Management Research News

Effective human resource management of county employees

Jeremy Huntley, Brian H. Kleiner,
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county employees", Management Research News, Vol. 28 Issue: 11/12, pp.52-59, https://
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 Effective Human Resource
Effective Human
Resource Management of County Employees
Management of by Jeremy Huntley and Brian H. Kleiner
County Employees
Introduction

Government is a very labour intensive enterprise. Public organisations pro-

vide services, enforce laws and regulations, solve problems, and have varied
missions. Their varied missions include protection of the environment, food
safety, elderly and disabled assistance, education of our children, and civil
rights enforcement. All of these activities require the use of human resources.
The quality of employees in the county directly relates to how well the
county performs. Essential tasks of human resource managers are to find
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qualified employees for these government positions, as well as to promote an

attractive work environment for these employees. Failure to use effective hu-
man resource management risks low productivity and a lack of commitment
to the community. County managers have the challenge of meeting multiple
objectives including productivity, staffing and many more.

Public employees represent a significant proportion of all employees.

Seventeen per cent of the national civilian labour force are government em-
ployees (Mathis & Jackson, 2002). Not only are public employees large in
number, they also hold a wide variety of positions. Government workers in-
clude investigators, programme analysts, postal workers, etc. Few private or-
ganisations compare to the diversity of specialisation in the public sector.
Public management includes issues other than personnel including strategic
planning, external relations, and budgeting.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the basic functions of public

personnel management, focusing on the county sector. The general mission
of a public human resource manager is to serve individuals and the commu-
nity by ensuring effective management of human resources through compre-
hensive programmes that develop and maintain a quality workforce. Human
resource managers accomplish their mission by partnering with employees
and citizens to create a responsive atmosphere that values and supports cre-
ativity, risk-taking, integrity, and diversity to provide excellence in customer
service (Wheelan & Hunger, 2002).

Effective management of county employees should start with meeting

the needs of the members through continually improving their services, en-
hancing their organisation’s professionalism, building on past traditions, and
regularly challenging existing beliefs and practices (Marquardt & Engel,
1998). Counties should recognise their vital role in promoting their mem-
bers’ growth by providing continuing education opportunities and encourag-
ing active membership involvement at local and national levels. In all of their

52 Management Research News

 Association activities, they should adhere to sound business practices, while
promoting the highest ethical standards possible.
Effective Human
Staffing Resource
Management of
All organisations must staff their operations. This involves bringing new County Employees
people into the business and making sure they are productive additions to the
enterprise. Effective human resource management matches and develops the
abilities of job candidates and employees with the needs of the organisation.
A responsive personnel system usually helps to assist in this process and is a
key ingredient for growth. This is very important in the county system be-
cause the quality of the employees directly affects the quality of work that is
performed for the community. If human resources do not hire qualified peo-
ple for the position then substandard services will be delivered to the commu-
nity. In recent years we have been getting less qualified people applying in
the public sector than in the private sector (Rothwell, Prescott, & Taylor,
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1998). This is not exactly a good sign because it is sending a message that
government agencies are not looking for competent or qualified employees.
Human resource management is a balancing act. At one extreme, you hire
only qualified people who are well suited to the organisations needs. At the
other extreme, you train and develop employees to meet the needs of the or-
ganisation.
Human resource management services should focus on providing a fo-
rum to bring management’s needs and desires together with the employee’s
assets and ambitions. Through professional and effective processes, quali-
fied applicants should be selected to become valuable human resource assets.
These employees should be given career development and advancement op-
portunities through on-the-job experience, formal and informal training,
on-going evaluation and feedback, and advancement opportunities within
the county system (Gilley & Maycunnich, 1998).
Productivity
A basic responsibility of all managers is to ensure that the job is completed
and done so correctly. Human resource managers must use their authority
and influence to ensure that their employees are working creatively to ac-
complish the goals for the organisation, which in the public sector would be
to deliver the most effective and efficient services to the public. Managers
need to promote a staff that is competent and that works hard. This is essential
because it affects every person living and working in that county. The quality
of the county workers represents the reputation of that county. Motivation is
directly related to the effort working in that county. Managers should make it
a daily goal to ensure that their employees are continuously applying their
skills and abilities. Another task for the human resource manager, which is
especially important with county employees, is to provide motivation. If the
employees are not motivated then they will not perform their jobs correctly.
Managers everywhere in every organisation have been trying to figure out

Volume 28 Number 11/12 2005 53

 what promotes motivation. There is no one standard procedure, every entity
is different, so the manager must find what works for his or her workforce.
Effective Human Some managers say that a clean workplace removes unwanted distractions,
Resource which helps promote motivation for employees. In most cases motivation de-
Management of pends solely on the employee. For some employees, their job and career are
County Employees very important to them, for others they look at their career as just a job and
seek no motivation. Effective human resource management in the county
system counts on the managers recognising and acting on what motivates the
employees.

