This chart depicts the steps that must be undertaken for a Human Resources Office to become a strategic partner within its organization. The steps need not be followed in precisely the same order, but each step is important to the process. Earlier steps inform later ones, and sometimes a later step raises and helps answer questions about an earlier one. All the steps, however, are necessary in order for the HR organization to become a strategic partner with the leaders and decision-makers of the organization.

HR Current Status. This is the starting place that describes HR’s current status within the organization. Some HR offices have been low-key, sometimes ignored entities who are brought onto the scene after all the decisions are made and then instructed to carry them out. Some HR offices may be more influential within their organizations than others. The point is that each office must start where it is and proceed along the path to where it wishes to be in terms of being a strategic partner in the organization. The more clarity the HR office can reach along each step of the journey, the more likely it will reach its desired end state.

Determine HR Mission. This is the first step and one at which the HR office determines its status quo. The questions that must be answered are those of current purpose. What is the current function of the HR office? What has traditionally been its role? What business is it in?

Determine HR Values. Each HR office has a set of values it operates from. Sometimes these values are evident; sometimes they are not. It is important that the HR team members articulate their personal values and their professional values and decide which of these are the desired values that will drive the office now and in the future.

Determine HR Vision. Once the status quo is determined and the desired office values are agreed upon, the desired future state must be determined. The vision is a verbal picture of what the organization will be in the future. The vision informs what the office will be doing when it becomes a strategic partner.

Identify customers. Every organization that markets a product or a service has customers. HR is no exception. Some HR customers are external to the organization and some are internal. Each set of customers who are recipients of HR products and services must be identified.

Identify stakeholders. Stakeholders are those persons, units, divisions, or organizations who have a vested interest in the business of the HR office. A stakeholder is usually one who does not receive the services or products, but who is concerned with how well the office delivers its services or products.

Identify partners. Since the goal of the HR Office is to become a strategic partner, it is necessary to determine who the partners would be. At this point all important decision-makers and leaders should be identified. It is crucial that all key people and roles be identified. These are the ones the HR office wishes to be partners with; the ones needing to be influenced regarding HR issues and roles; the ones who should consider HR as a primary source of information regarding manpower planning, recruiting, retaining, rewarding, appraising and developing employees

Determine expectations of customers/stakeholders/partners. At this step, the HR office would identify the expectations that the HR office has of each of its customers, stakeholders, and partners. In a reciprocal relationship as a strategic partner, it is important that HR decide what it wants from each of its customers, stakeholders, and partners. Clarity about these issues makes it easier to get to the table and to negotiate the desired strategic partner role.

Determine customer/stakeholder/partner expectations. This is the flip side of the expectations coin. Just as the HR office has expectations of its customers/stakeholder/partners, so do they have their expectations of the HR office. There are two parts to determining these expectations. The first part is the HR office making their best guess as to what they think their customers/stakeholders/partners want and need. The second part is to actually hear from the customers/stakeholders/partners themselves what they want from HR. This will necessitate a dialogue. This dialogue can be carried on with them, or their representatives, face-to-face through interviews or focus groups. Or information could be elicited through other means such as surveys. This step may take some time.

Research and benchmark. Once expectations are determined for and by the customers/stakeholders/partners, HR must make decisions about which expectations they want to and need to meet. To help make these decisions research would be conducted to determine HR best practices in strategic partnering. Other organizations whose HR offices have already achieved strategic partner’s status would be prime candidates to research and perhaps visit. This step could also take some time.

Negotiate customer/stakeholder/partner agreements. At this stage the HR office is clear about who their customers/stakeholders/partners are and what they expect. All the work the HR office has done to this point will now pay off. What the HR office can and will provide the customers is negotiated. What the HR office will do for the stakeholders is negotiated. The role of HR as a strategic partner is clearer. Now is the time to meet with the partners and negotiate the strategic partner role of the HR office. All that has been done by HR will be useful in conducting these negotiations. This is a crucial step in the process and should be planned for and conducted with care. There may be several negotiation sessions with the partners over time as further aspects of this new relationship evolve.

Determine HR Outputs. After the negotiations are completed, it is the time to determine what products and services will be delivered to each. Much of this will have been done in the negotiations. At this time final decisions will be made as to what services the HR office desires to offer and can deliver.

Determine HR goals. At this step the HR office would develop the goals necessary to deliver the services and products to the customers/stakeholder/ partners. The goals would include objectives and strategies necessary to reach the goals. Measures of success would be determined and monitoring mechanisms established.

Determine HR processes. Current HR processes would be reviewed to determine if they would meet the needs of the customer/stakeholder/partners. Current processes would be revised and new processes would be developed as necessary to meet needs.

Determine HR behaviors. New roles and responsibilities would be developed and agreed upon. New relationships and behaviors would be agreed upon. New groundrules would be developed to insure clarity about behavioral expectations needed in the new HR office. Clarity for behaviors related to HR’s being a partner would be of utmost importance. These behaviors would be discussed and agreements made with the partners.

Deliver HR outputs. Outputs would be delivered as negotiated with the customers/stakeholders/partners. Satisfaction measures would be implemented and analyzed to determine effectiveness of products and services.

Accomplish HR goals. Goals would be accomplished and evaluated. The process of partnering would be evaluated and improved. The cycle of development would continue based on feedback and data that would be collected on the measures for the goals.

HR as a Strategic Partner. Success! The HR office has made the transition and has become a full partner with the leaders and decision-makers of its organization. The HR office has a full voice in setting organization direction and strategy and implementing the strategy. It has shaped its own contributions and has made those contributions in a timely manner: before and during important decision-making points, not after.