ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT IN THE ORGANIZATION

The Human Resources (personnel) department has staff relationship with other department / managers in the total organization. The personnel department is responsible for advising management from Managing Director to the lowest line supervisor on all area relating to the personnel management and industrial relations. Personnel department also performs various functions of employment, training and development. It represents management in many of the relationships that affect the organization as a whole. It is also responsible for representing various workers problems to management.

Personnel department generally acts in an advisory capacity; it provides information, offers suggestions and is not responsible for the end results. The personnel managers must exercise control very tactfully in order to win the confidence and cooperation of all line managers. He has to persuade the line managers to work with staff specialists and not against them. The authority of personnel manager should derive from concrete personnel policies and programs and from the advantage and result of accepted specialized knowledge.

As a Source of Help:

In certain situations (when line managers lack skill or knowledge in dealing with employee problems) experienced personnel managers assume line responsibility for personnel matters. But it may be resented by the very managers who ought to seek staff assistance in meeting their personnel responsibilities. Personnel managers should learn the reputation and confidence of line managers of being a source of help rather than a source of threat to line managers. Staff assistance is likely to be effective when it is wanted rather than imposed.

As a Change Agent:

Personnel Manager should work as an enabler and change agent regarding personnel areas and he should be familiar with different disciplines like management, technology, sociology, psychology and organizational behavior as organizational adaptability, viability and development are dependent on the human resources development. So the personnel managers should work as a consultant of an organizational development by providing necessary information and infrastructure to line managers. Thus, the role of personnel managers is more concerned with providing information and offering advice to the decision makers rather than making decisions.

As a Controller:

Nevertheless it is still true that effective personnel executives advise on policies that help managers in implementing their programs and provide service and exercise the monitoring and control function sparingly.

Responsibilities within Personnel Department:

As other managers the manager-personnel is also a line manager in relation to subordinates within the personnel department. Personnel Manager is responsible for the success or failure of his department in contributing to the organizational goals. In most of the organizations the personnel manager is responsible for supervising the activities of his subordinates, like employment manager, wage and salary manager, manager for training and development, manager-industrial relationsetc. He is also responsible for the operations of personnel manager at divisional and branch levels.

As the Chief of the Personnel Department the Personnel Manager has to get effective results with the co-operation of all the employees working in the department and by showing the validity of the concept of the team work. The success of the personnel department should be measured in terms of its contributions to the personnel programs.

The effectiveness of HR department can be gauged by the fact how smooth they conduct the negotiations with workers union without the workers resorting to strikes and how fast the periodic agreement (once in 3 or 5 years) is signed with them.

NEW TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL HRM

International HRM places greater emphasis on a number of responsibilities and functions such as relocation, orientation and translation services to help employees adapt to a new and different environment outside their own country.

. Selection of employees requires careful evaluation of the personal characteristics of the candidate and his/her spouse.

. Training and development extends beyond information and orientation training to include sensitivity training and field experiences that will enable the manager to understand cultural differences better. Managers need to be protected from career development risks, re-entry problems and culture shock.

. To balance the pros and cons of home country and host country evaluations, performance evaluations should combine the two sources of appraisal information.

. Compensation systems should support the overall strategic intent of the organization but should be customized for local conditions.

. In many European countries - Germany for one, law establishes representation. Organizations typically negotiate the agreement with the unions at a national level. In Europe it is more likely for salaried employees and managers to be unionized.

HR Managers should do the following things to ensure success-

. Use workforce skills and abilities in order to exploit environmental opportunities and neutralize threats.

. Employ innovative reward plans that recognize employee contributions and grant enhancements.

. Indulge in continuous quality improvement through TQM and HR contributions like training, development, counseling, etc.

. Utilize people with distinctive capabilities to create unsurpassed competence in an area, e.g. Xerox in photocopiers, 3M in adhesives, Telco in trucks etc.

. Decentralize operations and rely on self-managed teams to deliver goods in difficult times e.g. Motorola is famous for short product development cycles. It has quickly commercialized ideas from its research labs.

. Lay off workers in a smooth way explaining facts to unions, workers and other affected groups e.g. IBM , Kodak, Xerox, etc.

Effective Leadership to Influence Motivation

A person's motivation is combination of desire and energy directed at achieving a goal. Influencing someone's motivation means getting him or her to want to do what you know must be done.

