Strategic Human Resources: Roles, Metrics and Talent Management

Posted on Feb 16, 2026 in Humanities and Social Anthropology

Golden rule

Golden rule: HR is not administrative. HR is a strategic system aligned to business outcomes.

Use words like:

• Strategic alignment
• Value creation
• Human capital
• Metrics
• Fit with organizational goals

Unit 1: Introduction and Role of HR

Traditional HR vs Contemporary HR

Write this table if possible.

The New HR Imperative (Ulrich)

Ulrich’s idea — very important. HR must deliver four outcomes. Modern HR must balance all four, not choose one.

• Strategic Partner: Align HR with business strategy.
• Administrative Expert: Drive efficiency through systems and technology.
• Employee Champion: Promote engagement and commitment.
• Change Agent: Enable organizational transformation.

New HR Metrics: Scoring on the Business Scorecard

Shift from activity metrics to impact metrics.

Traditional HR metrics include:

• Number of trainings
• Time to hire (alone)
• Cost per hire (alone)

Strategic HR metrics include:

• Quality of hire
• Human Capital ROI
• Productivity per employee
• Attrition of high performers
• Capability readiness

HR Business Scorecard links HR practices to employee behaviors to operational outcomes to financial performance.

Example you can write:

Training effectiveness should be measured not by hours delivered but by post-training productivity and performance improvement.

Key exam line to memorise:
The contemporary role of HR is to create organizational capability that competitors cannot easily imitate.

Unit 2: Job Analysis, Job Design and Manpower Planning

Job Analysis

Job analysis is the systematic process of determining job duties, responsibilities, and required KSAOs.

Outputs of job analysis include:

• Job Description covering tasks, duties, responsibilities
• Job Specification covering knowledge, skills, attitudes, and other characteristics

Uses of job analysis include recruitment and selection, training and development, performance appraisal, compensation, job design, safety, and career planning.

Methods of Job Analysis

Very exam friendly.

Conventional methods include observation, interviews (both individual and group), questionnaires, diaries, and the critical incident method.

Quantitative methods include the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) and Fleishman Job Analysis Survey.

Key issue to write: No single method is sufficient; a multi-method approach is preferred.

Job Design

Goals of job design include organizational efficiency, employee satisfaction, and alignment of individual and organizational goals.

Approaches to Job Design

Engineering Approach (Taylor): Focuses on scientific management, time-and-motion studies, and monetary incentives. Limitations include monotony, low motivation, and limited social interaction.

Human Relations Approach: Focuses on psychological needs, Herzberg’s hygiene factors and motivators, and job enrichment.

Job Characteristics Model

Write this for full marks. The five core dimensions are skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. These lead to experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility, and knowledge of results, resulting in higher motivation and performance.

Manpower or HR Planning

HR planning ensures the right number and kind of people at the right time and cost.

Steps include forecasting demand, forecasting supply, identifying gaps where demand exceeds or falls below supply, and preparing action plans such as hiring, training, or redeployment.

Forecasting Techniques

Internal demand techniques include trend analysis, ratio analysis, and scatter plots.

External supply sources include labour market analysis, educational institutions, and government employment data.

Key exam phrase:
HR planning reduces uncertainty and supports strategic decision making.

Unit 3: Recruitment and Selection

Recruitment

Recruitment is the process of generating a pool of qualified applicants.

Objectives include right quality, right quantity, right time, right cost, and social responsibility.

Recruitment Sources

Internal sources include promotions, transfers, and employee referrals. Advantages are low cost, speed, and cultural fit. Disadvantages are less diversity and potential inbreeding.

External sources include advertisements, employment agencies, campus hiring, job portals, boomerang employees, and AI-based recruitment.

Employer Branding

Very important. Employer branding refers to the image of the company as an employer. It influences applicant quantity and quality. Social media, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn matter.

Exam line:
Recruitment is not just filling vacancies but also building long-term employer brand.

Selection

Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable candidate from the applicant pool.

Typical steps include screening, tests, interviews, background checks, and offer.

Reading 1: Hiring for Smarts (HBR)

Very likely. Core idea: hire for learning ability, not just experience.

Smarts include analytical thinking, curiosity, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and judgment under ambiguity. Jobs change faster than skills, and past success does not guarantee future performance.

Implications for selection include using behavioral interviews, case or problem solving, and assessing learning agility.

Exam line:
Organizations should prioritize learning ability over narrow job-specific skills.

Reading 2: Reengineering the Recruitment Process

Recruitment must be faster, data driven, and candidate centric. Use AI screening, analytics, and structured processes.

