9 Essential Skills: Human Resources Management

In todays world of competitiveness you need have skill set which appeal to
companys requirement. When interviewing a potential new hire, its
necessary for the human resource professional to assess the candidate as
compared to the list of skills and characteristics needed for the job.
New management graduate should focus on themselves for them to be called
employable by the industry. As many industry consider Indian management
graduate unemployable.
The following skill set which are very important for a Human Resource
Professional

Organizing
Multitasking
Discretion and Business Ethics
Dual Focus
Employee Trust
Fairness Clear communication & fair treatment
Dedication to Continuous Improvement
Strategic Orientation - Forward-thinking
Team Orientation understand workforce dynamics

Rewarding system in an organisation plays an important role to motivate the

employees for the better performance. Recognition has to be very perfect to
avoid employee issues which can divide the workforce.
We need to establish criteria for what performance or contribution constitutes
rewardable behavior or actions.

All employees must be eligible for the recognition.

The recognition must supply the employer and employee with specific
information about what behaviors or actions are being rewarded and
recognized.

Anyone who then performs at the level or standard stated in the

criteria receives the reward.

The recognition should occur as close to the performance of the

actions as possible, so the recognition reinforces behavior the
employer wants to encourage.

You don't want to design a process in which managers "select" the

people to receive recognition. This type of process will be viewed
forever as "favoritism" or talked about as "it's your turn to get
recognized this month." This is why processes that single out an
individual, such as "Employee of the Month," are rarely effective.

Increasing Employee Morale during tough economic times

A high morale work place is essential to any business. Low morale can quickly
take your business off the rails and lead ultimately to business failure. The
root cause of low employee morale can be numerous including job security
issues, limited upward mobility, lousy management practices, excessive
outsourcing, lack of fair pay and much more.
Below are 3 simple ways employers can do this:

Be Honest. Let employees know the state of the company. It is critical

that employers are honest about the companys financial situation. If
business is good, discuss new projects and contracts. If its not so
good, focus on the integrity of the company and its management.

Let employees know you care. Provide information to employees about

how to make the dollar go further, or where in the local area is gas the
least expensive. Providing this information will show that you are
listening and understand and ultimately, care. Providing this
information wont cost you too much time and more importantly, it
doesnt cost anything to provide information.

Dont give up on training. We know budgets are tight but there are
some very cost effective training seminars that dont require round-trip
airfare, two nights hotel stay and a rental car. Look locally for a good
day or 1 day seminar and send your employees to it! Not only does
it show that you value their growth as an employee, it gives them a
chance to be with each other, outside of the office and can be used as
a really great morale booster. Its also a great return on a minimal
investment.

Work culture plays an important role in organization success. Hard times push
organization to the limit where its culture stands in motivating to survive.
Many organizations in India are facing tuff time managing their employee and
operations as because of culture not so conducive for changes and flexibility.
There are some of the pointers which will help to improve work culture:
1. Say thank you often, and sincerely, face-to-face.
2. Publicly acknowledge hard work and initiative on the company bulletin
board, in the newsletter, during meetings and at company social
events.
3. Offer the option for arriving an hour late on Monday mornings or
leaving an hour early on Friday afternoons when possible.
4. Give bonuses for meeting company financial goals (e.g. money,
parties, a trip, etc.). Or, offer time off to an employee who has made a
difference.
5. Acknowledge special events (e.g. birthdays, anniversaries of time
employed, accomplishments, etc.) either through cards, company
newsletters or meetings.

6. Administer quarterly reviews and encourage and/or require employees

to provide a self-evaluation.
7. Take time to meet with employees one at a time.
8. Encourage a sense of ownership in work.
9. Involve employees in decisions, especially those that will directly affect
them, and the quality progress of the company.
10.Encourage employees to participate in community service programs.
Possibly provide incentives for their involvement.
In this world problem is the word which has to do with every human life
whether it be rich or the poor. Many are not able to handle the problem as
they dont where to start from and many end making a mess which is very
difficult to clear up. It is always a very useful approach to think of successful
strategies for problems in the past. Train yourself to adapt useful problemsolving techniques to new situations!
Here is one of many possible models of problem solving.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Problem identification What is my concern?

Goal definition What do I want to achieve or change?
Brainstorming What can I do?
Consequences What might happen?
Decision How should I do it?
Implementation Do it!
Evaluation Did it work?

