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Human Resource Management

Course revisions Introduction Human resource (or personnel) management, in the sense of getting things done through people, is an essential part of every manager's responsibilities, but many organizations find it advantageous to establish a specialist division to provide an expert service dedicated to ensuring that the human resource function is performed efficiently. "People are our most valuable asset" is a cliché which no member of any senior management team would disagree with. Yet, the reality for many organizations is that their people remain under valued, under trained and under utilized. The rate of change facing organizations has never been greater and organizations must absorb and manage change at a much faster rate than in the past. In order to implement a successful business strategy to face this challenge, organizations, large or small, must ensure that they have the right people capable of delivering the strategy. The market place for talented, skilled people is competitive and expensive. Taking on new staff can be disruptive to existing employees. Also, it takes time to develop 'cultural awareness', product/ process/ organization knowledge and experience for new staff members. As organizations vary in size, aims, functions, complexity, construction, the physical nature of their product, and appeal as employers, so do the contributions of human resource management. But, in most the ultimate aim of the function is to: "ensure that at all times the business is correctly staffed by the right number of people with the skills relevant to the business needs", that is, neither overstaffed nor understaffed in total or in respect of any one discipline or work grade. Functional overview and strategy for HRM These issues motivate a well thought out human resource management strategy, with the precision and detail of say a marketing strategy. Failure in not having a carefully crafted human resources management strategy, can and probably will lead to failures in the business process itself. This set of resources are offered to promote thought, stimulate discussion, diagnose the organizational environment and develop a sound human resource management strategy for your organization. We begin by looking at the seven distinguishable function human resource management provide to secure the achievement of the objective defined above. Following on from this overview we look at defining a human resource strategy. Finally, some questions are posed in the form of a diagnostic checklist for you to consider, which may prove helpful for you to think about when planning your development programs for the human resources in your organization, if they are truely "your most valuable asset." Human Resource Management Function 1 | Manpower planning The penalties for not being correctly staffed are costly. Understaffing loses the business economies of scale and specialization, orders, customers and profits. Overstaffing is wasteful and expensive, if sustained, and it is costly to eliminate because of modern legislation in respect of redundancy payments, consultation, minimum periods of notice, etc. Very importantly, overstaffing reduces the competitive efficiency of the business. Staffing level planning requires that an assessment of present and future needs of the organization be compared with present resources and future predicted resources. Appropriate steps then be planned to bring demand and supply into balance. Thus the first step is to take a 'satellite picture' of the existing workforce profile (numbers, skills, ages, flexibility, sex, experience, forecast capabilities, character, potential, etc. of existing employees) and then to adjust this for 1, 3 and 10 years ahead by amendments for normal turnover, planned staff movements, retirements, etc, in line with the business plan for the corresponding time frames. The result should be a series of crude supply situations as would be the outcome of present planning if left unmodified. (This, clearly, requires a great deal of information accretion, classification and statistical analysis as a subsidiary aspect of personnel management.) What future demands will be is only influenced in part by the forecast of the personnel manager, whose main task may well be to scrutinize and modify the crude predictions of other managers. Future staffing needs will derive from: · Sales and production forecasts · The effects of technological change on task needs · Variations in the efficiency, productivity, flexibility of labor as a result of training, work study, organizational change, new motivations, etc. · Changes in employment practices (e.g. use of subcontractors or agency staffs, hiving-off tasks, buying in, substitution, etc.) · Variations, which respond to new legislation, e.g. payroll taxes or their abolition, new health and safety requirements · Changes in Government policies (investment incentives, regional or trade grants, etc.) What should emerge from this 'blue sky gazing' is a 'thought out' and logical staffing demand schedule for varying dates in the future which can then be compared with the crude supply schedules. The comparisons will then indicate what steps must be taken to achieve a balance. That, in turn, will involve the further planning of such recruitment, training, retraining, labor reductions (early retirement/redundancy) or changes in workforce utilization as will bring supply and demand into equilibrium, not just as a one–off but as a continuing workforce planning exercise the inputs to which will need constant varying to reflect 'actual' as against predicted experience on the supply side and changes in production actually achieved as against forecast on the demand side. Next | HR Function 2 Recruitment and selection of employees Human Resource Management HR Function 2 | Recruitment and selection of employees Recruitment of staff should be preceded by: An analysis of the job to be done (i.e. an analytical study of the tasks to be performed to determine their essential factors) written into a job description so that the selectors know what physical and mental characteristics applicants must possess, what qualities and attitudes are desirable and what characteristics are a decided disadvantage; · In the case of replacement staff a critical questioning of the need to recruit at all (replacement should rarely be an automatic process). · Effectively, selection is 'buying' an employee (the price being the wage or salary multiplied by probable years of service) hence bad buys can be very expensive. For that reason some firms (and some firms for particular jobs) use external expert consultants for recruitment and selection. Equally some small organizations exist to 'head hunt', i.e. to attract staff with high reputations from existing employers to the recruiting employer. However, the 'cost' of poor selection is such that, even