Workforce management and HRM.

Table 13

Strategic Planning:

Human resource managers play an important role in linking human resource management practices with the strategic goals of the organisation.  For instance, reward systems can be designed to fit specific business strategies.  Strategic management is the set of decisions and subsequent actions used in an organisation to formulate and implement strategies that will optimise the fit between the organisation and its environment in an effort to achieve organisational goals and objectives.

As organisations grow and develop, external and internal pressures result in changing human resource management needs. (See Figure 1)  Human resource management programmes, systems and practices must be organised so that they continue to fit an organisation as its needs changes.  The strategic plan is the overall blueprint that defines how an organisation will deploy its capital resources, budgetary resources, and human resources in pursuit of its goal.

Figure 1

 As Pearce and Robinson (1985) state “strategic management is the set of decisions and subsequent actions used to formulate and implement strategies that will optimise the fit between the organization and its environment in an effort to achieve organisational objectives.”

Human Resource Planning:

Planning is a major component of the management process; foresight is necessary to assure that appropriate staffing will be available for an organisation’s future plans.  Likewise, in a declining economy, planning ahead is critical to prevent overstaffing and the subsequent need for layoffs.  In its broadest form, human resource planning is concerned with the flow of people into, through and out of an organisation. (See Appendix A)

Human resource planning, then, can be defined as “a strategy for the acquisition, utilisation, improvement and retention of an enterprises human resources”.4  Otherwise they run the risk of: -

1. Employees of insufficient skill or number to meet the organisation’s needs.
2. An excess of costly employees whose pay and benefits eat into the profits.

Through careful planning, an organisation can anticipate needs and implement programmes to meet the need before they actually materialise and create problems for the organisation.

Organisation/Employee Development:

Increasingly, top management is realising that the time to consider human resource limitations or strengths is when strategic business decisions are being formulated, not after they are made. The human resource manager should be a part of the organisation’s management team to contribute at management meetings to decide on whether to open or not to open a new branch or outlet.  The human resource manager can assist a great deal with respect to the following:

1. The environment (PESTEL Factors)
2. Availability of labour at the new location
3. Labour rates with cost estimates
4. Selections, recruitments and transfers, the availability of experienced supervisors to manage the facility.

The development of people is essential for the success of any organisation.  Armstrong (1999) states, “The development policy should express the organisation’s commitment to the continuous development of the skills and abilities of employees in order to maximise their contribution and to give them the opportunity to enhance their skills, realise their potential, advance their career and increase their employability within and outside the organisation.”

Employee development is a key HRM skill, that when utilised effectively will take any organisation to maximum growth and productivity.  Our global economy, which is becoming more within grasp, results in an ever-changing business environment.  This means that demands are continuously being put on employees to incorporate new strategies and policies in order to cope and maintain their niche in the global market place.

Education and training, however, are not the only forms that can be used to bring about employee development; incentives and initiatives that bring about changes in attitudes will result in changing interpersonal relationships and identities.

Employee development, therefore, is a planned effort by the organisation to facilitate employee’s learning of job related knowledge and skills for the purpose of improving performance and for the continued growth and sustainability of the organisation.

Compensation/Employee Relations:

An organisation exists to accomplish specific goals and objectives.   Towards this end it must attract and retain people who have the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities and motivate these employees to perform their jobs.  The people hired have their own needs.  One is for money, which enables them to purchase a wide variety of goods and services available in the market place.  Hence there is a basis for exchange: the employee offers specific behaviours desired by the organisation, in return for money, goods and/or services.

Jelled together, the money, goods and/or services provided to employees constitute the employee’s compensation package.  A successful compensation/reward system, therefore, is based on fairness; the perceived equity of pay disparity for different jobs within the organisation, the perceived equality of pay for similar jobs within or outside the organisation, and the perceived fairness in pay between employees who are in the very same job.  Staffing policies are shaped to recruit and select people who fit the business goals.

The relationship between employer /employee is a very delicate one and generally describe all those activities which contribute both formally and informally to the organisation.  HRM, therefore, needs to be aware of the

• Processes
• Policies and
• Procedures of the organisation.

It will always be difficult to manage to have a continuous positive employment relationship because it is constantly changing.  There are several factors, which will impact both positively and negatively to this ever-changing relationship. (See Appendix B)  It is the human resource policies and practices of the organisation that will dictate the temperature within the organisation.  It is the role of HRM to assist in developing a positive and productive employment relationship.  Armstrong (1999) identified some key approaches to a satisfactory employment relationship. (See Table 2)

Table 2

Employee Support:

Workplace safety and health is critical for creating a productive work environment.  There is more to an employee’s life than the job.  Organisations, through a more holistic HRM approach is realising that the quality of their employees non work life can have a dramatic effect on their job performance.  Problems outside the organisation can interfere with a worker’s concentration, endurance and motivation.

Many employers have now introduced programmes, which attempt to improve performance and retention by helping employees, solve their problems.  Some examples of employee support programmes are:

1. Physical Assistance         -        Stress management, weight control and others.
2. Psychological Assistance-        Marital counselling, family counselling, drug

abuse counselling and alcohol treatment.

3. Other assistance        -        Financial counselling, legal advice.

To create a safe and healthy work environment for their employees can positively impact on the positive image of the organisation through: -

1. Altruism, the organisation genuinely cares about the employees and the employees feel that sense of care from the employer.

2. Financial and non-financial benefits for the company, lower absenteeism and turnover, higher productivity, reduced insurance rates, improved employee morale, and enhanced employee job applicants.

3. Compliance with the law.

Most work site accidents are caused by employee errors, but the organisation remains responsible nevertheless.  It is the job of HRM to thus ensure that the standards are met and programmes implemented to assist workers overcome personal problems that may affect their job performance.

