ROLES OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN GROOMING NEXT GENERATION LEADERS

LITERATURE REVIEW:
Achieving credibility with business leaders requires tying HR strategies and actions to real business results and the first step to achieving this is to translate corporate goals into workforce needs. The second step is to define business linked KPIs (Key Performance Indicator) and measure outcomes. Our Research Paper indicates that building the business acumen of the HR team through working immediately alongside the business, speaking their language, sharing their KPIs, using their tools and inviting business resources into the HR team, are all ways of increasing HR presence and credibility with Line Managers and Senior Executives. A greater use of meaningful metrics and strategic communication of HR services are also powerful ways to achieve recognition and become a valued member of the business at the enterprise level. Our paper also shows all three levels of HR service provided by the HR function are integral to customer satisfaction and organisational success; however the greatest impact can be had when we are truly being strategic and valued for this.

METHODOLOGY OF THE PAPER: Secondary Data INTRODUCTION

The Human Resource Department deals with management of people within the organization. There are a number of responsibilities that come with this title. First of all, the Department is responsible for hiring members of staff; this will involve attracting employees, keeping them in their positions and ensuring that they perform to expectation. Besides, the Human Resource Department also clarifies and sets day to day goals for the organization. It is responsible for organization of people in the entire Company and plans for future ventures and objectives involving people in the Company. Research has shown that the human aspect of resources within an organization contributes approximately eighty percent of the organizations value. This implies that if people are not managed properly, the organization faces a serious chance of falling apart. The Human Resource Departments main objective is to bring out the best in their employees and thus contribute to the success of the Company. These roles come with certain positive and negative aspects. However, the negative aspects can be minimized by improvements to their roles and functions. These issues shall be examined in detail in the subsequent sections of the essay with reference to case examples of businesses in current operation.

POSITIVE ASPECTS OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

1. Recruitment of Employees This is one of the most fundamental roles of the HR department. This is because this function ensures that the Company under consideration selects the most skillful and competent person from a sea of applicants at that time. This function involves evaluation of ability and competency of potential employees in relation to what the Company needs. This role falls under the Staffing role of management. If this function is performed well, then the organization will increase value consequently being on the right pathway to achieve its organizational and departmental goals and objectives. Effective recruitment can be done through a number of ways. First of all the Company can conduct educational and psychological measurements. This task will involve assessment of abilities, skills and character evaluation of applicants. Through psychometric evaluation, the Company can ensure that employees have the right attitude necessary to fit into the organization. Another method Companies use to recruit members of staff is through interviews. Here, the Human Resource Department can ask applicants questions that evaluate their decision making abilities and how they would deal with certain situations if presented with them. The Department can also employ the use of written interviews where applicants answer questions addressing key issues in the organization. Through these channels, the Department contributes towards organizational performance. An example of a Company that performs this role well is Tesco Ireland. The Company notifies the public about vacancies. It then posts a questionnaire online and interested parties fill it at that time. This is then evaluated and those who fall within their minimum requirements are invited for an interview. In the interview, applicants are asked a number of questions and those who did extremely well are further analysed and retained. Those who did moderately well are not immediately eliminated; instead, their interview questions are kept on file then these are reviewed after six months. By so doing, the Tesco Ireland makes sure that its employees are highly capable and that they will enrich the organisation. 2. Improvement of Compensation Packages One of the major functions of the HR department is to motivate employees. This can be done through rewards especially for those who have done well. The HR department needs to evaluate performance of employees and those who have exceeded expectations should be compensated for their actions. Research has shown that rewarding employees for good performance is the number one incentive for keeping up this trend. These compensation packages can come in the following ways; - Holiday Offers - End of Year Bonuses - Equities - Awards - Salary Increments - Provision of Flexible Working Hours - Straight forward Promotion Schemes and Career Developments

If the HR department includes these incentives, then it will ensure that employees are satisfied with the Company. It will also contribute towards good staff retention rates. This is especially crucial in increasing stability within the organization. It also makes employees identify with the firm and instills a sense of loyalty. 3. Planning in the Organization The Human Resource Department is placed with the responsibility of ensuring that it plans adequately for all the organisations future engagements that will involve people. One important aspect of this is planning for employees in the organisation. It is important that the organisation ensures that all the employees under its wing are just enough to increase value to the organisation. The Department must ensure that staff members are not too many because if they exceed this amount, then the organisation stands too lose. It must plan adequately to ensure that staff members are not too few either, otherwise they will be overworking those who are already in place. Consequently, there will be poor motivation resulting from fatigue. The HR department is also bestowed with the responsibility of planning future organizational goal in relation to people or clarifying these same goals to staff members. This function of the department ensures that people in the organization have a general direction which they are working towards. Organizations that have a clear direction are always more effective; those members of staff will be more result oriented rather than just working for the sake of it. The Department is also responsible for setting day to day objectives necessary for streamlining activities within the organization and thus ensuring that work is not just done haphazardly.

NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF FUNCTIONS AND ROLES OF THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

There are a number of problems that arise as the department goes about its activities 1. Problems in Recruitment The department may sometimes be unable to adequately coordinate and incorporate all the employees needed in the Companys operations. One such example is the NHS. In the year 2004, the organization was found to be wanting in its human resource departments functions. The Company was recruiting a large proportion of its employees; 40% from Asian and African countries. This means that the organization was draining medical personnel from those needy countries and using them for themselves. Such a practice showed that the HR department had exercised bad judgment in its staffing function. Instead, it could have used these foreign nurses as temporary measure and put in place a strategy to train local nurses such that it could stop depending on those poor countries for supply of nurses. 2. Problems in Remuneration In the process of trying to motivate members of staff to perform better, the Human Resource may make deals that eventually cause problems. A case in point is the Home Depot. This Company has an employee Compensation policy that requires that one should be rewarded for the time they have served the Company.

3. Problems in Planning Sometimes the HR Department can employ people who may not contribute towards organizational principles. A classic example is the Arthur Andersen Company that fell apart in the year 2002. This was an American Company that dealt with audits. It was initially very successful in its operations prior to that fateful year. But in the latter years of its operations, the Company was involved in two accounting scandals that tarnished its name and subsequently caused failure. The Company failed to plan well for the kind of employees it recruited. This was witnessed when one of its employees in the Legal Department called Nancy Temple was fined in the Court of law for non adherence to accounting laws. This problem could have been prevented if the HR department had evaluated this employee before hiring her and also evaluation should have been done during her performance. If HR had been extremely critical, then they would have realized that the employee did not adhere to Company principles and would therefore have terminated her employment. Beside this, the Arthur Andersen Human Resource department also failed in its communication function to employees. The department should have ensured that they constantly communicate to members of staff about the goals and objectives of the Company on a day to day basis. This would have made them very clear in the minds of employees and would have prevented the downfall of the Company. The Changing Human Resources Function The HR function has been likened to a business within a business - it has: Products and services to offer Competitors - such as outsourced providers Customers - who can be satisfied or dissatisfied (all staff) and costs to deliver their products and services And costs to deliver their products and services

FIRST GENERATION HR
The structure of the HR function should reflect the services and/or products that it provides to its customers. These products and services can be offered at 3 levels that reflect the evolution of the HR function over the last 15 years. The first generation of HR, Personnel Administration, remains the foundation of the function across organizations of all sizes, and is predominantly a support role. It provides the core administrative transactional HR services, such as leave processing, salary packaging, recruitment and training. The repetitive, high touch nature of these activities has meant that the development of HR Information and e-Learning systems have allowed employees and managers to attend to numerous HR requirements independently of the HR department.

SECOND GENERATION HR
Personnel Administration continued to evolve as the need to understand the business objectives and relate directly to the needs of business managers became more important if the HR function was to survive. Second generation Human Resources Management meant working more

closely with the line managers to truly understand their challenges and needs from the HR function. In this model, generalist HR managers are the major interface between HR and the business unit. They have dual reporting lines and are typically supported by corporate HR specialists and/or outsourced providers. Their role is to provide true Human Resources Management services, to see themselves as business partners, developing HR systems that facilitate the implementation of business plans, particularly those around change management, and overseeing talent management for their particular business unit. Some of the obstacles to the effectiveness of this model are the frequent lack of business understanding by HR Managers, the conflicting priorities often associated with dual reporting and the lack of HR administrative support available. Internal competition for a limited number of specialist corporate resources has also been an impediment. The significant conceptual shift that occurred at this time is evident in the renaming of the function from Personnel Management to Human Resources Management, as well as the emergence of both HR Generalists and Specialists.

THIRD GENERATION HR
More recently, the increasing war for talent and critical role that retention has to play in organisational effectiveness, has seen the need for the third generation of HR: 3G HRM. This strategic partner role is the least developed HR role, but the most valuable to corporate sustainability. The 3G HR Manager is expected to contribute to business strategy at the organisational level, based on considerations of human capital, organisational capabilities, readiness and strategically differentiating HR practices. They must have a seat at the table, working alongside senior executives to be able to make an impact. Establishing credibility is vital, as is a focus on business solutions rather than HR process. Shifts in business needs due to disruptive technology, world events and new competitors, planned changes to business such as entry into new markets or product lines, are only effectively managed by having key talent on board. However, shifts in external labor supply, ability to attract external talent, and managing a variable internal talent pipeline are all issues that lie within the HR sphere and hence HR Managers can play a key role in helping the business to adapt to constant changes. The Strategic Partner / 3G HRM role differs from the Business Partner role in that it is not about implementation but about thought leadership in the people management realm. It can contribute to overall organisational effectiveness, not only through the HR Management services offered and delivered by HR Managers, but also through the development of systems and strategies around.

