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Writing Your HR Business Plan

A solid business plan is important.  It helps you articulate your goals for your business, and your plan for reaching them.  But most business plans don't really address how to build the right team to support your vision.

If the first time you start thinking about your staffing needs is after you've hired 20 people, you're way behind the game.  The best time plan for building a strong team is before your business even begins.

Your HR Business Plan will help you staff your company and grow you team so you can reach your business goals.

In this workshop:
  • Set your Business Goals: Determine what your business goals should be
  • Build a Healthy Team: Incorporate shared goals and core values with diverse perspectives and talents into your team
  • Discover Staffing Needs: Determine the skills and competencies your future employees should have
  • Put it all Together: Create a plan for on-boarding key roles to help you achieve your business goals​ ​

Setting Your Business Goals

The purpose of your HR Business Plan is to help you reach your business goals by making sure you have the right people on your team.  So, before you can plan for the people who will join you on the journey, you need to know where you want to end up!

You may have already set some business goals when you wrote your traditional business plan.  If so, you're off to a great start!  If not, let's take some time to determine those now:
>> Brainstorming your business goals
Ask yourself the questions below to generate some ideas.  Dream big, and don't worry just yet about what is or isn't achievable.  We'll take time later to evaluate your goals, but don't start with judgement; start with unrestricted brainstorming, and give yourself the freedom to list whatever feels right to you:
>> Think about your mission statement.
A mission statement is the answer to the question, "Why are you in business?"  There should be some high-level, long term goal inherent in the statement. 

For instance, consider the Smithsonian's mission statement:  "The increase and diffusion of knowledge."  This implies two goals: finding the best ways to do research and finding the best ways to teach others what they've learned. 

​From there, you can break down many smaller goals that support the two main goals.  This gives you more practical, manageable steps to aim for.
>> Think about your potential profits.
Ultimately, money has to factor in to your long-term goals.  Your company can't survive without being profitable.  Even non-profits have a minimum amount of revenue they must bring in each year to continue operations.

So while this doesn't have to be priority #1 for you, it should be close.  Without this goal, the other goals don't matter; you won't be around long enough to reach them.  So, what monetary goals do you want to reach? 
  • Do you want to be making a certain amount of profit by a certain time?
  • Do you want to have a certain amount of sales by a certain time?
  • Do you, as the business owner, want to draw a certain salary by a certain time? 

List your goals, even if you're not sure they're reasonable.  Having a number can keep you motivated and you can always make adjustments once you have a few months of business experience under your belt.

Finally, once you're bringing in money, what will you do with it? 
  • How much would you like to pay your employees? 
  • Do you plan to offer benefits?
  • Would you like to invest in your employee's continuing education? 
  • Do you want your business to contribute to community initiatives or charities? 
  • Do you want to arrange paid volunteering events for you and your employees?
>> Think about your competition.
Nearly every business has the goal of making themselves stand out from the competition (whether they state it outright or not). 

How do you plan to do business differently than your competitors?  Be specific.  Don't just say, "We'll have the most knowledgeable IT staff around," but consider how you'll accomplish that:
  • Will you invest in regular trainings for your employees? 
  • Will you offer a competitive benefits package to lure and retain the best talent? 
  • Do you have a novel way of screening and testing applicants so that only the most knowledgable are hired?

​Think about the specifics of how you'll differentiate yourself from others, then list those as potential goals to be reached.
>> Think about your customers.
All companies are different.  Some would rather have more customers, others prioritize repeat customers.  Most businesses have a very clear idea of their target audience of customers they're hoping to serve.

If you don't have a clear idea, it's worth thinking about.  Once you know what kind of customer base you're hoping for, developing that base becomes a natural high-level goal.  From there, think about what smaller goals you'll need to hit to reach the big goal.

  • How many customers would you like to be serving in the next three months, six months, a year? 
  • How often will you be interacting with customers? 
  • Do you offer an ongoing service or a one-time-purchase product? 
  • What would those customer relationships look like?

What kinds of customers are you hoping to work with?  Be specific. 
  • What is the problem that your product or service will solve for the customer?
  • Why would they choose your brand over another?
  • How will your customers be different after your product or service?

