The complexities of the human behaviour make managing people a highly challenging task for any HRD professional. The three functions which make an HRD professional’s task a nightmare is Attracting, Retaining, and Motivating people. It is therefore a challenge for HR professionals is to develop a right ‘ARM’ (attracting, retaining, and motivating) strategy, matching the organisational objectives. This challenging task has three stages.
The process of attracting the right people who match the organisational culture and requirements. – present as well as future – comes in at the recruitment and selection stage.
The process of retaining the critical mass comes in at the growing stage of the individual along with the organisation
Motivating the employee is an-ongoing process and come in at the nurturing stage.The examination of existing concerns is necessary to evolve alternatives to cope with the demand on HR professionals.
The five major concerns are:
1. Professionals of various managerial functions, without any exception, look for better prospects. Some of them take another job without even known the back-ground of the organisation. Some are constantly looking for a change in the shortest period. This has become a reality in the Corporate world
2. Organisational look for highly competent people to man their management systems and process. They even go ‘head-hunting’ for the right person. Some of this head hunting is done without caring for the organisation’s or the individual’s values and systems. This is the second concern facing the industry in today’s highly dynamic business scenario. Organisations, which support such a mechanism, do not realize that a person selected, can also leave in a short period.
3. The cost of selection could be very high if the person expected to join has not joined. Hence all amicable efforts should be put in to see that the person joins even if it takes some time and the reasons put forward are genuine.
4. The cost of a good employee, who leaves the job due to managerial whims and fancies and an unrealistic approach, can prove costly for the organisation in to ways.
The cost of selection and induction: time, energy, money, the opportunity cost of gestation period in joining, at least 6 months period for him/her to acclimatize the organisation and the job.
The cost of low morale among employees
The focus should be on BUILDING people who match the culture of the organisation and its goals, rather than focusing on retaining people at any cost.
5. Scarcity of experienced people in the specialized field. This is true even at the support staff level. How do we address these concerns, many more issues such as:
a) Selection of good recruitment agencies
b) Availability of such agencies and its cost benefit
c) Managing various perceptions of the top management
d) Drafting of a good advertisement
e) Need to appoint a manager within the shortest period
The need of the hour is to look beyond existing systems to develop new strategies by modifying existing ones or try out entirely new mechanisms.
Recommendations:
The following measures may be taken to bring out effective change in an HRD Department:
1. Develop a good comparable monetary packet with a clear-cut focus on the development of the individual. Link it to organisational goals. The management development cell could be used to do a study on the same. Stock options, a good pay packet, fringe benefits and continuous optimal pressure to excel, immediate recognition and appreciation of such excellence would motivate individuals to work not harder but also smarter. Give them a background of the organisation, the job profile and the scope of the organisation. Facts must be put across unequivocally.
2. No candidate should be selected without a thorough analysis of what that position is supposed to perform. The candidate should be capable of meeting the requirements. The need to recruit a person arises out of the following:
Resignation or death of the employee at any level
Expansion and introduction of new projects, which makes it necessary to transfer, promote, or employee more people.
Most of the time these events can be anticipated. A well planned performance and potential development review system should be in a position to take care of such eventualities. It should be in a position to provide data on the competency of employees at all levels to shoulder higher responsibilities, and should be developed as a decision making tool.
3. There is a need to change the selection process. Instead of the normal interviewing process by a panel of specialists which decide whether the candidate is the right one or not, the panel should enter into an interactive process with the candidate who can provide insight into related subject which the panel may not be aware.
To find out the suitability of the candidates put the candidate through a ‘FRAME’(Forecasting, Rechecking, Analyzing, Matching, and Empower) in the given organisational context.
Forecast the candidate’s ability to learn new competencies and grow, thereby supporting the organisation’s changing targets, effectively.
Recheck the credentials of the candidate by reading the bio-data carefully, find out the gaps and go deep into them. Check the references.
Analyse the candidate’s conceptual and practical experience.
Match the organisation’s culture and ethos with the culture and values of the individual. i.e. his integrity, values, creativity and initiative.
Empower the people involved in process of selection. This is the most important aspect in the changing scenario. The selection process should be highly interactive and learning for each side – for the interviewer and the interviewee. The interviewer too should be involved in learning these skills. They should be clear about the depth of their words; how to ask probing questions; and how to analyse the data from such questions. Presentations: various presentation skills must be learned by members of the interview panel for an effective performance.
The modus-operandi of a campus interview could also change. E.g.: In a campus interview, we have tried to group the prospective candidates and have an open interaction forum. We have done so keeping the purpose of the interview, as mentioned above. The whole interview should be both a learning and an effective one.
4. A new form of campus interview can be both enriching and interesting for the parties involved even if it is low on the agenda of the interviewers because of their experience or lack of exposure of the candidates.
5. Develop a conscious effort to keep time. Keeping people waiting without facilities can be irritating and does not show well of the organisation as well as of the manager. Learn to respect your own time and that of the others.
Organisations should have a separate manpower planning and development department under the HRD department. Some of the responsibilities of such a department would be:
Productivity review of existing manpower
Involvement in the organisational strategic future objectives
It should have a research and documentation wing to do continuous research in the industry, locally as well as globally.
Forecast their availability or the need to build them from within; and develop alternative methods etc.
6. The HRD Department should play a coordinator’s role between manpower review and the planning department, recruitment, selection, and induction department, training department and other sub-processes of HRD. It does not mean that the HRD department should have various sub-departments. To avoid hierarchical issues and complexities, the HRD department can have various cells of this kind, manned by specialists, who can be rotated in various jobs to have an integrated functional understanding.
7. The HRD department should be exposed to other managerial functions such as marketing, production, and finance to have a multi-functional, integrated thinking process within the people of HRD department.
8. Develop a learning atmosphere.
9. A ‘Yes Sir’ team could be dangerous. It is sometimes better to have a ‘No sir” team. Though the situation is changing, my perception is that senior managers are surrounded more by ‘yes sir’ team.
10. Take an employee for tomorrow’s needs rather than today’s needs. Ad-hoc selection processes could prove very costly to the organisation in the long run.
Conclusion:
The measures given above are outlined with an assumption that the top management has total commitment to develop a people-oriented approach to meet organisational goals. As often seen, our professionals believe in sticking to the available resources or copying mechanisms rather than trying to find our own solutions and alternative strategies for organisational issues. The most important reality to be accepted is: As every organisation is unique and every issue should be look at from a different perspective, the only way to have an effective people-oriented system would be to learn from each other and be innovative! We must learn to take calculated risks.
To do so, the only strength required for the HRD professionals is their own conviction that they can do it!
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