for the mundane day-to-day jobs, those who recruit and select should be well trained to judge the suitability of applicants. The main sources of recruitment are: · Internal promotion and internal introductions (at times desirable for morale purposes) · Careers officers (and careers masters at schools) · University appointment boards · Agencies for the unemployed · Advertising (often via agents for specialist posts) or the use of other local media (e.g. commercial radio) Where the organization does its own printed advertising it is useful if it has some identifying logo as its trade mark for rapid attraction and it must take care not to offend the sex, race, etc. antidiscrimination legislation either directly or indirectly. The form on which the applicant is to apply (personal appearance, letter of application, completion of a form) will vary according to the posts vacant and numbers to be recruited. It is very desirable in many jobs that claim about experience and statements about qualifications are thoroughly checked and that applicants unfailingly complete a health questionnaire (the latter is not necessarily injurious to the applicants chance of being appointed as firms are required to employ a percentage of disabled people). Before letters of appointment are sent any doubts about medical fitness or capacity (in employments where hygiene considerations are dominant) should be resolved by requiring applicants to attend a medical examination. This is especially so where, as for example in the case of apprentices, the recruitment is for a contractual period or involves the firm in training costs. Interviewing can be carried out by individuals (e.g. supervisor or departmental manager), by panels of interviewers or in the form of sequential interviews by different experts and can vary from a five minute 'chat' to a process of several days. Ultimately personal skills in judgment are probably the most important, but techniques to aid judgment include selection testing for: · Aptitudes (particularly useful for school leavers) · Attainments · General intelligence (All of these need skilled testing and assessment.) In more senior posts other techniques are: · Leaderless groups · Command exercises · Group problem solving (These are some common techniques - professional selection organizations often use other techniques to aid in selection.) Training in interviewing and in appraising candidates is clearly essential to good recruitment. Largely the former consists of teaching interviewers how to draw out the interviewee and the latter how to xratex the candidates. For consistency (and as an aid to checking that) rating often consists of scoring candidates for experience, knowledge, physical/mental capabilities, intellectual levels, motivation, prospective potential, leadership abilities etc. (according to the needs of the post). Application of the normal curve of distribution to scoring eliminates freak judgments. Next | HR Function 3: Employee motivation Human Resource Management Function 3 | Employee motivation To retain good staff and to encourage them to give of their best while at work requires attention to the financial and psychological and even physiological rewards offered by the organization as a continuous exercise. Basic financial rewards and conditions of service (e.g. working hours per week) are determined externally (by national bargaining or government minimum wage legislation) in many occupations but as much as 50 per cent of the gross pay of manual workers is often the result of local negotiations and details (e.g. which particular hours shall be worked) of conditions of service are often more important than the basics. Hence there is scope for financial and other motivations to be used at local levels. As staffing needs will vary with the productivity of the workforce (and the industrial peace achieved) so good personnel policies are desirable. The latter can depend upon other factors (like environment, welfare, employee benefits, etc.) but unless the wage packet is accepted as 'fair and just' there will be no motivation. Hence while the technicalities of payment and other systems may be the concern of others, the outcome of them is a matter of great concern to human resource management. Increasingly the influence of behavioral science discoveries are becoming important not merely because of the widely-acknowledged limitations of money as a motivator, but because of the changing mix and nature of tasks (e.g. more service and professional jobs and far fewer unskilled and repetitive production jobs). The former demand better-educated, mobile and multi-skilled employees much more likely to be influenced by things like job satisfaction, involvement, participation, etc. than the economically dependent employees of yesteryear. Hence human resource management must act as a source of information about and a source of inspiration for the application of the findings of behavioral science. It may be a matter of drawing the attention of senior managers to what is being achieved elsewhere and the gradual education of middle managers to new points of view on job design, work organization and worker autonomy. Next | HR Function 4: Employee evaluation Human Resource Management Function 4| Employee evaluation An organization needs constantly to take stock of its workforce and to assess its performance in existing jobs for three reasons: · To improve organizational performance via improving the performance of individual contributors (should be an automatic process in the case of good managers, but (about annually) two key questions should be posed: o what has been done to improve the performance of a person last year? o and what can be done to improve his or her performance in the year to come?). · To identify potential, i.e. to recognize existing talent and to use that to fill vacancies higher in the organization or to transfer individuals into jobs where better use can be made of their abilities or developing skills. · To provide an equitable method of linking payment to performance where there are no numerical criteria (often this salary performance review takes place about three months later and is kept quite separate from 1. and 2. but is based on the same assessment). On-the-spot managers and supervisors, not HR staffs, carry out evaluations. The personnel role is usually that of: · Advising top management of the principles and objectives of an evaluation system and designing it for particular organizations and environments. · Developing systems appropriately in consultation with managers, supervisors and staff representatives. Securing the involvement and cooperation of appraisers and those to be appraised. · Assistance in the setting of objective standards of evaluation / assessment, for example: o Defining targets for achievement; o Explaining how to quantify and agree objectives; o Introducing self-assessment; o Eliminating complexity