A company is only as exceptional as its people. Having a good Human Resources strategy aligning with its corporate strategy will bring success and construct a competitive advantage. To understand what a HR strategy is, first we need to establish what Human Resource is. Human Resource is a department in an organization that focus on its people, its responsibilities are recruiting employees and training them, aiding in any conflict, and organizing what is best for their problems and needs. Therefore, an HR strategy is achieving those responsibilities together with the organization mission and goals, and to focus on the future to align with the corporate strategy. A corporate strategy is what the organization is looking for in a long-term vision, this to create corporate value and stimulate its workforce dedication to achieve customer satisfaction.
In a competitive market those who focus on their customers’ satisfaction gain an asset in their business. Offering a great customer experience creates an environment of contentment and helps the organization gain advantage over its competencies. Not only does the company keep its existing customers, but it can also act as a mark of contrast for new and potential customers. To succeed in the market the customer care is essential because your business depends on it by offering great service from the employees. Therefore, an organization with a HR strategy who focuses on its employees’ happiness and care will empower them to deliver a good job. It is fundamental to empower your employees so they can carry the organization’s mission and make your customers happy.
According to Jason Whitman, vice president of Justworks, a startup focusing on HR, the key to achieving a customer happiness is to focus on employees’ happiness first. It is necessary to adopt a more employee-focused culture to grow the organization. The company can offer future grow to the employees. They want to feel secure about their future, and this will help for them to be motivated and deliver a good experience to its customers. By offering and showing them if they a have a path ahead of them in their career they will see the benefits that tend to offer a better customer service. To continue with the career and employee development, employees want to learn new skills that will help them succeed in their positions and in the company. By offering a higher quality training it will benefit the organization in having its employees deliver the learned skills in the interaction with the clients. Whitman also stated that by showing employees support in their training and coaching sessions will help the company make a difference. This will create a good and healthy working environment. For employees to be entirely committed to its job, offering a more enjoyable workplace will influence on the way they act towards the customers. This can be in the way of their patience and level of service they give its customers. To conclude with Jason Whitman’s key to employees’ happiness, giving rewards and recognitions will not only give the example to other employees, but will help and inspire them to go exceed its expectations to deliver their job and provide excellent service. If employees are treated right, it will bring the organization success to a new level.
A good example to the implementation of HR for the success of a company, is Southwest Airlines. The airline, based in the United States, known as the world’s largest cost carrier offers a great customer experience leading to customer loyalty. Employees at Southwest Airline have benefits each year such as free flights for them and their family. Also, they get many discounts in theme parks, other airlines, hotels, and travel companies. This organization makes sure their employees are content by taking care of them even when they are not in working hours. This is what lead to the customer experience being remarkable, even if it’s a fast and affordable airline. Shep Hyken, a Southwest Airlines customer, explains his experience and why his loyalty towards them keeps growing. He had a situation where his luggage was lost, and when approaching the service counter, he figured it would take time to fix his problem. However, he says how the employees treated him with a smile and giving options of how the company can help him to get his luggage back. Hyken mentioned in his customer feedback how in other airlines he had always encounter with apathetic employees, this giving Southwest Airlines a competitive advantage.
Moving from individuals, a company must also focus more on its management and forming of internal operations to gain competitive advantage. A company with a corporate strategy together with a HR strategy will focus on the value preposition, the customer profile they are focusing on, and on the internal processes to have a specific understanding of their long-term goal and vision. Going back to Southwest Airlines, its founder, Herb Kelleher, explained how the company not only focused on its people, but most importantly in offering a better internal process. This including cooperation, coordination, and a powerful corporate culture between the employees. Southwest Airlines recruitment strategy is to look for those who can fit in the company’s culture and system, not the smartest from the top schools. Its internal process, explained by its founder, it’s what builds a superior performance.
A company can align its HR strategy with the corporate strategy by improving its internal process. It should think about the services and products being offered and see it from the side of the customer to see how they can improve it. As a business, they should think from the beginning to the end of the process, from which roles are involved in the supply chain all the way to the value chain. As well as thinking about the values, mission, and goals of the company in delivering the product or service. To see what they want to accomplish and how can they make it better. With the HR strategy and focusing on its people from every department the company can measure the roles each member is playing and what they can do to benefit the company and them. Thinking about the process of the company can help the company improve the customer service, the employee relationship, and the quality of products and services offered.
Furthermore, in a good HR strategy incorporating employees with the corporate strategy can benefit the company. Southwest Airlines makes sure to incorporate its employees from all departments in whatever situation or position comes next. A few years ago, the airline decided to re design its uniforms, and called for all member of the company instead of hiring a person from outside. By giving this opportunity to all of the employees the company gets to motivate them, gain their loyalty, and make them feel they are being valued, this causing a better performance and participation of the employees in the company. This also allows all employees from different departments, cities, and tasks to collaborate together in the corporate for the outcome of the company’s goals, mission, and values to achieve them.
To achieve the company’s goals and mission, it is necessary to implement the HR strategy to increase the employee productivity, and see which key areas can be improved in the long run. By aligning the HR strategy and the corporate strategy the organization can establish a relationship and see how it can the management can be implemented. The organization can fulfill its objectives by understanding where an implementation of HR is needed. This can be looking at where a person might be needed, or where to fill a job requirement. Without people a company can’t achieve its objectives, hence why it’s important to first focus on the HR strategy. It is important because the company can bring new employees or choose other individuals suit the organization’s culture and demand. A company focusing on the future and what it wants to accomplish to impact the business success helps in the hiring process because they can see what they want and need to achieve it. A good HR strategic recruitment can help the growth of the business. An essential element in HR is the training and development. At this stage, the personnel can gain skills and knowledge to carry the specific tasks to reach the company’s goal. Motivating the employees by strategic compensation and rewards will also contribute to individual and team performance to achieve the corporate goals and objectives. At Southwest, all employees play a customer service role and in the process of hiring, the company makes a group interview with other employees to see how the candidate’s communication skills are, and if the attitudes needed are qualified.
Southwest Airlines has a distinct advantage in the airline industry by offering great service from their employees and fulfilling the company’s mission with values and quality. Every employee serves a customer, from the pilot to the sales personnel, this showing how the company offers a distinguish customer service, and focuses on its internal process to satisfy each customer. By offering a friendly service the company gains competitive advantage over most airlines in the United States. This is due to the employee benefits they offered, and how the HR strategy is managed to accomplish the goals and service provided. Southwest culture is to make it better each day by focusing on their goal, and do whatever it takes to create and enrich the culture and customer experience. The mission statement of Southwest Airlines works together with HR and corporate strategy to achieve its goals and gain an advantage in the industry.
“The Mission of Southwest Airlines
The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.
To Our Employees
We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer. “
As an award-winning customer service, Southwest Airlines shows how an HR strategy align with the corporate strategy will bring the company success and competitive advantage.