HRM practice in Grameenphone

Submitted To, Md. Mostofa Jaman

Group Member Sec: H Hasan Md Mehedi Muktamala Asaduzzaman Md Rashid Rumana 10-17141-2 10-17174-2 10-17134-2 10-17221-2

Introduction

Executive Summary:
CEO

Public Relation

CHQ

Human Resource

Financial Service

Corporate Affairs

Climate Strategy

Internal Audit

Company Compliance Officer

Company Secretary

Senior Assistant to CEO

Finance

Technology

Marketing

Sales

Customer Service

Human Resource (HR) management is not a new concept in Bangladesh. From the very beginning of a company of large investments, HR has turned out to be one of the vital ingredients of a companys existence and make a mark in the market. With the passage of time HR practices has revolution with the modern world and incorporated it with new technologies and modern sciences. Nowadays even the small and medium companies venture to have a different HR department in order to utilize their human resources most effectively and efficiently in order to maximize their productivity. This paper tries to look into the human resource practices of Grameenphone Ltd. a large sized company of five thousand employees. Grameenphone Ltd. is a telecommunication company with the primary focus on sales and customer development. Grameenphone Ltd. is working in whole country, a modern and futuristic residential living in 21st century,

It is the leading telecommunications service provider in the country with more than 16 million subscribers as of December 2007. Grameenphone has been recognized for building a quality network with the widest coverage across the country while offering innovative products and services and committed after-sales service. Grameenphone has always been a pioneer in introducing new products and services in the local market. GP was the first company to introduce GSM technology in Bangladesh when it launch edits services in March 1997.The technological know-how and managerial expertise of Telenor has been instrumental in setting up such an international standard mobile phone operation in Bangladesh. Being one of the pioneers in developing the GSM service in Europe, Telenor has also helped to transfer this knowledge to the local employees over the years. It also looks into the possible shortcomings in the way human resource policies are conducted at Grameenphone Ltd and appropriate recommendations are provided for improvement.

Human Resource of the organization:

HRM practice of GrameenPhone Ltd:

Job Analysis:
Every management job is to have a stated purpose and a list of major responsibilities. These should be clearly described and agreed between the incumbent and the superior. The job is to be graded according to its nature and the level of responsibility it carries. Whenever any significant change in the nature of responsibility takes places, the Job Description and specification should be amended accordingly. In December every year the Job Description and job specification of all management position in the Company is to be reviewed and updated at the time when Action

Plan meeting is held. In case the job content of any position is found to have changed significantly, a job analysis exercise is to be undertaken with the help of HR Department, Head Office. It is important that the incumbent is given full opportunity to participate freely in the preparation and periodic revision of the Job Description. His / Her perception and understanding of what is expected of him/her as the incumbent is most crucial for his/her success in the job. The Job Analysis and Job design is prepared before the recruitment is done. The contract signed before joining states the job description of the post the employee is joining. By setting the job description clarifies the tasks he needs to carry on and benefits both the company and the employee himself.

Human Resource Planning:

Grameenphone Ltd provides ample opportunities growth. Promotion is based both on seniority and performance. The performance of each employee is reviewed every 6 months and the employees worth in the company depends on that. The employees designation in the first two years is completely time dependent. However, the employees at the same level can be paid more or less depending on his performance. After the initial two years, the growth of the employee in the company is mostly dependent on his performance. Grameenphone Ltd believes in performance rather than age. People with potential should be at the top rather than being stuck at the bottom because of the lack of seniority. Grameenphone Ltd thinks it is both fair and good for the company as a whole. Grameenphone Ltd arranges various training programs in job related subjects for the development of its employees. This is usually arranged when the employee is not involved in any active project. This helps to utilize the free time and also comes in the best interest of the company and the employee. Grameenphone Ltd also encourages its employees to appear in various professional certification exams, which the company also pays for. The talent sourcing activities begin with effective human resource planning. This planning is aligned with the business need forecast, overall organizational growth matrix, structure and direction and is done in yearly basis. R& EB (The Resourcing & employee branding) department coordinates and evaluates people planning process that eventually approved by board considering the factors:-

Potential/ expected workload and expertise requirements. Optimum and effective utilization of the HRM for the entire company, both current and future requirements.