In todays world we have to think when some people dont, with a help of
above many possible models of problem solving one can definitely lead
somewhere to solve the problem instead sitting and crying over it.
Many
organizations,
especially
large
ones,
administer
executive
compensation somewhat differently than compensation for lower-level
employees. An executive typically is someone in the top two levels of an
organization, such as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), President, or Senior VicePresident. The common components of executive compensation are salaries,
annual bonuses, long-term incentives, supplemental benefits, and
perquisites.
Two objectives influence executive compensation:
(1) Ensuring that the total compensation packages for executives are
competitive with the compensation packages in other firms that might
employ them.
(2) Tying the overall performance of the organization over a period of time to
the compensation that is paid to executives.
It is the second objective that critics of executive compensation believe is not
being met. In many organizations, it appears that the levels of executive

compensation may be unreasonable and not linked closely to organizational

performance.
Elements of Executive Compensation
At the heart of most executive compensation plans is the idea that executives
should be rewarded if the organization grows in profitability and value over a
period of years. Because many executives are in high tax brackets, their
compensation often is provided in ways that offer significant tax savings.

Perquisites
Supplemental Benefits
Long-Term incentives
Annual bonuses
Executive salaries

Variable pay is compensation linked to individual, team, and/or organization

performance. Traditionally also known as incentives, variable pay plans are
attempts to tie additional tangible rewards given to employees for
performance beyond normal expectations. The philosophical foundation of
variable pay rests on
Several basic assumptions:

Some jobs contribute more to organizational success than others.

Some people perform better than others.
Employees who perform better should receive more compensation.
A portion of some employees total compensation should be given to
reward above-satisfactory performance.

Contrast the assumptions above with a pay system based on seniority or

length of service:

Time spent each day is the primary measure of short-term

contribution.
In the long term, length of service with the organization is the primary
differentiating factor among people.
Differences in individual contributions to the organization are
recognized through different base pay levels.
Giving additional performance rewards to some people but not others
is divisive and hampers employees working together.

Types of Variable Pay

Variable pay plans can be established that focus on individual performance,
team or group performance, and on organization-wide performance. An
important feature of variable pay plans is that incentives increase the degree
of cooperation in teams, whereas individual incentives do not.

Individual incentives are given to reward the effort and performance of

individuals.
Some of the most common means of providing individuals variable pay are
piece-rate systems, sales commissions, and bonuses.
Organization incentives reward people for the performance of the entire
organization.
This approach reduces individual and team competition and assumes that
Organization incentives reward people for the performance of the entire
organization.
Individual-centered career planning focuses on individuals careers rather
than organizational needs. It is done by employees themselves, and
individual goals and skills are the focus of the analysis. Such analyses might
consider situations both inside and outside the organization that could
expand a persons career. The different perspectives, Organizational
retrenchment and downsizing have changed career plans for many people.
They have found themselves in career transitionin other words, in need of
finding other jobs. Small businesses, some started by early retirees from big
companies, have provided many of the new career opportunities.
How People Choose Careers
Four general individual characteristics affect how people make career
choices.

Interests: People tend to pursue careers that they believe match their
interests.
Self-image: A career is an extension of a persons self-image, as well as
a molder of it.
Personality: This factor includes an employees personal orientation
(for example, whether the employee is realistic, enterprising, and
artistic) and personal needs (including affiliation, power, and
achievement needs).
Social backgrounds: Socioeconomic status and the educational and
occupation level of a persons parents are a few factors included in this
category.

Less is known about how and why people choose specific organizations than
about why they choose specific careers. One obvious factor is the availability
of a job when the person is looking for work. The amount of information
available about alternatives is an important factor as well. Beyond these
issues, people seem to pick an organization on the basis of a fit between
the climate of the organization as they perceive it and their own personal
characteristics. Many factors may influence job choice, including the gender
of the job informant who passed along job information. The dream jobs of

