizing employees? internal strengths and enhancing them through progressive compensation, training, and cultural adjustments the strategic objectives of the organization can be more efficiently realized. Take for example, the concept of synergy and how developing the focus of many forces of effort can result in progressive gains in organizational improvement.

Since human behavior and effort is hard to analyze in terms of hard numbers the quantitative approaches have lacked for many decades. Yet with the development of stronger software and focused effort on financial benefits human behavior can be converted to quantifiable financial results. The process can apply as easily to the U.S. as it can to far off lands like Nigeria making it a universal perspective.

A quantitative study found that strategic human resource approaches impact financial performance (Ojo, 2011). There is a direct correlation to focusing on strategies and using quantitative measurements to evaluate overall organizational objective achievement. As the same benefit applies in Nigeria as it does in the U.S. it lends credibility to the argument that human resources is about developing people in order to fulfill organizational goals.

Thus it is important to consider that strategy and quantitative analysis in human resource studies can help to improve the organization overall. The perceptual framework for any human resource adjustment should be the strategic objectives of the organization. From the strategic objectives the human resource department can build strategies and focus on strategies that enhance these objectives. A strong method of ensuring proper adjustment is to quantify human behavior in what is often termed benchmarking and data analysis.

Author: Dr. Murad Abel

Holbeche, L. (2011). Aligning Human Resources and Business Strategy. Oxford, UK.

Ojo, O (2011). Impact of strategic human resource practice on corporate performance in selected Nigerian Banks. Ege Academic Review, 11 (3).

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