People can be motivated by beliefs, values, interests, fear, worthy causes, and other such forces. Some of these forces are internal, such as needs, interests, and beliefs. Others are external, such as danger, the environment, or pressure from a loved one. There is no simple formula for motivation -- you must keep an open viewpoint on human nature. There is a complex array of forces steering the direction of each person and these forces cannot always be seen or studied. Also, if the same forces are steering two different people, each on will act differently. Knowing that different people react to different needs will guide your decisions and actions in certain situations.

As a leader you have the power to influence motivation. The following guidelines form the basic view of motivation. They will guide you in your decision making process towards influencing motivation.

. Allow the needs of your people to coincide with the needs of your organization.

Nearly all people are influenced by the need for job security, promotion, raises, and approval of their peers, and leaders. Internal forces such as value, morals, and ethics also influence them. Likewise, the organization needs good people in a wide variety of jobs. Ensure that your people are trained, encouraged, and provided the opportunity to grow. Ensure that the way you conduct business has the same values, moral, and ethic principles that you seek in your people. If you conduct business in a dishonest manner, your people will be dishonest to you.

. Reward good behavior. Although a certificate, letter, or a thank you may seem small, they can be powerful motivators. The reward should be specific and prompt. Do not say, "for doing a good job." Cite the specific action that made you believed it was a good job. In addition, help your people who are good. We all make mistakes or need help to achieve a particular goal.

. Set the example. You must be the role model by setting examples that you want your people to grow into.

. Develop moral and esprit. Moral is the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of a person. Almost everything you do will have some impact on the moral of your organization.1of 2 You should always be aware how your actions and decisions affect it. Esprit means team spirit - it is defined as the spirit or the soul of the organization. It is the consciousness of the organization that you and your people identify with and feel a part of. Is your workplace a place where people cannot wait to get away from, or is it a place that people enjoy spending a part of their lives?

. Let your people be part of the planning and problem solving process. There are several reasons for this. First, it teaches them and allows you to coach them. Second, it motivates them. People who are part of the decision making process become the owners of it. It gives them a personal interest in seeing the plan succeed. Third, communication is clearer. Everyone has a better understanding of what role they must play as part of the team. Next, it creates an open trusting communication bond. They are no longer just the doers for the organization. Now they are part of it. And finally, it shows that you recognize and appreciate them. Recognition and appreciation from a respected leader are powerful motivators.

. Look out for your people. Although you do not have control over their personal lives, you must show concern for them. Things that seem to no importance to you, might seem extremely critical to them. You must be able to empathize with them. This is from the German word, einfuhling, which means "to feel with." This is the ability to perceive another person's view of the world as though that view were your own. Empathy differs from sympathy in that sympathy connotes spontaneous emotion rather than a conscious, reasoned response. Sympathizing with others may be less useful to another person if we are limited by the strong feelings of the moment.

. Make their jobs challenging, exciting, and meaningful. Make them feel that they are individuals in a great team. People need meaningful work, even if it is tiring and unpleasant; they need to know that it is important and necessary for the survival of the organization.

. Counsel people who behave in a way that are counter to the company's goals. You must let people know when they are not performing to acceptable standards for further improvement. Some time you need to protect your performer. For example, if someone in your department is always late arriving for work and it is causing disruptions, and then you must take action. On the other hand, if you have an extremely good performer and once in a while he is few minutes late, then do the right thing...protect him from the bureaucracy!

Recruitment in China is trending downward

Recruitment in China is trending downward, admittedly at a very slow rate, but it is still the number one issue for HR departments.

We all have our own understanding of what hiring is but it might be instructive to look at what hiring is not.

A. Firstly, hiring is not the responsibility of the HR department. This is a line manager’s problem, and only they can truly assess candidate fit with the job and the company. HR is basically the government. It is there as the standard bearer for candidate quality, and to ensure compliance with hiring policies. HR can add value in terms of understanding the psychology and motivation of both candidates and line managers so that a better outcome is ensured. The final decision lies with the line manager.

B. Hiring is not even a good fit with HR itself in many ways. Hiring is outwardly focused and subjective, which is exactly the opposite of most HR functions like payroll, org charts, succession planning etc. Hiring is more akin to marketing or branding and it cannot be fulfilled with a box-filling or bureaucratic approach. At the same time, hiring is not just about ill-defined issues, like quality and engagement. Hiring can and should be measured.

