High Air
High Air is a successful construction company based in Los Angeles, U.S.A. The company is famous for its innovative and unique designs. Its office is laid out to resemble a sailboat dock with nautical flags and buoys as decorations. The company has a well-designed recruitment and selection system and the compensation packages that it offers are attractive and competitive. High Air has a reputation of work hard and play hard. The company had been successful in winning bids but in the past six months, the company has experienced various problems primarily resulting from its inability to attract bids. The management is starting to review its HR policies and procedures and thinks that in order to achieve the organization’s goals, HR policies and procedures must be aligned with the company goals.
Perhaps one of the root problems is the management’s low commitment to HRM. The top management does not view the HR department as a strategic partner. Another problem is the ineffective recruitment and selection process of the company. The recruitment and selection process of the company was well designed, however, there is a need to update and redesign the process in order to keep pace with the company’s changing goals and objectives. Another problem is about work-life balance. The employees are reporting high level of stress and they are expressing their concerns about the company’s lack of work-life balance programs to accommodate their personal/family responsibilities. Another problem is the declining employee performance which is caused by lack of motivation. There is also an increasing number of employees who leave or express their desire to leave the organization. Employee relations is also an area of concern for the management. These problems and concerns need to be addressed in order to achieve the company’s goals and objectives.
Contribution of HRM to Organization
Human Resources Management (HRM) refers to the philosophy, policies, procedures, and practices related to the management of an organization’s employees. Human resources management is particularly related with all the activities that contribute to successfully attracting, developing, motivating, and maintaining a high-performing workforce that results in organizational success ( 2002,). Human resources management covers the every aspect of the relationship between the individual and firm including recruitment, contractual obligations, individual training and motivation, corporate planning, performance monitoring, grievance handling and general welfare, dismissal and redundancy ( 2002,). Human resources management involves the establishment and execution of policies, programs, and procedures that influence the performance, capabilities, and loyalty of the employees of an organization. Through these policies and procedures, individuals are attracted, retained, motivated, and developed to perform the work of the organization. It is through these policies and procedures that the organization seeks to mold and shape the actions of its employees to operate successfully, comply with various public policies, provide satisfactory quality of employment, and improve its position in the market place through strengthened ability to compete and serve ( 1996). HRM is increasingly viewed as a source of competitive advantage and its processes and procedures as contributors to the organization’s success. Over the years, HRM has become an integral part of every organization that deals with HR affairs, policies and processes. Now the HR department is being viewed as a partner and works closely with the top management and the employees. HRM contributes to the success of the organization through the following:
1. It provides the right kinds of talent to the organization at the right time. HRM is expected to assure that a supply of qualified labor in a timely fashion (1996).
2. It ensures that the organization is properly staffed. When done effectively, the staffing, recruitment, and selection process provides a flow of qualified individuals for filling open positions within the organization on a timely and efficient basis (1996).
3. Using appraisals, the employees are assesses and evaluated. Employee appraisals have very profound implications for both the employees and for the future success of the organization ( 1996).
4. Using effective pay systems, the management can focus employees’ efforts toward desired organizational goals (1996).
5. Ensures that the employees are properly skilled to perform their tasks and supports the organization’s growth through career development. The goal of training as part of the human resources management processes is to create cost-effective programs that build the skills to perform effectively (1996).
Recommendation: Strategic Human Resource Management
Perhaps one of the most beneficial moves that the management can make is acknowledging the importance of the HR department in achieving the goals and objectives of the company. The management must view the HR department as a strategic partner rather than just a department in the organization. This is where Strategic Human Resource Management comes into play.