young people ages 13 to 17 change over time, as Further, people change jobs
more now than ever before.
Types of Recruitment Models
Different Types of Recruitment Models
Different companies have different hiring needs. So depending on level of
engagement, exclusivity, long term prospects and other factors many
different recruitment models are followed in the market.Here I will try to
explain them.
Different recruitment models:
Contigency Hiring
Retained Search
Exclusice Requirements:
Recruitment Process Outsourcing(RPO)
Outplacement
Executive Search
Contingency Hiring: In contingency hiring whenever a company comes across
any requirement it gives it to many consultants at the same time and asks all
of them to send resumes.Only the consultant whose candidate is offered gets
money from the company. Here recruiters don't get any assured and fixed
salary. Their revenue depends entirely on whether they can make offers or
not.As risk factor is high here, consultants charge more percentage for such
type of recruitment. generally company pays in terms of a specific
percentage of CTC of the candidate. This is the most prevalent way of
recruitment.
Retained Search: Here a recruitment consultant works exclusively for a
specific requirement and payment is divided into two parts.He is paid a fixed
amount by the company for search activity. It is called retainer fee. Other
than that if he makes offer he gets more money. For recruitment of senior
executives like CEO,Sales head very focused approach is required , so this
method is preferred.
Exclusive Requirements: Sometimes companies give some requirements
exclusively to recruiters. Here recruiter assures the client to close the position
within specific date. if he cant close the position by that time he needs to
either close the position with lesser commission or bear some other
penalty.All the conditions are clearly decided before the contract. Here
percentage of commission is less than contingency hiring because there is no
competition.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing(RPO): RPO model is gaining lot of popularity
recently. Here a company outsources whole recruitment process to another
consultant. Some people from the consultant side seat in the company itself
and manage the whole process by themselves. The sourcers can either sit in
the client place or in their own office. Here RPO partner is responsible for

closing all the requirements. They take care of the whole recruitment process
right from sourcing,scheduling, interviews, offer to joinings.The benefit for the
company is that- they don't have to manage their own recruitment team
which reduces costs. But on the other hand risk is high, because if
consultants don't understand the company culture and hiring plans properly it
can get disastrous also. So companies should be careful while choosing
recruitment partners.Because we are talking about high scale and longer
duration engagement here.
Outplacement: Outplacement came into picture during recession period. Here
If a company wants to lay off some people employees to cut costs, they can
hire a consultant to place those employees in other companies. The
recruitment cost is borne by the current employer.Outplacement is not very
popular till now.
Executive Search: Executive search teams only focus on senior level ie: CEO,
CTO, Sales head and similar kind of requirements. Method of sourcing for
such positions are quite different from junior level requirements. Here number
of potential candidates are less and they don't prefer to show their resume on
the portals. So head-hunting, searching in networking sites and personal
networks help a lot. For such requirements commission is much higher.
Executive search teams do retained search activity also.
Other than the above models recruitment can be divided in other two types.
Permanent recruitment
Contract or Temporary staffing

Permanent staffing: Here after recruitment the candidate stays in the

company payroll as a permanent employee.
Temporary staffing: In case of temporary staffing/ contract staffing the
candidate remains in the payroll of the consultant and works with the
company for a limited time period. Companies generaly prefer this model if
the project is small or uncertain. Again it reduces their long term costs also.
So this model is gaining good popularity now a days.

14 Principles of Management of Henri Fayol.

What are the 14 Principles of Management? Description

The 14 Management Principles from Henri Fayol (1841-1925) are:
1. Division of Work. Specialization allows the individual to build up
experience, and to continuously improve his skills. Thereby he can be
more productive.
2. Authority. The right to issue commands, along with which must go the
balanced responsibility for its function.
3. Discipline. Employees must obey, but this is two-sided: employees
will only obey orders if management play their part by providing good
leadership.
4. Unity of Command. Each worker should have only one boss with no
other conflicting lines of command.
5. Unity of Direction. People engaged in the same kind of activities
must have the same objectives in a single plan. This is essential to
ensure unity and coordination in the enterprise. Unity of command
does not exist without unity of direction but does not necessarily flows
from it.
6. Subordination of individual interest (to the general interest).
Management must see that the goals of the firms are always
paramount.
7. Remuneration. Payment is an important motivator although by
analyzing a number of possibilities, Fayol points out that there is no
such thing as a perfect system.
8. Centralization (or Decentralization). This is a matter of degree
depending on the condition of the business and the quality of its
personnel.
9. Scalar chain (Line of Authority). A hierarchy is necessary for unity of
direction. But lateral communication is also fundamental, as long as
superiors know that such communication is taking place. Scalar chain
refers to the number of levels in the hierarchy from the ultimate
authority to the lowest level in the organization. It should not be overstretched and consist of too-many levels.
10.Order. Both material order and social order are necessary. The former
minimizes lost time and useless handling of materials. The latter is
achieved through organization and selection.
11.Equity. In running a business a combination of kindliness and justice
is needed. Treating employees well is important to achieve equity.
12.Stability of Tenure of Personnel. Employees work better if job
security and career progress are assured to them. An insecure tenure
and a high rate of employee turnover will affect the organization
adversely.