Possibilities for greater efficiency through reorganization and automation (use of tools &facilities) and making necessary adjustment. Employee turnover/employee mobility. New business initiatives and project s that require new competence and additional resources. Government legislation Human resources planning, budgeting and necessary approvals should be taken in the beginning of the year to ensure timely co-ordination and implementation.

Recruitment & Selection

Recruitment:
The recruitment practice is done mainly on two standard procedure of recruitment. They usually carry out in-house recruitment and/or post online job ad posting. They usually recruit fresh graduates and allow them to grow in the company. Applications received are carefully filtered and usually call a handful of candidates for the post.

The Selection Process:

The selection process has two steps firstly there is a written test. Candidates are tested basically on job related skills and their analytical ability along with some open ended questions relating to their psychological behavior. Selected candidates are called up for an interview within a week. The candidates must appear in front of an interview panel usually consisting of four members: from the HR department as overseen by the MD, Chairman, General Manager and Admin Managers. The candidates are tested for their basic knowledge about the subject matter, their interpersonal and communication skills, and their abilities to work in a team environment. Candidates after final selection are offered jobs along with the contract, which they need to sign before joining the job.

Training & Development

Training/Probationary Period:
Usually the first three months act as the probationary period for the fresh recruit. This also acts as the training period for the employee. In these 3 months, the employee is usually not allowed to work in any real life projects and based on the level of expertise they are induced to the real life projects. In these 3 months, the employee is tested indirectly and monitored and his/her caliber judged and hence the management takes the decision of where to place him.

Compensation:
A job is classified according to the skills and experience required for satisfactory performance in the job, the degree of problem-solving involved and the magnitude of the impact of a decision to be taken as an incumbent in the job. The classification is then linked to a salary grade through which a compensation package is made available to the incumbent of a job. Each job makes a contribution to the successful conduct of an activity, which in turn accrues certain benefit to the company. The compensation package, which is an expense incurred by the company, is linked to the benefit derived by the company from the job. Each grade has a minimum level of compensation and a maximum. The minimum is related to the market value of the job and is verified through the availability of suitable candidates who are prepared to join at that level of compensation. The maximum of the grade is the maximum cost. The company is prepared to incur for the contribution received from the job:

1. The employee's performance appraisal will be made as usual. 2. Based on the appraisal, performance Bonus will be payable as usual. 3. If the performance of the employee who has already reached the top of his grade is "Very Good" or above he will get only one increment for the year. The year in which the performance rating is below "Very Good" the employee will not get any increment. In this manner the employee will be able to go up to 4 steps in Basic Salary beyond his grade maximum and thereafter the basic salary will not increase any further. The allowances that are linked with basic

salary will proportionately increase. The allowances that are not calculated as a percentage of the Basic Salary will be paid at the level of the grade maximum. 4. If an employee has not reached the top of his grade yet but his normal increment, according to his performance rating, will take him beyond his grade maximum, he will be able to reach only one increment beyond his grade maximum that year. From next year clause 3 will apply. It is hoped that employees who get stuck at the top of their grades will seek advice and guidance from General Manager, Corporate Services about how to prepare themselves for higher grades.

Festival Bonus:
The company started payment of Festival Bonus to the Management Staff from the year 2000.There will be disbursement of an amount equal to one months Basic Salary of the employee on two designated festivals. Management Staffs those are in the employment of the Company for at least three months after their confirmation on the date of the festival will be eligible for the Festival Bonus.

The major festivals recognized are the following:

1: Eid-ul-Fitr. 2: Eid-ul-Azha. 3: Durga Puja. 4: Christmas. 5: Buddha Purnima.

All employees of the Company, irrespective of their religion, will draw one Festival Bonus during the time of Eid-ul-Fitr. The other Festival Bonus will be given to the Muslim employees during the time of Eid-ul-Azha. Employees other than Muslim will receive the other bonus according to their festival mentioned above. Festival Bonus will be disbursed in cash and will be paid two weeks prior to the festival date.

 Employee Relations:
The environment at Royal Homes Ltd is extremely friendly. This is very important for a property development firm because most of the work is done in teams. However, if some kind of conflict occurs among employees, the Line Manager usually solves the issue.