and duplication. · Publicizing the purposes of the exercise and explaining to staff how the system will be used. · Organizing and establishing the necessary training of managers and supervisors who will carry out the actual evaluations/ appraisals. Not only training in principles and procedures but also in the human relations skills necessary. (Lack of confidence in their own ability to handle situations of poor performance is the main weakness of assessors.) · Monitoring the scheme - ensuring it does not fall into disuse, following up on training/job exchange etc. recommendations, reminding managers of their responsibilities. Full-scale periodic reviews should be a standard feature of schemes since resistance to evaluation / appraisal schemes is common and the temptation to water down or render schemes ineffectual is ever present (managers resent the time taken if nothing else). Basically an evaluation / appraisal scheme is a formalization of what is done in a more casual manner anyway (e.g. if there is a vacancy, discussion about internal moves and internal attempts to put square pegs into 'squarer holes' are both the results of casual evaluation). Most managers approve merit payment and that too calls for evaluation. Made a standard routine task, it aids the development of talent, warns the inefficient or uncaring and can be an effective form of motivation. See also | Employee evaluation and selection Next | HR Function 5: Industrial relations Human Resource Management Function 5| Industrial relations Good industrial relations, while a recognizable and legitimate objective for an organization, are difficult to define since a good system of industrial relations involves complex relationships between: (a) Workers (and their informal and formal groups, i. e. trade union, organizations and their representatives); (b) Employers (and their managers and formal organizations like trade and professional associations); (c) The government and legislation and government agencies l and 'independent' agencies like the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service. Oversimplified, work is a matter of managers giving instructions and workers following them - but (and even under slavery we recognize that different 'managing' produces very different results) the variety of 'forms' which have evolved to regulate the conduct of parties (i.e. laws, custom and practice, observances, agreements) makes the giving and receipt of instructions far from simple. Two types of 'rule' have evolved: · 'Substantive', determining basic pay and conditions of service (what rewards workers should receive); · 'Procedural,' determining how workers should be treated and methods and procedures. Determining these rules are many common sense matters like: Financial, policy and market constraints on the parties (e.g. some unions do not have the finance to support industrial action, some have policies not to strike, some employers are more vulnerable than others to industrial action, some will not make changes unless worker agreement is made first, and rewards always ultimately reflect what the market will bear); the technology of production (the effect of a strike in newspaper production is immediate -it may be months before becoming effective in shipbuilding); the distribution of power within the community - that tends to vary over time and with economic conditions workers (or unions) dominating in times of full employment and employers in times of recession. Broadly in the Western style economies the parties (workers and employers) are free to make their own agreements and rules. This is called 'voluntarism'. But it does not mean there is total noninterference by the government. That is necessary to: · Protect the weak (hence minimum wage); · Outlaw discrimination (race or sex); · Determine minimum standards of safety, health, hygiene and even important conditions of service; · To try to prevent the abuse of power by either party. The personnel manager's involvement in the system of industrial relations varies from organization to organization, but normally he or she is required to provide seven identifiable functions, thus: 1. To keep abreast of industrial law (legislation and precedents) and to advise managers about their responsibilities e.g. to observe requirements in respect of employing disabled persons, not to discriminate, not to disclose 'spent' convictions of employees, to observe codes of practice etc. in relation to discipline and redundancy, and similarly to determine organizational policies (in conjunction with other managers) relevant to legal and moral requirements (see also 4.). 2. To conduct (or assist in the conduct) of either local negotiations (within the plant) or similarly to act as the employer's representative in national negotiations. This could be as a critic or advisor in respect of trade etc. association policies or as a member of a trade association negotiating team. Agreements could be in respect of substantive or procedural matters. Even if not directly involved the personnel manager will advise other managers and administrators of the outcome of negotiations. 3. To ensure that agreements reached are interpreted so as to make sense to those who must operate them at the appropriate level within the organization (this can involve a lot of new learning at supervisory level and new pay procedures and new recording requirements in administration and even the teaching of new employment concepts – like stagger systems of work - at management level). 4. To monitor the observance of agreements and to produce policies that ensure that agreements are followed within the organization. An example would be the policy to be followed on the appointment of a new but experienced recruit in relation to the offered salary where there is a choice of increments to be given for experience, ability or qualification. 5. To correct the situations which go wrong. 'Face' is of some importance in most organizations and operating at a 'remote' staff level personnel managers can correct industrial relations errors made at local level without occasioning any loss of dignity (face) at the working level. 'Human resource management' and the obscurity of its reasoning can be blamed for matters which go wrong at plant level and for unwelcome changes, variations of comfortable 'arrangements' and practices and unpopular interpretation of agreements. 6. To provide the impetus (and often devise the machinery) for the introduction of joint consultation and worker participation in decision-making in the organization. Formal agreement in respect of working conditions and behavior could never cover every situation likely to arise. Moreover the more demanding the task (in terms of the mental contribution by the worker to its completion) the more highly–educated the workers need to be and the more they will want to be consulted about and involved in the details of work life. Matters like the rules for a flexitime system or for determining the correction of absenteeism and the contents of jobs are three examples of the sort of matters that may be solely decided by management in some organizations but a matter for joint consultation (not negotiation) in others with a more twenty-first-century outlook and philosophy. Human resource management is very involved in promoting and originating ideas in this field. 