Human resource (HR) objectives are key goals that guide the management of people within an organisation. They support business strategy and long-term success by ensuring the workforce is capable, motivated, and aligned with the business’s overall aims.
Employee Engagement
Definition
Employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment and active involvement of employees in their work and the organisation’s success. An engaged employee is not just satisfied or happy but is passionate and enthusiastic about their role, often going beyond their job description.
Importance
Productivity: Engaged employees are more productive, as they willingly put in discretionary effort, go the extra mile, and demonstrate initiative. This helps businesses achieve higher output without additional resources.
Loyalty and retention: High engagement often correlates with lower turnover, as engaged employees are more likely to stay with the business.
Morale and wellbeing: Engagement enhances job satisfaction and workplace morale, reducing stress and improving employee wellbeing.
Benefits
Higher levels of customer satisfaction and better customer service, as engaged employees are more likely to provide positive experiences.
Enhanced innovation as engaged staff are more invested in the organisation and contribute ideas.
Strong organisational reputation that helps attract top talent.
Challenges
Engagement is difficult to quantify; it’s often measured through surveys or feedback tools, which can be subjective and inconsistent.
Maintaining engagement requires sustained effort across management, communication, and recognition schemes.
In large or diverse organisations, ensuring all employees feel equally engaged can be complex, especially across departments or geographic locations.
Talent Development
Definition
Talent development involves identifying individuals with high potential and nurturing their skills and capabilities to prepare them for key roles. It includes coaching, mentoring, stretch assignments, and structured career development programmes.
Importance
Ensures the business has a succession pipeline, especially for critical leadership or specialist roles.
Reduces reliance on external hiring, which can be time-consuming, expensive, and risky.
Encourages internal mobility, allowing employees to grow their careers within the company rather than seeking opportunities elsewhere.
Benefits
Enhances employee motivation and loyalty; individuals are more likely to stay if they see career development opportunities.
Improves performance as individuals feel supported and are encouraged to improve.
Helps to future-proof the organisation by creating a skilled and adaptable workforce capable of meeting new challenges.
Challenges
Investment-intensive: Training and mentoring programmes require time, money, and commitment from senior staff.
Not all identified talent will necessarily stay – there is a risk of poaching by competitors.
Requires effective performance management systems to identify and track high-potential employees accurately.
Training
Definition
Training is the systematic process of improving employees’ job-related knowledge, skills, and attitudes to enhance their current performance or prepare them for future roles. It can include induction training, technical skills development, management training, and compliance training.
Importance
Critical for new employees to settle quickly and become productive.
Ensures employees can operate safely and legally, especially in regulated sectors such as construction, finance, or healthcare.
Keeps employees up to date with industry developments, digital tools, and best practices.
Benefits
Leads to fewer mistakes, improved accuracy, and higher quality output.
Increases job satisfaction, especially when training is personalised or part of career development.
Reduces the need for close supervision, freeing up managerial resources.
Challenges
Financial cost: Training programmes, particularly external ones, can be expensive.
Opportunity cost of taking employees away from their duties during training.
If poorly designed, training can be ineffective or irrelevant, resulting in wasted resources.
Risk of training staff who then leave, especially in industries with high employee turnover.
Diversity
Definition
Diversity refers to creating an inclusive workplace that values and respects differences among employees, including race, gender, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and cultural background.
Importance
In the UK, businesses must adhere to the Equality Act 2010, which requires fair treatment in employment and prohibits discrimination.
A diverse workforce can better understand and respond to a diverse customer base, enhancing communication and satisfaction.
Diversity is associated with higher innovation and problem-solving ability, as people bring varied perspectives.
Benefits
Promotes equality and fairness, creating a more positive and ethical organisational culture.
Can open access to a wider talent pool, increasing recruitment effectiveness.
Enhances employee engagement, especially among underrepresented groups who feel included and valued.
Challenges
Introducing diversity policies requires systemic changes in hiring, promotion, and culture.
May require training and education to overcome unconscious bias or resistance from existing staff.
Managing multicultural teams requires sensitivity to differences in communication style, norms, and expectations.
Alignment of Employee and Employer Values
Definition
This HR objective focuses on creating a strong connection between what the business stands for (its mission, vision, and values) and what its employees believe in. This alignment ensures consistency in behaviour and decision-making.
Importance
Helps reinforce a unified company culture, improving internal coherence and communication.
Makes it easier for employees to make independent decisions, knowing they are aligned with organisational goals.
Encourages long-term commitment, as employees are more likely to stay with a company they feel connected to.
Benefits
Creates a sense of shared purpose, motivating staff to act in the best interests of the company.
Enhances brand consistency, especially in customer-facing roles.
Reduces the risk of ethical breaches, as staff act according to a shared code of conduct.
Challenges
Requires clear and well-communicated values – many businesses fail to articulate or demonstrate their values effectively.
Employees with different personal values may feel alienated or in conflict with company expectations.
Values can be tested during periods of crisis or change, potentially leading to cultural disconnects.
Number, Skills and Location of Employees
Definition
This objective focuses on workforce planning: ensuring the business has the right number of staff, with appropriate skills, located in the correct places to meet operational and strategic needs.