C. Hiring is not about waiting. It is an intense function that requires constant vigilance. Take your eye off the ball for more than a few days and you will lose momentum. Change companies on a regular basis and you will never be a good Recruiter.

D. It’s a candidate's market in China now so hiring cannot be about finding candidates at the lowest possible overhead cost. In this market you can be hiring efficient, and save your pennies, but only at the cost of hiring effectiveness. You can’t have both efficiency and effectiveness. Telling your GM how you have saved RMBXXXXX on headhunter fees and recruiter salaries will only fly if your hiring requisitions are being filled on-time, in time.

E. It’s not even about staff salaries. Hiring people does not become that much easier when you increase the salary. It is true that in the short-term you get ‘bums on seats’, but the kind of people you get are the ones that will resign in a very short time, and then you are back to square one. Seeking people with the right fit ie. those with 80% of what you want, will take longer but the net benefits are greater. The 20% that they don’t have will allow you to offer them coaching and training, and this will keep them engaged for longer period of time.

F. Hiring is not a gate keeping exercise. It needs to be inclusive, not exclusive. Candidate fit is not about filling your office with people who all fit your culture exactly. Monolithic cultures tend to die because there are problems out there in the environment that they are not capable of seeing. Diversity is not just a useful politically correct (PC) concept. It’s a survival mechanism.

G. Hiring is not solvable using job portals. These sites are an excellent start, and worth the money, but they are just the minimum cost of entry. They offer you a huge database of professionals to choose from, but this database has been worked to death already, by your competitors.

H. The hiring process itself is not an opportunity to tell potential new staff how fantastic your company truly is. Your company is fantastic, of course, but so is everyone else’s. On the internet they say that no one knows you are a dog, and in China no one knows you are the World’s-Premier-Manufacturer-Of-Novelty-Items. No candidate cares to hear this spiel because it means you are speaking to yourself, and not to their needs.

I. Hiring is not a jigsaw that the candidate has to figure out by himself. It needs clear Job Descriptions with a linkage to KPIs that will be assessed on a half yearly basis. The new China Labor Law ensures that this is now imperative.

J. The job of Recruiter is not a path to HR Manager, unless you have a special arrangement where you can do work in other areas, or your company offers job rotation. This is unlikely as hiring is such a demanding position right now. Despite what you may have heard, hiring is something you need to settle into for the long-term. If you love it, stay, because other HR jobs will probably not satisfy.

In the end, hiring is not a game you can lose. If you lose this game you lose everything. At the same time you can let candidates go if they are not the right fit.

Winning the wrong people is more costly in the long term than losing them.

10 Quality Goals for Managers

As per internet research there are numerous fundas and frankly too much gyaan on what many different writers seem to think are the ‘Top 10 Qualities’ a manager should have. The amusing part of it is that every list of the ‘Top 10ers’ seemed to be almost completely different. In fact, there seem to be as many ‘top 10 qualities in a manager’ as there are managers! Below listed are 10 goals that one should strive for when seeking to become a professional, people-person manager.

. See Possibilities – Good Managers know how to bring out the best in others. They look for possibilities that perhaps no one else can see.

. Know the Structure – Know the structure of the company – the guidelines, limitations and policies. A good manager needs to be up-to-date on what the current procedures are in the company so they can give employees good, clear expectations.

. Remember: Small Actions Count! – Little drops of water make the mighty ocean, and little deeds of kindness act as glue that holds the puzzle pieces together. Each time you go out of your way to do something nice for another, it is noticed, and you are respected that much more.

. Be Creative –A creative manager separates a competent manager from an exceptional one. Creativity adds that special spark to otherwise mundane responsibilities and projects, and can act as an inspirational tool for co-workers and other employees.

. Commit – Commit not only to the success of your team’s project, but to your team members as well. Remember: your level of commitment is contagious.

. ‘Human’ – Don’t let your authority create a gap between you and the members of your team. There is nothing wrong with being yourself. Be someone your team members can look up to. Gain respect, loyalty and a good connection that way.

. Stay Versatile – There is always room for flexibility and versatility. Be open to sudden changes and others suggestions – even if they are a junior.

. Think back – Think back to how things would be for you if you were in their place. How would you want your manager to be? Be that manager.

