Strategic Human Resource Management – Distinguishing between the Urgent and the Important

The purpose of this paper is to identify the importance of Human Resource Professionals (HRPs) understanding the importance of their strategic contribution to their organizations and the seven strategic roles that guide them in utilizing their time effectively. Although Human Resource Management (HRM) can play a vital strategic role in enhancing the effectiveness of organizations, the professionals who perform those roles often struggle due to the many demands placed on their time. The ability of HRPs to differentiate between activities that are urgent demands and those that are truly important is often difficult. Understanding the difference between the urgent and the important can be facilitated if HRPs focus on seven strategic roles identified herein that are critical to the contributions that HRM can make to the success of organizations. The paper identifies eight common pitfalls to effective strategic HRM.