Performance and Human Resource Development - Essay Example

Performance and Human Resource Development Human capital is the most important asset of any organization and careful nurturing can yield rich dividends. Human Resource Development (HRD), as a function of management, encompasses all activities ranging from effective recruitment to separation. Personnel are hired to perform certain identified tasks, how effectively these are being done; identifying need for training and separating the performers from the non-performers are some issues that HRD addresses. In the management of any enterprise performance of the personnel is vital for achieving good results on a sustained basis. Management of performance, assessment (appraisal) of how an individual is performing and guiding/ motivating (counseling) them towards striving to achieve ever higher levels are integral to good HRD practice. These are part of an unending cycle that may be represented as: Performance Management Management of performance of employees is the key to the accomplishment of organizational objectives. This area is distinguished from the productive management of materials, machines and money. A happy, skilled and motivated team of employees will find ways to maximize productivity of other resources while the reverse is not true. Performance management is a process that starts with hiring and continues year after year through planning, task assignment and review, performance evaluation, assessment of potential and recognition. It is a method through which management plans and executes strategy in the most effective way. The aspects that distinguish this process are: PLANNING – Work is planned, keeping in mind objectives of the organization, and goals are set for the teams as well as individuals. A vital part of performance management, it can be made more effective with active participation of the personnel who will be responsible for execution of the plan. MONITIORING – Progress on all activities, assignments and projects is regularly monitored. This takes into account individual and group capability, workload and division of work. Keeping track of trends and corrective action based on progress and employee feedback, norms this part. DEVELOPING – Entails development of skills of employees to enhance their abilities to perform through education and training in existing areas and acquisition of new skills. It also involves simplification and improvement of work processes and methods with the aim of improving productivity while simultaneously creating a motivating atmosphere at the workplace. MOTIVATING – Keeping the morale of the employees up and motivating them to perform the given tasks with enthusiasm, care and diligence. The provision of good and friendly working atmosphere, unbiased and fair handling (perceived and actual) of all situations, maintaining good discipline, timely feedback and empowerment are some of the tools used. RATING – Is used for summarizing employees’ performance, it allows for comparison of the performance of the employee over time as well as with other employees. Performance appraisal in a structured manner helps in rating of employees to identify high performers and those who need further inputs to help them achieve targets set. REWARING – Appreciation of good performance and censure of poor performance form this part of the process. Appreciation and censure may take many forms like formal positive reception, salary hikes, promotions, lateral multitasking, demotions and outright termination of employment. Management of performance of employees thus forms the core of efficient and competent organizations. Goals are set and work planned out in detail with time frames established usually with the involvement of the individuals and groups concerned, standards are set while keeping in view skills required and capabilities of the individuals assigned to meet them. Performance Appraisal Performance assessment or appraisal is a process of audit of the effectiveness of each employee. It may be viewed as a contract between the organization and the employee explicitly specifying what is required of the individual (Matheson et al, p5). From a traditional viewpoint, performance appraisal serves two important functions that of counseling and identification of training needs. From a legal viewpoint also it is necessary to have a valid and reliable performance appraisal system in place since it impacts the employees’ status in the organization. The appraisal system must be (a) relevant to the job, and (b) should be a valid predictor of performance (Matheson et al). Assessment of performance is practiced in order to achieve specific targets that are integral to the efficient management of performance. Performance appraisal seeks to address: Feedback – This reinforces the strengths or helps in identifying and discussing (or counseling) the deficiencies in order to assist the employee in improving his/her efficiency, and, in some cases, attitudes. Career Development – In an attempt to further the career of the employee areas for acquisition of new skills, development of supervisory and management aptitudes and to address their career aspirations. Performance History –This is useful in making personnel related decisions as well as reimbursement decision-making. Record of the performance over a period of time assists in the planning of future activities. Organizational Goals – This is an excellent forum to convey the organizational goals to employees and to keep them focused on critical areas. It also provides an opportunity for aligning the ethos of the organization with that of the employee and bridging any perceived gaps (Grote & Grote, 2002, p38). Job Descriptions and Standards – division of work and responsibilities, assignment of tasks, laying down time schedules for completion and monitoring of progress also benefit from this. Several methods are used that have been developed by different thinkers on the subject. There is a school of thought that wishes to discard performance appraisal of individuals and shift focus to appraisal of performance of teams, the thinking of Senge (1990) is important to understand in this context. This allows the team members to help and divide work and responsibilities within the team and has been found an effective way of improving the overall performance. Appraisal programs must consider as to who can appraise the performance. Traditionally it was the immediate supervisor who was tasked with this but it was realized that this led to biased reports, reports based on most recent experience as also colored by the ‘halo’ effect. Self appraisal, appraisal by peers and subordinates have all been advocated and used. Ideally it is a combination of these, judiciously mixed and moderated by the HRD that would be expected to perform best. Counseling Counseling is an outcome of appraisal; it is a continuous exercise that targets course correction and strengthening the motivation and drive of individuals towards achieving personal and