7. To provide statistics and information about workforce numbers, costs, skills etc. as relevant to negotiations (i.e. the cost of pay rises or compromise proposals, effect on differentials and possible recruitment/retention consequences of this or whether agreement needs to be known instantly); to maintain personnel records of training, experience, achievements, qualifications, awards and possibly pension and other records; to produce data of interest to management in respect of personnel matters like absentee figures and costs, statistics of sickness absence, costs of welfare and other employee services, statements about development in policies by other organizations, ideas for innovations; to advise upon or operate directly, grievance, redundancy, disciplinary and other procedures. Next | HR Function 6 Employee services Human Resource Management Function 6 | Provision of employee services Attention to the mental and physical well-being of employees is normal in many organizations as a means of keeping good staff and attracting others. The forms this welfare can take are many and varied, from loans to the needy to counseling in respect of personal problems. Among the activities regarded as normal are: · Schemes for occupational sick pay, extended sick leave and access to the firm's medical adviser; · Schemes for bereavement or other special leave; · The rehabilitation of injured/unfit/ disabled employees and temporary or permanent move to lighter work; · The maintenance of disablement statistics and registers (there are complicated legal requirements in respect of quotas of disabled workers and a need for 'certificates' where quota are not fulfilled and recruitment must take place); · Provision of financial and other support for sports, social, hobbies, activities of many kinds which are work related; · Provision of canteens and other catering facilities; · Possibly assistance with financial and other aid to employees in difficulty (supervision, maybe, of an employee managed benevolent fund or scheme); · Provision of information handbooks, · Running of pre-retirement courses and similar fringe activities; · Care for the welfare aspects of health and safety legislation and provision of first-aid training. The location of the health and safety function within the organization varies. Commonly a split of responsibilities exists under which 'production' or 'engineering' management cares for the provision of safe systems of work and safe places and machines etc., but HRM is responsible for administration, training and education in awareness and understanding of the law, and for the alerting of all levels to new requirements. Next | HR Function 7 Employee training / development and education Human Resource Management Function 7 | Employee education, training and development In general, education is 'mind preparation' and is carried out remote from the actual work area, training is the systematic development of the attitude, knowledge, skill pattern required by a person to perform a given task or job adequately and development is 'the growth of the individual in terms of ability, understanding and awareness'. Within an organization all three are necessary in order to: · Develop workers to undertake higher-grade tasks; · Provide the conventional training of new and young workers (e.g. as apprentices, clerks, etc.); · Raise efficiency and standards of performance; · Meet legislative requirements (e.g. health and safety); · Inform people (induction training, pre-retirement courses, etc.); From time to time meet special needs arising from technical, legislative, and knowledge need changes. Meeting these needs is achieved via the 'training loop'. (Schematic available in PDF version.) The diagnosis of other than conventional needs is complex and often depends upon the intuition or personal experience of managers and needs revealed by deficiencies. Sources of inspiration include: · Common sense - it is often obvious that new machines, work systems, task requirements and changes in job content will require workers to be prepared; · Shortcomings revealed by statistics of output per head, performance indices, unit costs, etc. and behavioral failures revealed by absentee figures, lateness, sickness etc. records; · Recommendations of government and industry training organizations; · Inspiration and innovations of individual managers and supervisors; · Forecasts and predictions about staffing needs; · Inspirations prompted by the technical press, training journals, reports of the experience of others; · The suggestions made by specialist (e.g. education and training officers, safety engineers, work-study staff and management services personnel). Designing training is far more than devising courses; it can include activities such as: · Learning from observation of trained workers; · Receiving coaching from seniors; · Discovery as the result of working party, project team membership or attendance at meetings; · Job swaps within and without the organization; · Undertaking planned reading, or follow from the use of self–teaching texts and video tapes; · Learning via involvement in research, report writing and visiting other works or organizations. So far as group training is concerned in addition to formal courses there are: · Lectures and talks by senior or specialist managers; · Discussion group (conference and meeting) activities; · Briefing by senior staffs; · Role-playing exercises and simulation of actual conditions; · Video and computer teaching activities; · Case studies (and discussion) tests, quizzes, panel 'games', group forums, observation exercises and inspection and reporting techniques. Evaluation of the effectiveness of training is done to ensure that it is cost effective, to identify needs to modify or extend what is being provided, to reveal new needs and redefine priorities and most of all to ensure that the objectives of the training are being met. The latter may not be easy to ascertain where results cannot be measured mathematically. In the case of attitude and behavioral changes sought, leadership abilities, drive and ambition fostered, etc., achievement is a matter of the judgment of senior staffs. Exact validation might be impossible but unless on the whole the judgments are favorable the cooperation of managers in identifying needs, releasing personnel and assisting in training ventures will cease. In making their judgments senior managers will question whether the efforts expended have produced: · More