Introduction
The employees in the organization play a vital roe in the operations of the company. The qualifications of the employees determine the quality of services offered by the company which translates into the company’s ability to attract and retain its clients. In the competitive world of business, attaining and retaining a work force that is highly productive may be the competitive advantage that the business has over its competitors. In all business sectors there has been competition for qualified workforce to ensure that the organization attracts more customers.
The role of human resource management has thus become an important department in every company. The primary role of the human resource department is to ensure that highly qualified individuals are attracted and retained in the organization. Human resource also deals with the way workers relate to ensure a sound working environment. This environment enhances the employee’s effectiveness and contribution to the company (Ivancevich, 2007).
Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action
Human resource management ensures that the work force is balanced to ensure diversity in the workforce. Employees are attracted to businesses that offer equal employment opportunity. Affirmative action refers to the policies implemented when evaluating the workforce to ensure that the work force is not discriminatory. The policies evaluate factors like gender, race, and sexual orientation when the individual is being employed. Equal employment opportunities and affirmative action are important to the organization because they not only affect the workforce but also the client base. An organization operating in a diverse community would benefit from using a diverse work force as all sections in the community would be represented (Torrington, Hall & Taylor, 2008).
The banking sector in America is an example of how observing cultural diversity may be effective in the business. America has a diverse population thus ensuring that a majority of the social groupings are represented in the organization would enable the organization to attract customers. Businesses that depend on client interaction require observation of diversity to understand the clients. The clients feel comfortable dealing with representatives that may understand their problems from a cultural perspective. Cultural diversity through equal employment opportunities and affirmative action facilitate harmony in the workforce. In the organization the workers are able to use their diversity for the benefit of the organization (Torrington, Hall & Taylor, 2008).
Human resource planning
All workers in the organization have to pass through the recruitment program used by the organization. This is the process by which the organization identifies trains and incorporates new members in to the organization’s work force. Human resource planning entails acquiring the best candidates in the market to work in the organization. This part of human resource can be viewed as the vital part of human resource management. Recruitment takes place in areas that the organization culture stipulates. Some organization acquires most of its staff from advertisement in the media while others select staff from institutions of higher learning (Mathis, & Jackson, 2010).
Once the staff has been recruited in to the organization, the new member may undergo training to introduce them to the organizations culture. Training may take place away from the workplace where the recruits are taught how to relate to their colleagues and the expectations of the organization. Training can also take part in the organization where an apprenticeship approach is used. Junior staff or the new members are mentored by senior staff in the organization. After training, the workers are inducted into the organization where they are expected to follow in the culture learnt. Human resource planning ensures that the workers incorporated into the organization are the best in the job market and they have the qualifications to work in the organization.
The organization has to ensure constant motivation in the workplace for the recruited staff to ensure that they stay in the organization. Retain qualified personnel can be achieved through monetary benefits or growth in the organization. The possibility to rise in rank will enable the organization to retain qualified personnel. The banking sector can be used to evaluate how human resource planning affects the organization. Most banks recruit their staff from institutions of higher learning. This is where the organization approaches institutions during career fares and scout for talented workers. This form of advertising enables graduates to select the organization that suits their qualification. The banking sector is competitive with regards to the workers and the clients.
The high competition for highly qualified personnel causes them to remunerate them highly. Talented workers are highly paid for their contributions to the organization. Such workers are responsible for the organization strategic approach towards competition and dealing with the customers. Recruitment should be done regularly to ensure that the organization has a constant supply of qualified personnel in the organization. Recruitment ensures that organization’s performance standards are maintained and departure of specialized staff does not affect the organization negatively (Mathis, & Jackson, 2010).
Human resource development
Human resource development relates to human capital in the organization. Human resource developments refer to the ability to expand its human capital by facilitating development of the worker and the organization. To retain workers in the organization they should feel that the organization is making them grow in the job market. Growth in job group and an increase in remuneration will enable the organization to retain the workers in the organization. Human resource development can be divided into training and development group and organization development. Training development helps in the development of human expertise so as to increase performance of the individual. Organization development enables the organization to benefit from the output the workers in the company give (Torrington, Hall & Taylor, 2008).
Human resource development requires the organization to use both training and development, and organizational development. Using one component may result to skewed results that may not cause the desired effects to the organization. The organization should thus ensure that the development of the employees benefits the organization for mutual growth. Human development is a series of organized processes aimed at attaining specific objectives in the organization. Human resource management targets the specialization areas in the organization. For a bank human development is aimed at improving the specialized staff responsible for management in the organization.
From the induction to retirement, the staff members in the organization need to undergo development to ensure quality services are provided. An organization with no sense of development or with limited development suffers the risk of staff loss. A small bank with limited management is likely to loose its managers and other staff members due to the limitations offered by the organization. International banks offer the opportunity to grow and thus attract a qualified workforce. Training is required to ensure that the staff increases their knowledge base which is useful when making crucial decisions in the organization.
Compensation and benefits
Compensation refers to the pay the workers get for the services they provide to the organization. The pay should be proportional to the level of expertise and the contribution to the organization. Big organizations compensate the high ranking members of the staff adequately to ensure that the workers are maintained in the organization. Competition between organizations extends to competition for staff members which at times leads to poaching. Poaching refers luring members of the competitor’s firm staff into the organization through the use of a competitive compensation package. The organization offering good pay attracts the best work force and is able to compete in the market (Mathis, & Jackson, 2010).