Strategic human resource management involves the linking of HRM with the strategic goals and objectives of the organization in order to achieve a progressive business performance and achieve an organizational structure that promotes innovation and flexibility (1991). Strategic HRM according to (2004) has emerged as a major approach to improving the competitive advantage of the firm. The goals and objectives of HRM are aligned with the strategic objectives and plans of the organization. The role of HRM is to determine the human resources needed to support strategic objectives and to ensure that employees are selected, trained, evaluated, and rewarded in ways that further the achievement of business objectives. Strategic HRM is frequently described as a linear, balanced process that begins with the identification of goals that will guide human resource practices. The integration of the HR programs with the goals of the organization will result to the organization’s increased value. The recruitment, compensation, performance appraisal, promotion, training and other functions are designed and managed so that they work towards the strategic objectives of the firm . Strategic HRM has the purpose of improving the way that human resources are managed within firms. The main objective of strategic HRM is to improve organizational performance as judged by its impact on the organization’s declared corporate strategy (2004). Strategic human resources management means accepting the HRM function as a strategic partner in both the formulation of the organization’s strategies and the implementation of those strategies through activities such as recruiting, selecting, training, and rewarding personnel (2002). The enhanced value of innovation in determining competitive advantage requires organizations to attract, train and develop, and retain employees of the highest quality. Over time and throughout rapidly changing circumstances, organizations must be able to sustain the competitive advantage that the knowledge and skills of these employees provide. In the past, competitive advantage could be gained through finding better, cheaper access to financial capital, or marketing a new product, or inventing some new technologies. While cheap and ready access to capital, high-quality products, and new technology remain important components of any organization’s competitive advantage, today’s business environment requires a greater focus on the human resources element in business. Out of this realization has come SHRM ( 2002).
Key Roles of Strategic Management that add value
According to (1995), HR has important value-added roles in the organization. These roles must be effectively delivered by the HR because they are essential to the achievement of the organization’s goals. The HR roles according to (1997) are:
1. Management of strategic human resources
The focus of this role is on the alignment of the HR strategies and practices to the business strategy. The HR professional becomes a strategic partner that creates a concrete HR practices based on the organization’s strategy.
2. Change and transformation management
This role is also seen as a source of added value to the organization. The HR professionals must help to identify and implement the change processes all throughout the organization. The HR professionals act as mediums and guards of cultural changes.
3. Employee management
This role address issues such as the daily problems, expectations and needs of employees. Identifying and meeting the specific needs of the employees will result to better employee contribution.
4. Management of the administration of the organization
The role of HRM is to make sure that the administrative processes like involving hiring, training, evaluation and promotion are designed and delivered efficiently and correctly.
New Functions of HRM
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of viewing HRM as a strategic partner of the organization. The company needs to develop new functions of HRM and to enlist the HR department in the achievement of the company goals and objectives. Over the years, the functions and responsibilities of HRM has changed. The HR department of High Air must serve the following functions:
1. HR as Human Capital Steward – As a Human Capital Steward, HR contributes to strategic capabilities by developing, leveraging, renewing, and nurturing a firm’s stock of knowledge, skills, abilities, interests, and talents. HR is there to help ensure that every individual is able to make value added contributions by identifying and cultivating individual competencies and capabilities. HR delivers people strategy by ensuring that renewal and rejuvenation are on-going activities. HR contributes to organizational success by initiating training and development activities and by creating a culture of continuous learning (2004).
2. HR as Relationship Builder – The role of Relationship Builder focuses on creating programs and practices that enable employees to encourage, facilitate, nourish, and sustain relationships among fellow employees, customers, suppliers, firms in complementary arenas, and at times, even rivals. HR can deliver people strategy by contributing to a firm’s ability to leverage its resources and develop strategic capabilities and core competencies by helping individuals build a strong web of relationships ( 2004).
3. HR as Knowledge Management Facilitator – It is not enough simply to hire employees and put them to work. Strategic capability requires a firm to be able to create and disseminate knowledge among its employees. HR can play a vital role in facilitating organization learning and knowledge sharing between employees, among departments, throughout the organization, and with external co-producers. An important aspect of human capital stewardship is identifying people who want to learn. Employees need to be able to learn and unlearn continuously, to teach and be taught ( 2004).
