Role of human resource manager in an organization

The human resource or personnel manager controlling to manage his department. He has also to perform certain operative functions of recruitment, selection, training, placement etc, which the other line managers may entrust to him. He is basically a manager whatever may be the nature of his operative functions. Just as finance assesses cost, marketing emphasizes customers, personnel is people-centred. Some of the important roles of human resources manager in an organization are:-performs managerial as well as operative functions. Since he is a manager, he performs the basic functions of management like planning, organizing, directing and controlling.

·         Policy Formulation:-

      Policy formulation is one of the important tasks of the human resource manager. It is with a view to overcome problems of recurring nature, or to prevent anticipated problems in the area of human resource management that policies are framed. The human resource manager helps the top management in the formulation of policies on wage and salary administration, transfer, appraisal, welfare activities, personnel records and statistics, working environment etc.

·         Advisory Role:-

      The advisory role of the human resource manager is of crucial importance. Line managers are generally confronted with a variety of problems in their day to day operations. These problems may include grievance over distribution of overtime work, annual increase in pay, transfer, promotion, disciplinary action and so on. In all such matters, the personnel manager can offer useful advice because he is familiar with personnel policies and practices, labour agreements, labour laws, etc.

·         Linking Pin Role:-

       The human resource manager attempts to achieve and maintain good industrial relations in the organization. He is responsible for setting up various committees on discipline, labour welfare, safety, grievance etc. He helps in laying down the grievance procedure to redress the grievances of employees. He also conveys the views of the trade union leaders to the higher management. Thus he acts as a linking pin between the management and the workers.

·         Representative Role:-

       The human resource manager generally acts as a spokesman of the top management or representative of the company and communicates management policies and decisions that affect people in the organization. It is because he has better understanding and overall picture of the company’s operation. Sometimes, he also acts as worker’s representative to put forward their problems to management, particularly in non-unionized organizations.

·         Decision-making Role:-

       The human resource manager also plays an effective role in decision-making on issues related to human resources. He formulates and designs objectives, policies and programs of human resource management.

·         Mediator Role:-

       The human resource manager often acts as a mediator in the event of conflict between employees, or groups of employees, superior and sub-ordinate, and even between management and employees. Thus he attempts to maintain industrial peace and harmony in the organization.

·         Leadership Role:-

       The human resource manager provides leadership and guidance to the workers and their groups. He ensures effective communication in the organization and influences the workers for extending their co-operation in extending the organizational objectives.  

·         Welfare Role:-

       The human resource manager acts as a welfare officer in the organization. As welfare officer, he is concerned with provision of canteen, crèches, transport, hospital and other welfare services for the benefit of workers and their family members.

·         Research Role:-

       The human resource manager maintains the records of the employees working in the enterprise. On the basis of records, he undertakes research in various personnel areas such as absenteeism, labour turnover, alcoholism etc and suggests suitable measures for improvement to the top management.

FUNCTIONS OF HRM

These are carried out by HR managers to fulfil the goals and objectives of the organisation. They are classified into two broad categories, managerial and operative functions.

Managerial functions:

•  Planning
• Organising
• Staffing
• Directing
• Controlling

Operative functions:

•  Induction and Orientation
• Placement
• Selection
• Recruitment
• Human Resources Planning
• Job Analysis
• Employment

MANAGERIAL FUNCTIONS:

Planning:

It involves the process of pre-determining the personnel programmes that are necessary to attain the organisational goals. Accurate forecasting is vital to the success of any plan. The steps involved in the planning are:

·        Establishing goals and objectives to be achieved

·        Developing rules and procedures

·        Determining plans and forecasting techniques

Organising:

It’s a process through which the firm establishes its structure and determines the authority, responsibility and accountability of each member in relation to the job. Organising involves:

·        Giving each member a specific task

·        Establishing departments and divisions

·        Delegating authority to the members

·        Establishing channel of authority and communication

·        Creating a system to coordinate the works of the members

Staffing:

This deals with the creation and maintenance of human resources through employment, compensation, benefits, training and development and industrial relations measures. The steps are:

·        Determining the type of people to be hired

·        Recruiting prospective employees and selecting the best ones from them

·        Compensating the employees

·        Training and developing the employees

·        Setting performance standards and evaluating the employees performance

·        Counselling the employees

Directing:

It’s the sum of several activities like communication, leadership and motivation. Directing as a function, aims at securing willing cooperation from the individuals and groups to achieve the predetermined goals. It includes the following activities:

·        Getting works done through subordinates

·        Motivating subordinates to strive for better performance

·        Maintaining the group morale

Controlling :

Is the process of checking the efficiency of the individuals and the groups in fulfilling the plans and goals through follow-up measures? The processes involved are:

·        Establishment of standard performance

·        Measurement of actual performance

·        Comparison of actual performance with the standard one to find the deviation

·        Initiation of corrective action

OPERATIVE FUNCTION

The operative functions of personnel management are related to specific activities of personnel management viz., employment, development, compensation and relations. All these functions are interacted by managerial functions. Further these functions are to be performed in conjunction with management functions.

Employment

It is the first operative function of HRM. Employment is concerned with securing and employing the people possessing required kind and level of human resources necessary to achieve the organizational objectives. It covers the functions such as job analysis, human resources planning, recruitment, selection, placement, induction and internal mobility.

Job Analysis:

 It is the process of study and collection of information relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job. It includes:

• Collection of data, information, facts and ideas relating to various aspects of jobs including men, machines and materials.
• Preparation of job description, job specification, job requirements and employee specification which help in identifying the nature, levels and quantum of human resources.
• Providing the guides, plans and basis for job design and for all operative functions of HRM.

Human Resources Planning:

It is a process for determination and assuring that the organization will have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at proper times, performing jobs which would meet the needs of the organization and which would provide satisfaction for the individuals involved. It involves

·        Estimation of present and future requirement and supply of human resources basing on objectives and long range plans of the organization.

·        Calculation of net human resources requirement based on present inventory of human resources.

·        Taking steps to mould, change, and develop the strength of existing employees in the organization so as to meet the future human resources requirements.

·        Preparation of action programs to get the rest of human resources from outside the organization and to develop the human resources of existing employees.

Recruitment:

It is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in an organization. It deals with:

·        Identification of existing sources of applicants and developing them.

·        Creation / Identification of new sources of applicants.

·        Stimulating the candidates to apply for jobs in the organization.

·        Striking a balance between internal and external sources.

Selection:

It is the process of ascertaining the qualifications, experience, skill, knowledge etc., of an applicant with a view to appraising his / her suitability to a job appraising.

This function includes:

·        Framing and developing application blanks.

·        Creating and developing valid and reliable testing techniques.

·        Formulating interviewing techniques.

·        Checking of references.

·        Setting up medical examination policy and procedure.

·        Line manager’s decision.

·        Sending letters of appointment and rejection.

·        Employing the selected candidates who report for duty.

Placement:

 It is the process of assigning the selected candidate with the most suitable job in terms of job requirements. It is matching of employees specifications with job requirements. This function includes:

·  Counselling

·        Conducting follow-up study, appraising employee performance in order to determine employee’s adjustment with the job.

·        Correcting misplacements, if any.

Induction and Orientation:

 Induction and orientation are the techniques by which a new employee is rehabilitated in the changed surroundings and introduced to the practices, policies, purposes and people etc., of the organization.

·        Acquaint the employee with the company philosophy, objectives, policies, career planning and development, opportunities, product, market share, social and community standing, company history, culture etc.

·        Introduce the employee to the people with whom he has to work such as peers, supervisors and subordinates.

·        Mould the employee attitude by orienting him to the new working and social environment.

CHALLENGES OF HRM IN MODERN MANAGEMENT

The following are the challenges faced by Organizations in HRM due to changes in the business environment.

Globalization: Growing internationalization of business has its impact on HRM in terms of problems of unfamiliar laws, languages, practices, competitions, attitudes, management styles, work ethics etc. HR managers have a challenge to deal with more functions, more heterogeneous functions and more involvement in employee’s personal life.