Employee Rights

It is essential to protect certain individual employee rights and freedoms.

There are many rights of the employee. Some of the rights entitled to the em-
ployee include the freedom to be hired fairly and openly, the freedom to be
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trusted, the freedom of speech, freedom from intrusions into one’s person
and effects, freedom from environmental hazards, freedom from stress, free-
dom in off-hours, freedom from sexual harassment, freedom of information
about the county and one’s own records, freedom from organisational propa-
ganda, freedom to participate in certain county decisions, freedom in em-
ployee benefits, freedom of due process in adverse actions, and freedom
from abusive firing. In turn, county officers and managers expect that em-
ployees understand these freedoms must be balanced with management’s
needs, rights, precedents and public demands (Broad & Newstrom, 1992). In
general, the human resource management function involves facilitating pro-
cesses to promote personal, department and county-wide commitment to ex-
cellence.

Through these policies and procedures listed below there is personnel

system administered in a manner that will provide for the effective imple-
mentation of the following merit principles (Swanson & Holton, 1997).
· recruiting, selecting, and advancing employees on the basis of
their relative ability, knowledge, and skills, including open
consideration of qualified applicants for initial appointment;
· provision of equitable and adequate compensation;
· training of employees as needed to assure high-quality
performance;
· retention of employees on the basis of the adequacy of their
performance, and separation of employees whose inadequate
performance cannot be corrected;
· fair treatment of applicants and employees in all aspects of
personnel administration without regard to race, colour, religion,
sex, national origin, political affiliation, age, or disability, and

54 Management Research News

 with proper regard for their privacy and constitutional rights as
citizens;
Effective Human
· provisions of information to employees regarding their political Resource
rights and prohibited practices under the Hatch Act; and Management of
County Employees
· provision of a formal procedure for processing the appeals and
grievances of employees without discrimination, coercion,
restraint or reprisal.

For an organisation to succeed in a more volatile and competitive environ-

ment, its cultural values need to be revised to a certain extent. It becomes nec-
essary for the top management to understand the major changes that the
county will undergo and the need for redefining of thinking processes and
general management values (Davis, R. & Davis, A.B., 1998).
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Restructuring is defined as the shift towards decentralised units and

product differentiation followed by the need to restructure the essential skills
of its engineering workforce (Davis, R. & Davis, A.B., 1998). The major in-
crease in the development of small and distributed systems will be achieved
through a combination of existing, and a creation of a new entry-level grade
of service oriented representatives. The majority of the new government ini-
tiatives have been implemented to reasonable success. This was a significant
shift away from traditional personnel values such as employee relations to-
wards a much broader, strategic and critical viewpoint of the counties human
resources with an emphasis on competitive advantage. In order to achieve its
new strategic goals and to ensure long term stability, the personnel function
needed to actively forecast the organisations future human resource needs
based widely on manpower planning and skills retention through a series of
new processes including appraisals, pay flexibility, assessment and career
planning. As this process, known generally as Human Resource Planning
(HRP), managed to address most of the major human resource issues associ-
ated with the implementation of a new business strategy and also added a new
dimension to the personnel function of the organisation. A change in culture
entails a change in individual beliefs, values and attitudes, and this could be
no mean task. The members of an organisation require very good reasons to
be willing to make changes to what is basically a set of personal assumptions
(Broad & Newstrom, 1992). The problem with human resources as opposed
to personnel is that the focus appears to shift from the individual to the or-
ganisation and the accent seems to be on keywords such as competitive ad-
vantage. In order to integrate an efficient human resource strategy with the
government strategy, it is vital to stress the goals of the organisation and also
to place an emphasis on the needs and wants of the employee. The other area
in which the strategy could be made more efficient is in the restructuring of
the counties procedure, if needed. Taking into consideration the environmen-
tal factors affecting the county, the matrix structure appears to be ideal.
Though it may be argued that every form of organisational structure has both