4. HR as Rapid Deployment Specialist – The rapid pace and constantly changing environment that many organizations and industries confront creates another new challenge and new function for HRM: rapid Deployment Specialist. Strategic capability requires competence in rapidly assembling, concentrating, and deploying specific configurations of human capital in order to achieve mission-specific strategic goals. Rapid deployment of human talent requires adaptable employees. Workers need to be adaptable, versatile, and tolerant of uncertainty to operate effectively in the constantly changing global market ( 2004).
Recruitment and Selection
The recruitment and selection is one of the problematic areas at High Air. The recruitment and selection process is not aligned with the goals and objectives of the company. The recruitment and selection process fails to provide the company with competitive and qualified employees. The growing dissatisfaction of the employees with the recruitment and selection process must also be considered.
The recruitment and selection process cannot be a success if the job analysis is unclear and not updated. Job analysis is important for recruitment and selection because it is a systematic process for collecting information on the work-related aspects of a job (2001). An important part of job analysis according to(2002), is to collect information on the characteristics of a job that differentiate it from other jobs. The categories of information usually obtained in job analysis include work activities, interaction with others, performance standards, financial and budgeting impact, machines and equipment used, working conditions, supervision given and received, and knowledge, skills, and abilities needed . Job analysis is the foundation of recruitment and selection and other HR processes. Job analysis can be used in the following:
1. HRM Planning – In HRM planning, planners analyze an organization’s HRM needs in a dynamic environment and develop activities that enable an organization to adapt to change. This planning process requires accurate information about the levels of skill required in various jobs to ensure that enough individuals are available in the organization to meet the HRM needs of the strategic plan. Job analysis provides fundamental input to the HRM planning process by helping planners understand exactly what kinds of work must be performed. Job analysis helps define for managers the kinds of general work and specific jobs that the organization will be relying on in the future ( 2002).
2. Recruitment – The job analysis specifies the staffing required in completing the job duties. Job analysis can help the HRM specialists generate a higher-quality pool of job applicants by making it easy to describe a job in classified ads in a way that more precisely targets qualified job applicants. Job analysis helps recruiters screen job applicants because it tells them what tasks, duties, and responsibilities the job entails (2002).
3. Selection – Human resources selection deals with identifying the most qualified applicants for employment. To identify which applicants are more qualified, it is first necessary to determine the tasks that will be performed by the individual hired and the knowledge, skills, and abilities the individuals must have to perform the job effectively. Job analysis information can also be used to choose or develop the appropriate selection devices ( 2002).
Recruitment is defined by (2002) as the process in which organizations discover, develop, seek, and attract individuals to fill actual or anticipated job vacancies. Recruitment is concerned with finding applicants, communicating opportunities and information and generating interest. It includes interview screening, and selection of most qualified candidates, filling positions through transfer or promotion, and coordinating temporary employment. The aim of recruitment is to identify a suitable pool of applicants quickly, cost efficiently, and legally. Selection on the other hand is the process of obtaining and using information about job applicants in order to determine who should be hired for short-or long-term positions (2002).
Recommendations for Recruiting
Recruitment is an important HR process that needs to be prioritized. The employees at High Air complains about the ineffective recruitment process. In order to ensure that the recruitment process is effective and successful the company must:
- Develop a recruitment policy and system that are aligned with the company’s goals and objectives.
- Conduct needs assessment to determine the current and future human resource requirements of the organization.
- Identify the potential human resource pool inside and outside the organization.
- Conduct job analysis and job evaluation to identify the individual aspects of each job and calculate its relative worth.
- Assess qualifications profiles drawn from job analysis and job descriptions that identify responsibilities and required skills, abilities, knowledge and experience.
- Document the actual process of recruitment and selection to ensure equity and adherence to equal opportunity and other laws.
The company needs to employ more methods of recruiting other than the traditional newspaper advertisements and employment agencies the company can also make use of Internet Recruiting.
1. Advertisements – Advertisements in newspapers and related publications are popular methods of recruiting. High Air can still have its job posting in various newspapers and magazines as it allows the organization to cast a wide net, to publicize and demonstrate an effort to reach every sector of the labor market.