Corporate Reorganizations: Reorganization relates to mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, take over, internal restructuring of Organizations. In these situations, it is difficult to imagine circumstances that pose a greater challenge for HRM than reorganizations itself. It is a challenge to manage employees’ anxiety, uncertainties, insecurities and fears during these dynamic trends.

New Organizational Forms: The basic challenge to HRM comes from the changing character of competitions. The competition is not between individual firms but between constellations of a firm. Major companies are operating through a complex web of strategic alliances, forgings with local suppliers, etc. These relationships give birth to completely new forms of Organizational structure, which highly depend upon a regular exchange of people and information. The challenge for HRM is to cope with the implications of these newly networked relations, in place of more comfortable hierarchical relationships that existed within the Organizations for ages in the past.

Changing Demographics of Workforce: Changes in workforce are largely reflected by dual career couples, large chunk of young blood between age and old superannuating employees, working mothers, more educated and aware workers etc. These dynamic work forces have their own implications for HR managers and from HRM point of view is a true challenge to handle.

Changed Employee Expectations: With the changes in workforce demographics, employee expectations and attitudes have also transformed. Traditional allurements like job security, house, and remunerations are not much attractive today; rather employees are demanding empowerment and equality with management. Hence, it is a challenge for HRM to redesign the profile of workers, and discover new methods of hiring, training, remunerating and motivating employees.

Weaker Society Interests: Another challenge for HRM is to protect the interest of weaker sections of society. The dramatic increase of women workers, minorities and other backward communities in the workforce has resulted in the need for Organizations to re-examine their policies, practices and values. In the name of global competition, productivity and quality the interests of the society around should not be sacrificed. It is a challenge of today’s HR managers to see that these weaker sections are neither denied their rightful jobs nor are discriminated against while in service.

Contribution to the Success of Organizations: The biggest challenge to an HR manager is to make all employees contribute to the success of the Organization in an ethical and socially responsible way because the well being of the society’s to a large extent depends on its Organizations

HRM ACTIVITIES

The following are the key activities of HRM.

Human resource planning: This is the critical job of HR function. Dale Yoder defines Human resource planning as “the process by which an Organization ensures that it has the right number of people, the right kind of people, at the right place and at the right time doing work in the Organization”. To take hypothetical example, suppose the objective of marketing is to increase the total sales by 20%, and once this objective has been established, the HR Manager must determine precisely how can this objective be translated into human resources. A logical starting point is to review the present or current job descriptions. Then determine skills necessary to meet the set objectives. Finally they should translate the needed skills and abilities into types and number of employees. The HR function collects data related to vacancies due to retirement or resignation or retrenchment as well as additional human resource requirement for executing development plans of all functions.

Recruitment and selection: It involves design of policies and procedures for fair recruitment and selection of human resource required by the Organization time to time in order to contribute to the fulfillment of the Organization’s corporate strategy. Identifying the credible sources of employment and adopting effective selection process to identify suitable persons by taking into consideration Organizational goals, job demands, social conditions and desired behaviour.

Training and development: The objective of training and development is to develop key competencies in individuals to perform current or future jobs. It involves identification for training needs, selection and execution of training methods and facilitation of skill development and behaviour shaping.

Provision of fair treatment: HR function designs policies and procedures for the entire Organization to ensure fair treatment of employees at work. These policies are communicated to all the employees.

Organization/Job Design: Defining how tasks, authority, and systems will be organized and integrated across Organizational units and in individual jobs, is the responsibility of HR department.

Employee counselling: One of the important activities of HRM is to develop appropriate system for employment counselling either through in-house or by external consultants.

Encouraging involvement: Employee involvement is extremely important in creating participative culture within the Organization. Employees need to be encouraged to participate in decision-making, in designing policies and procedures in line with the strategic plan of the Organization.

Information Systems: HR information base will be developed through HR research and information system to provide access to internal departments and also Organizational clients.

Payment and reward of employees: HRM involves designing of appropriate payment and reward systems for all employees. These systems should be acceptable to all employees. They need revision from time to time. The payment and reward systems should be competitive. The Organization collects comparative data from other Organizations and work for developing better systems. HRM also deals with individual problems or complaints about payment and reward systems.

