Last week, I had the opportunity to lead a conversation with a group of HR and business leaders on one of the most overlooked, but decisive factors in whether a people strategy succeeds… Alignment.
This is always interesting for me, coming at what is positioned as ‘HR’ and not being from an HR background. This, i believe forms part of this issue in a sense of, how do you get some different perspective on this sought of issue. For clarity, i look at this from an experience of operations and change, around how people strategies have engaged with me in the past.
I felt the timing was good, with pressures continuing to mount on organisations to deliver more with less, attract the nest talent to fill skills gaps and also retain. The session was focussed on a highlight stat that only 25% of people strategies succeed. I do wonder how long this particular strategic intent has had seemingly had more challenges than successes, given my own experience of these being that efforts have been found wanting.
What became clear in the discussion is that alignment is recognised as both important and also being paid attention to by those leading on strategy. It’s the difference between a strategy that creates impact and one that may end up as wallpaper.
Why Alignment Matters
Too many strategies struggle because they fail to connect the dots between aspiration and action.
We provided a few stats across the session, this was one of the from the Harvard business review, 60–90% of business strategies never fully launch. For people strategies, it does appear that the picture is even more challenging, with apparently less than 25% of organisations able to clearly articulate business outcomes from their people programmes.
A key reason for this, I believe, is this idea of misalignment.
A high-impact people strategy doesn’t just sit in a nicely created slide deck (I’ve created my far share of those). It connects directly to your organisation’s purpose, priorities, and day-to-day practice. When that connection is weak, the result is, amongst other things, confusion, wasted energy, and disengagement.
When they’re strong, people strategies should become more than ‘HR initiatives’ (this has been my overriding experience). They should become integral to business growth and the overall success of the business. I think we all know that, but i’m convinced we don’t always either assess whether or not this is true OR we do realise and just feel hamstrung around where to focus next.
The 3P’s of Alignment
To try and make alignment practical, I toyed around with various models and eventually landed on this one as for me, it draws out the key facets that I have experienced, and allows solid thinking and action to take place. I introduced this as the 3P’s model:
- Purpose – Does your people strategy clearly support the long-term mission and vision?
- Priority – Is it focused on today’s most pressing goals and challenges?
- Practice – Can employees see it lived out in systems, behaviours, and decisions?
The idea of this is to demonstrate that the real power comes when these three overlap. That’s when your people strategy has what you might call clarity, relevance, and impact.
This also helps us to highlight any gaps, or weaknesses around this idea of Alignment.
Where the Gaps Show Up
Misalignment shows up in familiar patterns. Here are three common ones:
Purpose + Priority (but not Practice)
“Great on paper — but it doesn’t show up in real life.”
You’ve got vision and business alignment, but the strategy hasn’t translated into action. Managers aren’t clear on what’s expected, and behaviours haven’t shifted. It risks being seen as an HR-led document rather than a lived, operational strategy.
Priority + Practice (but not Purpose)
“We’re busy — but is it meaningful?”
People initiatives are active and aligned with current business challenges, but there’s no golden thread to the long-term purpose. You risk short-termism, disjointed culture, and burnout, because there’s no unifying ‘why’ guiding the work.
Purpose + Practice (but not Priority)
“It feels good — but doesn’t move the needle.”
There’s cultural consistency and long-term inspiration, but it’s not tackling what matters most to the business right now. Without connecting to current priorities, the people strategy can feel out of touch or a ‘nice to have’ rather than essential.
The ‘sweet spot’ (I couldn’t think of anything better than that) is all three. And once you’ve considered this model, you start to notice areas where your own efforts can look to improve.
Reflection Questions
Here are three questions I used in the session that I’d encourage you to pause and ask yourself:
1. Purpose: Can your exec team link your people strategy to the company’s future story?
2. Priority: Do your business leaders see their biggest headaches reflected in it?
3. Practice: Are your managers saying, ‘I know exactly what this means for me’?
Which one is your biggest gap? And what’s the consequence of that gap staying unaddressed?
Taking a First OR Next Step
I do wonder what this feels like for those leading this particular strategy out there. I would say this on Alignment, that may or may not be helpful. It is definitely less about perfection and more about progress, even what may appear to be small amounts of progress.
These questions may help you to take a new action:
• Where are we strongest — Purpose, Priority, or Practice?
• Where is the biggest gap?
• What’s one tangible action we could take ‘right now’ to close it even a little?
For some, the answer is clarifying the Purpose connection. For others, it’s focusing initiatives on fewer, sharper Priorities (this was a common theme across our session). And for others it’s embedding strategy into daily Practice — the area I’ve probably felt the most from the operational side of the business just not really understanding how what was reflecting back actually made sense in the work, day to day.
I’ll drop in the final question I left the group with to continue this push for deliberate action:
In your context, where’s the biggest alignment gap — Purpose, Priority, or Practice? And what will you do about it?