2. Employment Agencies – Employment agencies can still be helpful for High Air. Public employment agencies run by local governments have an up-to-date list of unemployed persons. They also provide service for individuals seeking employment and for business organizations seeking employees. Private employment agencies differ considerably in the level of service, costs, policies, and types of applicants they provide ( 2002).
3. Internet Recruiting – Using the internet is faster and cheaper than many traditional methods of recruiting. High Air can post jobs on internet sites for lesser amount that in prints, remain there for longer period of time, and are available twenty-four hours a day. Candidates can view detailed information about the job and the organization and then respond electronically. Given the disperse geographic make-up of Los Angeles, internet recruiting has the potential to reach more job applicants.
Recommendations for Selection
At the heart of any effective selection system is an understanding of what characteristics are essential for high performance. In order to help the organization in choosing the best applicant, the information obtained from the job analysis is used in creating a job specification. The job specification sets the criteria or the knowledge, skills and abilities that an applicant must posses in order to fulfill the job successfully. The selection criteria of the company are the following:
1. Education – the educational attainments of the applicants are assessed in order to identify the individuals that posses the right abilities and attitudes.
2. Experience – experience is another criterion that the company uses in the selection process. Experience refers to the amount of time individual spent working, either in a general capacity or in a particular field of study. Experience is presumably an indicator of an individual’s familiarity with work, his or her ability to work, and a surrogate measure of a person’s competencies as an employee.
3. Skills and Abilities – skills and abilities are another set of selection criteria. Skills and abilities relate more precisely than do experience or education to the specific qualifications and capabilities of an individual to perform a specific job.
4. Personal Characteristics – personal characteristics reflect the individual’s personality and may be in certain kinds of job.
High Air can use different selection tools in order to ensure that the section process is effective and fair.
In addition to the organization’s current selection method, which is job interview several selection methods can be used to add to the effectiveness, reliability and validity of the selection process.
Reference and Background Verification
Reference checking, which involves collecting information from applicant’s previous employers provides a potentially useful means of assessment. Reference checks serves two important purposes. One is to verify information provided by applicants to ensure that they have not fabricated their qualifications and past work histories. Reference checks also provide information about applicants that might predict job performances. The topics addressed during a reference check are: dates of employment, job titles held, rate of pay, attendance, performance evaluations, discipline problems, character traits, ability to get along with other, strengths and weaknesses, overall opinion of candidate, and person’s reason for leaving (2002).
Employment or Ability Tests
Employment and ability tests can also be used by the organization in order to make its selection process more effective. An employment test is a device for measuring characteristics of an individual to include factors such as personality, verbal and quantitative skills, intelligence, o aptitude. Such tests are generally administered before the final stage of interviewing. The testing of applicants offers two advantages: test results seem to be objective and free from personal bias, and they are usually expresses numerically so that they lend themselves to statistical analyses and thus can be validated ( 2002)
Work sample tests are widely viewed as fair and valid measures of job performance, as long as the work samples adequately capture the variety and complexity of tasks in the actual job (2002). Personality tests refers to the unique blend of characteristics that define an individual and determine his or her pattern of interactions with the environment Personality tests, according to (1982) are designed to assess a variety of personality characteristics that are important for applicants for certain jobs.
Work-Life Balance
Work-Life balance has never been more important. Different factors led to the growth of work-life balance arrangements. In the case of High Air, geographic restrictions have caused the company to require employees to come earlier to work. On the one hand, this is advantageous but on the other hand, this is also a potential source of stress and dissatisfaction. The company needs to come up with more accommodating arrangements which will allow the employees to balance their responsibilities at work and their responsibilities at home and their persona lives.
