Human Resource Development;
Contents
1.1 Criteria to Identify Human Resource Requirements 2
1.2Assessment of Team’s Capability 3
1.3 Human Resource Plan-Marketing Team in a small School 3
2.1. Assessment 5
2.2 Personal Development Plan 5
2.3 Communication 6
3.1. Support 6
3.2 Implementation 6
Introduction
The twenty first century world has found itself having to deal with the consequences of changing dynamics work force dynamics allover the world. In recent years, the world has generally experienced a transformation in the nature, age, diversity and sufficiency of work force. Human resource departments all over the world are concerned with ensuring that a particular organization is well equipped in terms of human resources to meet the requirement s of an organization towards the end of meeting it targets and achieving its goals and vision. Different organizational goals dictate the nature of human resource capital needed in that organization. It also determines the competencies they are expected to have so as to be able to fulfill their roles in the organization. Human resource departments are tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that an organization achieves a good person-job specification. In an attempt to do the same, human resource professionals employ the use of certain tools and processes designed to help them achieve these goals. One of the most important things that human resources departments are tasked with doing is the formulation of a human resources plan for different work areas and departments in the department. The purpose of this is to be able to determine the organizational needs with respect to employees. This usually requires the human resources department to be in sync with the vision, mission and goals of the organization and the way in an organization in tends to achieve the same. In many cases the human resource department will usually need to align its goals to those of the organization’s strategic plan as a whole. This will enable the determination of organizational human resource needs depending on strategic plan. In the case presented in this paper the task is to formulate a human resource plan for a particular work area in an organization to meet organizational goals. The organizational area chosen is the marketing team of a small school.
1.Formulating Human Resource Plan for Marketing Team
The formulation of a human resource plan is done to make sure that the organization is well equipped in terms of human resources towards the goals that it wants to achieve. it provides a link between the overall organizational strategic planning goals and the requirements in terms of human capital(Kleynhans, 2006).
1.1 Criteria to Identify Human Resource Requirements
The criteria used to identify the nature of human resource requirements to be prioritized by the organization are decided in stride with organizational goals. After ensuring that the HR team thoroughly considers the overall organizational goals and the general direction in which the company wants to move, then a list of roles is formulated where the company needs human capital. After determining that exact organizational needs and the formulation of role and positions needed, the HR team comes up with a list of skills that an individual would require in order to successfully perform the formulated role(Kleynhans, 2006).
This includes consideration of level of formal education required, particular desirable skills which are suitable for the role, level of intellectual aptitude required, gender , age, physical strength and adaptability .the level of mental and psychological fitness is also considered depending on the particular job role being considered. These are all considered vis –a vis the position , so as to achieve a god person – role compatibility(Kleynhans, 2006).
The nature of the role and the requirements it implicitly and explicitly places upon its doer is what is basically used to determine the criteria for identify in human resource needs for the formulated positions.
Other factors such as legal factors such as affirmative action for women and minority groups are also taken into consideration. Flexibility of individuals as well as adaptability is also a criterion used in determining what skills are required for the roles, especially when matters such as future growth of the organization are considered (Kleynhans, 2006).
1.2Assessment of Team’s Capability
In order to properly place team members in the roles formulated or to determine their suitability for the positions they hold, assessment has to be done to determine their current levels of competencies. assessment of team capabilities to be able to function in the roles, can be determined by conducting current employee performance appraisals, which is a process that allows supervisors or employers to examine the level of performance of an employee, gauging their level of efficiency and productivity in doing the job that they are hired to do. The process allows the determination of how well an individual is doing in their role in the organization and to what extent they are performing required task as well as to what level of efficiency. Performance appraisals may either be conducted in the presence of or in the absence of the employee by examining evidences of productivity. In the absence of the individual under assessment an examination of the evidence of productivity are examined and trends are observed, for instance, the number of clients brought in by the employee or the number of benefits that accrue to the organization as a direct result of the employee being there(Kleynhans, 2006).