. Have fun while you work – A good manager knows how to have a good balance between being professional at work and having fun in the process. I’ve known this quality to work wonders in combatting attrition as well! But don’t forget, there is a very fine line between having fun while your work and still staying focused.

. Be a role model – Remember that you are the leader for the people who work under you. They will mirror you and your work ethics. Be worthy of being a role model.

Ref: Timesjobs

India's secret resource: Managerial skills

ONE of the best-kept secrets of India’s outstanding success in the IT area is the vital role of its management skills. Much has been written about the extraordinary technology talent of our human resource base, as also its magnitude. In fact, while we in India are acutely aware of the serious shortcomings in our education system, most people abroad are overawed by its sheer size and the growing reputation of institutions like the IITs. India’s globally pre-eminent position in IT off-shoring is generally attributed to the capabilities and motivation of its young software professionals, with low costs being only an additional or supplementary factor. Other success stories — from the Space and nuclear programmes to the Tata Nano — are also seen as the result of the country’s technological prowess. Yet, none of these could have been realised without exceptional managerial capability.

The little-publicised Indian Space programme has been phenomenally successful. The record of perfect launches of the work-horse PSLV launcher is the envy of other countries, as are India’s applications-orientated satellites. The design, production, testing and actual launch are all extremely complex tasks, involving dozens of companies, multiple locations, thousands of components and hundreds of technologists from a variety of disciplines. The organising and co-ordination of this is obviously no mean task, especially when it has to be done within specified — and tight — cost and time outlays. To do this within the framework of government rules and procedures requires organisational and management skills of the highest calibre.

The low-cost car from the Tata stable, the Nano, evoked great international interest about its design, materials and manufacturing. Its design and concept have already won much acclaim, even before its formal release. Yet, as much as the design, its success — even prior to hitting the road — is due to excellent management, which pulled together expertise and resources to create the unique automobile.

On a larger scale is the case of the Indian IT software and services industry. It has evolved from being merely cheaper to also being better (with its emphasis on complying with the highest quality standard), and faster in delivery. Each of these stages has had its own managerial challenges. Further, the success of the cheaper-betterquicker mantra has led to very rapid growth; handling such growth has itself required great managerial skills. For example, the IT-BPO industry is expected to recruit about 400,000 people this year, with the bigger companies each adding tens of thousands of employees. The tasks of screening, selection, training and retention/motivation of such a massive number of new recruits is a managerial task of considerable complexity. There is also the challenge of retaining the organisation’s core values and culture, when about a third of the employees are new recruits. Managing a global work force is another facet that, though new, is being well handled.

Over the years, IT services and BPO sectors have evolved, adding more complex and mission-critical tasks. Product development and IP creation has grown, and new segments — like engineering services, remote infrastructure management, animation and gaming — have emerged. The evolution of the industry, in a very short period of time, and integrating a variety of professionals — researchers and creative people, for example — has required dexterous management.

Handling the recession and the back-lash against out-sourcing in the US a few years ago, creating a large-scale BPO sector, converting an economic slowdown in major markets into a growth opportunity for outsourcing: these were possible only because of nimble and resilient management.

India’s mobile telephony sector presents another instance of excellent management. The phenomenal growth of this industry has necessitated high quality management. While the challenges of growth are similar to those confronting the IT sector, a major difference is that the service providers in telecom have to deal directly with tens of millions of customers, and very widely dispersed operations. Simultaneously maintaining good service, growth and profitability, while tariffs are amongst the lowest in the world, is something that could not have been done without first-rate management.

India’s exceptional capabilities in management are, however, not limited to the high-tech or knowledgeeconomy sector. Reliance has provided proof of these skills in the execution of its large refinery and related infrastructure in Jamnagar. By all accounts, the whole project was executed at far lower cost and in much shorter duration than comparable projects anywhere in the world. At the broader level, Indian managers are now winning praise globally and are much in demand in organisations around the world. The IIMs are beginning to be as well-known as the IITs. Yet, such recognition is largely restricted to a few stars: barring a limited cognoscenti, the capability of Indian management is, as stated at the outset, yet a well-kept secret.

Amongst those who have not yet fully recognised the importance and potential of India’s managerial skills is the government. Organisations and programmes continue to be run by bureaucrats (rather than professional managers) and as bureaucratic operations. Where there are exceptions, the results are immediately visible — the Delhi Metro is a good example.

