Human Resource Management in Multinational Banks in Tanzania - Research Paper Example

Human Resource Management in Multinational Banks in Tanzania Human Resource Management in Multinational Banks in Tanzania Introduction: Standard Bank The Standard Bank opened its operation in Tanzania in the 1995, right around the time that t he government had shifted away from its Ujamaa policy based on collective socialist ideas and instead opened up the market to competitive practices in order to boost the economy. The company is headquartered in South Africa and it brands itself as the “Gateway to Africa”. The case makes comparison between Standard Bank and US based Citibank which is also operating a number of branches in the country. However the management policies, organizational structure and culture of the two banks differ in some many important aspects as guided by their unique histories and country of association. Standard Bank provides a variety of specialized financial services to the local population and is focused on the small business needs of the area. They have a formal hierarchy and channels of communication which run from top to bottom; making use of specific technology and softwares to manage their transactions smoothly. The strategic decisions, including HR functions are made in the Head Office with full operational control of all the activities taking place in each regional branch. The directives from the Head Office are issued to the regional Head Office and then passed on to the country branches. The Branch representatives are responsible for monitoring and implementing all the directives and for maintaining the company culture. Utilizing traditional African ideas and values the bank has a team based approach which fosters collective work mindset and a relaxed work environment. There is a structure enforced through physical space but communication is free flowing and relaxed with a mix of Swahili and English. The company is concerned with the personal and professional satisfaction of its employees stating that “The more we treat our employees fairly, the more they will work well for us” (Newenham-Kahindi, 2007). Standard Bank has strong training and development programs, bringing in expatriates for extensive training with smaller in-house training programs available as well. These training sessions incorporated input from the employees and allowed local participation. A worker’s committee made up of bank representatives also serves to protect employee welfare; even though it does not have autonomous decision making. In many ways the bank is attempting to be mindful of the local needs and the traditional work expectations. However some areas of improvement have to be management correctly as the bank moves forward. Need for a Performance Management System In recent years Standard Bank has been moving to adopt local institutional policies focusing on collective management and leadership. These included open appraisal systems which celebrated employee performance and allowing the incorporation of local culture and language into the company operations. Team based work is also encouraged and local input appreciated. The problem at this point according to the case is that the bank while moving towards a new management style is compromising on official policies. This is apparent in their recruitment strategy of referrals which while acts as a bonus for employees working there (as they can refer family members and secure jobs in volatile economic climate) it nevertheless goes against their policy of merit based hiring. The system also means that there is discrimination on basis of age and gender as older males will usually be up for team lead positions and functionally important jobs. Promotions and salary increments are also expected to take into account these factors as practiced in a traditionally patriarchal society like that of Tanzania. This is causing contention amongst the younger and female employees. The bank requires its workers to have a myriad of professional skills including mathematical, communication and administrative skills (Plessisa, and Boonb, 2004) and it is highly concerned with increasing efficiency. Even if they don’t want to change their hiring practices, a robust performance management system will complement their visible appraisal system and go a long way towards appeasing the hard working employees. A performance management system can be defined as “continuous process of identifying, measuring and developing performance in organizations buy linking each individual’s performance and objectives to the organizations overall mission and goal.” (Aguinis, 2011) Right now the employees know they are being rewarded but it would be also helpful if they are guided about why they are being rewarded and how they can further achieve professional success. While there may be some resistance from the employees who are used to the team based performance and seniority based promotions the dual benefit for Standard Bank will be in the form of identifying strong candidates from the new recruits from referrals and providing increased motivation to the high performing employees. All of this will have a positive effect on overall efficiency. Planning a More effective system The company has strength in the form of employee loyalty. But it also has to emphasize performance. A Performance Management System will either have to be officially endorsed by the Head Office in order to be effective or the Tanzanian Head Office should be given the authority to carry out the process on its own. In either case the following steps should be taken in order to develop the system: 1. Define and understand company mission, vision and long term strategy 2. Determine the necessary skills, behaviors and results that are needed in the employees in order to achieve the goals and strategy (Waal, 2002). 