Covey and Strategic Planning for HR:  Is There a Connection? 
by Linda Gravett, Ph.D., SPHR

By this time of year, most HR departments have worked through their 2006 planning process.  Maybe they even have the final plan organized into a binder.  The chances that all these fine plans will actually be implemented are unfortunately very slim.  Why?  I believe that it’s because HR professionals too often forget the Covey concept* of identifying how to prioritize and use time effectively.

In the event that it’s been a while since you’ve seen Covey’s time management matrix, it’s reproduced below:

Strategic planning, I believe definitely falls into Quadrant II.  Because it’s planning for the future, strategic planning isn’t urgent; however, it certainly is important.  If we want to attract, retain, and leverage talent, we must have a vision, mission, and objectives with which people can identify.  If our organizational objectives don’t resonate with quality applicants, they’ll look for organizations whose dreams and plans resonate with their own.

In your HR strategic planning sessions, I encourage you to focus on a strong linkage between your departmental objectives and the organization’s objectives.  Otherwise, it’ll be far too easy during the course of the year to be pulled into Quadrant III activities; urgent (for others) but not necessarily important for you or the organization.  When your department is asked to devote time and staff to requests from others, I believe it’s crucial that you’re able to determine whether it’s a Quadrant I (urgent and important) or Quadrant II (not urgent but important) activity.  If the request falls into neither category, learn to say “no”!  Crises do surface from time to time of course and must be handled with expediency.  Quadrant II planning for contingencies, or preventive maintenance such as employee education and coaching, can minimize the likelihood of frequent crises.

Part of the strategic planning process that’s too often omitted is establishment of tactics.  Objectives such as development of a diversity initiative may be set.  Even specific goals might be established, such as “distribute a culture audit to all employees by 3/31/06”.  All too often, this is where many strategic plans stop.  But how will specific goals be met?  For instance, who will coordinate the culture audit? compile results? how will you ensure participation? how will the results be shared?  All of these tactical concerns are Quadrant II planning steps that will take strategic planning from ideas to action.

This up-front analysis takes extra time, to be sure.  However, I guarantee that the return on this investment will be high!

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or comments at Lgravett@aol.com.

*Covey, Stephen R., 1989, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Simon and Schuster , NY , NY