These results may be used to determine the level of productivity especially when compared to organizational expectations and comparison to achievements of other employees both within the organization and sometimes outside it.
Assessment can also be done by interviewing both the employee and individual under assessment, his colleagues as well as customer or clients whom he serves if any. In this sway , it is possible to establish a complete picture of the employees work life and his performance levels(Kleynhans, 2006).
Another way of assessment is through the hiring of external staff to come into the organization and assess the competencies of the individuals under assessment.
1.3 Human Resource Plan-Marketing Team in a small School
The main goal of a marketing team in a small school is to market the school so as to ensure brand visibility and recognition among potential customers and to lead to the enrollment of more students. The role of such a team would include the consistent input of work so as to strengthen brand respect and to influence people to choose the school over others in the market.
The formulation of a human resource plan for the team must consider the role of the team members in the entire marketing process.
The organizational goals, mission and strategic plan are considered and the human resources department makes sure that it keeps these goals in mind while formulating the human resources plan. In this situation, such goals would include organizational desire to strengthen brand name, visibility, respect and recognition so as to ultimately make the school the preferred choice among others in the market. After having considered organizational need sin human resources in the department of marketing in this instance, assessment needs to be done so as to determine team members current competencies. the assessment of these competencies are designed to measure the skill, knowledge-ability and level of education of the staff so as to be able to determine how well they are currently able to do their job of marketing the school . In this case competencies like ability to convince people to join the school, present ability, customer relations skills , level of expression , ability to be flexible so as to deal with different types of clients in different situations.
Assessment of team competencies should go beyond skills inventory needed for a marketing position , to identify all the skills that the team members posses which may in one way or another contribute to the development of the organization(Kleynhans, 2006).
Academic training as well as professional certification should be considered and the lack thereof also noted if it grossly impacts on the productivity of the job.
After competency assessment have been done, human resource requirements are forecasted , both for current and for future organizational needs. Since the team being dealt with are already employees of the company, then recruitment does not have to be considered unless the levels tem competency prove extremely low and unproductive. In this case the main focus is to conduct a gap analysis so as to identify a result of the assessment what the team members lack in terms of forecasted skills and competencies or education. A gap analysis is also conducted in terms of sufficiency of workers. The organization should ask themselves questions to do with whether the team currently meets expected levels of education, skills, number, energy etc and identify where there is a need or a gap that needs to be bridged.
The human resources department then formulates ways in which these gaps can be bridged so as to bring the level of competencies to the levels desired.
At this point the human resource plan ensures that employee-position fit in the organization is ideal so that the level to which workers are compatible with the jobs they do is established.
The organization also needs to at this point consider the various ways in which the roles of the team members could evolve or change in future due to changing market forces and emergent technologies and the different skills that may therefore be needed are also considered. The team members’ ability to adjust to such an evolution of their roles is thoroughly considered(Kleynhans, 2006).
The last step in the human resources plan is to set up strategies and formulate ways in which the need gaps in terms of skills , education and other job –related competencies can be bridged. The human resources department formulates strategies to ensure that lack of skills are bridged through training,. The organization organizes training workshops where job-related skills are taught. Those with extra or exceptional skills are taught how to harness them for the benefit of the job.
The organization also ensures that it facilitates the acquisition of academic education to those members of the team whose levels of academic qualification is not up to par. The organization may do this by extending financial resources to its employees for school tuition fees or allow the team members to study in the school for free if the relevant programs are available.
The organization puts in place systems and structures to ensure that any serious challenges faced by the members of the team in execution of their duties is dealt with. This works to make the employees as comfortable as possible so that they can concentrate on doing a good job.
The continual development of staff should be an issue that is addressed in the staff training and development mitigation strategies employed.
In case of marketing areas where there is an obvious lack of competency and where such competency is likely to take an extended duration of time to acquire them, the organization may consider recruiting new employees or outsourcing skills and labor for a duration of time as its staff continue to undergo training.