The Evolution of HR Metrics

The use of HR metrics is integral to building credibility and illustrating the value that HR can add. Not surprisingly, HR metrics have evolved in parallel to the 3 generations of the Human Resources function. First generation HR called for efficiency metrics, where the focus was on the costs associated with recruiting staff and ensuring that they met their productivity targets. Some of the early indicators reported on by the Personnel function were headcount, absenteeism, turnover, recruitment, training, terminations, OH&S and workers compensation and became known as Workforce Metrics. All worded in a negative language that reflects the view of staffing and its associated costs. Not until the Second Generation of HR evolved, did business analysts report on broader statistics, such as staff movement (including recruitment, internal movement,

separation), employee wellbeing (including absenteeism, OH&S) and workforce profiles (eg. age, tenure and occupational groups). It was the earliest attempt to measure the alignment of HR programs with the business strategy. The discipline also became referred to as Workforce Analytics because it used metrics to proactively identify potential problems/opportunities, and transformed HR data and measures into relevant insights into how organizational performance could be improved. Such effectiveness metrics are very powerful when identifying hot spots and measuring the impact of HR initiatives. Third Generation HR has highlighted the need for even more advanced workforce analytics that allow organizations to answer the question, What is the real impact of HR practices on organisational performance? Such sophisticated data analysis and reporting allows business to address and solve commercial challenges through the effective implementation of corporate initiatives that draw on empirical data from all 4 quadrants of the balanced scorecard.

The Changing Relationship with Line Managers

Where does line management stop and HR management begin? More and more, line managers are being equipped with the skills and tools necessary for effective people management. A number of reasons have been cited for why this increase in line management involvement has occurred.9 The most frequently cited reason by both HR and Line Managers is to give Line Managers more ownership of people management responsibilities. There is however some discrepancy between these groups around allowing HR staff to spend more time on strategic activities (HR Managers consider this to explain devolvement more so than Line Managers),

while Line Managers are more inclined to believe that it is a cost cutting exercise, although in both cases only about 30% of Line Managers thought this way.

THE 3G HR ROLE PROFILE

The next generation of HR practitioners needs to be able to fulfill a whole new range of responsibilities that extend well beyond the original HR Position Description. To successfully drive business strategy from the human capital perspective, the 3G HR Manager needs to: truly understand stakeholders and investors needs understand business processes (including financial aspects) be able to identify and understand market trends that might affect the organisation (and associated risks and opportunities) predict future HR requirements know of and be able to apply emerging HR related technologies and services (eg. recruitment process outsourcing) rechannel the competencies of poor performers develop and apply meaningful HR metrics (lead & lag) define HR decision making frameworks for the business demonstrate commitment to business KPIs Benchmark performance against external best practice champion the HR function and its role in organisational effectiveness An Australian survey of a sample of HR Directors11 across various industries highlighted that their HR teams were mostly lacking in their ability to develop meaningful HR metrics and that they are finding it challenging to develop the right metrics in a business environment that has a short term focus.

The 3G HR Competency Profile

THE CORE ROLES OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR NEXT GENERATION LEADERS AND MANAGERS ARE GROUPED BELOW INTO THREE CATEGORIES
PLANNING AND ORGANISING FOR WORK, PEOPLE AND HRM Strategic perspective Organisation design Change management Corporate Wellness management PEOPLE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT Staffing the organization Training & development Career Management Performance Management Industrial relations ADMINISTRATION OF POLICIES , PROGRAMMES & PRACTICES Compensation management Information management Administrative management Financial management ROLES The roles listed above are now described in terms of broad functions, activities and outcomes to illustrate more or less what the descriptions will look like once the Standard Generating Groups begin to work with each role in detail. PLANNING AND ORGANISING FOR WORK, PEOPLE AND HRM STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE Develop Human Resource plans and strategies aligned to the organisations strategic direction. and business strategy. Provide tools and tactics to enhance execution of these strategies Integrate HRM with current and pending legislation and socio-political changes. Integrate Human Resource Management with general organisational management. Manage the interface between HRM processes and systems.

