Aligning human resources with overarching business strategies is paramount today. 3Sixty Insights’ recent benchmark report revealed a concerning statistic: 82% of HR leaders acknowledge a misalignment with their organization’s business strategies. This disconnect hampers efficiency and incurs financial repercussions amounting to billions of dollars lost annually across the global economy. However, addressing this gap is a strategic opportunity.
One of the primary areas of misalignment identified is business strategy development and execution. Our report highlights that only 53% of HR leaders help craft and implement business strategies from the outset, meaning HR can be left behind or excluded from the overall business strategy.
This has trickle-down effects, creating gaps that impact hiring, retention, engagement, and talent management, which can have devastating downstream effects on a business. These impacts reveal themselves in the numbers: only 61% of employees report job satisfaction, and one in five has looked for a new job in the past 12-18 months. Compensation, benefits, and company culture significantly contribute to this dissatisfaction.
To bridge this gap, organizations can turn to HR technologies that facilitate better integration between HR functions and business objectives. Take, for example, a leading tire manufacturer that faced challenges with its benefits administration, ranging from delays in resolving payroll issues to inefficient carrier management. With 8,000 employees and retirees under its administration, including union and non-union workers across various legacy plans, the company required a benefits partner capable of navigating high complexity. For them, Empyrean was able to step in to deliver a thorough overhaul of its benefits experience, simplify annual enrollment, improve responsiveness, and enhance integration.
The tire manufacturer’s success with Empyrean highlights the importance of aligning HR strategies with organizational goals through technology and partnerships. This highlights the value of choosing the right HR technology partner to deliver operational efficiency and a workforce experience aligned with organizational goals, underscoring the role of strategic HR in driving business success.
In the end, misalignment between HR and business strategies presents challenges and opportunities. By adopting advanced HR technologies and fostering closer collaboration between HR and executive leadership, organizations can realign their plan to achieve better outcomes. Companies like isolved, Eightfold, and Empyrean lead the way, enabling HR to play a pivotal role in shaping organizational success. They transform HR into a strategic partner integral to achieving business goals.