Performance Appraisal:
The performance of each employee is closely monitored by their immediate managers. If the broad objectives of the job are clearly understood by the Appraiser and the Appraise and the Action Plan along with the criterion of assessment is clearly agreed between them, appraisal should be a relatively easy task. If both parties are realistic, pragmatic, fair and objective in their evaluation of performance, there should be very little variation in their scoring and completion of the Performance Appraisal Form. The Appraise has to dispassionately analyze his/her performance and fill in the form with an attitude of trust and fairness in the judgment of the superior. In rating the overall performance, the Action Plan achievements will have 50% weightage. The quality of performance in accomplishing the overall objectives of the job will have the other 50%weightage. The rating for overall performance will therefore have equal emphasis between specific tasks and the general objectives of the job. Management Staff Performance Appraisal Form will be provided in duplicate by the Appraiser to the Appraise. The Appraise will fill in the requisite places on the form and return one copy to the Appraiser. The Appraiser will first complete his part of the form and then fix a date for Appraisal Interview. The interview should be held in a relaxed and congenial atmosphere and the entries on the form should be gone through together item by item. There will no doubt be difference in perception of achievement and of performance on the job but the differences should be discussed in a constructive manner so that any misunderstanding is removed and the gap in perception is narrowed down. The Appraiser will have the right to modify his remarks or to change his rating in the light of the Appraisal Interview but his original remarks and rating must remain legible. The Appraiser will then pass on the form to his superior who, if necessary, will revert back or else send the form to the General Manager, Corporate Services at Head Office for review by the Managing Director and consolidation. It is to be borne in mind by the Appraise that the ability to judge his/her own performance fairly and dispassionately, both with regard to the Action Plan as well as the overall performance, will be considered as a good managerial quality called objectivity.

The Appraiser, on the other hand, must make a realistic comparison between standards agreed and those achieved; and keep in view unanticipated constraints which could not have been overcome through other initiatives or innovative actions. Needless to emphasis that rating of overall performance is not an exercise in numbers. The external and internal environment in which the job was performed and the threats and opportunities that were encountered should be taken into account while determining the score. Above all, while judging the overall performance both parties must keep in view the performance during the whole year and guard against the fact that recent issues and events may unduly influence their judgment. The Appraisal Rating will determine the quantum of Performance Bonus the Appraise will get and the level of Annual Increment of basic salary that will be applicable at the time of salary review in the following July.

Employee Safety & Health:

For employee safety and health the Company give medical Benefit for All Permanent Staff: In case of hospitalization of the staff, spouse or any dependent child, in any recognized hospital or clinic, the Company will reimburse 50% of the hospitalization charges, which will include bed/cabin rent, doctors fees and laboratory tests & medicine required during the period of hospitalization. All other charges will be borne by the staff. In case of surgery, the Company will reimburse 75% of the total operation charges comprising of surgeons fee, anesthetists fee & O.T. charges and cost of medicine related to the surgery. Prior approval from the Head of the Business is necessary before hospitalization or surgery. The name of the patient and the name of the hospital/clinic need to be stated while taking the approval.

Department Heads will approve advance against surgery for staff on a case-to-case basis. Expenses for Delivery under Caesarean Section will be reimbursed as per clause 2.Reimbursement of more than two children will not be allowed. These rules will be subject to modification from time to time at the discretion of the Company.

Employee Motivation

 Profit Sharing:
The most significant employee benefit offered by Grameenphone Ltd is Profit Sharing. The profit sharing takes place once a year: July. Only the senior employees who are around two or more years get 20% share of the profit earned. Out of this 20% profit, 75% is distributed in terms of seniority and designation and the rest 25% is distributed on performance in that period.

Performance Bonuses:
Performance bonuses are given on the basis of performance in a given year. This happens after the yearly appraisal. The reviewer (usually the immediate boss) notes down the performance of the employee on a given set of characteristics and sends it to the MD. The MD then takes the decision on the performance bonus. However, all decisions regarding performance bonuses by the MD needs to be approved by the Board of Governors.

Rewards:
This reward system does not have any fixed criteria. This is basically an additional reward system, which provides financial incentives to employees for extraordinary performance in any area of their job.