effective, efficient, flexible employees; · Faster results in making newcomers knowledgeable and effective than would follow from experience; · More effective or efficient use of machinery, equipment and work procedures; · Fewer requirements to implement redundancy (by retraining); · Fewer accidents both personal and to property; · Improvements in the qualifications of staff and their ability to take on tougher roles; · Better employee loyalty to the organization with more willingness to innovate and accept change. Next | Developing a human resource strategy Human Resource Management Developing a strategy - overview | Overview | Steps | Faced with rapid change organizations need to develop a more focused and coherent approach to managing people. In just the same way a business requires a marketing or information technology strategy it also requires a human resource or people strategy. In developing such a strategy two critical questions must be addressed. · What kinds of people do you need to manage and run your business to meet your strategic business objectives? · What people programs and initiatives must be designed and implemented to attract, develop and retain staff to compete effectively? In order to answer these questions four key dimensions of an organization must be addressed. These are: · Culture: the beliefs, values, norms and management style of the organization · Organization: the structure, job roles and reporting lines of the organization · People: the skill levels, staff potential and management capability · Human resources systems: the people focused mechanisms which deliver the strategy - employee selection, communications, training, rewards, career development, etc. Frequently in managing the people element of their business senior managers will only focus on one or two dimensions and neglect to deal with the others. Typically, companies reorganize their structures to free managers from bureaucracy and drive for more entrepreneurial flair but then fail to adjust their training or reward systems. When the desired entrepreneurial behavior does not emerge managers frequently look confused at the apparent failure of the changes to deliver results. The fact is that seldom can you focus on only one area. What is required is a strategic perspective aimed at identifying the relationship between all four dimensions. If you require an organization which really values quality and service you not only have to retrain staff, you must also review the organization, reward, appraisal and communications systems. The pay and reward system is a classic problem in this area. Frequently organizations have payment systems which are designed around the volume of output produced. If you then seek to develop a company which emphasizes the product's quality you must change the pay systems. Otherwise you have a contradiction between what the chief executive is saying about quality and what your payment system is encouraging staff to do. There are seven steps to developing a human resource strategy and the active involvement of senior line managers should be sought throughout the approach. Next | HR Strategy development steps Human Resource Management Developing a strategy - steps | Overview | Steps | Step 1 Get the 'big picture' Understand your business strategy. · Highlight the key driving forces of your business. What are they? e.g. technology, distribution, competition, the markets. · What are the implications of the driving forces for the people side of your business? · What is the fundamental people contribution to bottom line business performance? Step 2 Develop a Mission Statement or Statement of Intent That relates to the people side of the business. Do not be put off by negative reactions to the words or references to idealistic statements - it is the actual process of thinking through the issues in a formal and explicit manner that is important. · What do your people contribute? Step 3 Conduct a SWOT analysis of the organization Focus on the internal strengths and weaknesses of the people side of the business. · Consider the current skill and capability issues. Vigorously research the external business and market environment. High light the opportunities and threats relating to the people side of the business. · What impact will/ might they have on business performance? · Consider skill shortages? · The impact of new technology on staffing levels? From this analysis you then need to review the capability of your personnel department. Complete a SWOT analysis of the department - consider in detail the department's current areas of operation, the service levels and competences of your personnel staff. Step 4 Conduct a detailed human resources analysis Concentrate on the organization's · culture, · organization, · people and · COPS (culture, organization, people, systems (HR)) Consider: Where you are now? Where do you want to be? What gaps exists between the reality of where you are now and where you want to be? Exhaust your analysis of the four dimensions. Step 5 Determine critical people issues Go back to the business strategy and examine it against your SWOT and COPS Analysis · Identify the critical people issues namely those people issues that you must address. Those which have a key impact on the delivery of your business strategy. · Prioritize the critical people issues. What will happen if you fail to address them? Remember you are trying to identify where you should be focusing your efforts and resources. Step 6 Develop consequences and solutions For each critical issue highlight the options for managerial action generate, elaborate and create - don't go for the obvious. This is an important step as frequently people jump for the known rather than challenge existing assumptions about the way things have been done in the past. Think about the consequences of taking various courses of action. Consider the mix of HR systems needed to address the issues. Do you need to improve communications, training or pay? What are the implications for the business and the personnel function? Once you have worked through the process it should then be possible to translate the action plan into broad objectives. These will need to be broken down into the specialist HR Systems areas of: · employee training and development · management development · organization development · performance appraisal · employee reward · employee selection and recruitment · manpower planning · communication Develop your action plan around the critical issues. Set targets and dates for the accomplishment of the key objectives. Step 7 Implementation and evaluation of the action plans The ultimate purpose of developing a human resource strategy is to ensure that the objectives set are mutually supportive so that the reward and payment systems are integrated with employee training and career development plans. There is very little value or benefit in training people only to then