13.Initiative. Allowing all personnel to show their initiative in some way is

a source of strength for the organization. Even though it may well
involve a sacrifice of personal vanity on the part of many managers.
14.Esprit de Corps. Management must foster the morale of its
employees. He further suggests that: real talent is needed to
coordinate effort, encourage keenness, use each persons abilities, and
reward each ones merit without arousing possible jealousies and
disturbing harmonious relations.
What is Management? Five elements
Fayol's definition of management roles and actions distinguishes between
Five Elements:
1. Prevoyance. (Forecast & Plan). Examining the future and drawing up
a plan of action. The elements of strategy.
2. To organize. Build up the structure, both material and human, of the
undertaking.
3. To command. Maintain the activity among the personnel.
4. To coordinate. Binding together, unifying and harmonizing all activity
and effort.
5. To control. Seeing that everything occurs in conformity with
established rule and expressed command.

Key Result Areas

Key Result Areas or KRAs refer to general areas of outcomes or outputs for
which the department's role is responsible. A typical role targets three to five
KRA.
Value of KRAs.
Identifying KRAs helps individuals: Clarify their roles Align their roles to the
organisations business or strategic plan Focus on results rather than
activities Communicate their roles purposes to others Set goals and
objectives Prioritize their activities, and therefore improve their time/work
management Make value-added decisions
Description of KRAs
Key result areas (KRAs) capture about 80% of the department's work role. The
remainder of the role is usually devoted to areas of shared responsibility
(e.g., helping team members, participating in activities for the good of the
organisation).
==============================================
==== ================

CORE KRAs of HR DEPARTMENT

-RECRUITMENT/ SELECTION
-WORKFORCE PLANNING/
-DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT
-PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
-REWARD MANAGEMENT
-WORKPLACE MANAGEMENT
-INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
-SAFETY AND HEALTH WORKPLACE
-BUILDING CAPABILITIES AND ORGANIZATION LEARNING
-EFFECTIVE HR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS , SUPPORT AND MONITORING
===================================================
KRAs [ KEY RESULT AREAS are managed by
-KPAs [ KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS]
-KPIs [KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS]
===================================
KEY PERFORMANCE AREAS
These are the areas within the HR DEPARTMENT, where an
individual or group, is logically responsible / accountable
for the results.
To manage each KRA/ KPAs, a set of KPI are set .
KRA and hence KPI is attributed to the department which
can have effect on the business results and is
self measured where applicable.
THE IMPORTANCE AND WEIGHTAGE OF THESE ELEMENTS
KRAs/KPAs/ KPIs ARE GUIDED BY THE
*VISION STATEMENT
*MISSION STATEMENT
*CORPORATE OBJECTIVES
*CORPORATE STRATEGY
*CORPORATE BUSINESS UNITS/ DEPARTMENTAL PLANS/STRATEGY.
FOR THE BUDGET PERIOD, WHICH IS USUALLY 12 MONTHS.

==============================================
==== ======
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE, WHICH YOU CAN USE TO DEVELOP

OTHERS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION.

CORPORATE OBJECTIVE / STRATEGY
-improve the company competitive positioning and productivity
by 10%.
HR DEPARTMENT'S OBJECTIVE
-Achieve high productivity level in all activities [ say by 10%]
------------------------------------------------------KRA 1
-RECRUITMENT/ SELECTION
KPA --RECRUITMENT
KPI ----reduce average time taken to fill vacancies by 15%
KPI ----reduce average cost per recruit by 10%
------------------------------------------KRA 2
-WORKPLACE MANAGEMENT
KPA -labour turnover
KPI ---reduce the labor turnover by 20%
KPI ----benchmark total HR COSTS externally.
-----------------------------------------------KRA 3
-SAFETY AND HEALTH WORKPLACE
KPA ---workplace accidents
KPI ----reduce workplace accidents by 10%
--------------------------------------------KRA 4
-BUILDING CAPABILITIES AND ORGANIZATION LEARNING
KPA ----TRAINING
KPI --- ALL WORKFORCE below middle management should
receive a minimum of 4 days of training.
=========================================
THIS IS , ROUGHLY, HOW HR DEPARTMENTS
KRAs / KPAs / KPIs ARE SET , MONITORED AND
EVALUATED.

THIS CAN BE APPLIED TO ALL OTHER FUNCTIONAL

DEPARTMENTS LIKE MARKETING / SALES / PRODUCTION ETC.