Formulate and communicate HRM policies. Act as the conscience of employer with respect to people issues. Scan the environment (both international and national) and identify emerging trends that will affect the organisation and the management of people therein. Assess the long-term impact of short-term decisions on people. Manage people related issues accompanying mergers, alliances and acquisitions. Express (embody) the philosophy and values regarding people management in the organisation. ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN Analyze work processes and recommend improvements where necessary. Recommend options for organisational design & structure. CHANGE MANAGEMENT Advise management on implications of change for employees. Co-ordinate & facilitate the change process. Facilitate changed relationships. Provide support structures for employees during change. Deliberate and proactive management of the changing environment and its implications for work and the organisation. CORPORATE WELLNESS MANAGEMENT Develop and communicate policies and procedures with regard to the management of wellbeing Manage occupational health and safety Manage wellbeing (Employee Assistance programs & Health Promotion programs) PEOPLE ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT STAFFING THE ORGANISATION As an example, each of the functions of this role is further unpacked in terms of activities. Human Resource Planning (linked to strategic perspective) Determine long-term human resource needs. Assess current resources. Identify areas of need. Determining requirements of jobs Appoint a representative committee with the task of conducting the job analysis. Decide on the use of job analysis information. Decide on the sources of job analysis information. Decide on the method for job analysis. Review the information.

 Based on the outcomes of the job analysis, write job descriptions and job specifications Recruitment of staff for the organisation Develop & implement recruiting strategy bearing in mind relevant legislation. Decide whether recruitment will take place externally or internally. Select methods of the recruitment (for example job posting, personnel agencies & advertising) Engage in recruitment. Selection of human resources Develop and implement selection strategy in line with relevant legislation. Select appropriate tools for selection. Validate selection tools in line with legislation. Provide selection short list for line management to make a decision. Placement of staff Place staff in ways that will have the potential to benefit both organisation and employee Induction and orientation Act as a facilitator for induction and orientation of new employees Management of a-typical employment situations. Management of termination Advise management regarding the strategic implications of terminating employment relationships. Conduct exit interviews. Develop a plan to replace competence lost. Analysis of staff turnover and advise management on pending problems and corrective action (where necessary). TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT Develop a training & development strategy according to the requirements of legislation and with the improvement of productivity and delivery as outcome. Conduct a training needs-assessment including the assessment of prior learning and write training & development objectives based on the outcome thereof. Conduct training & development. Evaluate training & development with regard to the return on investment. Promote training & development in the organisation. CAREER MANAGEMENT Design and implement a career management program aimed at integrating individual aspirations and organisational needs & realities. Manage career-related issues in the organisation for example women, affirmative action and management of diversity with attention to legislation in this regard. Manage career-related issues surrounding organisational restructuring, downsizing &

outplacement including provision of support.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Design and implement a performance management system linked to relevant HRM systems and aimed at contributing directly to the business strategy. Assess performance. Use outcome of performance assessment as the basis for decision-making in areas mentioned in point 1. Management of individual as well as collective labor (organisational) performance. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS Develop and communicate industrial relations policies and procedures in line with legislation. Involvement in grievance and disciplinary hearings Lead negotiations (where necessary). Implement termination procedures Assessment and management of organisational climate and employee relations Liaison with trade unions Implementation of outcomes of collective bargaining and negotiation ADMINISTRATION OF POLICIES, PROGRAMMES & PRACTICES COMPENSATION MANAGEMENT Develop compensation strategies and policies in line with legislation and the organisations business strategy. Attach meaningful monetary values to posts in the organisation ensuring that the organisations compensation is in line with market forces (this may be by means of traditional job evaluation or other methods such as skill or competency based pay). Develop appropriate compensation systems for the organisation. Manage overall labor costs. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Provide current information regarding employees to be used in the decision-making process and measurement of HRMs contribution to the organisation. Advise management regarding trends emerging from the data. Conduct HRM research with the aim of solving problems in the organisation.

ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGEMENT Provide integrated HRM administration that is speedy & cost effective to receiver & administrator. Integrated employee data management FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Manage the budget for HRM functions (Training and development, IR compensation, Employment Equity). Negotiate maximal funds for HR. Add value to the organisation by demonstrating a sound understanding of the complexity of business. Measure the financial impact of human resource systems.

