Is HR strategy a dead concept?

A leading CEO says the world moves too fast to have a three-year plan – should we rethink our approach to strategic HR planning?

Is HR strategy a dead concept?

A leading CEO has suggested long-term strategy plans are no longer relevant in today’s fast paced world but something far more agile must replace the idea instead.

“I’ve always been a big believer that your whole company’s success is built on three things – and that’s people, execution and culture,” says Darren Linton, CEO of Yellow.

“I used to talk about strategy rather than execution but I think it’s harder these days to have three-year plan and a set strategy – it’s more about how your organisation can execute in the next quarter, the next six months, maybe the next 12 months.”

Linton has been with Yellow since 2015 but was promoted to the top spot in September of last year – he’s since been charged with leading transformation across the business.

“It’s so critical for everybody to see change, particularly when you’re going through a transformation, you need to be able to see almost quarterly development,” he tells HRD.

“When I started my career we used to sit down and write three and five year strategies because the world didn’t move quite so fast – maybe you were looking for a little bit more share of the market or your price points pretty much stayed the same,” he continues.

“Now, and we know this in both our professional and personal lives, so much changing around us and you need people who can help you execute in order to stay relevant.”
 

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