organizational goals. Career counseling helps individuals in the development of a life and career focus and understanding how the employees’ role as a worker interacts with other life roles. The organization must help employees shift focus from the traditional ‘Realistic Goals’ to ‘Genuine Visions’ (Senge, et al, 1994) where instead of goals fro the individual the stress may be on visions that are shared among the individual, team and the organization. Counseling usually follows a formal and structured format and this is when it is the least effective, however, these sessions are necessary to conduct and record from the viewpoint of legal complications that may arise later. The best counseling takes an informal one-on-one format where the employee and the counselor discuss problems and concerns in an atmosphere of mutual respect and friendliness. The role of the counselor is that of a mentor/ coach and therefore counselors must bring a thorough understanding of human psychology and the work situation also they should be very adept at people skills. Counseling provides a platform where the employee is at freedom to discuss problems faced on the job as well as away from it. ‘Employee morale and productivity are increased as a result of concern shown for employees personal problems’ (Beam & McFadden, 2000, p 434). Aspirations and goals are discussed and realistic targets for the future drawn out and understood. The basic idea behind counseling is not of fault finding and accusation but has to be understood in a positive way as being a mutual search for an alignment of the principles and objectives of the organization and the individual. The pitfalls to be avoided in counseling are lack of a clear definition of the problem, making assumptions without facts, lacking a structured approach in problem solving and stopping at the first good idea (Stone 1999, p59). Role of the HRD Practitioner HRD is defined as 'A philosophy of people management based on the belief that human resources are uniquely important in sustained business success. An organization gains competitive advantage by using its people effectively, drawing on their expertise and ingenuity to meet clearly defined objectives. HRM is aimed at recruiting capable, flexible and committed people, managing and rewarding their performance and developing key competencies.' (Management Paradise) HRD is the facilitating function between the employee and the employer. In its endeavor to maximize profits, management may lose track of the welfare and desires of its employees. In contrast the employees themselves may end up looking after their own interests at the cost of losing sight of the objectives of the organization. It is here that HRD plays a part in keeping both points of view aligned and creating a win-win situation for both. The role that HRD is thus of a mediator of values and it attempts to ensure that performance management does not overlook the needs of the employee. It makes efforts to see that the targets for achievement are within reach and that adequate time, resources and abilities to perform the tasks are provided. Mismatches are brought to management notice reconciliation made. HRD also helps through proper organization and manning while continuously working towards ability improvement through training on-the-job or through inputs like in-house or external training programs. Efforts at recruitment of properly qualified and skilled personnel, matching work requirement, also play an important role. In the appraisal exercise, the role of HRD lies in the education of the appraisers to identify those assessment criteria that are crucial to performance and ensuring that performance is measured against a well thought out and logical yardstick. It also sees that the appraisal is un-biased and a fair evaluation. Balancing of work assigned against the authority and empowerment vested is another area that needs HRD inputs. Appraisals are helpful in informing the appraised the perceptions of management and in chalking out plans for the future. Career planning is a long term process that needs a course to be charted and progress monitored en-route, appraisals then become the milestones (Simone et al, 2002). The most important role of HRD in this system is the counseling; for they are the only people who are trained to do this. Counseling is an extremely sensitive issue and an employee may leave a session with a positive frame of mind, fully charged up and motivated to overcome any shortcomings or may leave him/her feeling lost and abandoned. Individuals are different and there is need to understand what appeals to and motivates a particular person before any attempt at counseling. The pressure of the workplace also needs to be kept in mind. As a part of their training and through regular observations HRD people are able to recognize and appreciate these aspects and steer the counseling session in a direction that, while meeting the objectives of the session, leaves both sides feeling good. Conclusion The system of rewards and censure are based on the outcome of performance management and performance appraisal followed by counseling and unless great care is taken these exercises may backfire and cause more harm than good. From the above discussions we find that the facets of human resource management discussed are in a sequence of increasing contribution by the HRD professional. Involvement is small when we consider performance management for this is the work of line management to almost total in counseling. The HRD personnel have to develop their own systems in practical appreciation of the organization, its location and the environment they are working in. No ready cooked solution exists - they must acquire a good theoretical knowledge and apply after due consideration and thought. References: Matheson, W; Millar, K.I.; VanDyk, C: ‘Performance Evaluation in the Human Services’, Haworth Press, 1995 Management Paradise: Ultimate educational resource for BMS and MBA students. Accessed on July 11, 2006 from the website: http://www.managementparadise.com/projects/hr/hrm.html Stone, F.M. 1999; ‘Coaching Counseling and Mentoring’ AMACOM – Div American Management Assn Beam, B.T. and McFadden, J. ‘Employee Benefits’; Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2000 Grote, D. and Grote, R.C.2002, ‘The Performance Appraisal Question and Answer Book’ AMACOM – Div American Management Assn P. Senge (1990) The Fifth Disclipline: The art of the learning organization, Doubleday Senge, P.M. Kleiner, A. Roberts, C. Ross R.B. and Smith B.J. ‘The fifth discipline Handbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization’ (1994) Currency Doubleday, New York. R.L De Simone, (2002) J.M. Werner & D.M Harris Human Resource Development Bibliography Hendry, C. (1991) Training and Corporate Strategy, in Stevens J. & Mackay R.eds. Training and Competitiveness, Kogan Page, London Mabey C., Salaman G. and Storey J., (1999) Human Resource Management: A Strategic Introduction, Blackwell Business, Oxford Read More