Importance
A mismatch in employee numbers or skills can lead to inefficiencies, lost revenue, or inability to meet customer demand.
Businesses undergoing change (e.g. expansion, contraction, relocation) must ensure staffing is aligned with new circumstances.
Helps organisations respond quickly to external changes, such as new markets, legal requirements, or supply chain disruptions.
Benefits
Reduces instances of overstaffing, which increases costs, or understaffing, which leads to delays and overwork.
Ensures workforce is fit-for-purpose, with employees possessing the skills and qualifications needed.
Supports geographic growth by placing employees in the right locations, such as international offices or remote work setups.
Challenges
Requires access to accurate and timely business forecasting data.
Skilled employees may not be available in the required locations, leading to recruitment difficulties.
Restructuring (such as closing branches or automating functions) can lead to redundancies and employee resistance.
Global workforce planning involves additional challenges such as language, legal differences, and cultural barriers.
Summary of Objectives and Strategic Relevance
Human resource objectives are not standalone initiatives – they form part of a business’s strategic framework. For example:
A business aiming for rapid growth may focus heavily on training, recruitment, and engagement.
A business in a cost-cutting phase may prioritise workforce planning, aligning employee numbers and skills to reduce waste.
A business facing ethical scrutiny or social pressure may increase focus on diversity and value alignment.
The success of these objectives depends on integration across departments, support from leadership, and clear, measurable goals. Many businesses set SMART objectives for HR – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound – to track progress and maintain accountability.
Each HR objective should be revisited regularly and adapted to reflect internal changes (such as restructuring, culture change, or leadership shifts) and external pressures (such as legislation, economic changes, or industry trends). Effective HR management ensures that people, one of the most valuable business assets, are managed strategically for long-term success.
FAQ
Businesses can measure training and development success using a range of performance indicators. These include post-training assessments, improvements in productivity, error reduction, and enhanced employee confidence. Monitoring employee progression, such as promotions or expanded responsibilities, also reflects development effectiveness. Feedback forms, appraisals, and 360-degree reviews help assess the perceived value of training. Additionally, tracking retention rates and comparing pre- and post-training performance data offers tangible evidence of the training's impact on business outcomes.
Effective communication is essential for employee engagement because it builds trust, clarity, and connection between employees and management. Regular updates about organisational goals, changes, and performance make employees feel included and valued. Open channels for feedback encourage dialogue and problem-solving, increasing motivation. Transparent communication also helps employees understand how their role contributes to wider objectives. Without strong communication, employees may feel disconnected, undervalued, or uncertain, all of which can severely reduce engagement levels.
Technology supports workforce planning by providing data analytics tools that forecast staffing needs based on trends, performance, and business growth. HR software can track skills, availability, and location of employees to identify gaps or overcapacity. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) help determine optimal workforce distribution. Cloud-based platforms enable remote workforce management and virtual collaboration. Automated scheduling tools streamline shift planning, while AI-powered systems assist with recruitment, ensuring the right skills are available at the right time and place.
In MNCs, cultural differences, legal systems, and local customs create challenges in aligning values consistently across regions. What is considered appropriate or ethical in one country may differ significantly in another. Language barriers and decentralised decision-making can dilute core values. Employees in various locations may interpret corporate messages differently, leading to misalignment. Furthermore, enforcing universal values without respecting local norms can cause resentment. MNCs must adapt communication and HR strategies to maintain value alignment globally.
Talent development allows small businesses to build strong internal capabilities, reducing reliance on external hires that may be costly or difficult to attract. By focusing on developing existing staff, small firms can improve morale, retain skilled workers, and promote innovation from within. This personalised investment often leads to higher loyalty and performance. Small businesses can also offer faster career progression, more varied responsibilities, and closer mentoring relationships, making them attractive to ambitious individuals despite limited resources.
Practice Questions
Explain the importance of aligning employee and employer values as a human resource objective. (10 marks)
Aligning employee and employer values ensures a consistent organisational culture, where employees understand and support business goals. This alignment promotes stronger commitment, ethical behaviour, and motivation, as employees feel their work has meaning and purpose. It reduces conflict between individual and company aims, which can enhance productivity and teamwork. Employees are more likely to stay in roles where they share the company’s values, improving retention and reducing recruitment costs. Moreover, clear value alignment supports better decision-making, as employees act in ways that reflect the company’s identity. Overall, it builds a unified, high-performing, and ethically focused workforce.
Analyse the potential benefits and challenges of diversity as a human resource objective. (10 marks)
Diversity brings benefits such as increased creativity, a broader talent pool, and stronger understanding of varied customer needs. It can improve decision-making and foster innovation by including different perspectives. Additionally, promoting diversity helps meet legal requirements, enhancing the company’s reputation. However, challenges include managing cultural differences, potential communication barriers, and the need for training to reduce bias. Implementing diversity policies may require changes in recruitment and workplace culture, which can face resistance. If poorly managed, diversity efforts may seem tokenistic. Despite these issues, when handled effectively, diversity contributes to a fairer, more dynamic, and competitive organisation.