frustrate them through a failure to provide ample career and development opportunities. Next | HR Diagnostic checklist Human resource management HRM diagnostic checklist The following check-lists present some questions which may prove helpful for you to think about when planning your development programs for human resources (your people) in your organization. Use them to provoke thought and to stimulate discussion. Consult with others in your organization. They will help you to identify the critical human resource issues facing your organization. The aim is to begin to explore how a considered and planned approach to people management can improve business performance, to the benefit of all. Use this checklist in conjunction with our team building diagnostic instrument. It will, via your team members responses identify critical issues they perceive as important. These issues may be at odds with your own perceptions and analysis and therefore any such discrepancy will need to be addressed. Warning Indicators Your organization is more than likely in trouble if any of the following holds true: · chronic industrial relations problems · no means of resolving employee grievances · increasing / erratic employee turnover · increasing number of customer complaints · no pride in the organization · inter-group conflicts · no career paths for ambitious talented employees · dissatisfaction with pay and conditions · unclear job roles · no clear performance measures · quality is unimportant · bad product service / delivery records · poor recruitment standards / practices · no management development programs · no induction training for new employees · critical skill shortages · inter-departmental conflict · you do not know if any of the above are applicable · you ignore any of the above Culture, organization, people, systems (COPS), checklist Culture · Do your staff identify with the organization and 'the success of the organization' as being of direct benefit to themselves? · Do your staff see themselves as having common interests with their work colleagues and group? Is there a strong team spirit? · Is work allocated on the basis of individual expertise rather than position in the organization? · Are there sufficient skills / power bases in the organization? · Are there appropriate leadership skills within the organization? · Are your staff encouraged to say what they think about the organization? · Does your organization encourage innovation and creativity amongst staff? · Do your staff feel a sense of personal responsibility for their work? · Is quality emphasized in all aspects of the organization? Organization · Does the structure of your organization encourage effective performance? · Is the organization structure flexible in the face of changing demands? · Is the structure too complex? If so in what areas? · Do your staff have clear roles and responsibilities? · Does your organization structure tend to push problems up rather than resolve them at the point where they occur? · Do your procedures and management practices facilitate the accomplishment of tasks? · Do you constantly seek to challenge your organization structure? People · Do your staff have the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their jobs in the most effective manner? · Do your staff understand their jobs and how they contribute to overall business performance i.e. have clear goals and objectives? · Do your staff have a customer service orientation? · Are people with potential spotted and developed for the future? · Are your staff encouraged to perform well through the giving of recognition, feedback, etc.? · Do your people know what their expected performance standards are? Systems · Do your organization's systems (e.g. employee selection and recruitment, promotion, planning, management, information and control) encourage effective performance among your staff? · Are these systems consistent across the organization? · Are there clear rewards for effective performance within your work group? · Does the organization review its systems frequently and ensure they mutually support each other? You may now wish to consider and write down: · What are the three critical people issues facing your business? · What plans /actions can you take to address these issues? To help you further, click on this team building link and have your people tell you the issues confronting them in the workplace. Next | Importance and application of Ergonomics TEAM BUILDING Do you need to: · Get to the root causes of poor work relations? · Increase productivity and efficiency? · Improve the way your team members interact? · Improve their ability to solve problems? · Improve morale? · Improve your managerial and leadership skills? · Clearly define objectives and goals? · Improve support and trust levels among employees? · Develop healthy inter-group relations? · Reduce unhealthy conflict? · Reduce stress in your workplace? Accel Teams' Outline Team building program will help you achieve these team goals. It will go where other team building resources (games, ideas, training) etc. do not go. Why other team building exercises, games and activities DON'T work Essentially, the answer to this question is because such exercises, games and activities are divorced from the real workplace situation. Furthermore, they fail to empower the delegates attending such sessions with the necessary skills, knowledge and power bases to diagnose the organizational climate and effect the necessary changes. In addition, such events are usually aimed at one particular hierarchical level in an organization (how can there be team work back on the job, if say only middle management are given the opportunity to attend?) Delegates return to their workplaces facing the same, seemingly insurmountable, problems that prevent team work (good work relations) and hence improved productivity. The end result? Vendors of such team building events benefit from such lucrative business, training and development departments 'justify' their existence, the delegates may get a temporary rush of enthusiasm and employers suffer the costs, not to mention the added costs associated with an under-performing organization. In other words, the before and after situation remains the same, and will continue to remain the same until external pressures from outside the organization, FORCE internal change. As most of us know, such change is not pleasant. What this team building exercise from Accel-Team.Com does Our exercise considers team work (and hence team building) to be a function of goals, procedures, roles and structures, in the organization under review thus: It does NOT attempt to inculcate individual members of an organization with a sense of belonging to a team, or the desire to be part of such a team. In poorly managed organizations (where the above team building function is not optimized) people will have likely formed their own 'teams' known as