3. Develop the tools to measure the performance against these metrics. This can include a formal appraisal form, an appraisal schedule an appraisal review schedule (e.g the form will have to be filled by Branch Managers every quarter followed by an informal meeting with each employee and later the aggregate result will be sent over to the Head Office for final decision making. Another formal meeting can be held before or after the “Appraisal day” function to discuss the employee’s performance and future development or training needs) 4. The Performance Management System will have to be tied in to the training opportunities and compensation. Employees of a certain performance result must be eligible for developmental exercises (Plessisa and Boonb, 2004) or those on probation can be referred to basic training. In order to show effect, the routine promotions and increments must also be tied into the overall performance of employees. The company doesn’t need to sacrifice its team based culture to achieve this as these metrics can be incorporated within the appraisal itself. 5. A communication and grievance policy should be discussed with all employees so they are aware of the need for this new system and know their rights. 6. The Performance Management System should be periodically reviewed to ensure it is doing its function of highlighting the best and worst performances and helping management take better decisions with regards to dismissal and hiring. Governing Policy The Performance Management System should be governed locally by the regional Head Office until the point when aggregate performance results are available at the end of the year. The employees will be much more comfortable accepting the system if it is implemented and explained by the local, familiar management. Similarly training needs and probationary period should be authorized by local management who will be more aware of the needs of the employees. However the final decision regarding any dismissals or other strong actions will be with the company Head Office as keeping with the rigid hierarchy and control of the Standard Bank. This will keep the functions integrated and aligned with other branches in the African world. Tanzanian Culture and effective Communication The biggest challenge in the implementation of any new HR system is to gain acceptance in the eyes of the employees. The system will work its intended purpose i.e. to motivate employees and increase performance if all the employees are invested into participating in the system and accept it as fair, reliable and just. Given the current culture of the organization with shared workload and respect based on seniority, employees may not be willing to understand the benefits of the new appraisal system. Tanzania has a culture that emphasizes African “familyhood” with the qualities of family respect, mutual respect, shared work and equality “Ujamaa”. (Newenham-Kahindi, 2007 ) In such a culture individualism is not considered an important aspect for a person and individual achievements are not to be celebrated highly. However, economic necessity demands for each person to pull in their weight in working their respective jobs especially since the introduction of privatization policies of 1995 and the introduction of multinational style of management. This style in many of its forms has been successful all over the world with its emphasis on individual responsibility and merit based rewards. The communication for the new system should focus on these points to make the employees understand the necessity of such a system to remain competitive in the market place. Furthermore a connection can be made between individual hard work and the benefit it will provide to a person’s family and community. The appraisal system will show direct reward for the person’s work and skills and these rewards should instill a sense of pride and motivation to work harder for betterment of one’s family and team (Waal, 2002). The communication should be via Branch wide meetings with the representatives as well as written booklets highlighting each and every point of the system: Why the system has been implemented The tools to be used (sample appraisal form, meeting schedules) Benefits to the employees (direct link between work and reward and developmental opportunities) Benefits to the company ( high performance in the market, better prospects for its employees) Conclusion Once the Performance Management System has been effectively implemented the company should start to see the number of concerns by the younger and female employees go down. The major challenge will be to get the acceptance of the older employees to the new system but considering that the local management already has a good rapport with the local employees and has been respectful of the local expectations in the past, it should not be hard for them to earn the trust on this new initiative as well. Standard Bank has to remain competitive in the market and the system will help them develop their human resources to the necessary skill level by favoring the better performing employees. Tanzania as whole is moving towards a more modern form of economy and the bank should also be adopting equity and merit based policies for quick and confirmed growth. References Aguinis, H., (2011). Performance Management. Edinburgh Business School Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK. Atta-Asamoah, A., (2009).Overview of the Nature and Management of Diversity in Africa. Institute for Security Studies. United Nations. Avaialble at: http://www.un.org/africa/osaa/reports/Diversity%20in%20Africa_final%20version.pdf Mathauer, I.,  and Imhoff, I., (2006). Health worker motivation in Africa: the role of non- financial incentives and human resource management tools. Human Resources for Health 2006, 4:24  doi:10.1186/1478-4491-4-24 Newenham-Kahindi, A., (2007). Human Resource Management in Multinational Banks in Tanzania, Richard Ivey School of Business. Plessisa,M.D. and Boonb, J.A., (2004). Knowledge management in eBusiness and customer relationship management: South African case study findings. International Journal of Information Management, 24 (2004), 73–86. Waal, A.D.A., (2002). The role of behavioral factors in successful implementation and use of performance management systems. Performance Measurement and Management: Research And Action, Cranfield School of Management, UK. Read More