Employee welfare: Establishment appropriate systems for employee welfare in accordance with the objectives of the Organization and monitoring the cost and effectiveness of such provision are an important HRM activity.

Health and safety: HRM involves in designing and implementing the Organization’s health and safety policy, and monitors the effectiveness of the policy. It also involves in promoting health and safety and encourages the involvement of all employees throughout the Organization.

Union/Labor Relations: HRM recognizes Unions, facilitates elections and provides supporting services to promote healthy union and Organizational relationship.

Assessing performance of employees: HRM involves in the design and implementation of techniques to assess performance of employees effectively. The employees are trained, informed and involved in performance management techniques. Maintenance of performance records and monitoring the effectiveness of the performance assessment procedures are the responsibilities of HR department.

Disciplining individuals: Design of disciplinary procedure, monitoring the effectiveness of the procedure, advising line managers on disciplinary problems, organizing training for line managers and employees on disciplinary issues, and maintaining records of disciplinary action taken against employees are the important HR activities.

Dealing with grievances: Employee grievances are common in many Organizations. Design of grievance procedure and communicating, training people in grievance handling, implementation of grievance procedure and monitoring the effectiveness of the grievance procedure are activities that HRM takes care of.

Dismissal: HRM also involves development of procedures for dismissal to ensure that they comply with legislation and reviewing the same, providing advice and guidance on fair dismissal procedure, and training people who are involved in the dismissal process.

HRM IN RETAILING

It is really interesting that in Retail scenario Human Resource Management (HRM) is highly volatile and truly vulnerable. The reason is in any other scenario of manufacturing (of garments for e.g.,) or other industries the end user or consumer in particular and customer in general are not physically present with the people in the arena of action. In fact who are they or where are or how are they is not known to the people in the scenario.

Whereas in the Retail scenario the end user or consumer in particular & customer in general are present in front or with the people in the arena of action every minute of the work. In fact work in Retail scenario starts with and ends with the End user or Consumer or Customer. For this reason Human Resource Management (HRM) is highly volatile and truly vulnerable in this context.

The Retail Firms/Companies are service Organizations. The business performance of the Organization largely depends upon the human resources. Employee’s performance at the back end and at the front end operations are criteria for the success of the Organizations. Human Resource Management (HRM) therefore is the critical managerial function that affects every other function of the Organization.

The job of retail employees particularly at from end operations is critical and demand high level of involvement and commitment in job performance. They need to perform different roles while performing the job often simultaneously. The employee roles include:

• Service designer: The final package of the retail service will be decided by the employee on spot after assessing customer’s specific needs, desires and expectations. This means proper training of the retail personnel is required in need analysis of the customer.

• Performer: An employee of a Retail Organization is the performer of services. He/ She has to interact with uncontrollable elements (attending consumer complaints and grievances) and deliver quality performance, by influencing the customers to get involved in the process.

• Technician: The sales personnel should have the technical knowledge of various products offered for sale. In most cases in Retail, the manufacturers themselves take responsibility on the product training or in large multi-brand retail stores, the Companies appoint their own trained technical salesman.

• Associate: Employees of the Retail Organization and manufacturers, service consumers together. The expected role of an employee is to associate with the consumer and produce quality service. Further, some services may need group involvement. For example selling of Microwave, where the salesman makes effort to sell the best product, a trained technician will go to the customer’s home to offer a full demonstration of the products capability and application. Then it may be necessary for a service employee to associate with the group members for performing the service.

• Friend: A Retail employee has to play the role of a friend with consumers as well as co-employees in a team. Co-employees and customers look for help, cooperation, guidance and support from others on various issues. Every employee of the Retail Organization should respond to such needs positively.

• Empathizer: Empathy is the key quality parameter in retail services. The consumers feel comfortable and perceive better quality when contact employees are empathetic. Retail employees should have the patience and inclination to be empathetic towards customers.

• Assurer: Retail employees’ words and actions should reflect assurance to customers. As services are intangible, variable and perishable, customers seek assurance in every service process. For the consumer, contact employees are the representatives of the Retail Company. This is why a contact employee needs to perform the role of an assurer.