How would you like to gain new customers?
  • Are there unserved or underserved markets that you want to tap into? 
  • What steps would you need to take to make that happen?
>> Think about how you want to grow.
What do you envision for your company long-term?
  • Do you have plans to open additional locations?  ​
  • Do you want to expand your offerings or services? 
  • Are you hoping to have a certain reputation? 
  • Are there awards or accolades in your industry that you want to achieve?
>> Evaluating your business goals
Now that you have a good list of goals it's time to start organizing and prioritizing them.
>>  Check your goals against your core values.
Remember, your values are the standards that you will never violate in order to achieve your mission. 

​Looking at the goals you have listed, would any require you to violate your core values?  If so, you may want to re-think the goal.
>> Organize your goals into big goals and little goals.
Your notes may already be organized this way, but if they aren't, this is an important step before we move on.

Big goals are the final, end goal, or goals that will never be "finished" (for instance, "Increase public awareness about the impact of cystic fibrosis").  Little goals, or sub-goals, are the smaller steps that support the big goal (for instance, "Schedule a fundraising event in August" or "Start a new chapter in the Pacific Northwest").  "Big" and "little" are relative terms, but you should have a general sense of which category a goal falls into.  If it helps you to get to another goal on your list, chances are it's a little goal.

​Look over your goals and mark your big goals.  Then, list the sub-goals (and, if you have them, sub-sub-goals) under the appropriate big goal.

When you're done, take a look at your list.  If you're missing some sub-steps for your big goals, fill them in as much as you can before moving on.
>>  Put your high-level goals in priority order.
Take a look at your high-level goals and try to put them in order of priority.
  • If you had to choose just one goal to reach or one goal to reach first, which would it be? 
  • Which one would be next? 
  • Continue on until you have an order you're satisfied with.
>>  Start to build a timeline for your goals.
Now we'll start arranging your goals in a general timeline.

Don't stress;  creating a rough timeline for your goals is meant to help keep you focused; it's not meant to box you in.  Put some thought into this, but remember that you can--and probably should--make adjustments in the future as your business grows.  One thing all successful businesses have in common is that they're able to adapt to changing circumstances.  So be diligent to make a plan now, but hold it loosely, and re-visit it from time to time.

Ok, let's get started!

Start with your high-level goals.  In all likelihood it'll take some time to reach these so be optimistic, but try to keep your timeline attainable: 
  • Where do you envision your company in a year, two years, five years? 
  • Start by placing your highest priority goal and work down the big goals list until you've tentatively placed all of them.

Next, we'll place your sub-goals. 
Think first about your highest priority big goal. 
  • What are the little goals you'll need to reach along the way? 
  • How quickly can you achieve those goals? 
  • Place them as well as you're able to along the timeline you've made. 
    • Start with the ones that are "mission critical"--the ones you absolutely need to reach in order for you to hit the big goal--and work your way down to the "nice-to-have"'s.  
  • ​Then, move on to the next highest priority big goal.

Once you have your goals listed chronologically, take a look at the timeline as a whole. 
  • Think about what you would need to do in a month. 
  • Think about what you'd need to do in the next 3 months, and so forth. 
  • Does this timeline feel attainable? 
  • Does it leave room for you to address the unexpected?  

If your timeline seems too aggressive, start to move things around. 
  • Which goals are the absolute most important? 
  • Which could get pushed to next month if they had to? 
  • Start with your lowest priority goals and shift what you need to until you feel that the timeline is reasonable.

Building a Healthy Team

Building a healthy team means finding the right balance between unity and diversity.  A healthy team finds unity by sharing the same goals and core values.  A healthy team is also diverse in experiences, talents, and perspectives.

A healthy team is more productive, collaborative, and relatable to customers.  Healthy teams need very little "correction," since they naturally pursue your goals while embodying your core values.  They work well together, supporting each other, communicating clearly, and giving each other insights to build each other up and help everyone achieve more.  A healthy team has few absent days and few safety issues.  A healthy team has exceptionally happy customers.

Sound too good to be true?  It's not easy, but it's possible.  And it's achievable; it doesn't happen by accident--it happens because of good planning and great leadership on your part.

So how do you build a healthy team?  The best time to start is now, before you've begun hiring a team.  Let's talk more about striking that balance between unity and diversity.
>> How to build a united​ team:
Building a healthy team means finding unity in a few key areas.  Members of a healthy team share their core values and communicate with each other clearly and consistently. 

