Role of Line Managers - Term Paper Example

Introduction to Human Resource Management In view of the dramatic changes occurring in the business environment, organisations are impelled to act dynamically in order to survive. This results in the restructuring of organisational functions particularly human resource and development. Traditionally, the role of human resource managers is perceived only as an administrative function. However, these conventional human resource functions including hiring, performance reviewing, firing, training, career development and program development have been shifted to line managers (Lancourt and Savage 1995). Such leaves us with the thought of whether the role of human resource managers has become obsolete for most organisations. This paper provides an overview of the job scope of both the line managers and human resource managers in contemporary organisations. It also evaluates how the roles of each contribute to the overall organisational effectiveness. In addition, this paper highlights the significance of the role of human resource managers in light of the transformations in their function to be able to address the composite needs of modern companies. Role of Line Managers Aside from ensuring that their respective departments have attained their operational goals, line managers, nowadays are deemed to play a critical part in talent management (Pringle 2004). As line managers directly deal with the employees, they are tasked not only with managing the business but the people, who are assets as well. In this regard, the human resource functional responsibilities in contemporary organisations are returned to the natural owners, the line managers, who are held accountable for their contribution to the improvement of employee performance. (Donaldson 2004) As the prevailing trend involves the primary aim of bringing staff and management closer to foster better organisational communication and goal congruence, line managers are gradually empowered to take on functions previously under the job scope of human resource managers (Mak 2005). The new ways of organising firms lead to the convergence of management of organisational competencies and individual competencies, thus, line managers are increasingly taking a part in the human resource aspect of the business (Tjepkema et al 2002). For instance, according to studies regarding human resource functions in various organisations, it is observed that some companies have shifted traditional human resource functions such as job interviews, performance evaluation, training and program development (Lancourt & Savage 1995). In terms of recruiting, line managers are given the final say and responsibility in selecting staff. In some organisations, they are also tasked to assess the potential employees' attitude and skills to ensure that these are in line with their organisational culture. As such, they are able to shape their own team by hiring and retaining staff whom they believe would complement their group. (Mak 2005) Moreover, line managers are held accountable for coaching, guiding and developing their own staff (Mak 2005). These functions are vital for organisational effectiveness because they bridge the gap between the goals of the organisation as promoted by the officers and individual career aspirations of the staff (Pringle 2004). As the responsibility of people management is already delegated to line managers (Donaldson 2004), it is then imperative for them find ways and means to motivate their staff and highlight their strengths by developing their potentials. Undertaking appropriate methods of employee motivation would ensure the optimal performance of the staff. Such has a direct bearing on the productivity and therefore on organisational efficiency. By keeping employees motivated, they are able to deliver high quality performance and meet or even surpass operational targets. As a result, their respective organisations substantially benefit from the maximisation of labor productivity. However, as line managers are envisioned to play a key role in human resource practices, some are observed to encounter difficulties in assuming these new tasks. This is often attributed to their current workload, lack of awareness regarding human resource functions and lack of people management skills in general. Furthermore, some line managers find it hard to fulfill the said role due to their established views regarding personnel activities. (Tjepkema et al 2002) Role of Human Resource Managers To foster better understanding of the roles of human resource managers in modern organisations, Sullivan divided their job scope into five levels. The first level involves information management and basic transactions. In some organisations that still adhere to the oldest and most elementary human resource services, this level includes the processing of new-hire documentation, payroll, as well as addressing queries pertaining to these matters. The second level involves the provision of functional services such as staffing, employee relations and training. Moreover, this level may include formation of standardized processes and guidelines relative to recruitment, setting of salary levels and evaluation of status of talent management efforts. (Sullivan) As mentioned, the above functions have gradually been devolved to the line managers who directly relate with their staff. With this, the career path of human resource managers has been opened for an expanded contribution in relation to the overall business strategy. The restructuring in the delegation of human resource functions is captured by the third to fifth levels of the roles of human resource managers emphasized by Sullivan. The third level translates to the increasing or maximising employee productivity and developing of appropriate metrics for evaluating efficiency. This entails the involvement of human resource managers in cultivating programs that would augment the value of employee output and regulate average labor cost. Such initiatives include the development of tools and strategies to retain key employees, redeployment of employees from areas of low business impact to high and spearheading of non-monetary motivation and recognition systems. (Sullivan) With the advent of the knowledge-based economy, under this level, the human resource manager is also concerned with knowledge management by coordinating efforts for knowledge capture, sharing and management. As companies become learning-based organisations that explicitly encourage and support worker learning, human resource managers now assume the role of identifying learning needs of employees, stimulating learning efforts through knowledge sharing and ensuring continuous learning of their entire organisations. (Tjepkema et al 2002) In this regard, human resource managers are tasked to design a compensation scheme such that rewards system would foster and acknowledge employees' input to the organisational knowledge system. They also have the responsibility of organising staff training taking into account their organisations' present and future knowledge requirements (Lasky & Tare 2002) The fourth level of the human resource managers' roles indicates a major transition point as they are recognized to provide strategic contribution by developing organisations' competitive advantage through implementation of enhancement programs for employees' talents, the quality of which should be at par with other companies'. Previously, human resource function was internally focused. However, substantial changes have occurred such