Benefits relate to the added advantages that are attached to the work place. Working in an organization may attract high benefits such as a comprehensive health package that enables the worker to receive medical care from the best medical institutions in the state. Apart from medical benefits, housing, savings and parking benefits are also used to attract a competitive work force. Banks offer competitive loan packages to enable its members to acquire property at reduced cost. This strategy can be used to attract talented staff from the same industry or from a different industry.
In human resource management, compensation and benefits packages need to be competitive due to the changing economic environment in the globe. As the cost of living increases, the compensation package should incorporate this change to enable the organization to retain its staff. Some organization offer its staff shares in the organization to motivate the workers to remain in the organization. This enables the workers to increase their output as their efforts are directly related tot heir investments in the company and increased efficiency would translate into increased earnings (Mathis, & Jackson, 2010).
Health and safety
Human resource management should cover the organizations safety protocols. The environment that the workers work in should be safe. Safe working environment facilitates workers concentration thus productivity. Health and safety is a statutory part of the organizations requirements and the organization should guarantee that the workers safety is guaranteed. All organizations have safety [policies covering the safety of the workers. The workers are taken through the safety procedures in the company to ensure that they are prepared.
Health covers the organizations ability to ensure that the workers are taken care of to facilitate quick recovery. Some organizations achieve this by providing the workers with health benefits where the worker’s medical bills are covered by the company. Workers contribute into a pool which enables the organization to cater for the health expenses. Quick recover enable the organization to save on time spend on sick leaves and recruitment of casual staff. The organization should ensure that the workers in the company are safe and prepared for any disasters that may affect the company (Ivancevich, 2007).
Fire is a common hazard that the organization need to be prepared for. The organization should have exit points to ensure exit of the staff from the building. Fire fighting equipments like fire hydrant and fire extinguishers need to be maintained in the organization. Proper ventilation and regular checks on the staff will enable the organization to maintain a strong work force (Torrington, Hall & Taylor, 2008).
Employee and labor relations
The employees of all organizations have the right to unionize to ensure that workers rights are protected by the organization. the organizations and the management are always in collision course with the unions demanding for high wages for their members while the management fighting for low costs of production to maximize on profit. The relationship between the workers and the management should always be maintained to ensure productivity. Staff unrest result to wastage of time and resources that may lead the organization into losses.
The management should ensure that there is a good relationship with the workers where the workers rights are protected. Uprisings in the banking sector are rare which can be attributed to the relationship between the workers and the management. Most banks provide adequate remuneration and standard working environment for the workers to complain. Discussions with union officials are held regularly to ensure that the workers are comfortable. Relationship between the workers and the management and be facilitated through communication. Bureaucracy in the organization should be reduced to enable workers to voice their concerns (Ivancevich, 2007).
Human resource management with regards to employee and worker relation ensures that the management of the organization directly interacts with the workers through resource management. Harmony in the organization can be achieved if the relationship between the workers and the management is maintained. Harmony enables the management to ensure that the working environment is suitable for productivity.
The areas in human resource management can not exist alone. For successful human resource management, the organization should ensure all the areas of resource management interact. The human management team needs to tackle all issues in the areas of resource management to ensure that the organization is competitive in the labor market. Profitable organizations observe the areas human resource management (Mathis, & Jackson, 2010).
Optimising human resource management
The role of human resource management is pivotal for the organization and should be optimized to benefit the organization. The human resource department acts as an intermediary between the management and the staff in the organization. An efficient organization need to have a functional human resource management program. The program ensures that the workers in the organization contribute fully towards the organizations operations. To optimize human resource management, the human resource policies need to focus on the management and the workers in the organization (Torrington, Hall & Taylor, 2008).
The goals of the organization need to be addressed by policies set by the human resource department. Most organization aim at ensuring the growth of the organization through the expansion facilitated by the profits earned. Such policies should also address the workers needs to be compensated from the efforts used while contributing to the success of the company. The reward awarded to the workers in form of compensation should be proportional to the profits gained by the organization. The organization should also ensure that the compensation given to the workers marches the market rates to facilitate competitiveness in the industry (Ivancevich, 2007).
Employee behaviour in the organization depends on the human resource management tactics utilized by the management. The tactics that reduce bureaucracy and centralization of decision making facilitate employee personal growth. The time to taken to make simple decisions is reduced through by decentralization of the decision making process. This enables the organization to increase productivity which results to high profits (Mathis, & Jackson, 2010).
Organizations that use bureaucracy target productivity in the sense that the management decision dictates production. In the banking sector, the bureaucratic approach to business operation may be productive as the senior staff makes the decisions for the organization. Low ranking worker may suggest the idea too the management but the final decision lies with the management. Human resource management enables the organization to grow with the growth of the workers.
References
Ivancevich, J. M. (2007). Human resource management. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2010). Human resource management. Mason, OH: Thomson/South-western.
Torrington, D., Hall, L., & Taylor, S. (2008). Forum Personalmanagement. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.