Legal Requirements:

The concern for human life has developed employment legislation, which deals with equal opportunities and the development of policies that deal with the procedures for good practice.

The two main reasons that an organisation should develop good human resource practices consistent with the laws are:

• It is the law of the land
• It makes good sense from a human resource perspective.

The goal of HRM is to make maximum use of all human resources available to the organisation. By discriminating against individuals because of their race, sex, national origin or other characteristic, an organisation is turning away potential employees who could make valuable contributions to the company. The company also runs the risk of being taken to court for unfair employment practices.

Labour Union Relations:

Unions have had a long and uneven history in organisational structures.  Many employers must deal with formal organisations of the employees whom they manage.  Under various laws, employees have the right to form unions for the purpose of improving working conditions, such as wages, hours and benefits (pensions, health plans).  This is undertaken through collective bargaining.  Collective agreement between employers and employees are usually divided into two categories: procedural agreements and substantive agreement. Matters covered by both agreements are listed in Table 3.

Table 3

Without unions, employers typically set employment terms and conditions unilaterally, within the constraints imposed by law and market conditions.  Collective bargaining, however, imposes an additional set of constraints on employers, allowing employees to participate in setting important terms and conditions of employment through representatives of their own choosing.

The role of HRM is to ensure that workers remain happy and secure in their respective jobs so as to decrease the need for unions.  Over the past decade their has been a decrease in membership in Trade Unions and many private companies have eliminated the need significantly for this need in respect to their counterparts in the public sector, due to job design and a flexible labour market.

Conclusion:

The strategic importance of HRM means that a number of key concepts must be applied and they are: -

1. Analysing and solving problems from a profit oriented not just a service-oriented point of view.
2. Assessing and interpreting cost and benefits of such human resource issues as productivity, salaries and benefits, absenteeism and training.
3. Using planning models that include realistic challenging specific and meaningful goals.
4. Preparing reports on HRM solutions to problems encountered by the firm.
5. Training the human resource staff and emphasising the strategic importance of HRM and the importance of contributing to the firm’s profit.

These specific activities put the human resource manager into a value-adding partnership with other managers.

Human resources are the most dynamic of all the organisation’s resources, and an extremely important ‘living’ asset which is alive with feelings and needs as Maslow indicated in his theory, therefore in any organisation employees must be handled intelligently, carefully, must be motivated and looked upon with a manner of respect.  They need considerable attention from management, if they are to realise their full potential in their work.  HR policies and practices have an important role to play in facilitating the effective implementation of management processes, such as, total quality management which is “an approach to quality within an organisation which is committed to total customer satisfaction through a continuous process of improvement, and the contribution and involvement of people”.5

Human resource managers perform an identifiable set of activities that affect and influence the people who work in an organisation.  These activities include human resource planning, job analysis, recruitment, selection, placement, career management, training, designing performance appraisal and compensation systems, and labour relations.

The current challenge of human resource management is to integrate programmes involving human resources with strategic organisational objectives.  More and more, organisations are under tremendous competitive pressure on a worldwide basis.  Human resource managers must find ways to develop effective international programmes to meet this challenge.  Another important aspect of human resource management is the need to insure the cost-effectiveness of programmes and policies through the optimal utilization of human resources.

Since the human resource department plays a support role within the organisation, it interacts with a variety of constituencies.  It is important to note that the needs of these constituencies are likely to vary.  Research offers a useful framework for understanding the conflicting demands on human resource professionals.

The challenges to HRM will involve setting directions and formulating policies to address current and future business trends.  The challenges of corporate reorganisations, global competition, declining markets, changing work force demographics, employee expectations, and legal and governmental requirements will allow human resource managers to play a dynamic pivotal role in  meeting organisational goals.

Human Resource Managers must have a Strategic Focus, a sense of urgency influence, an interest in the people needs and development, and negotiation skills in order to head any organisation into the future.  Human resources lies in every department of the organisation that is namely –“People”.

REFERENCES

1. Torrington, D. & Hall, L. 1998, Human Resource Management, Fourth Edition, Prentice Hall pp. 4-9.

2. Institute of Personnel Management Publications, Volume 2, 2002

3. Tsui, A. & Milkovich, G. 1987, Personnel Psychology, Winter pp. 535

4. Department of Employment, 1974, Company Manpower Planning, HMSO

5. Snapey, E., Wilkinson, A., Marchington, M and Redman, T. 1995,‘Managing Human Resources TQM: Possibilities and Pitfalls, Employee Relations, vol. 17, #3 pp 42-51

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Armstrong, M. 1999, A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice, London: Kogan Page

Cherrington, D. 1987, Personal Management: The Management of Human Resources, Allym and Bacon, Boston

Cole, G. 1996, Management Theory and Practice, DP Publications, England

Dyer, L. 1982, Personnel Management, Allym and Bacon, Boston

Maund, L. 2001, An Introduction to Human Resource Management, Palgrave, New York

Meshoulan, I., and Baird, B. 1987, “Proactive Human Resource Management,” Human Resource Management, Vol. 26

Mullins, L. 2002, Management and Organisational Behaviour, Pearson Education Limited, England

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

                                Training opportunities may reduce

                                the demand for highly qualified

                                applicants.

                                Careful selection may reduce the

need for training.

But hiring additional employees

adds to training needs.

                                        

                                Training helps employees perform

                                better.

                                

                                Performance evaluations provide

                                information that helps to assess

                                training needs.

                                

                                Training should improve performance

                                and result in higher levels of pay.

                                Financial incentives can create

greater enthusiasm for training and

increased participation.

Skilled employees should perform

better, reducing the probability of

grievances and discipline.

Unions may participate in design and

Presentation of the training.

Links between training and other human resource management functions.