Introduction to analysis tools and environmental/strategic frameworks

Covering Assessment Criterion 1.2 of 5CO02 Evidence-based Practice, this video introduces a suite of analysis tools that people practitioners use to diagnose organisational issues, challenges and opportunities. The content centres on environmental and strategic frameworks — specifically PESTLE analysis, SWOT analysis, Porter's Five Forces, the Ansoff Matrix and the McKinsey 7S Framework — and addresses how each can be applied within the context of people practice rather than treated as abstract business strategy concepts.

Each framework is examined with reference to its relevance for HR decision-making. PESTLE is considered across all six of its dimensions, with particular attention to how political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors bear on areas such as workforce planning, talent strategy and employer positioning. SWOT analysis is explored through the lens of internal capability and external context, including employer brand, skills gaps, turnover and competitive threats in the labour market. Porter's Five Forces is reframed around the bargaining power of labour and talent market competition, while the Ansoff Matrix is connected to the distinct people implications of market penetration, market development, product development and diversification strategies.

The McKinsey 7S Framework receives dedicated attention, including the distinction the video draws between its hard and soft elements — Strategy, Structure and Systems on one side, and Shared Values, Style, Staff and Skills on the other — and how misalignments among these elements can undermine organisational change. The video also establishes an important conceptual boundary early on, distinguishing analysis tools as structured frameworks from analysis methods such as interviews, observations, job analysis questionnaires, work sampling and the examination of organisational and sector metrics, which serve as the data-gathering techniques that feed into those frameworks.