informal workgroups. These informal 'teams' can be counter productive and have aims that contrast with those of the organization. In organizations that understand the above function, goals, procedures roles and structures have been optimized and are constantly reviewed. They have a management that displays leadership and fairness. In such organizations the business process and it's constituent sub-systems run smoothly (with built in 'slack') In these organizations the need for team building, and team building exercises, games and activities is reduced- people naturally work together at all levels. If you are reading these words because you were looking for some sort of team building resource that would inter alia, inculcated your people with the desire to work together, reveal the benefits of working together as a team, give a quick lift to jaded spirits etc. you might like to take consider: · What is performed in your department and your organization? · How it is performed? · When it is performed? · Where it is performed? · Who performs what? Consider how efficiently and effectively these dimensions are performed in your organization. Consider these factors in terms of goals, procedures, roles and structures. Then consider and list any real benefits of the alternative team building resources you are seeking out, to aid team work, that do NOT attempt to change things in the business process. If you know that your business systems, processes and procedures are not working, that's at least an amber light. Doing ropes courses, utilizing various team building activities etc. will not switch the light to green, sooner or later (you probably know this already) the light will change to red, and change will be forced, from above or from outside. Those alternative team building resources you may be considering or have considered, are akin (to mix metaphors) dressing a gangrenous wound with ointment, in an attempt to prevent the inevitable. Overview of how the exercise works · Our team building exercise BEGINS with a thorough audit of the workplace, (1 team building diagnostic exercise, plus a number of team building activities) by the individuals who work there, as many as possible or at least a representative sample, from ALL levels. They are requested to respond to a questionnaire. The questions ascertain their perceptions, individually and collectively, on the key variables in the organizational climate essential to team working. These key variables are revealed on the following pages. · You don't need expensive consultants in to do this exercise, it's self contained. Also, you or anybody else in your organization do not need to do any specialist training or development in order to conduct the whole exercise. · The results from the exercise, once (easily) processed, will give you all the information you need to plan the what, when, how, who and why of your team building development program and to make a significant contribution to improving productivity. · The exercise is not designed to make your people 'feel good' as a result of merely doing it or have them all miraculously start working together. This comes from determining what is wrong in the ORGANIZATION, then implementing an improved situation. We could predict, with a great degree of confidence, where these efforts will lie (based on 25 years experience in management services), but that would detract from you doing the exercise with your people. · Do the team building exercise and descriptive team building activities BEFORE you evaluate any other potential solution. You will be in a much better position to evaluate possible solutions, even if you feel making improvements is beyond your ability or willingness to follow through. These 2 tools will fully describe areas of weakness (plus strengths) and agreement on an visioned improve work / team situation, for such a small cost. They, your people, need to be brought into the team building process (when a leaders job is done his / her people will say 'WE did a good job' - old Chinese proverb.) Next | Team Building - Made Easy Team Building Exercise That is EASY to use and WILL achieve significant results! · Can be used by team leaders, supervisors, middle / senior managers, trainers, coaches, facilitators, technical / non-technical people. · It is applicable and appropriate to all organizations, irrespective of size or legal form, i.e. profit or non-profit, public or private. · It is jargon free, written in plain English, so that people at all levels of the organization can relate to the questions. You and your team members complete the extensive questionnaire, summarize the responses and determine the factors in your organizational environment that need immediate attention. Agree and prioritize the actions to be taken, the outcomes desired and a time scale for completion. Do the actions and observe how you all become so much more united because you have; · determined individually and collectively what is wrong, · used a tried, tested, independent and accurate instrument, · collectively formulated the actions and outcomes to be achieved and · achieved individually and collectively those outcomes! Powerful Instrument To Motivate Change The team building exercise, included in the program, will get to the root cause (or causes) of poor team working in your organization. It will reveal to you what, exactly, is wrong. What is more this will be done utilizing the perceptions of your people, the real experts on your organization, in your organization. Why call in expensive consultants when your people already know the problem or problems? They just need to organize and clarify their thinking using a structured approach and this exercise will do just that, articulating their thoughts, clearly and concisely. You cannot begin to tackle any problem, unless you clearly define what the problem is in the first place. When you and your colleagues have completed this exercise, you will have clearly defined what the problem is that is holding back teamwork. It sounds simple and it is just that. The basic process entails, setting up the exercise (i.e. selecting those to undertake the exercise), doing the exercise, processing the results (easy using a spreadsheet,) then discussing the results to add details to the results. An Exercise That Will Achieve Significant Results In Your Organization · Complete the team building exercise activity questionnaire, process your results and you can begin your team building. · You will quickly and easily identify the dimensions) that are holding back your team, from the 9 dimensions critical to successful team building. · Using our instrument you will produce quantitative data on your organization in relation to these key dimensions. · You will be able to have others in your organization undertake the exercise. Compare, contrast and discus the results. Then devise an action plan to address the issues highlighted. · Study the