Areas like health, education, rural employment and slum development are hugely under (if not mis-) managed. Critical programmes like rural roads and highways are faltering (in both, the achievement so far is hardly 30% of the year’s target). Despite our rapid economic progress, health indicators continue to be shameful — amongst the worst in the world — and acute shortages of power are endemic. Many of the problems are attributable to poor management. There is an urgent need to find appropriate ways of tapping private-sector managerial talent for public purposes. This may need the creation of special organisation structures with implementation leveraged through financial allocations. Inclusion of this, in some form, in the Union budget would be a good start.

Twelve Cs for Team Building

Twelve Cs for Team Building

Executives, managers and organization staff members universally explore ways to improve business results and profitability. Many view team-based, horizontal, organization structures as the best design for involving all employees in creating business success. No matter what you call your team-based improvement effort: continuous improvement, total quality, lean manufacturing or self-directed work teams, you are striving to improve results for customers. Few organizations, however, are totally pleased with the results their team improvement efforts produce. If your team improvement efforts are not living up to your expectations, this self-diagnosing checklist may tell you why. Successful team building, that creates effective, focused work teams, requires attention to each of the following.

Clear Expectations: Has executive leadership clearly communicated its expectations for the team’s performance and expected outcomes? Do team members understand why the team was created? Is the organization demonstrating constancy of purpose in supporting the team with resources of people, time and money? Does the work of the team receive sufficient emphasis as a priority in terms of the time, discussion, attention and interest directed its way by executive leaders?

Context: Do team members understand why they are participating on the team? Do they understand how the strategy of using teams will help the organization attain its communicated business goals? Can team members define their team’s importance to the accomplishment of corporate goals? Does the team understand where its work fits in the total context of the organization’s goals, principles, vision and values?

Commitment: Do team members want to participate on the team? Do team members feel the team mission is important? Are members committed to accomplishing the team mission and expected outcomes? Do team members perceive their service as valuable to the organization and to their own careers? Do team members anticipate recognition for their contributions? Do team members expect their skills to grow and develop on the team? Are team members excited and challenged by the team opportunity?

Competence: Does the team feel that it has the appropriate people participating? (As an example, in a process improvement, is each step of the process represented on the team?) Does the team feel that its members have the knowledge, skill and capability to address the issues for which the team was formed? If not, does the team have access to the help it needs? Does the team feel it has the resources, strategies and support needed to accomplish its mission?

Charter: Has the team taken its assigned area of responsibility and designed its own mission, vision and strategies to accomplish the mission.Has the team defined and communicated its goals; its anticipated outcomes and contributions; its timelines; and how it will measure both the outcomes of its work and the process the team followed to accomplish their task? Does the leadership team or other coordinating group support what the team has designed?

Control: Does the team have enough freedom and empowerment to feel the ownership necessary to accomplish its charter? At the same time, do team members clearly understand their boundaries? How far may members go in pursuit of solutions? Are limitations (i.e. monetary and time resources) defined at the beginning of the project before the team experiences barriers and rework?

Is the team’s reporting relationship and accountability understood by all members of the organization? Has the organization defined the team’s authority? To make recommendations? To implement its plan? Is there a defined review process so both the team and the organization are consistently aligned in direction and purpose? Do team members hold each other accountable for project timelines, commitments and results? Does the organization have a plan to increase opportunities for self-management among organization members?

Collaboration: Does the team understand team and group process? Do members understand the stages of group development? Are team members working together effectively interpersonally? Do all team members understand the roles and responsibilities of team members? team leaders? team recorders? Can the team approach problem solving, process improvement, goal setting and measurement jointly? Do team members cooperate to accomplish the team charter? Has the team established group norms or rules of conduct in areas such as conflict resolution, consensus decision making and meeting management? Is the team using an appropriate strategy to accomplish its action plan?

Communication: Are team members clear about the priority of their tasks? Is there an established method for the teams to give feedback and receive honest performance feedback? Does the organization provide important business information regularly? Do the teams understand the complete context for their existence? Do team members communicate clearly and honestly with each other? Do team members bring diverse opinions to the table? Are necessary conflicts raised and addressed?