that human resource efforts now take on an external environment component. With this, human resource managers undertake competitive analysis of people programs offered by competing organisations and conduct competitive intelligence gathering. By doing these, they are able to identify and exploit weaknesses exhibited by their competitors. (Sullivan) Aside from these, human resource managers also conduct workforce planning, productivity forecasting and employment branding in building their organisations' competitive advantage. It should be noted that there are only selected organisations that have funded efforts for this human resource undertaking. (Sullivan) The final level of the role of human resource managers signifies the highest point of their work to which some are not yet accustomed to. The last level involves the development of solutions to address strategic business problems and opportunities (Sullivan). In this regard, human resource managers are deemed as strategic partners of both the senior management and line managers. They are now perceived as internal customer relationship managers with companies in relation to the industry in which they engage. Given the changing dynamics of the business environment, the role of human resource managers has evolved into fully-fledged business partners and goes beyond the implementation of personnel strategies. (How HR manager's role is expanding 2001) This aspect of human resource managers' role creates the need for these professionals in organisations despite the devolution of their administrative and personnel management functions to line managers. Competent human resource managers are being directly involved in the creative sculpturing of the organisations' future. (How HR manager's role is expanding 2001) As strategic partners, they should be able to combine short term and medium term outlook by taking a transformational approach in redefining the business and encouraging renewal to enhance organisational efficiency (How HR manager's role is expanding 2001). Furthermore, they actually contribute to the realisation and accomplishment of organisational plans by being involved in the promotions of flexibility or adaptive behaviors (Heathfield). Given these reshaped functions, human resource managers have substantial participation in succession planning or development planning. As such, effective human resource managers are able to envision their organisations' future and the path they are intending to pursue. They should be aware of their organisations' business processes as well as their operational and financial strategies to be able to forecast their organisations' skill requirements in the near term (Pophal 1999). Human resource managers also help define their organisation's culture. This function is crucial particularly in cases of mergers and acquisitions. They should be able to facilitate the cultural transition by lending support to the staff and management through orientations and seminars. This is important because staff and management adaptation would have significant effects on their performance and productivity. (Lancourt & Savage 1995) Besides these, as strategic partners, human resource managers assist line managers in personnel management. As mentioned, some line managers are encountering difficulties in handling the people management dimension of their jobs. Given this, human resource managers help line managers to cope with distinct function. Moreover, modern human resource managers tend to focus on mentoring, diversification of services offered and on other areas such as advice on stress, harassment, bullying and other critical issues in the workplace. They also play greater role in civil litigation and media exposure to help hone organisational image and enhance bottom line figures. (How HR manager's role is expanding 2001) In view of the above, it can be seen that human resource function has become a value-adding function of organisations. In this regard, human resource managers have become more financially-focused and accountable for bottom-line results in a broad range of areas. (How HR manager's role is expanding 2001) Conclusion Given the above discussion, we have seen how line managers have become more involved in the aspect of personnel management. However, such does not mean that human resource managers have become expendable executives in organisations. The role of human resource managers have evolved from being administrative in nature to being strategic partners of both management and employees. In this regard, human resource managers have become critical participants in business planning as they are directly responsible for determining their organisations' learning needs and skills requirements in line with the organisational strategy. With this, they help in shaping their organisations' culture and future by promoting enhancement of productivity. It is also important to note that as some line managers are having difficulties in assuming their human resource function, human resource managers, in the same way, are facing uncertainties regarding their new role and how this should be put into practice (Tjepkema et al 2002). In this regard, both line managers and human resource managers should be prepared and committed to retrain themselves with regard to fulfilling their new duties. They may opt to involve themselves in competency development programs relative to these changes in order to better equip themselves for the future and address the changing needs of their organisation. Aside from these, the functions of both line managers and human resource managers should also be defined and recognised by the top management so that there is clear delineation of duties. Works Cited Donaldson, D. "Partnering with Business Managers", (Human Resource Magazine), Available: http://www.humanresourcemagazine.com.au/articles/IF/0C02111F.asptype=60&cCategory=884 (Accessed: 16 November 2005). Heathfield, S. "The New Roles of the Human Resources Professional", (About.com), Available: http://humanresources.about.com/od/hrbasicsfaq/a/hr_role.htm (Accessed: 16 November 2005). "How HR manager's role is expanding", (08 July 2001), (Business Post), Available: http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2001/07/08/story573180928.asp (Accessed: 16 November 2005). Lancourt, J. and Savage, C. (1995). "Organizational Transformation and the Changing Role of the Human Resource Function", Compensation and Benefits Management, vol. 11, no. 4. Lasky, Barbara and Tare, M. (2002). "Knowledge Management: A 21St Century Role for the Human Resource Professional" , (Swinburne University of Technology), Available: http://www.kmcenter.info/Documents/Lasky&Tare.pdf (Accessed: 16 November 2005). Mak, C. (2005). "Line managers take on HR duties", (Career Times), Available: http://www.careertimes.com.hk/english/employers/mgmt/features/PHCXX_3009200501.asppage=1&browser=ie (Accessed: 16 November 2005). Pophal, L.G. (1999). "Taking your seat at the table - role of Human Resource managers in companies", HR Magazine, March 1999. Pringle, S. (2004). "Laying it on the line - why line managers must be talent managers", (Management-Issues.com), Available: http://www.management-issues.com (Accessed: 16 November 2005). Sullivan, J. "Clarifying the strategic role of HR", (Workinfo.com), Available: http://www.workinfo.com/free/Downloads/187.htm (Accessed: 16 November 2005). Tjepkema, S., et al. (2002). HRD and learning organisations in Europe. London: Routledge, Available: http://www.pjb.co.uk/npl/bp22.htm (Accessed: 16 November 2005). Read More