Let's spend some time thinking about what will unify your future team.
  • Think about your core values.  What are the things that matter to you most and you'll never violate in the course of your business?  What would it look like for an employee to be committed to these same values?

  • How do you want your team relating to each other?  How would you want your team encouraging one another, challenging one another, holding one another accountable, and competing with one another?
    ​
  • How do you want your team structured?  Do you want employees working independently with little oversight?  Do you want a high ratio of managers?  What do you think should be the primary motivation of your employees?
Using the answers from above, write some statements that you want to be true about all your future employees.  For instance, "They are willing to be completely honest, even if it means admitting a fault or problem with the product," or "They are willing to take chances, even if it means risking failure."

Take these statements into account when choosing your candidates.  If these are the statements that should unite your entire team, they should be true about any person you decide to hire.  Use these as a litmus test when deciding if a candidate is a good fit for your team.
>> How to build a diverse​ team:
Building a diverse team means finding people who have a variety of skills, strengths, and ideas.

A diverse team will create better solutions because the members have different backgrounds and experiences, so they solve problems in different ways.  These differences complement one another ensuring that at least one member of the team is strong where the others are weak.

Hiring people with complementing perspectives takes serious self-reflection.  You have to know your own weaknesses before you can hire someone who is strong in those areas.
  • Consider your strengths.  Make a list of the skills you possess.  Now mark the ones you feel most confident in.  What are you uniquely good at?  What things do you bring to your business that others probably won't?  As you hire, remember that, as much as possible, you should focus your energy into those things--the things that only you can do.

  • Consider your unique perspective.  How do you see the world?  How do you approach problems?

  • Consider your weaknesses, blind spots, and faults.  What aspects of running your business are difficult for you?  Think of your greatest failures.  What contributed to them?

  • Think of a time in life when someone helped you think of a solution to a problem or a difficult situation.  Why was the situation difficult for you?  What does that reveal about your own weaknesses?  How was this other person able to help you reframe the problem?  What traits, skills, and perspectives did they possess that you didn't which helped you think of a solution?

  • Think about who you are and the life experiences that formed you.  As you hire, keep an eye out, when hiring, for people who have different life experiences than you.  Try to incorporate diversity in the genders, ethnicities, economic backgrounds, education levels, etc. of your team.  Differing perspectives will allow your team to build stronger solutions to problems.
In a successful business, you'll want people united in purpose but diverse in perspectives.

​Once you've answered these questions, use your notes to write some statements that you want to be true about at least one of your future employees.  For instance, "They are extremely detailed oriented and may notice errors I overlook," or "They are from a different culture than I am and will bring a unique perspective to our team that I cannot."

Take these statements into account when choosing your candidates.  You'll want to build diversity into your team as quickly as possible.  If a candidate seems qualified for a position but you can't answer true to any of these statements, they may not be your ideal candidate.  It's nice to have someone who can do a job well, but it's better to have someone who can do the job while also offering a unique perspective when tackling problems.
Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.”
-Malcolm Forbes

Discovering Your Staffing Needs

We've talked through how to build a united and diverse team.  However, to reach your business goals you won't just need people to offer unique perspectives.  You'll need people to do various jobs, provide support to your team, and build your business.

Let's talk about the various skills and competencies you'll need on your team to achieve your goals.
Similar to the previous exercise, we'll start with brainstorming first, and then we'll evaluate these ideas with a practical lens.  So answer the questions below without passing judgement on your responses.  We'll use these ideas in a few minutes to form a more list of responsibilities and corresponding timeline. 
  • Start with your responsibilities and tasks. 
    • Write down the tasks you do during a typical week. You could write it down throughout the week for a more accurate picture.
    • Make a list of the tasks that you wish you had time to do or that you feel like you should be doing but can't. 
      • What would you do if you had 20 extra hours in your week?  40?  100? 
      • What would you do if lack of knowledge and experience weren't an issue?

  • Consider which tasks you'll want to delegate.
    • You should focus your efforts on the things that only you can do.  As your business grows, you'll need to delegate more and more of the routine tasks that "keep the lights on" so that you're free to build and expand your business.
    • Look at your list.  Cross off any tasks that you think will still be your responsibility in 5-10 years.

