Despite widespread automation and the reduction of manual labour, modern businesses cannot do without people. At the very least, people are needed to maintain equipment and information systems, and customers should be able to get clear human answers and advice on controversial issues.
And because people remain the driving force of any business, they can and should be managed like any other business resource. In this article, we will talk about the management process.
Some introductory information on the subject
Human resources in management theory is a set of potentials and characteristics of the company’s employees, their competences, skills, experience, ability to perform certain operations, as well as the ability to develop these skills and competences.
The more people you have and the broader their skills, the more tasks you can perform and the more work you can produce. At the same time, some skills cannot be used without appropriate material support (necessary equipment, resources and materials).
Human resources that are properly matched to their job responsibilities and competencies increase work efficiency.
The process of matching specific specialists with their job responsibilities and functions is called the human resource management process.
What exactly might be included in human resource management activities?
- Job analysis and design of organisational structure — organisational planning (by the way, Projecto has a built-in online organisational structure builder).
- Placement of staff in jobs with preliminary assessment of skills and selection of candidates (read the article ‘How to Select Staff Correctly‘).
- Designing better working conditions — optimisation.
- Conflict management — timely resolution of labour and interpersonal disputes in the company (material on this topic: «Why Employees Conflict, 9 Common Reasons«).
- Formation of cohesive teams, which helps to reduce the level of control while increasing the quality of work (more on the role of a team leader).
- Personnel training — corporate training, professional development, preparation of a new shift of personnel in case of promotion of current managers, etc.
- Correct assessment of success (a simple example is the 9-box matrix score).
- Compensation for performing duties beyond those specified in the job description.
What is the work potential of an employee
It is a collection of a large number of complex characteristics and factors that need to be considered for a particular position. These may include:
- Psychophysiological characteristics — stamina, employee health, psychological state, stress resistance, productivity, which can be expressed in terms of volume of production or number of operations performed, there may be more complex assessments.
- Socio-demographic factors — age, gender, origin, area of residence, presence of family, children, etc.
- Cultural background and profile knowledge — higher education in the field, general level of development and outlook, religion, if applicable, proven qualifications, etc.
- General cognitive factors — learning ability, intelligence level and decision-making speed, IQ level, creativity and more.
- Social factors — ability to work in a team, communication skills, tact, authority among colleagues, ability to follow management decisions, level of conflict, etc.
- Value inputs — life priorities and attitudes, personal goals and ambitions.
As you can see, people can have many characteristics and all of them should be considered in human resource management.
If each of these characteristics is analysed in detail and given maximum attention, management resources will not be sufficient. It is therefore much easier for managers to adhere to a number of basic principles when planning the staffing table and allocating positions and responsibilities. These are discussed below.
Principles of Human Resource Management
Many sources refer to the principles of focus, separation, hierarchy, competence, responsibility… In reality, however, the principles of human resource management will depend on the management approach chosen as the fundamental one in the company.
Personnel management concepts
The bureaucratic method is suitable for large organisations and government agencies. Its main characteristics are:
- Clear division of responsibilities and fixation on paper;
- Hierarchy that ensures a vertical division of authority;
- Formal impersonality (the main thing is not what kind of person you are, but what position you hold).
- Orders and other instructions are also recorded on paper, which helps to reduce the overall level of administrative error and facilitates communication with stakeholders;
- Recruitment for specific positions is based on skill and experience requirements. Having experience and expertise is a kind of guarantee to minimise problems and errors.
Behavioural approach (behaviourism) and relationship-based management.
A series of experiments in the USA showed a significant increase in work performance at no extra cost. The only initial condition was the manager’s attention and interest in the employee (the so-called Hawthorne experiments). As a result, in addition to the reliable bureaucratic method, the postulate was added that informal relations between management and subordinates are very important for increasing work efficiency and motivation. Thus, the manager’s functions began to include not only the economic component (actions aimed at maximising profits), but also the social component (actions aimed at improving the efficiency of work teams).
The concept of relationship-based management is based on the following principles:
- Work is as natural and necessary for human beings as play.
- The threat of punishment and constant supervision are not the only methods of influencing employees.
- Adherence to organisational goals is closely linked to the satisfaction of higher human needs (see Maslow’s pyramid).
- When pursuing personal goals, a person is able to exercise self-discipline, so it is necessary to strive to make the company’s goals the personal goals of the employees.
Management approach. One of the oldest and most proven theories in human resource management. Its postulates are as simple and clear as possible:
- Division of labour and hierarchical structure are essential.
- Power is responsibility, but it must be fair.
- Discipline is total obedience. It should become a way of behaving within the organisation.
- Reward is payment for work. Reward should suit both parties: management and employees.
- Unity of leadership and management.
- The manager should know their employees, their duties and the duties of their subordinates (up to the provisions of the employment contract), set a positive example, monitor the quality of work and dismiss incompetent employees, coordinate actions within the team, encourage the best.
Comprehensive human resources policy
It is the most modern and adaptable approach to managing people in a company.
- It involves the creation of a separate body within the company — the Human Resources Department — which is involved in the development and ongoing adaptation of HR policy.
- The HR department can accumulate experience in order to develop the most optimal HR solutions.
- A centralised HR department acts as a coordinating centre.
- HR specialists can take care of many routine processes such as candidate selection and questionnaires, initial interviews, training and re-qualification, planning staffing schedules, performance appraisals, career development design, adjustments and more.
A comprehensive HR policy allows the company to quickly adapt to changing conditions of external and internal influences, to coordinate actions with the top management and to ensure high quality of all work processes due to narrow specialisation (experienced and qualified specialists should work in the HR department).
Most interestingly, integrated HR policies do not have permanent operating principles, but can be periodically changed and revised as circumstances require.
What can help you plan your human resources policy?
The work of the HR department is highly bureaucratic: developing document templates, collecting and storing employee data, planning, issuing orders, coordinating tasks and much more.
Automation systems such as group calendars, task managers, BPM systems, specialised HR software, etc. help to reduce the burden on individual specialists and on the service as a whole.
It is much more convenient if such software solutions do not only work locally (within the HR department), but are closely integrated into a single information system of the company. For example, a task sent to the manager for approval can be quickly forwarded (sent) to all interested departments and services or individual specialists. Equally important are prompt feedback on activities, the ability to store the history of decisions (discussion of work issues and individual meeting items), quick access to necessary data (employee cards, job descriptions, storage of current documentation, contacts, etc.), tools for convenient design of the organisational structure, etc.
All this and more, including a ready-to-use mobile app, is available in our cloud-based product — Projecto.
