Improving Human Resource Management

Dr. David Lawson

The Role of HRM

• Building for the future– Develop a HRM philosophy– Hire the right people– Keep employees– Invest in them– Empower them

The Philosophy

• Provide overall guidance and direction– Most organizations lack philosophy or

ignore the one they have

• Success depends on explicit strategy to manage people

• Build systems and practices

Hire the Right People

• Understand and Know what you want– Understand your corporate culture– Be selective– Hire only those who fit your need– People skills are a must

• More employees are interacting with the customer

• Employees must be able to represent the company at all times

Keep People

• Attracting people is costly

• How do you keep people?– Reward well– Protect jobs– Promote from within– Share the wealth

Invest in Employees

• The complex organization• Under trained workers are costly

– Quality problems– Poor service– Mistakes– Higher costs

• Training and developing employees• Create a learning organization

– Mentors to teach– Management that encourages new ideas– Good environment

Empower Employees

• Empower employees to invest in their development– Provide information and support– Autonomy and participation– Redesigning work– Fostering self managing teams– Give work meaning

Putting it Together

• Success requires long term strategy and commitment

• TQM example– Combines structure and HRM– Deming, Juran, Cosby, Ishikawa, et

al.• Differ on specifics but agree workforce

involvement, participation and teaming are essential elements for success

• Represents coherent and distinctive philosophy and strategy for HRM

Getting There: Training and Organization Development

• Why do organizations fail– Managerial reluctance– Costs– Understanding and skills to

implement

• Group intervention– Training groups or T-groups– Team building– Work out conferences

Conclusion

• When employees find satisfaction and meaning in work, the organization profits

• Otherwise, the employee withdraws, resists or rebels and all lose

• Progressive organizations use “high involvement” activities

Conclusion

• Strengthen the bond between worker and organization– Pay well– Job security– Promotion– Training– Sharing the fruits– Empower the employee

• No single strategy will work by itself– Takes a combination

Questions