CONCLUSION

The Human Resource Management teams main function is to manage people. There are positive and negative aspects of this function; first of all, the HR department enriches the organisation through recruitment procedures. Besides this, they are also responsible for organizing incentives or compensation packages to motivate employees. All these functions contribute towards organisational effectiveness. However, there are some negative aspects of HR; it has to bear the burden of blame if an employee performs. Besides this, some policies made by the department may be detrimental to the. Improvements to their role can be done by arranging training for staff members, organizing activities for the organisation and changing organisational culture. Hence we can conclude from our research with changing times the importance of the Human Resource Department and HR qualities in a manager is becoming a lot more essential for the development of an organization. In the year 2012 we can see that competition is not anymore constricted to a particular geographical location but its more on a global basis hence managing people/ manpower which is one of the most important resources of an organization becomes more critical. For a manager or a leader communication skills, leadership skills, maintain interpersonal relationships are one of the most important skills required for them to excel. Skills in change management as discussed previously is also an important skill set required for a manager to adapt and act according to the ever changing market conditions.

Suggestions:
Strategies to Improve Human Resource Departments Value to the Organization Training and Internships It is not necessarily a guarantee that a candidate who did well in the recruitment exercise is the best in performing an organizations functions. New employees need orientation into the Companys functions and can also improve some inefficiency that these new employees may have in relation to their skills. This is the purpose of placing them on internships. Training is also essential for members of staff who have been working for the organisation for a long time. This is especially so in the wake of technological advancements, legal changes and changes in service delivery. It is important for an Organisation to keep up with industry trends otherwise it faces the danger of becoming obsolete; especially in the background of increasing competition. Training need not be restricted to improvement of skills; it can also involve improvement of attitudes. This is normally characterised by attendance of workshops and other forms of talks. Training also increases motivation of employees and gives them that extra boost of energy needed to get them through tough times in their jobs. All the above tasks are placed under the Department of Human Resource because it is the one that will asses when training is needed, who needs the training, where and by whom. This aspect is a sure to improve value of the HR Department in the organisation.

An example of a company that adheres to this principle is Marks and Spencer retail chain outlet. The Company offers training for twelve months. Here new employees are taught all that is necessary to meet organisational goals and objectives then they can start work when they are ready to do so.

Making Better Use of Time The Human Resource is conferred with the responsibility of ensuring that all members of staff perform to their best ability. It could improve this area by facilitating better use of time in all departments within the organisation. Time is one of the most crucial yet intangible assets of the Company. The proper use of this resource could maximise production and achievement of organisational goals. The Department can do this by planning activities to be carried out in the organisation. It can make schedules for the various activities that have to be done in the organisation and thus facilitate better flow of information. In addition to this, the Company can also ensure that all members of staff are held accountable for not performing a certain task. This is especially in regard to maintenance of the schedules. In so doing, human the Human Resource Department will be ensuring that employees do not simply report to work and that the time spent at work is directly proportional to output. Improving Organisational Culture The Human Resource Department can try to improve organisational culture through a three step procedure. The first step of the process is observation. In this step HR finds out what makes ups or what the companys culture is like. HR should also be very intense on the organisational needs. Here, HR should realize that personal fulfillment works better and therefore should try to ensure that the change is relevant to every staff member. In this stage, HR should try to explain to all staff members or stakeholder the advantage of transforming the culture in the organisation. This should be made clear so that all can see the advantages at the individual level and not simply at the organizational level. Then HR should try to eliminate all inhibitions in staff members minds. It is possible that some may claim that they tried one or two strategies before and it did not succeed. This are what are called cries of despair and HR should try its best to explain to staff members the need of changing the culture of the organisation. The next step is the analysis of various aspects. Here, there is collection of data needed in making certain that culture changes. This stage involves checking out the success features or the factors that can facilitate its success. There should be calibration of data collected. Staff members should be made to understand that there are no perfect situations for implementation of changes. The analysis should involve assessing whether the information is sensible or not. Whether data gathered will be helpful or not and if it is too little or too much. Staff members should be requested for data that will help change the culture. Of course when trying to bring in change HR

Department should have perceived benefits, a deadline for execution and also the realised gains in relation to the change in culture. In this step, there should be reality checks which should be done often. There should also be continuous integration. Through this scheme HR Department should be able to change the culture in the organisation and add value to it.

REFERENCE AND BIBLIOGRAPHY:

http://www.younghrmanager.com/roles-and-functions-of-the-human-resource-department

http://www.citehr.com/230-core-roles-human-resource-management.html http://dcb9maxnxelio.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Business-Sustainability-through-3GHRM.pdf

http://www.ricoh.com/csr/report/pdf2011/43-44.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resource_management http://www.proquest.co.uk/en-UK/ http://search.ebscohost.com/

Books: 1. Human Resource Management by K Aswathappa 2. Management by Richard L. Daft 3. Principles Of Management by Richard L. Daft 4. Managing the Human Resource in the 21st century by Zorlu Senyucel

AUTHORS: 1. SOURADEEP DASGUPTA 2. ABHINAVA ROY 3. RAJ BAHETI