Creative Innovation: Is the organization really interested in change? Does it value creative thinking, unique solutions, and new ideas? Does it reward people who take reasonable risks to make improvements? Or does it reward the people who fit in and maintain the status quo? Does it provide the training, education, access to books and films, and field trips necessary to stimulate new thinking?Consequences: Do team members feel responsible and accountable for team achievements? Are rewards and recognition supplied when teams are successful? Is reasonable risk respected and encouraged in the organization? Do team members fear reprisal? Do team members spend their time finger pointing rather than resolving problems? Is the organization designing reward systems that recognize both team and individual performance? Is the organization planning to share gains and increased profitability with team and individual contributors? Can contributors see their impact on increased organization success?

Coordination: Are teams coordinated by a central leadership team that assists the groups to obtain what they need for success? Have priorities and resource allocation been planned across departments? Do teams understand the concept of the internal customer—the next process, anyone to whom they provide a product or a service? Are cross-functional and multi-department teams common and working together effectively? Is the organization developing a customer-focused process-focused orientation and moving away from traditional departmental thinking?

Cultural Change: Does the organization recognize that the team-based, collaborative, empowering, enabling organizational culture of the future is different than the traditional, hierarchical organization it may currently be? Is the organization planning to or in the process of changing how it rewards, recognizes, appraises, hires, develops, plans with, motivates and manages the people it employs?

Roles and responsibilities of the Human Resource Function

Introduction:

As we've moved from Old Economy to New Economy and from 20th Century to 21st Century-in the era when we are trying to outsource most of the functions-in some of the organizations even the total HR-Functions are being outsourced. what are the various roles that an HR-Professional can look up to?

I have spoken to many recruitment consultants but somehow they failed to give the clarity of role that they're “Head Hunting” for. People with in the organization…at times are just overlapping the various functions. In this write-up…I am just trying to explain the various roles that HR Professionals can play in New Economy…along with the traits required for each function.

Recruitment Team (Sourcing, Hiring, Staffing, Talent Acquisition Etc)

Lets start with Recruitment Team. This team is also known as Sourcing or Hiring or Staffing or Talent Acquisition team in various organizations. They are “Sales People” within HR Department. Their main role is to get “Best of the Talent” available in the open market. Hence, they need to know what exactly they are looking for. Their role starts with “Talent Requisition” raised by the respective department…and ends only with Induction of the New Hiree. In between, he needs to prepare the Job Description, Identify the Competencies required, Identify the source for hiring, Interview the candidate, Coordinate the interview with the respective department and complete the documentation.
The various competencies that one must have to be a part of the Recruitment Team are as follows:

1) Should have excellent knowledge about the Business of the Organization.
2) Should also be aware of the competitors in the same industry.
3) Need to identify the various resources for hiring and select the best one based on “Cost Effectiveness” and “Urgency”.
4) Should have clarity of competencies that he is looking for and also have clarity on the role a new hire is expected to play.
I am sure…if we take care of the above-mentioned competencies in Recruitment Team…the others (missed out) competencies will take care of themselves. Clarity of concept is important. I've seen recruitment managers who are working as Zonal Managers and are'nt even aware of the distinction between headhunting and sourcing. The responsibility of the recruitment team…actually ends on the day of Induction and from there onwards…”Employee Relation” and “HR-Generalist (Operations)” Team takes over.

HR-Generalist (Operations) Team. This team is actually a backbone of the HR-Department. The job-responsibility of this team starts on the day of Induction with Joining Formalities. The various roles that they are expected to perform are:
1. Joining Formalities
2. Handling Employee Database (Both in Soft Form and Files Management)
3. Leaves and Attendance Management
4. Handling the payroll
5. Managing advance Salary, Ad Hoc Bonuses, Loans
6. Confirmations, Performance Appraisals, Performance Management
7. Liaison with various government organizations for Employee Provident Funds, ESI and other Retirement Benefits
8. Exit-Interviews
9. Full and Final Settlement

Competencies Required

1) Attention to details is a must have quality
2) Self-Motivated
3) Should have updated and accurate database…on any hour of the day.
4) Should be good in coordination.
5) Should be prompt…and fast enough in his actions.