• Salesman: The performance of a retail employee builds a positive image for the Retail Company. The customers of the Store are likely to become consumers of other services offered by the Company. Contact employees will have an opportunity to interact closely and intimately with customers. Therefore, their role in influencing and persuading the customers to buy other services of the Company is vital.

• Marketing intelligence: One of the most prominent sources of marketing intelligence is contact employees. They are the right personnel to assess response of the customers on Company policies and quality specifications. The feedback from contact employees proves to be very valuable.

• Researcher: Innovation is the key to success in service business particularly in retailing. Employees of the retail companies are innovators in many respects. As an innovation they should be able to create a need or necessity in the end user or Consumer.

As variability is the key character of services, continuous improvements, whether minor or major, provide a competitive edge in the market. Employees, with their continuous involvement in work and interactive experience with varied customers, with a distinctive knowledge base, are capable of bringing innovation in work. There is a lot of scope to exploit the creativity of employees in retail business.

The performance in retail jobs also tests the emotional balance of the employees. The tolerance for errors in performance will be very less. The errors of the employee affect seriously the customer confidence on the retail outlet. Therefore, the function of human resources management is vital in displaying the performance strength of the Organization.

Introduction - HRM

Human Resource is the most complex and vulnerable among all the resources under the creation of nature. We can get best material, best machinery, and best method in the world but it is very difficult to get best Human Resource to run or use the other resources in an efficient and effective way. In this context of day to day complication, it becomes all the more important to manage the Human Resources. Human Resources have one unique feature; it is the only resource among all which appreciate with time if sufficient care is taken to impart skill and knowledge. Human Resources become an asset in the long run. It gives life to the structure and system of an Organization. In this unit, you will learn the definition, core elements and objectives of HRM, HRM in Retailing and HRM activities. You will further learn the roles of HR Manager and challenges of HRM in modern management.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

HRM refers to people management in such a way that they are committed, integrated and contributing to the objectives of the Organization. It also makes sure that they stay with the Organization for fairly a long time (low attrition rate) though not wedded to the Organization. Let us see the process of defining HRM that leads us to two different definitions. The first definition of HRM is that it is the process of managing people in Organizations in a structured and thorough manner. This covers the fields of staffing (hiring people), retention of people, pay and perks setting and management, performance management, change management and taking care of exits from the Company to round off the activities. This is the traditional definition of HRM which leads some experts to define it as a modern version of the Personnel Management function.

The second definition of HRM encompasses the management of people in Organizations from a macro perspective i.e. managing people in the form of a collective relationship between management and employees. This approach focuses on the objectives and outcomes of the HRM function. What this means is that the HR function in contemporary Organizations is concerned with the notions of people enabling, people development and a focus on making the “employment relationship” fulfilling for both the management and employees. Changes are happening at a faster pace rather exponentially in the business influencing the environment within the Organization. The human resources of an Organization should be capable of adopting and/or adapting to the changes quickly. This necessitates the Organizations to ensure that they have the right people capable of facing the business challenges effectively.

Management of these resources therefore is an integral part of business success. The efficient and effective management of human resources results in;

● High productivity - increased profits – growth - increased market value

● Enhanced company image - customer satisfaction

● Healthy organizational climate and culture - effective communication

● Competitiveness and development orientation

Objectives of HRM

HRM objectives can be broadly categorized into four types as presented below.

• Organizational Objectives: The primary objective of HRM is to build the Organization with quality and committed human resource and ensure the achievement of Organizational objectives. In retail individual performances are very critical to the Store environment.

• Functional Objectives: HRM should ensure that the right person is assigned to the right job at the right time. It should facilitate quality performance by way of providing appropriate human resource policy framework. In retail proper induction programme ensures this objective.

• Personal Objectives: HRM aims to assist employees in achieving their personal goals because these goals enhance the individual’s contribution towards the achievement of Organizational goals through proper training and product knowledge. This is necessary to maintain, retain and motivate the employees in the Organization which will ultimately enhance employee performance and satisfaction.

• Societal Objectives: Organizations need to be ethically and socially responsible to the needs and challenges of the society. The HRM of an Organization should work for satisfying such societal objectives while minimizing the negative impact of such measures upon the Organization.