The human resources plan is thereafter document and approval sought from relevant authorities so as to accommodate organizational implications such as budgetary adjustments etc.
Finally communication of the human resource plan is then made to the team.
2. Plan for Individual Development
2.1. Assessment
Individual staff capabilities and competencies are assessed through performance appraisals and interviews with both the employees and the worker’s college. An assessment of the individual’s past record of productivity is also examined. This in our case refers to the number of students that have joined the school as a result of the individuals.
2.2 Personal Development Plan
For one of the members of the team ( X), assessment has revealed that his level of academic qualification is very low. X also has a bit of a problem with time management , although he is very good with customer relations. For individual X therefore, training on time management is organized for him by the organization. The organization also extends financial resources in terms of a partial loan to enable him to pay for the advancement of his academic qualifications. He currently holds a certificate in marketing. The funds will enable him to obtain degree in the same after two and a half years. The human resources development organizes his work schedule so that he has time to go to class. X also undergoes training together with the other members of the team on the future of marketing in the educational industry , which is geared to prepare him for evolution of the practice in future, with relevance to the educational context.
2.3 Communication
A meeting is set up with X after the appraisal and he is informed of the plans for his development through workshops and schools. This is communicated to him and an agreement is reached between X and the human resources department. A reward system is set , so that upon the attainment of the goals set, the employee benefits in terms of higher remuneration and allowances.
3. Personal Development Plan and Evaluation of Progress
3.1. Support
The human resources department makes sure to secure support on the human resources plan from the management of the organization and the relevant authority so as to make sure that financial and other resources needed are easily obtainable.The other source of support sought for the individuals is the team that the individual works with. They need to be able to provide support for the individuals. They are asked for support.
Support is also sought from the individuals’ immediate supervisor so as to make sure that a good working environment and understanding from the supervisor is facilitated.
3.2 Implementation
The human resources plan is undertaken right from the assessment stage to the beginning of training and disbursement of funds for educational purposes (Kleynhans, 2006).
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The individual’s progress is tested in interviews and frequent appraisals after that. Progress of the employee is constantly monitored through appraisals with the supervisor and interviews with the employee as well as the monitoring of the workers productivity and improvement in areas of weakness. Reward systems are set in place for achievement of goals set and exemplary performance(Kleynhans, 2006).
Upon completion of the development and training phase. Information is collected on employee efficiency and productivity after the intervention. These are compared to the ones before and a determination of the effectiveness of the training is made.The impact of the individual’s acquired skills and training is assed. The number of new students that the individual manages to bring to the school as a result of these skills acquired is monitored. The improvement in areas of weakness such as time management are assessed and the benefits that accrue to the organization as a result are calculated where possible. Well managed time saves the employee and the organization time which is put into productive purposes. The employee I snow able to accomplish much more within a given duration of time. There are also improved customer and colleagues relations as a result of confidence acquired by the employee due to commencement of his education and the trainings offered
Executive Summary
There lies an opportunity for companies to harness the vast, amounts of energy in the job market and in their employees by recruiting , training the and investing in their ability to maximize productivity , problem –solving skills, and adaptability. Effective organizations have to invest well and wisely in their human resource .human resources plans are an exceptional tool to do the same and ultimately lead to the improvement of the human resource pool in an organization and therefore to an improvement in productivity and efficiency.
The process of human resource planning which runs from assessment of human resource needs in an organization, the assessment of current competencies in employees, the identification of gaps in those competencies and skills and the subsequent planning to mitigate on these needs is the heart of human resource planning.
Used well, human resource planning can be one of the greatest tools to speed up productivity and create sustainability of the same in an organization. Ultimately this is one of the best ways to ensure that organizational strategic plans are implemented and goals achieved.
References
Kleynhans, R. (2006).Human Resource Management: Fresh Perspectives. Cape Town: David
Langhan.
