When your HR strategy is strongly proactive, you and your colleagues are less likely to devote your time to “putting out fires.” Being less reactive can reduce everyone’s stress level and raise productivity. 

So, how can you implement a more proactive approach to HR, especially if you’re currently stuck in reactive mode? Here are some ways to start making that strategic shift.

Proactive HR starts with conversations 

To develop proactive HR strategies, it’s important to have discussions with fellow members of your leadership team about the company’s mission and vision. In these conversations:

• Discuss what your company needs to fuel business growth.

• Examine the gaps between your organization’s current state and your company’s goals.

• Identify strategies that can help your company close those gaps.

For example, what if your company aims to become the largest restaurant-equipment maintenance and repair service in your state, but right now you only serve two metro areas? You’ll need a plan for recruiting and hiring talent in nearby cities to expand your company’s service area well before your company is ready to start expanding.

Proactive HR delivers more qualified candidates and shortens time-to-hire

For any organization, an important element of proactive HR is being able to quickly fill key roles when a vacancy opens – especially if your organization loses a key contributor or executive-level leader.

This means succession planning and building and maintaining a pool of qualified candidates.

Succession planning helps ensure your company is prepared for the future. That way, when a key employee leaves, you already have someone in mind to fill their position (who, hopefully, has been groomed for this eventuality).

The key to a successful succession plan is looking at all your employees and making sure you haven’t missed any important person or position. In other words, have a succession plan for more than just your C-suite.

If and when there’s not a strong candidate for internal promotion, being proactive about developing and maintaining a full candidate pipeline allows you to move quickly. You’re already in a position to reach out to qualified candidates and begin vetting.

The approach can:

• Reduce time to hire

• Keep your organization on track to pursue its goals

• Free HR to focus on other strategies instead of scrambling to fill the open position

Without both elements, you could be stuck in reactive mode when a key player leaves – reviewing and bringing in candidates because they happen to apply for the position.

Proactive HR fosters employee development

Another way to close the gaps between where your organization is and where it wants to be is with a proactive training program. Your conversations with leadership about goals can show you how this kind of program can take shape.

For example, let’s return to our restaurant-equipment service company. Maybe in addition to expanding its service area, the company wants to expand its high-end client base by offering authorized repair services for premium brands.

A training program for employees in each area you serve could help your organization build out those premium offerings in an orderly way. It could also help your organization reach its expansion goals in a tight labor market by allowing you to hire entry-level technicians for attitude, train for skill and promote from within...