Services Benefits:
Soft Option has a number of service benefits which is typically not found in other companies. Among the benefits are: -Flexible working hour: one can start their office on 8am in the morning and leave by 4pm. -provide transport or transport bills while attending a client meeting.

-Provide lunch from the office which is prepared in the office. -Have provision for the employees to participate in different training program and as well fund any professional certification exam from IBM, Sun, Microsoft, Oracle, etc. at companys own cost.

Yearly Picnic/Tours:
Grameenphone Ltd bears the expense of one tour/picnic per year for each employee. The company covers all transport, hotel and food expenses. This usually refreshes the employees a lot and makes room for them to interact and know each other better.

The Job:
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES REQUIREMENTS: Experience in market research tools and techniques. Excellent command on English speaking and writing skills. Excellent analytical and independent problem solving skills. Excellent communication skill and interpersonal sensitivity. Goal orientated, energetic and team playing ability. Highly adept in MS-office Applications. Basic SQL knowledge will be an added advantage.

Recruitment and Selection process for the position of Marketing Manager

To recruit a new officer, the company follows the following steps:

Finding out the vacant position:

This is done by the job analysis of that position. Moreover as business is growing and diversifying in different fields the company needs more (Research & Analysis). To handle the responsibilities of different fields. This has been identified through job analysis. At the moment the Company is having officers (Research & Analysis).Within next year they will need two officers (Research & Analysis). To handle the increased pressure of the project as well as from the customers.

Attracting the field:

To attract the prospective candidates for the position company will advertise through the following sources: Online job advertisement in different job searching websites like bdjobs, prothomalo jobs, jobsa1, including and companys own websites. Newspaper add in leading national and local daily newspapers like prothomalo/dailystar including sylheter dak etc. A notice will be hung in the company notice board in the company premises. Company will bear the cost to attract the candidates thats why candidates dont have to pay anything for making an application.

Short listing:
Candidates are short listed by scrutinizing the application forms that are received from the different candidates. There will be some basic criterias to short list the candidates. For instances: The candidate must be a marketing graduate and he must be computer literate and of course should match experience criteria. If any candidate does not fulfill any of the above criteria will not be short listed. Candidates who are short listed must possess fulfill all three criteria. On the basis of best match 50% of the applied candidates will be short listed.

Selection test:
The short listed candidates will be called for a selection test. The test will contain 50marks. The selection test will divide into two parts. First part is for testing basic marketing concepts and knowledge (out of 40); while another one will evaluate candidates computer literacy (out of 10). For this test each candidate has to perform some tasks practically sitting

using computer within a time frame. At a ratio5:3(attendees: passed) the top scorers will be asked for employment interview.

Employment interview:
Candidates who score highest in the selection test will be selected and called for a formal interview. Each candidate will be given a similar kind of situation where they have to make decision and prove their ability to handle the situation. During that process the candidates will be tested for the following competencies:

1. Customers services. 2. Team work. 3. Flexibility. 4. Achievement 5. Communication skill

Selection decision:
On the basis of the performance in written test and interview 5 candidates will be selected chronologically starting from the highest scorers. The company will have provision for another 3 candidates in case if any selected candidates do not accept offer.

Job Offer:

Top two candidates will get our formal appointment letter by currier. In the appointment letter the basic terms of the employment, policies, compensation and other benefits will be briefly mentioned.

Evaluation & Employment Contract:

Those who will accept our job offer will be given the final contract letter after successful completion of their six months probationary period. Each employee will have a line manager to whom they will report. After six months every line manager will sit with higher management to do the formal evaluation of each candidate. Then the successful candidates will be given the permanent employment contract letter. After signing this letter the employee will become a full time permanent staff member of the organization.

Conclusion:
Ensuring management or proper utilization of resources is prerequisite for achieving the organizational objectives because resources are limited and the proper exploitation of the available resources can help to achieve the top position. In the competitive situation resources are very much vital because that can provide competitive edge to the companies. The spontaneous participation of human resource is very essential for increasing the performance. The owner, authority, and stakeholders should remember that neglecting the human resources in the work place a sustainable development is not possible. They should not refute the significant roles of Human Resources rather they have to generate an idea among the human resources that they are important part of the organization by providing reasonable wages/salary, incentives, compensation, training and development program, as well as creating morale and maintaining a good relationship with them.