Melissa Morgan

Whether your organization is experiencing evolutionary growth or aspires to create it, the changes that come with periods of expansion create numerous questions for HR leaders. You are tasked with identifying areas of impact from growth – everything from recruiting plans to culture shifts – and how to best support your people for success. But HR needn’t face these questions alone. Here are some ideas to help you think cross-functionally and get ready for this next phase.

Start by doing your homework

When your executive team gets together to discuss the growth strategy, how can HR best contribute? In the words of my favorite sci-fi author Douglas Adams, don’t panic. Instead, do your homework. One way to get concrete intel for that next meeting is to partner with finance using your HCM cloud solution. Workforce modeling is a powerful tool that provides HR with the ability to plan, model, and execute workforce changes; and with all your finance and HR data in one cloud, it’s easier than ever to test what-if scenarios. By understanding the implications of projected cost, headcount changes, and even predicted effectiveness in advance, you’ll be armed with useful information. And by working with finance on the models and strategic plans, you’ll gain their perspective and buy-in early.

Mergers, acquisitions, and the impact on your people

What happens, though, when growth occurs by M&A? Last year, there were 48,577 M&A transactions worldwide.[1] Each time companies come together, it creates considerable change and planning for HR leaders. Inorganic growth is a major undertaking that puts everything from organization structures to business processes in flux. And in certain acquisitive industries, like healthcare, change almost becomes the norm. A single cloud solution that supports HR and finance makes it easier to help new teams work faster as one. That’s what Baylor, Scott, and White Health found as they brought two health systems together—improving their data consistency and analytics for a better employee experience. It can also improve collaboration, making it easier than ever to exchange ideas on any device, use social tools to build relationships, and find the mentors employees need to develop their careers.

Come together as a future-proof organization

As your business grows, having real-time access to the same data to build strategic workforce plans, hire quickly, and easily monitor budgeted vs. actual costs is a gift for HR and finance. This short video story shares how Mario and Kim brought their teams together to quickly fill several open positions during an expansion. At the end of the day, no matter how your organization grows, HR can create a culture of collaboration that sets the path to a successful future.

Planning Together: How Collaboration Helps Reshape Your Workforce for Growth