Recommendations for Work-Life Balance
1. Flexi-time – Flextime (flexi-time) is a scheduling option that allows workers to select their starting and quitting times within limits established by management. There are generally core hours when all employees must be present. Although starting and quitting times vary, employee are required to work a standard number of hours within a given time period ( 2001). There are several variations on the use of flextime such as fixed starting and quitting times that vary daily, variations in the length of day with required core hours, and variations in the length of day without mandatory core hours. Some flextime programs allow workers to bank hours for the future (Olmstead and Smith 1994). There are different forms of flexible working that High Air can offer the employees:
- Formal Flextime – Formal flextime programs allow workers to vary their starting and ending times, and in some cases, even the number of hours that they work in particular weeks. Generally flextime programs involve establishing a period of “core” hours when all employees are required to be at work ( 2004).
- Time Banking – Time banking or working times accounts involve keeping track of hours worked in ‘accounts’ for individual workers. Like some flextime programs, time banking permits workers to build up ‘credits’ or accumulate ‘deficits’ in hours worked, up to a maximum amount; however, the periods involved are much longer, ranging from several months to a year or more. The rules of the specific time banking arrangement determine how and when the excess hours accumulated in the time banking account can be spent (2004).
- Annualized Hours – Annualized hours allow for variations in working time over a longer period. Typically, annualized hours schemes set an average number of hours to be worked per week over a specified period of time, called the ‘reference period’, which may vary from several weeks to as long as an entire year. This approach allows firms to increase hours of work during periods with a high volume of work, which can then be offset by shorter hours of work at other times when the company’s workload is less. The number of hours to be worked in any given week is determined by employers based on the needs of the enterprise, typically within a certain band of maximum and minimum weekly hours, subject to any additional conditions that may exist in collective agreements such as minimum notice periods. Annualized hours schemes can also be combined with elements of flexi-time or time banking in a myriad array of arrangements that are often unique to a specific enterprise ( 2004).
Employee Motivation and Retention
In an environment where employees are highly mobile, meaning they can transfer from one job to another, the company needs to come up with strategies to keep their valuable employees and at the same time attract talented and qualified individuals. The management must focus on employee retention strategies particularly those that coincides with motivation. Motivation is an important factor is it affects performance and the desire of the employees to stay or leave the company.
According to (2002), motivation is the process of satisfying internal needs through actions and behaviors. It is concerned with a composite of mental and physical drives, combined with the environment that makes people behave the way they do . According to (2004), motivation is about something within you impelling you to move forwards, to achieve a goal, to make progress in a task. The ‘something’ is the driving force may be a need, or desire, or an emotion but it leads you to act in a certain way. Signs of motivation in a person are an energy and determination to achieve.
Recommendations for Increasing Employee Motivation and Retaining Them
1. Pay for Performance – Pay for performance refers to any compensation method that ties pay to the quantity or quality of work the person produces. For a Pay for Performance plan to be successful, according to (2002), the manager must:
- Ensure that effort and rewards are directly related
The incentive plan should reward employees in direct proportion to their increased productivity. Employees must also believe that they can actually do the tasks required. Thus, the standard has to be attainable and the manager and organization have to provide the necessary tools, equipment, and training to meet it.
- Make the plan understandable and easily calculable by the employees.
It should be easy for employees to calculate the rewards they will receive for various levels of effort.
- Set effective standards that will benefit the organization.
The standards should be viewed as fair by employees. They should be high but reasonable; that is, there should be about a 50–50 chance of success. The goal should also be specific, such as, “decrease the work order by 10 percent.” This is much more effective than telling someone to “do your best.”
- Guarantee the program.
The rewards offered for a particular level of work should be viewed as a contract between the organization and the employees. Once the plan is operational, great caution should be used before decreasing the size of the incentive in any way.
- Guarantee a base rate.
It is often advisable to give employees a safety net by providing them with a base pay. They will know that no matter what happens, they can at least earn a guaranteed minimum amount.
2. Spot Awards – A spot award is a financial award given to an employee literally on the spot as soon as the laudable performance is observed. Spot awards have a sound basis in motivation. For example, to the extent that the rewards are both contingent on good performance and awarded immediately, they are certainly consistent with the expectancy approach, and provide the recognition most people desire ( 2002).