associated very useful lecturettes (one for each of the 9 team building dimensions measured,) to help develop understanding and determine the potential areas for improvement. Next | Team Building Dimensions Ergonomics Introduction Fitting the task to the person is ergonomics. Good ergonomics · shortens learning times, · makes the job quicker with less fatigue, · improves care of machines, · reduces absenteeism, · labor turnover and other signs of worker malcontent, and · meets the requirements of health and safety legislation. Within management services various principles exist; for example, · work-place design, · motion economy, · rest allowances, · job satisfaction and · environmental control, which have for at least 50 years been taught and applied on a semi-empirical basis, and all of which are orientated around the worker. Starting with the Industrial Fatigue Research Board in 1919, scientific advances in the study of the human at work have shown that the application of scientific understanding of anatomy, physiology and psychology results in improved productivity, thus ergonomists will have received formal education at degree level in these subjects. Although they may seek to operate directly on the shop floor or in the office, they will often be naive concerning some of the harder facts of industrial and commercial life and will therefore work much better via the management services department. On the other hand some people in management services, in their lack of scientific knowledge, try to apply commonsense solutions to ergonomic problems that subsequently backfire on them. Ergonomic principles are much better described in some books (e.g. Murrell (1965), Grandjean (1969)) than in others. The main snag with many scientific authors is their lack of industrial experience. Conversely many industrial writers have no formal scientific training; their books are merely restatements of what they themselves have read elsewhere. This section will describe the application of ergonomics within a broad area of the subject. Readers are recommended to consult books listed in the references (in the PDF version) for a full description of ergonomics. There is no point in restating that which will be found better written elsewhere. Next | Ergonomics and anatomical problems

Caring for the customer

KISHOR'S POSTS A customer service personnel who was tried of his job, quit and joined the police force. Months later a friend asked him how he liked being a policeman. “Well,” he replied, “the pay and the hours are good but what I like best of all is that the customer is always wrong!” when we talk of “customer care” many have no clue or the professionalism involved. Everyone has a different perception of what customer care is. The simple rules of business etiquette with regard to customer service state that to establish personal credibility with the client and build a relationship of mutual trust and respect, the attitude of putting service first is the key. Unless you have a product which no one else has, clients have choices and they buy not only the product or service you have but also their impressions of the company in general. However brief your contact with a customer, your behaviour must reinforce the trust and competence you show in your business. Let’s look at the basic code of conduct for customer care. · Show respect for customers, even if they cannot afford your product or service and only want to look. The manner in which you greet customers, the consideration you show, and the courtesy you practice will show the customer that you are not judgmental about their financial status. · Be responsible to your clients. Once someone comes to do business with you, do not give them a bad time. Do not allow people to suffer when they have to pay to do business with you. · Be tactful and diplomatic when dealing with customers who are upset. This is a skill that service providers must learn. Being calm and professional is the key when you are dealing with a customer who is throwing a tantrum. · Be punctual. It is very rude to keep your clients waiting. Punctuality is a virtue and it shows respect. When you keep time, you value other people’s time. When you are perpetually late, the message you are giving is that you are more important than others. It shows up your ego and arrogance. · Provide the right information to your customers. You are morally obliged to inform them about new products and services, problems that occur with the business, production schedules so that clients have no surprises. Provision of the right information at the right time and place to right person is the only way a company survives in business. · Customers have rights and you must respect them. Your customers may have their own small businesses and you must respect their work culture. If you are not happy with the way they do business with you, tell them politely what you will stand for and see if they agree with the plans you have. If not you are entitled to take your business elsewhere. · Look after your clients, it is important to train your staff to keep an update of all your customers. Information and little details help you nurture your customers and the goodwill created will be invaluable. · Review you client list on a regular basis. Find out if doing business with certain clients is beneficial or are they a drag on your business. Some clients are wonderful and keeping them happy should be your main aim. On the other hand, if a good client has stopped doing business with you, there must be something wrong. Get feedback, ask for comments, fin out the issues that have brought about the decision and see if you can rectify the problem. · *Encourage feedback from all your customers with regard to your products and service. Evaluation is good and feedback is the only way we can improve ourselves. · Mind your manners. Basic courtesies cannot be ignored. Your “please”, “thank you” and “sorry” are words that make or break a relationship and in the business world, they make a lot of difference. · All clients are important. I realize how tempting it is to favour the rich and famous and I know how much they expect that special treatment Favoritism and discrimination are practices often frowned upon by companies that really believe in customer care. This does not mean you cannot have “favored clients” and why not if someone patronizes your shop regularly. Have your favorites but do to discriminate and show favoritism. You hurt other customer’s feelings as they will thin they are not important enough for your consideration. Anyone in business knows that getting the right people to provide the right kind of service is a problem. The attitude must be right, the skills must be learnt and the staff must have the right mix of product knowledge, service skills, the motivation and mental make-up to do that right thing so that the customer is happy with the product and the service provided.