Volume 28 Number 11/12 2005 55

 strong and weak points, a structure that is applicable to the environmental
context, as well as having fewer disadvantages attached to, could be applied.
Effective Human
Resource Ethics
Management of
County Employees In every public or private, government agency or corporation, ethics is what
drives the organisation towards being an effective entity. If the managers in
the organisation do not instill a sense of ethics in their employees then
chances are very high that corruption may take place. Every county should
adhere to some stated code of ethics. It will help keep employees honest in
their mission to better the organisation. For example, in the county of Lan-
caster the employees follow a list of ethics that are stated below:
· Maintain the highest standards of professional and personal
conduct.
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· Strive for personal growth in the field of human resource

management.
· Support the Association’s goals and objectives for developing
the human resource management profession.
· Encourage my employer to make the fair and equitable treatment
of all employees a primary concern.
· Strive to make my employer successful through the support and
encouragement of effective employment practices.
· Instill in the employees and the public a sense of confidence
about the conduct and intentions of my employer.
· Maintain loyalty to my employer and pursue its objectives in
ways that are consistent with the public interest.
· Support all employment laws, regulations and policies relating to
my employer’s activities.
· Refrain from using my official position, either regular or
volunteer, to secure special privileges, gain or benefit for myself,
or to directly sell, promote or otherwise encourage other
members to purchase or use my employer’s products and/or
services.
· Maintain the confidentiality of privileged information.
· Improve public understanding of the role of human resource
management.
“This Code of Ethics for members of the Lancaster County Association for
Human Resource Management has been adopted to promote and maintain
the highest standards of personal conduct and professionalism among its
members. Adherence to this code is required for membership in the Associa-

56 Management Research News

 tion and serves to assure public confidence in the integrity and service of hu-
man resource management professionals.” (www.lancaster.com)
Effective Human
Effective human resource managers of county employees should ad- Resource
minister comprehensive programmes aiming to attract, motivate, and retain Management of
an efficient and productive workforce. Human resource management pro- County Employees
vides certain programmes and services to the workforce that provides gov-
ernment services to the citizens of that county. Human resource management
activities include:
· Providing employment and volunteer opportunities;
· Promoting a diversified workforce and advising managers,
employees, applicants, and citizens on diversity;
· Developing training programmes designed to meet the needs of
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the workforce by enhancing their knowledge, skills, and abilities

and preparing employees for future challenges and opportunities;
· Providing employee relations counseling to county employees to
improve work relationships and the work environment;
· Developing human resources policies to meet the needs of the
organisation while ensuring legal compliance;
· Administering a total compensation programme which attracts
applicants, maintains internal equity, competes in relevant labour
markets, and retains high performers;
· Developing and maintaining a human resource information
system to provide managers with useful automated information
and management reports; and
· Promote a human resource management staff that will serve in a
consultative role with county departments, employees and
citizens to meet the changing needs of the organisation and
population.
Conclusion
County agencies and departments touch our lives in countless ways. It is the
job of the managers to promote an effective strategy to promote an effective
and efficient workplace. Human resource management of county employees
is a very good and efficient method of establishing a productive workplace.
Effective management of the county is very important because the county
employees handle very important tasks. Their varied missions include pro-
tection of the environment, food safety, elderly and disabled assistance, edu-
cation of our children, and civil rights enforcement. How well county
agencies perform their missions determines their impact on the people living
and working in that county. This is why effective human resource manage-
ment is very important in the county system. The employee’s performance

Volume 28 Number 11/12 2005 57

 and contributions are directly related to the community. As such, the size and
scope of the missions may vary greatly, but all agencies share a common fea-
Effective Human ture: Their success depends on individual public servants doing their jobs
Resource well. For public servants to do their jobs well, good leadership is essential.
Management of Therefore, it is vital for government human resource professionals to acquire
County Employees the knowledge and skills to manage effectively.
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58 Management Research News

 References
Broad, M. & Newstrom, J.W. (1992) Transfer of Training. Reading, MA: Effective Human
Addison-Wesley. Resource
Management of
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Gilley, J.W. & Maycunnich, A. (1998) Strategically Integrated HRD. Read-
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Mathis, R. & Jackson, J. (2002) “Essential Perspectives,” Human Resource
Management, pp.25-40.
Marquardt, M.J. (1996) Building the Learning Organization. New York:
McGraw-Hill.
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Pike, R.W. (1994) Creative Training Techniques Handbook. Minneapolis:

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Volume 28 Number 11/12 2005 59