Principles of Management - Week 5 DB 300 Words
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THECHANGINGROLEOFTHEHUMANRESOURCEMANAGER.docxTHE CHANGING ROLE OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER
Contents
For employer and employee alike, "change" and "uncertainty" appear much more frequently in descriptions of today's work environment. This developing complexity has facilitated a shift in the importance of human resources management (HRM) functions. This article probes some recent developments and future workplace changes of which HRM professionals should be aware.
Organizations need individuals with new kinds of technical knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics (KSAOCs) -- people who are flexible and willing to deal with rapid and unstructured changes. As a result, public and nonprofit organizations must think more strategically than ever before. and they must translate their insights into effective strategies for meeting future challenges. Given the complexity of change in the workplace, human resource professionals, more than ever, need to be a part of the planning process.
Strategic planning and human resources management activities must become integrated and work together so agencies can confront impending challenges and change. Human resource management departments must become linked with the strategy of the organization and HRM activities integrated as part of their everyday work by line managers and employees.
Traditionally, managers and employees see FIRM departments merely as regulators and enforcers, more concerned with compliance with rules and regulations, but not as partners working in sync with them. Line managers typically view personnel specialists as obstructionists, while personnel specialists see line managers as uncooperative, uninterested, antagonistic to merit principles. At no level of government are HRM departments perceived as being integrated into the strategic planning process and policy development.
An element of the strategic planning process frequently overlooked is that achieving goals and objectives absolutely requires an accurate assessment of current staff KSAOCs. Traditional HRM kicks in after agencies have developed their basic missions and strategic objectives. Management seldom considers the talents and capabilities of its present staff nor considers the availability of new hires when establishing strategic plans. As a result, HRM departments and line managers are forced to react to the strategic plans instead of taking proactive postures.
In other words, don't plan on agency strategic decision makers suddenly opening up their doors to HRM department input. HRM departments need to expand their scope of activities beyond being just, functional specialists concerned with staffing, evaluation, training and compensation. They need to educate themselves about how the organization can be more competitive and effective. By soliciting ideas from employees and managers and by listening to their concerns, HRM departments can become valuable members of the management team. HRM specialists should be team players working with line managers to identify such employees. Together they can identify more readily any political, technological, financial and social changes affecting the organization and assist current employees in adapting to those changes.
Organizational objectives should be formulated after relevant data on the quantity and potential of available human resources have been reviewed. Are there human resources available for short and long term objectives? Do the skills required to get the agency through the long term differ from those required to get the agency through the next pay period? The answer to questions like these requires a more sophisticated approach to needs assessment as well as a much enhanced understanding of the agency's overall mission.
To compete, organizations must be able to anticipate, influence and manage the forces that impact their ability to remain competitive. In the service sector, this means their human resource capabilities. All too often, agencies rely on short-term service requirements to direct their HRM policies and practices. Little thought was given to long term implications. By invoking Strategic Human Resources Management (SHRM), agencies are better able to match their human resource requirements with the demands of the market and the needs of the organization. The human resource focus is not just on individual employee issues but instead becomes integrated in the organization's strategy. It becomes part of the visionary process.
Strategic human resources management recognizes the role that employees play in contributing to an organization's success. It becomes part of the strategic planning and policy development process guiding and supporting agency efforts as attempts are made to meet the demands imposed upon it from its external and internal environments. SHRM is driven by an organization's strategy instead of its functional or administrative activities (Perry, 1993a).
However, asserting HRM into the strategic planning process involves compromise. HRM professionals should be sensitive to the fact that an HRM seat at the planning table might mean new seats at the HRM table, which is okay. They should be partners in the design of staffing requirements, identifying employee development needs and career opportunities, developing benefit packages and evaluation instruments. HRM specialists need to be connected to and knowledgeable about organizational objectives and be perceived as credible by line managers.
