Strategies for Effective Human Resource Management

Strategies for effective human resource management

Management of personnel and human resources has changed over the past three decades, partially due to increasing employment legislation, education issues, employee awareness, and changes in demographics. Thus HR managers need to find a strategy, which addresses issues of stability and change, to enable effective leadership of staff.

ISSUES OF STABILITY
Stability of the workforce is just as essential as uninterrupted sources of raw material and transport. This situation is even more important in service sector industries. In these businesses, the employee represents the main profit and revenue-producing element.

Disruptions caused with or by employees, such as insufficient numbers, union problems or other difficulties can seriously affect the business aim, namely to bring success and added value to its stakeholders. Therefore stability is important and it is the role of Human Resource to ensure this is achieved. However, they will face a number of problems in this respect.

To maintain correct staffing levels businesses need to recruit the right quality of staff. This includes people for production, administration, sales, accounting, and management levels. Historically, businesses have relied upon schools and colleges to supply this new input.

However, in recent years standards have fallen. This problem is resulting in the diversion of billions from job improvement and learning to what is in effectively remedial training, and is causing problems to HR.

Having achieved the levels of staff that are required, the last thing that a business wants is to have a large portion of them leaving. In an effort to avoid this, HR has to operate systems that attract and keep staff loyal to the company. There are a number of ways this can be achieved, by assisting with relocation and ensuring staff involvement in the business. Many Human Resource experts see a partnership approach with Unions on employee issues as a positive step in building strategies in the retention process. The difficulty sometimes exists in persuading the Unions to move from traditional styles to a more co-operational approach.

Another issues that impact upon retention are the rewards or pay and career path. Irrespective of their loyalty to a business, an employees first concern is to himself and his family. If a package offered by a competitor firm represents a significant increase over current pay and benefits, his loyalty to family are likely to come first.

Succession of staff also affects stability in the workplace. To operate successfully, continuance of skills and line management is vital. To ensure this is maintained, HR managers need to implement training and leadership programmes. Structured training needs to match the employees with the skill demands of the business. In service industries, the most important areas of training must concentrate on customer service and care. If this is not right, the business will suffer.

Business also needs an efficient line of management. It ensures information is communicated throughout the organisation and that problems can be quickly addressed. Developing these people from in-house staff members is often a good way of achieving succession in this area.

ISSUES OF CHANGE
No business can stand still; there will always be change. Some change is self-sought, whilst other changes are forced on the business by economic or legislative factors. Change needs to be addressed and the most successful businesses are those that anticipate change and react to it. Change will also affect employees, some more directly than others. Thus HR has to produce strategies to deal with these changes.

a) Internal Changes
It is important that HR involves the employees and researches the issues affecting them, for example in the case of technological improvements. In this situation, normally known in advance, HR should pre-empt the affect this has on the workforce by setting up a training schemes to increase the employees knowledge development to a level capable of allowing for a smooth transition from old to new procedures.

b) External Change
Most changes that affect businesses are because of external factors. The changes that affect the service sector most come from legislation and governmental demands. These include issues such as minimum wage, discrimination, health and safety and Trade Union situations.

Because of the significance and interrelationship between stability and change, it is important for HR to learn how to manage the strategies for both so that their businesses are prepared to deal with the inevitable changes that will occur within the next decade. It is also important that these strategies be reviewed at least annually. They should include: -

a) Employee involvement.
b) Training programmes that encompass the latest changes in company policies and technological changes.
c) Customer care and service issues should be paramount in the training schedule.
d) Consideration should be given to a mentoring programme for talented staff, which could be valuable to the company's future.
e) Staff evaluation should take place at least every six months. At this stage identifying of staff with leadership potential is important.
a) Regular staff meetings and contact with representatives, including Trade Unions.
b) Discussions with staff on issues that need changing, allowing staff input.
c) A disciplinary process and set of company policies to ensure the business does not fall foul of discrimination issues.
d) Regular Health and Safety training and update.

It is not possible for a business to stand still and any movement toward success or of retraction will involve change. To achieve the best result needs a stable environment. In a service industry this means involvement of the staff becomes essential. Human Resource management has to be equal to the task with a combination of stability and change strategies.