AI-Based Recruitment

Write IBM or Unilever example. Benefits include speed, cost efficiency, better matching, and improved diversity if designed well. Risks include algorithmic bias and over-reliance on past data.

A balanced answer gets full marks.

Section A: Conceptual Questions (Short Answer)

Q1. Explain the three perspectives of management and how they relate to HRM.
Answer: Key points: Verb (planning, controlling), Noun (levels), Adjective (skills). Map skills to levels: Top needs conceptual, lower needs technical.

Q2. What are the three value disciplines? Give one example of each.
Answer:

• Operational Excellence (Walmart, McDonald’s) — Cost focus
• Product Leadership (Apple, Sony) — Innovation focus
• Customer Intimacy (Home Depot, PwC) — Relationship focus

Q3. Describe Dave Ulrich’s four roles of HR with examples.
Answer: Strategic Partner (long-term, effectiveness); Administrative Expert (short-term, efficiency); Employee Champion (short-term, people focus); Change Agent (long-term, people focus).

Q4. Differentiate between Job Description and Job Specification.
Answer: Job Description = TDRs (Tasks, Duties, Responsibilities). Job Specification = KSAOCs (Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes, Other Characteristics).

Q5. What are the five core job characteristics in the Job Characteristics Model?
Answer: Skill variety, Task identity, Task significance, Autonomy, Feedback.

Q6. A tech startup wants to design its HR system. As an HR consultant, outline the steps you would take.
Answer:

1. Understand their strategy (likely Product Leadership).
2. Design for innovation — hire creative, risk-tolerant people.
3. Job analysis for R&D roles; flexible job descriptions.
4. Recruitment through campus, tech conferences, referrals.
5. Selection using work samples, cognitive tests, culture fit.
6. Performance management focused on innovation, not just output.
7. Compensation with equity and creative rewards.

Q7. Compare and contrast Trend Analysis, Scatter Plot, and Ratio Analysis for HR forecasting.
Answer:

• Trend Analysis: Uses past employment data; simple but may ignore productivity changes.
• Scatter Plot: Shows relationship between two variables visually; useful for exploration.
• Ratio Analysis: Based on historical ratios (e.g., sales per employee); useful for metric-based planning.

Best used: Trend for stable environments, Scatter for visual analysis, Ratio for specific metrics.

Q8. A manufacturing company is facing high attrition among shop-floor workers. Design a retention strategy.
Answer:

• Analyze: Is it compensation, working conditions, or growth?
• Job Design: Use Job Characteristics Model — add autonomy and feedback.
• Training: Skill development for career progression.
• Compensation: Competitive wages and performance bonuses.
• Selection: Hire for fit; provide a realistic job preview.
• Engagement: Employee champion role, grievance mechanisms.

Q9. Evaluate the pros and cons of different recruitment sources for a mid-level manager position.
Answer:

• Internal: Knows culture, faster onboarding, motivates others; limited pool, fewer new ideas.
• Employee Referrals: Quality candidates, cost-effective; may reduce diversity.
• Employment Agencies: Access to passive candidates, screening done; can be expensive.
• Online: Wide reach, cost-effective; high volume of unqualified applicants.

Recommend: Multi-channel approach based on urgency and budget.

Q10. How would you assess if an HR system is effective? Discuss the three ways.
Answer:

1. Alignment: Does HR support business strategy? Check: Workforce characteristics match strategic needs.
2. Integration: Do all HR practices work together? Check: Common language, consistent messages.
3. Differentiation: Is treatment based on strategic value? Check: High-value, unique roles get more investment.

Cases

Case 1: Walmart’s HR System

Strategy: Operational Excellence

• Hire trainable, process-oriented employees.
• Short-term focus; efficiency-driven.
• Standardized training and clear action plans.
• Minimize waste; pursue incremental improvement.
• Compensation: Efficiency-based, not creativity-based.

Case 2: Apple’s Hiring Process

Strategy: Product Leadership

Selection: Select only the best.

Methods: Thought-provoking questions, group exercises, role play.

Focus: Out-of-the-box thinking and creativity.

HR Role: Strategic partner — align hiring with differentiation strategy.

Case 3: IBM’s AI Recruitment

Challenge: Overwhelmed by applications; bias in hiring.

Solution: IBM Watson for recruitment.

Features: Resume parsing, skill matching, interview insights, diversity enhancement.

Results: Faster hiring, improved diversity, better candidate experience, cost savings.

Learning: AI can improve both efficiency and effectiveness when designed responsibly.

Strategic Focus Summary

Dave Ulrich’s HR Roles

Job Analysis Methods

Selection Methods

HR Forecasting Techniques

Recruitment Sources