  • Take a look at your list of goals.
    • ​What needs to be done to make these happen? 
      • Do you want to launch new projects, marketing campaigns, services, donor relations? 
      • Make a list of the kinds of tasks required to reach your small goals.
    • Make a note of which of these tasks are "mission critical" (i.e. required to reach your goal). 
      • Which of these tasks do you feel most qualified to tackle? 
      • Which tasks do you feel are furthest outside of your natural skills?

  • Consider where you want your business to be in 10 years.
    • What kind of jobs are people doing? 
    • How is your company structured?  What kinds of management and oversight do you envision?

  • Try to consolidate tasks, grouping similar responsibilities together.
    • ​You don't need to think in terms of job postings yet but make a rough attempt to connect tasks and responsibilities that would require similar skills and experience.
You probably have a fairly unorganized list of jobs, tasks, and responsibilities.  Don't worry if it feels like a random mess at the moment.

​Hang on to these for now, we'll start to organize and prioritize this list in just a minute.

Putting It All Together

So at this point, you should have a list of responsibilities and a timeline of goals.  All that's left is to put them together!

Take a look at your goals timeline and focus first on your highest priority big goal:  Look at the little goals along the way to achieving that goal.  Which of these little goals can't you achieve on your own working alone?  Why not? 

Once you know the answer, you've identified a point along your timeline where you'll need to hire an employee.  Consider the tasks you've listed.  Decide what "position" in the company would be appropriate for a person doing those tasks.  If the tasks aren't enough for a full-time position, consider an untraditional work arrangement (like part-time flexible work, an independent contractor, etc.) or look ahead to the next related tasks you'll need to hire for and include those in the job description as well.

Once you have general positions filled in on your timeline, you should also consider the list of statements you wrote during the "Building a Diverse Team" exercise above. 
  • Identify the places along your timeline that you'll need someone with the perspectives you listed. 
  • Indicate this need on your timeline as well.
    • While this need may or may not justify a hire on its own, it does give you some guidelines for the hires you make before that time.  If you know, before a launch of a new product in 6 months, you'll definitely need someone on the team who is naturally charismatic, you would want to hire that kind of person sometime within the next 6 months to be prepared.  If the two positions you have listed during that timeframe are Marketing Manager and Web Designer, keep this in mind while you interview for those two positions.  At least one of those people should fit that description.

Once you've worked your way through your first big goal, go back and continue the process with the others. 

When you're finished, take one last look at your timeline.  You should have a high-level view of how quickly you're planning to expand your team and how quickly that will enable you to reach your goals.

There's one more factor to consider:  the cost of hiring.​  Consider your current profits or your expected profits, if you haven't started operations just yet.  While some positions allow you to generate revenue faster, some are supportive positions that are necessary but don't have an immediate measurable boost to your bottom line. 

Think about whether or not the pace of hiring on your timeline is affordable.  If it isn't, you might need to shift some of your goals a bit, giving you more time to grow and save before spending your capital on new hires.  Even if it means you reach your goals slower, shifting your goals to avoid over-extending your finances means you can sustain your business growth over a longer period of time.

What Are The Next Steps?

Now that you have a plan, it's tempting to move on without looking back.  But, as we said earlier, one thing all successful businesses have in common is that they're able to adapt to changing circumstances.

Always keep your options open:  Don't be afraid to revisit your plan regularly, and make changes as your business grows or your goals change.  You can even follow the steps listed above to adapt a plan you've already written.  Following this process can make adapting your next plan quicker and easier, since you aren't starting from scratch.
>> Ready for more?
The guidance of an experienced HR partner is essential for reaching your business goals.  We've provided these free resources to help get your business off to a good start, but once you're up and running, we would love to take your business higher.

​Our Go HIHR Online Community is designed to equip you with HR tools and guidance so you can lead and support your team most efficiently.  The subscription includes monthly advisory sessions with a dedicated HR partner, in-depth articles, monthly live webinars, a community forum, tools, templates and more!

We also offer full-service HR support to clients of any size and industry.  We have HR business partners across the country supporting many of our clients remotely and traveling when our clients request it.  We're happy to handle all of your HR needs so that you're free to do what you do best.

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If you're still in the early stages of establishing your business, you may find our other free courses helpful. With our courses, you can plan to build a solid foundation for a healthy culture and sustainable growth before establishing your team.
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