3. Recognition – Most people like to feel appreciated. Being recognized for a job well done – and not necessarily just financially – makes a lot sense in terms of motivation theory. Immediate recognition can be a powerful reinforce, for instance, and can provide some immediate outcomes to counterbalance the employees’ inputs and efforts. Recognition also underscores the performance-reward-expectancy link, and it helps appeal to and satisfy the need people have to achieve and be recognized for their achievement.
4. Job Redesign – Job design refers to the number and nature of activities in a job; the basic issue in job design is whether jobs should be more specialized or, at the other extreme, more “enriched” and no routine. Job enrichment means building motivators like opportunities for achievement into the job by making it more interesting and challenging. This is often accomplished by giving employees more autonomy and allowing them to do much of the planning and inspection normally done by their managers ( 2002).
5. Employee Empowerment – Empowering employees is a popular approach to work organizations. It means giving employees the authority, tools, and information they need to do their jobs with greater autonomy, as well as the self-confidence required to perform the new jobs effectively. Empowering is inherently a motivational approach. It boosts employees’ feeling of self-efficacy and enables them to more fully their potential, satisfying high-level needs for achievement, recognition, and self-actualization. Empowerment results in changes in employees’ effectiveness. The result is that people take more initiative and persevere in achieving their goals and their leader’s vision even in the face of obstacles. In order to effectively empower the employees, the manager must:
- Make sure people understand their responsibilities
- Give them authority equal to the responsibilities assigned to them
- Set standards of excellence that will require employees to strive to do all work “right the first time”
- Provide them with training that will enable them to meet the standards
- Give them information that they need to do their jobs well
- Trust them
- Give them permission to fail
- Treat them with dignity and respect
- Provide them with feedback on their performance
- Recognize them for their achievements ( 2002)
The recommendations are based on the belief that a motivated employee does not only perform well but also has an intense to stay in the job. In order to retain valuable employees, the company must first seek to motivate them. I believe that pay and monetary rewards are not the only reasons why employees stay in an organization. More than the financial gains that an employee receives, non-monetary rewards are also important in motivating and retaining employees. Another issue that I will be discussing in the next section (which is one of the cited reasons why employee retention is low at High Air) is the lack of clear training and development opportunities or programs at High Air.
Career Development
Gone are the days when employees only demand for fair salaries. The employees of today also value training and development. Employees look for opportunities to further their careers and they are constantly searching for ways to reach the top of the corporate ladder. Career Development is very important not only for the employees but also for the organization as the quickly changing business environment requires organizations to have a flexible workforce.
The employees are complaining about the lack of development programs that will help them advance their careers. The company needs to focus on Career Development Programs.
Career Development, Planning and Management
Career Development is an organized, planned effort comprised of structured activities or processes that result in a mutual career plotting effort between employees and the organization. Within this system, the employee is responsible for career planning and the organization is responsible for career management ( 1998). Career development is an ongoing, formalized effort by an organization that focuses on developing and enriching the organization’s human resources in light of both the employees’ and organization’s needs. Career Development is primarily the responsibility of the organization. On the other hand, the employee is responsible for planning his or her career. Career Planning is a process of setting up employee career objectives and developing activities that will achieve them. According to (2002), career planning is the process by which an individual formulates career goals and develops a plan for reaching those goals. Career Management refers to specific human resource activities, such as job placement, performance appraisal, counseling, training, and education. According to (1991), career management is a set of programs that represent the organization’s requirements Career management emphasizes the recognition and response to the changing interests and needs of employees as they grow and mature within the organization. Career management takes the organization’s point of view in putting together job ladders, career paths, rotation programs, and planned learning activities to improve the supply of talent among current employees (1996).
