Prioritize your HR projects for the start of the academic year our 6 tips
September is coming and with it, that crucial moment when every HR director asks themselves the same question: on what should I focus my efforts for the third quarter? Because with the new challenges (artificial intelligence, CSR, war for talent), it is impossible to do everything at once.
This period of strategic readjustment is all the more delicate in the current economic climate. Companies are navigating between uncertainties and opportunities, forcing HR departments to make more nuanced choices than ever before. Here are six concrete tips for effectively prioritizing your HR projects this fall, regardless of your sector or company size.
Identify your HR projects that have been stalled for the last 3 quarters
Before embarking on new projects, first clean up your current portfolio. Because yes, we all have those initiatives launched with enthusiasm in January, which still consume time and energy, but no longer produce anything tangible.
These neglected projects are everywhere: the 360° feedback platform you bought for €15,000 but that only 20% of your teams actually use; the overhaul of the annual performance review system that’s been dragging on for 18 months without any operational pilot; and the mandatory training courses whose impact remains a mystery.
The warning signs are clear: recurring meetings that lead to no concrete decisions, digital tools shunned by users, and administrative processes that go nowhere. Therefore, one question arises: why continue to feed these budget black holes?
If no measurable progress is seen in the next three months, a choice must be made: stop, transform, or relaunch. Under no circumstances should these initiatives, which consume your resources without any return, be allowed to continue. This rigorous audit will free up the mental and financial space needed for your true priorities .
Apply the impact effort matrix to HR projects with the ROI filter
Once you’ve identified your stalled projects, it’s time for intelligent prioritization. You’re probably familiar with the impact/effort matrix. But in the current economic climate, it deserves to be enriched with a third criterion: return on investment .
In practical terms, classify each HR project into one of these four categories. First, quick wins with high impact and low effort: automating contracts via AI, digitizing onboarding processes . These projects should be launched as a priority, but be sure to measure their performance from the outset.
Next, there are the high-impact but high-effort strategic investments: a complete overhaul of the HRIS, digital transformation of HR. These projects require solid financial justification and impeccable leadership.
Fun activities (low impact, low effort) now deserve serious scrutiny. Team building, seminars, minor renovations… In times of budget constraints, do these expenses truly become a priority? Finally, projects with low impact but high effort should be abandoned without hesitation.
Let’s look at some concrete examples. A startup can invest €5,000 in a referral program to save €50,000 in annual recruitment costs. A large corporation will invest €100,000 in a micro-learning platform with measurable productivity gains within six months.
The post-crisis tip? Systematically prioritize projects with a measurable ROI within 12 months. Therefore, your scoring table should incorporate the “payback time” criterion as a decisive filter.
Synchronize with the business challenges of the third quarter in a post-crisis context
Your HR priorities can no longer be disconnected from current economic realities. Inflation, talent shortages, and geopolitical upheavals are redrawing the map of business emergencies. Therefore, three questions are essential to recalibrate your strategy .
First question: Which professions are becoming critical with the skills shortage? Cybersecurity, sustainable development, and mental health in the workplace are emerging as absolute priorities. Second point of focus: how is artificial intelligence transforming your organization’s skills needs? Finally, what new regulatory CSR challenges directly impact your HR processes?
For example, a tech startup pivoting to AI must immediately prioritize upskilling its developers and recruiting data scientists. A large industrial group facing geopolitical tensions will invest in supply chain skills and strengthen its organizational resilience.
These transformations necessitate new performance indicators, but with traditional turnover and engagement rates, in with the organizational resilience index and the capacity to adapt to change. Because ultimately, your HR function must anticipate the jobs of tomorrow rather than manage those of yesterday.
Listen to the ground to pick up on weak signals
Your strategic vision, whatever brilliant, is worthless if it doesn’t address the real concerns of your employees. And these concerns have radically changed since the crisis. Economic anxiety has replaced the optimism of the past, the search for meaning has intensified, and expectations of flexibility have become non-negotiable.
Specifically, what signals should we look out for? In a startup, the increasing number of requests for certified training reveals a growing concern about employability. In a large corporation, the rise in requests for part-time work among senior managers betrays widespread burnout.
To capture these changes, your traditional listening tools are no longer sufficient. Focus on anonymous surveys targeting financial concerns, organize generational exchange workshops, and systematically analyze the initial comments. Each generation expresses distinct needs: Gen Z prioritizes societal impact ( source – BCG Conference of Grandes Écoles Barometer), Millennials seek work-life balance, while Gen X primarily aspires to security.
The key? Combine your traditional quantitative data (absenteeism, turnover) with this new qualitative data: financial stress levels, sense of purpose, and future outlook. This nuanced approach will allow you to adjust your HR priorities to the real challenges of the moment, rather than the theoretical trends of consulting firms.
Plan realistically and anticipate economic risks
Go.ne are the days of HR plans set in stone for 12 months. Economic uncertainty demands flexible planning and increased safety margins. Forget the 80/20 rule: today, reserve 30% of your resources to deal with unforeseen events and strategic pivots.
In practical terms, develop several scenarios . A startup will typically have a plan A (strong growth with massive recruitment), a plan B (consolidation with a hiring freeze), and a plan C (survival mode with reorganization). A large corporation will anticipate similar scenarios: either layoffs or, conversely, an acceleration of recruitment for certain critical roles.
This approach requires appropriate management tools. Rather than setting your HR objectives for 12 months, break them down into 3-month cycles with systematic review points. For example, instead of planning “50 hires over the year,” set a target of “12 hires in Q3,” with a reassessment of needs in October based on the economic climate. Also, implement real-time dashboards that detect early warning signs: declining orders, cash flow pressures, and changes in industry indicators.
Finally, always prioritize reversibility in your decisions . pt for freelancers rather than permanent contracts for emerging skills, SaaS solutions rather than cumbersome licenses, short training courses rather than long programs… This flexibility will allow you to quickly adjust your priorities without disrupting your organization.
Communicate transparently and embrace uncertainty
In a tense economic context, transparency becomes your best ally to maintain engagement and avoid destructive rumors.
The key message is simple: “We do less, but better.” Explain concretely why you’re focusing your efforts on three projects instead of ten, as in a startup, or why you’re prioritizing adaptability over expansion in a large corporation. Your employees will accept these choices much more readily if they understand the economic rationale behind them.
Your managers become essential intermediaries here. Train them to translate economic issues into accessible language: explain how the drop in orders impacts recruitment or why inflation is forcing a review of compensation policies.
Organize regular Q&A sessions to manage the prevailing anxiety. Establish monthly meetings that combine economic and HR indicators. Demonstrate how each project contributes to the company ‘strength
Finally, celebrate your successes as much as your lessons learned. Because a failure that is well analyzed and shared strengthens team cohesion and a culture of continuous improvement.
As you’ve probably gathered, in a context where every euro counts, it’s better to see three robust projects through to completion than to spread your resources thin across ten fragile ones. This pragmatic approach will not only allow you to demonstrate the added value of the HR function but also to maintain the engagement of your teams.
