HR Goals: Examples, Objectives, and Strategies for Success (2024)

Goals and strategies composition

As the role of human resources continues to evolve, setting clear and strategic human resource (HR) goals that align with business objectives becomes a major priority.

Practical HR goals help enhance employee engagement and retention while driving business success. But sometimes, getting started with goal setting is the hardest part.

This comprehensive guide explores HR goals, provides examples of HR goals, and discusses how strategic partnerships and proven strategies can help HR reach its objectives in 2024 and beyond.

What are HR Goals?

HR goals are specific objectives the human resources department sets to support the broader business strategy. These goals ensure that HR initiatives align with the company’s mission, vision, and values.

We recommend setting SMART HR goals to ensure proper accountability and keep your goals within reach. These are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

SMART HR goals can help businesses:
• Focus on the right priorities.
• Attract and retain top talent.
• Enhance employee engagement.
• Foster a productive workplace culture.
• Grow and scale a workplace that is fit for the future.

What is a Strategic HR Management?

Your employees are your organization’s biggest and best asset. They are your competitive advantage in your industry and the heartbeat of your organization.

HR’s role is to ensure the effective utilization of your most significant asset—the people. As such, HR and People Operations are responsible for acquiring, developing, and retaining employees and for incorporating talent insights into a business strategy that makes an impact. This process is known as Strategic Human Resource Management (strategic HRM).

The Role of Goal Setting for Strategic Partnership

Business objectives are nothing new. However, to some, setting and tracking HR goals that align with business objectives may be a skill outside their toolbox. HR goals help HR speak the same language as the business and have better conversations, keeping executives, people leaders, and HR business partners aligned.

By involving HR in strategic business planning, businesses can unlock the true potential of their workforce, ensuring agile, connected, and fit-for-the-future organizations.

How to Set the Right HR Goals

Setting the right HR goals starts with the business objectives. You then translate those objectives into what they would mean for each critical talent-related domain: recruiting, training and development, performance, and total rewards. From there, you determine SMART objectives based on HR metrics.

An image in Crunchr branding and icons that indicate the definition of SMART HR goals as Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely


People analytics technology is crucial in analyzing disparate data sources to better understand your workforce and set realistic SMART goals that will drive your business forward.

Take, for example, diversity and inclusion. If this is a focus area for your business, then instead of your goal being to “increase diversity,” make it SMART: ‘’increase the representation of underrepresented groups within the organization by 15% over the next year’’.

Adding specific and measurable deadlines to this goal will allow you to track progress over time while gauging the level of focus needed to achieve it.

Examples of HR Goals

Increasing DE&I (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
Creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace is essential for modern businesses. To achieve this goal, build initiatives focused on increasing representation (particularly increasing female hires), reducing the gender pay gap, and promoting women into leadership roles. Set clear benchmarks and policies to support the advancement of underrepresented groups in the workplace and utilize metrics like the Inclusion Index and Inclusion Net Promoter Score (INPS) to measure progress.

Reducing Employee Turnover
High employee turnover is arguably one of the most detrimental people problems an organization can face. Turnover leads to increased recruitment, onboarding, and training costs, loss of institutional knowledge, and decreased morale among the remaining staff.

Implementing flexible working arrangements, competitive pay policies, and fostering a positive company culture are vital strategies for reducing employee turnover and maintaining a stable and engaged workforce.

Recruiting and Onboarding
Efficient recruiting and onboarding processes have several benefits. First and foremost, they can reduce hiring costs while ensuring your organization quickly fills vacancies. All of this helps to maintain productivity while preventing disruptions in operations. An effective hiring process also enhances the candidate and onboarding experience. Finally, efficient hiring enhances the organization’s reputation among employees and potential candidates.

Leverage employee referral programs, optimize recruiting channels, and implement robust assessment processes to ensure effective recruiting and onboarding strategies.

Increasing Employee Engagement
Engaged employees are vital for a successful organization.

What’s more, disengaged employees are unhappy at work and harbor resentment while acting out their unhappiness. 🚩 🚩 🚩This can lead to a down-trickle effect, impacting everything from team morale to turnover, productivity, and more.

At the end of the day, focusing on increasing engagement can impact all the other goals on this list, making it a must-have goal for any organization.

Some initiatives to increase employee engagement include recognition programs, ongoing learning and development opportunities, wellness programs, and fostering employee advocacy.

Click here to read the 7 most important HR goals and how to achieve them

Creating a Shift With Human Resource Objectives

It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work and lose sight of the big picture of what your organization is trying to achieve. That’s why having HR goals at reach all the time can create a significant shift in the mindset and the way people work. Tracking your HR goals backed by data helps you interpret what’s happening, identify potential risks, and encourage proactive measures.

When HR is a strategic partner, there is a clear opportunity to impact the company’s key goals and objectives.

Remember to set and track practical HR goals to drive the business forward and transition HR to a strategic partner. Clear goals are essential for measuring HR’s impact and demonstrating the achievement of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). With Crunchr, you can easily set, track, and achieve your goals utilizing our user-friendly people analytics platform. Crunchr provides visibility into HR goals and helps your team align on core strategic objectives.

For more detailed insights and proven initiatives, keep reading the “7 Most Important HR Goals and How to Achieve Them” at the link below.

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