Writing and Communicating the Business Case

Writing and Communicating the Business Case

HRMT 536 Evidence-Based Tools for HR Decision Making

April 7, 2014

Writing and Communicating the Business Case

Once the research has been completed to determine key initiatives, align the specific objectives that must be accomplished, understand the measurements and targets that define success, formulate an action plan of initiatives and budget impact, a Human Resource (HR) professional will be equipped with the information required to communicate an overall strategy.

Making the business case: When the goal is to communicate an HR strategy to leaders, HR itself must first fully understand and identify what is important to those leaders. Once this has been established, HR can then develop a communication and change management plan that focuses on those key business drivers while demonstrating how HR can add value by aligning with leadership strategies (Milner, 2012). Those responsible for conveying the message should be able to dialogue in specific business language, tailoring the message to meet the needs of the business (Corporate Executive Board, 2008).

Communicating the Business Case: Once the strategy has been fully developed HR has the information necessary to effectively communicate the information to leaders. By demonstrating that the plan has been well thought out and aligned with the financial, customer, internal, and learning and growth business perspectives in mind, the message to the leadership team can be more impactful. The method of communication should be tailored to the audience. A formal presentation would be appropriate at the senior level, sharing the alignment to business goals by providing the information in terms of tangible value, how the bottom line would be positively impacted (or not impacted at all), outlining specific efficiency