NEW YORK — At the start of a new year, many small-business owners are focused on plotting their companies' financial course for the next 12 months. A more holistic approach is to plan for the year from a human resources perspective, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of a company's current staff and projecting its hiring needs.

Of course, setting sales and profit goals are critical parts of planning for the new year. But, noted Bonnie Beirne, director of service operations for Administaff Inc., a Houston-based human resources and staffing firm, companies can't achieve those goals without the help of their employees.

Beirne said that business owners need to consider what they want to accomplish and then ask, "How can I use my people to get there?"

Much like the accountants who advise their clients to look at the old year as they plan for 2007, Beirne said owners need to consider the successes and challenges of 2006 and determine "the contribution of your people to that strategy."

For example, if you didn't meet a sales goal, was there a particular employee who lagged behind his or her colleagues? And, conversely, who were your top performers? Is there a way to use their talents to build your business in the coming year? If you were thinking of adding staff, would it make more sense to realign the people you already have?

As part of this process, an owner needs to be thinking about salary and bonuses, deciding not only how much he or she can afford but also about possible changes in the company's compensation policy. For example, does it make sense to give everyone an across-the-board raise, or should you channel more money to top producers while letting also-rans know they need to work harder to earn more?

Beirne said these deliberations shouldn't be done in a vacuum — an owner should bring employees into the discussions, too.

She noted that many businesses give staffers their annual performance appraisals at the beginning of the year. If that hasn't been your routine, you might want to start meeting with employees to give them feedback and to get their input. And, you need to let them know the goals you want them to reach in the new year.

Meetings with staffers can help you with some other HR issues that need to be addressed, such as your policies on vacation, sick leave and other time off. You might find that staffers are more interested in time than more money, and you might want to consider changing some of your policies.

You also need to be sure your policies are benefiting, not hurting your company. For instance, do you need to set limits on how many workers can be off at a given time?

If you don't have these policies formulated or written down, the first part of the year is a good time to do so.

Human resources consultants advise companies of all sizes to put together employee handbooks. These are documents that detail the company's policy on compensation, time off, sick leave, seniority, job security, ethics, discrimination, harassment and other issues. You can find templates online. Or books like "Create Your Own Employee Handbook," published by Nolo, can help owners put their own handbooks together.