A Portfolio Planning Approach to HR

Over the years, many HR leaders (and IT leaders) have asked: 

How do we make HR more business focused? How do we speak the language of business? 

How can we communicate better with the CEO? 

In 2016, I worked on and created something called the HR Portfolio Management. 

This is a very different approach to managing HR. 

This approach can: 

A. Help CHROs see and show the big picture to anyone who wants to learn about their work. 

B. Help CXOs communicate about people policies in a language that everyone understands. 

C. Hopefully, reduce the friction that one observes in organisations around HR plans and budgets. 

So, What is the Portfolio Approach to HR? 

In PMI, we learn project management. Several programs come together to form programs, and programs come together to form portfolios. 

In essence, portfolios are the highest level of strategic planning. 

They help us understand where the building blocks of our function lie in the grand scheme of things. 

How do we do this? 

Start by defining the pillars of the Future of Work. 

This should be based on your reading and on your discussion with other HR leaders and CXOs within your organisation. 

I believe that the pillars of the future of work are going to be: 

The Future of Work 

Your list may be different from ours. That's fine. What is important is to have a vision for the Future of Work, and how you intend to participate in it. 

Step Two: The Portfolio 

Usually, when I show CHROs and CEOs the HR portfolio, their eyes pop in surprise. CEOs more than CHROs, to be fair. They do not think that HR covers so many verticals. At most, we think of HR as Talent Acquisition - Talent Nurturing - Talent Management - Employer Branding. 

We think of HR as a Hire to Retire enabler. 

Allow me to share: The HR Portfolio 

Obviously, this list keeps changing. For instance, the Multiple Concurrent Employment node has just been added after moonlighting became a thing. 

Step Three: Understand the linkages 

The next step is to understand the most vital touchpoints of HR with other entities in the organisation. This high-level diagram is very important. 

My diagram below is indicative, but has worked for almost 70-80% of our clients. 

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