Recommendations for Career Development
1. Effective Performance Appraisal – Performance appraisal plays an important part in career development. The effectivity of a performance appraisal starts with the adequate explanatory material about the performance appraisal system and how it works ( 2003). In addition, the organization should employ the developmental approach in performance appraisal. The organization should use this approach is to motivate and direct individual performance as well as career development efforts. The focus should be on future planning; counseling and interaction between the manager and employees. Emphasis should be placed on goal setting as well as review. This appraisal system allows the manager, supervisor and employee to share responsibility. The basis of this approach is future goals and plans for future development. The organization must use a performance appraisal system that will help in the development of a person’s career as well as enhance communications and understanding ( 1998).
Walker 1980, provided different techniques that can be used by managers and human resource managers. These are:
1. Narrative appraisals – open-ended interaction regarding individual performance
2. Goal setting and review – identification of goals mentally, followed by comparison of performances against those goals
3. Rating scales – performance is measured against predetermined factors
4. Checklists – performance is rated against a list of normative factors
5. Critical incidents – examples of good and bad performance are identified by the appraiser as they occur and maintain until review
6. Ranking – relative performance is completed by the appraiser
Any or all of these methods can be utilized by the managers and human resource personnel in the performance appraisal of employees.
2. Career Pathing – Career pathing is a technique that addresses the specifics of progressing from one job to another in the organization (Sims 2002, p. 228). It can be defined as a sequence of developmental activities involving informal and formal education, training, and job experiences that help make an individual capable of holding jobs that are more advanced. The organization must be formally defined and documented. The formalized career paths lead to precise descriptions of chronological work experiences as well as how the different sequences relate to one another. The organization must use career pathing activities that will enhance skills, competencies, and knowledge of employees. Organizations use three existing career paths ( 2002). The organization should develop effective career pathing programs that:
- Include lateral and downward possibilities, as well as upward possibilities
- Are provisional and quick to respond to changes in organizational needs
- Are flexible enough to take into account the qualities of each employee
- Specifically define each jobs along the paths in terms of acquired skills, knowledge, and other detailed qualities ( 1999)
3. Career Counseling – Career counseling is the activity that integrates the different steps in the career-planning process. Career counseling may be performed by an employee’s immediate manager, a HRM specialist (or a combination of the two), or outside consultants ( 2002). The immediate manager must be the one to conduct the counseling with appropriate input from HRM personnel. According to (2002), the immediate manager generally has the advantage of practical experience, knows the company, and is in a position to make a realistic appraisal of organizational opportunities. The managers should be well trained in conducting career counseling. Generally, managers who are skilled in basic human relations are successful as career counselors. Developing a caring attitude toward employees and their careers is most important. Being receptive to employee concerns and problems is another necessity.
The career counseling programs that the organization must employ should address a wide variety of career-related issues and are readily accessible to people in the organization.
Task 5: Employment/Labor Relations
Labor Relations according to Sims (2002) is the process of dealing with employees who are represented by a union. A labor union can be defined as an organization of employees that uses collective action to advance its members’ interests in regard to shared job-related goals, including items such as higher pay, shorter working hour, enhanced benefits, and better working conditions. Collective bargaining, a specific aspect of labor relations is the process by which unions seek to manage their working environment. Collective bargaining is the process by which managers and union leaders negotiate acceptable terms and conditions of employment for workers represented by unions.
In order to form positive relations between the company and its employees, the CEO needs to possess the following knowledge, skills and abilities:
- Knowledge of labor relations principles, practices, procedures, strategies, and trends including contract negotiation, interest based bargaining and dispute resolution
- Thorough knowledge of the principles, practices and procedures of private personnel administration as applied to labor relations issues
- Knowledge of laws and regulations and guidelines pertaining to labor relations
- Knowledge of the principles, practices and trend in benefits administration
- Knowledge of grievance procedures
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Good public speaking/presentation skills
- Ability to develop, interpret and administer contract provisions
- Ability to represent the organization effectively during bargaining sessions
- Ability to analyze facts and make sound decisions based on evidence presented and applicable laws, rules and precedents
- Ability to resolve conflict through persuasion, mediation, and negotiation
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with company officials, employee representatives and regulatory agencies
- Ability to plan and to direct the works of others
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