Summary:  Do you have a people strategy? What you company will look like in the future? What kind of people you will need? Answer these questions to move in the right direction.

Usually when we think of strategy we think about marketing, sales, and overall direction. When is the last time you thought about your people strategy?

I had an interesting conversation the other day with a colleague about his wanting to grow his business. Actually it was beyond wanting, he is ready and so is his business. However he was running into some road blocks, mostly he wasn’t sure what he needed as far as people were concerned. Do you find yourself in the same situation?

Here’s what you need to start thinking about:

1. Start by thinking about “what” your organization will look like.  I know this sounds obvious however we do get caught up here because we look at the people we already have and not position.
2. Only look at positions. Determine your business needs and what types of people/positions you will need to get the work done.
3. Add your current people. Do your current people fit into your future structure? Can they with training?
4. Do you have left overs? Do you have people who just don’t seem to fit in? This is the tough part – you need to decide what to do with these people and determine why they don’t fit in.

Once you have laid out your future plan, you can focus on what you need to do to create the company and people that can support it.

How do you determine your people plan?