Employee Relations Team. This team is like a “Spokesperson” of the HR-Team. They are the bridge between HR and Employees. They are the “Policy and Strategy interpreters”. An effective “Employee Relations Team” can actually control the Attrition Rate of the organization. This team is expected to play following roles:

1) Handling all the queries of the employees. Be it related to Salary, Leaves, Attendance, and Transfer etc.
2) They are also expected to explain the various policies, strategies and benefits to employees.
3) They are expected to stop all type of rumours and misleading communications.
4) They should motivate the employees on day-to-day basis.
5) They are also expected to give constructive inputs to Training and Development and OD Team.
6) They play an important role in “Employee Engagement” …winning the trust of the employee and hence can help the organization in controlling the attrition rate.
7) It is for this team to ensure that the employees in the organization should not leave the organization for reasons other than salary.

Competencies Required

1) Highly Matured
2) Level Headed
3) Should be well versed with the business of the organization and its policies.
4) Assertive but not aggressive.
5) Should be empathetic but not emotional.
6) Highly Motivated.
7) Should be highly professional…in the sense, that if this team is active…employees will be sharing all type of doubts…concerns…information with this team…they are not expected to misuse the information. Should not play politics…by sharing their information with others.
8) Should be crisis manager.

Compensation and Benefits Team.This is fairly new role for HR-Professionals. The role of this team…changes, with the growth of the company. His main role is to ensure that the employees of the organizations take maximum salary and befits to their home and lose less to Income Tax. He is the person…who decides how much to pay to the person; what all benefits to entitle him…based on the market rate…keeping the competitive edge in the industry. He is the person…who actually announces the annual increment for an organization. This team is expected to perform following roles:

1. Job Analysis
2. Job Evaluation
3. Grading
4. Competency Mapping
5. Salary Surveys
6. Benefits Survey
7. Benchmarking

Competencies Required

1) Should have excellent Business and Industry knowledge
2) Should be aware of competitors…and their Compensation and Benefit Programs
3) Should be good with labour laws.
4) Should also be good in Income Tax Provisions…related to Salary and benefits and also Economics.
5) Should be excellent in Statistics and Cost Accounting.

Organization Development – Training and Development Team. As a Country is known by its people…an organization is known by its employees and hence it is the responsibility of this team to “Develop the Employees” of the organization. If there is any gap in “Competency Mapping” in terms of knowledge and skills required for a particular position…it is for this team to bridge those gaps.

So, it can be training for soft-skills…other skills…new technology or it is development of Personality…leadership development…or high-education. Hence, the development of the company in particular and that of its employees in general…is responsibility of this team.
If you are good in speaking…does not qualify you for being a trainer. You may be excellent as a Public Speaker and worse in training. Being a good speaker is just one of the “Must Have” traits for trainers but not the only trait required. There is something a trainer is expected to do before the delivery…(Training Need Identification) and there is something he is expected to do after delivery…(Measuring the Training Effectiveness).

Competencies Required

1. A deep and thorough understanding of Human Behaviour
2. Positive in thoughts, approach and personality
3. Should be very good in communication. Should be rich in vocabulary.
4. Should be empathetic.
5. Clarity of thoughts is must.
6. Should be good in linguistics
7. Should have positive body language.
You need to take out Tonnes of Sand to get few Grams of Gold…hence the role of a trainer is to get Gold.
You need to dive into the ocean to get a Shell with a Pearl…hence he is expected to be to that diver.

HR Coach and HR Mentor.This is one of the roles, which is an outcome of New Economy. Though being a “Mentor” is not a full time job…''Coaching'' can be. We can place HR-Coach above HR-Director but below HR-President. Just like a Cricket Coach, whose role is not only to improve the batting or bowling…but also fielding, physical fitness, mental toughness and overall involvement of the each player…the role of HR Coach is to increase the overall productivity of all the above-mentioned sub-functions of HR Department. Hence, he cannot afford to say that I don’t know about Recruitment or Compensation & Benefits etc. He is the centre of the HR-Department and all functions revolve around him. His role is not very sophisticated one but very tactical.

Competencies Required

1) Experience. This is the one role where…prior experience is must.
2) Business and Industry Knowledge is Must.
3) Should be a Hub of Knowledge and should know HR in its totality.
4) Very influencing, inspirational and highly motivated personality.
5) A true leader.
6) Should be accountable, innovative, responsible and at the same time…should not be emotional…should not get tensed up and should not create panic. In Short, a level-headed person.

Conclusion

This is just an attempt to distinguish between various roles that an HR Professional can play in New Economy. There is a lot that a HR Professional can do.