Public sector organizations often have a crisis orientation rather than a strategic focus. Public agencies often cope with changes rather than plan for them. Human resource planning is a way to develop a strategic approach to prevent problems. Agencies need to anticipate their personnel requirements so that they are prepared to deal with changing situations. Strategic human resource management forces managers to identify future organizational needs, review the supply and demand of skills readily available in the organization and workforce; and can assist in the development of programs. An immediate outcome in strategic human resource planning could be a shift from reactive to assertive organizations. A critical component of SHRM is human resource planning. Human resource planning is the process of analyzing and identifying the need for and availability of the human resources required for the agency to meet its objectives. Forecasting is used to assess past trends, evaluate the present situation and project future events. Forecasting and planning complement one another because forecasts identify the best available expectations while plans establish future goals and objectives.
Agencies must consider the allocation of people to jobs over long periods of time. Attempts must be made to anticipate any expansions or reductions in programs or changes that may affect the organization. Based on the analyses, plans can be made for the recruitment and selection of new employees, shifting employees to different programs or units, or retraining incumbent employees. Forecasting human resource requirements involves determining the number and types of employees needed by skill level. To be able to forecast the supply and demand of human resources, agencies need to audit the skills of incumbent employees and determine their capabilities and weaknesses. Positions must also be audited. In most organizations there are likely to be jobs that are vulnerable, ready to be replaced by technology or reengineering. Job analyses must be conducted to provide information on existing jobs. The basic requirements of a job should be defined and converted to job specifications that specify the minimum KSAOCs necessary for effective performance. The skill requirements of positions do change, any changes that occur must be monitored and reflected in the job specifications.
It is not enough to monitor changes in positions, organizations must also keep abreast of the skills that their employees possess. Human resource planning uses data inventories to integrate the planning and utilization functions of SHRM. Data inventories compile summary information such as the characteristics of employees, the distribution of employees by position, employee performance and career objectives. Specific data that are typically catalogued include age, education, career path., current skills, work experience, aspirations, performance evaluations, years with organization, and jobs qualified for. Expected vacancies due to retirement, promotion, transfers, sick leave, relocation, or terminations are also monitored. Using a computerized human resource information system (HRIS) to compile this data makes the retrieval of this information readily available for forecasting human resource needs.
Some helpful literature on the subject of strategic HRM includes
Bryson, J. M. (1995). Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. (Revised Edition). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Oppenheimer, M., & Palguta, J. M. (1993). Reinventing public personnel management? Introduction to Forum. The Public Manager, 22, 7-9.
Ospina, S. (1992). When managers don't plan: Consequences of non-strategic public personnel management. Review of Public Personnel Management, 12, 52-67.
Perry, J. L. (1993a). Strategic human resources management. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 13, 59-71.
Perry, J. L. (1993b). Transforming the federal civil service. The Public Manager, 22, 14-16.
Pynes, Joan (1997)Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations. Jossey Bass.
Shuler, R. S. (1990). Strategic human resources management: Liking the people with the strategic needs of the business. Organizational Dynamics, 21, 1832.
An example of strategic human resources management in action is the case of Places for People. Places for People is a St. Louis-based nonprofit organization that provides various kinds of rehabilitative support for mentally ill people.
Since its inception in 1972, the program has expanded a number of times to include even more services, such as a psychosocial rehabilitation center and a group home.
In 1992, the organization underwent a strategic planning process. Because each new program had its own staff, director, and policies, the presence of human resource professionals at the table proved extremely valuable.
As well, human resource professionals were able to help address a number of personnel issues that came to light during the planning efforts. Among them, employees did not feel involved in the agency or a sense of ownership in the success of the organization.
After an internal evaluation that included a focus group, some controversial changes were implemented. For example, staff are no longer divided along programmatic lines, and everyone is involved in providing the full range of services, including treatment planning, resource management, assistance in the activities of daily living, social skills, substance abuse education, budgeting, and advocacy.
Clearly, such far reaching changes would not be possible without the input and support of the human resources team.
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By Joan E. Pynes
