setting-human-resource-objectives as

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The value of setting human resource objectives

Human resource (HR) objectives are clear targets that help a business plan and manage its workforce more effectively
Setting them has several benefits:

Improves business performance
- Aligning employee effort with business goals increases productivity and efficiency
Supports strategic planning
- Clear HR objectives guide recruitment, training and organisational development
Enables measurement and control
- Progress can be tracked using HR metrics such as staff turnover or engagement levels
Helps attract investment and leadership support
- Data-backed goals reassure senior managers and investors that the business is managing its people effectively

Objective	Definition	Example
Employee engagement	Boosting employees’ enthusiasm and involvement in their work	The John Lewis Partnership uses staff ownership to increase motivation and engagement
Talent development	Growing employees’ skills to prepare them for more senior roles	Rolls-Royce runs a graduate programme to develop future engineering and management leaders
Training	Equipping staff with the skills needed to perform effectively	BT offers digital skills courses through its “Skills for Tomorrow” initiative
Diversity	Building a workforce with a range of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences	PwC UK publishes diversity targets to improve ethnic and gender representation in leadership
Alignment of employee and employer values	Ensuring staff values match the business’s culture and mission	The Co-operative Group promotes ethical values that attract and retain like-minded employees
Number, skills and location of employees	Ensuring the business has the right people, with the right skills, in the right places	Amazon UK strategically locates fulfilment centres and staff to meet regional delivery demands

Businesses use different approaches to meet their HR objectives. These are typically grouped into soft and hard human resource management (HRM) strategies:
- Soft HRM
  - Focuses on employees as valuable long-term assets
  - Emphasises motivation, engagement and development
  - Often linked to higher staff retention and job satisfaction
  - E.g. The John Lewis Partnership applies soft HRM by giving employees a stake in the company and a voice in key decisions
- Hard HRM
  - Treats employees more like a resource to control and minimise costs
  - Focuses on efficiency, short-term contracts and minimal employee involvement
  - Often linked to lower labour costs but higher labour turnover
  - E.g. Sports Direct has been criticised for using zero-hour contracts, a hallmark of hard HRM
Most businesses combine elements of both approaches depending on their strategy, budget and industry