Developing Professional Practice and Using Information in HR - Essay Example

Introduction of HR professional Human Resource Management (HRM) has evolved into Strategic HRM as the companies have realised that they need to allocate sufficient amount of funds for the appropriate development of their staff members (Soderquist et al., 2010). Now-a-days, only those organisations can compete effectively in the industry who possess a strong and credible competitive edge in the quality of workforce employed in their business activities. Since HR professional is an individual who can ensure that the organisation has competent and loyal employees, it is imperative for the senior management to understand the role that the person can play in enhanced performance of the company (Caliskan, 2010; Ramlall, 2006). Senior management of the firm also need to ensure that they have a qualified HR management working for their firm as professional human resource managers can bring about successful changes in the policies and procedures of the firm. According to McEvoy et al. (2005), the HR professionals are currently viewed as the strategic business partners because they are the ones who can assist the top management to develop the organisational goals and strategies in accordance to the competency profiles of the workforce. Human resource managers are well aware of the potential of the employees working in the firm, they are in a better position to decide on behalf of the employees instead of the top management. Top management is just concerned mainly with the profitability and productivity of the firm, the other aspects are handled by the human resource management. With the advent of time, the skills and capabilities required by these experts have widened significantly (Hirano, 2013). At the present time, it is vital for the business organisations to understand the pre-requisites of these professionals and provide them with the mandatory resources for efficient management of the entire workforce. When any department is equipped with all the necessary resource needed for doing the job effectively, along with the required technology, then there stands a good chance that all work operation run smoothly. Talent and skills go hand in hand with the required resources for delivering exemplary performance. Analysis of Davidsons Case Question No.1 As the external factors significantly impact the performance of the organisations, the social trends in the market are one of the key aspects that affect the employment needs of a firm (Paula, Wendy & Jeffery, 2011). In this case, it is evident that there are three social trends that have caused an increase in the employee recruitment issues and employee turnover at Davidsons: 1. A large number of females are employed at the lower end of the employment tier and most of them are willing to work as part-time staff members. 2. As a result of economic recession, the employees are demanding increase in the wage rate and other non-financial benefits. 3. Since employees are dissatisfied with the working conditions, they prefer to switch to other jobs that are offering worthwhile terms and conditions. Question No.2 The key social trends identified in the Davidsons case are creating the employment issues because the females lack the required set of expertise and capabilities to perform the obligatory tasks. Majority of the employees are willing to work as part-time as they want to avail various opportunities of earning sufficient amount of money. Since the customers’ complaints have increased as well, it shows that the employees need to develop their working abilities so that they can achieve their performance goals. Customer complaints are not a good sign and hence employee performances need to be reviewed to ensure that things are working in the right direction. As the employees are given wages below the industry standards at Davidsons, they are looking for new jobs in other supermarkets. All employees interact with other employees in the same industry and if they get to know about compensation and benefits disparity between one organisation and the other, then this de-motivates them. Hence, the employees are leaving the supermarket at an accelerating pace because of inappropriate employment benefits, Davidsons is having difficulty in retaining the workforce for its business operations. Question No.3 In order to address the employment issues encountered at Davidsons, the recruitment officer is recommended to apply the following suggestions: 1. First of all, the HR professional has to gather information about the latest market trends so that it can revamp its HR policies. To remain competitive in the industry, the HR managers need to know about the policies of other firms so that they accordingly form their own competitive policy. 2. The compensation packages have to be revised so that they are in accordance to the industry standards and the employees’ basic necessities are successfully fulfilled by the new wage rates and fringe benefits. While developing the policy, the HR manager can look into innovative and creative ways of giving benefits which may be interesting as well as rewarding for the employee. 3. The suggestions from the employees have to be taken about their preferences about the job and they should be motivated by offering them their preferred set of motivating factors. Developing benefits according to the suggestions of the employees would make them feel valued for the firm and this is one of the main requirements of success for any firm. Firms should make their employees feel valued at all times. 4. Every employee can be encouraged to make a valuable contribution to the organisation by providing them financial incentives that will assist them in increasing their efforts and making a valuable contribution in the supermarket’s performance. Financial incentives seem highly rewarding to employees and hence they strive to attain such incentives with their performance. Competencies and skill requirements of HR professional The HR professionals are considered as the experts of the organisation and they are most commonly known as the in-house consultants. These experts often serve as a role of advisors who provide guidance on the HR-related subjects so that effective HR policies, rules and regulations can be formulated. They provide guidance based on their prior experience. knowledge and critical thinking abilities. All of the policies have to ensure compliance with the legal requirements of the business environment so that the operations are conducted in accordance to the ethical and legal boundaries (Horn, 2010). When all employees’ related laws are incorporated within the organisational policies, the staff members’ rights are properly fulfilled (Megginson & Whitaker, 2007) and they feel motivated and are willing to make meaningful contribution within the firm. The employees would have the feeling of fairness as the firm would be operating legally and providing all due rights of the employee. Ulrich et al. (2012) developed a competency model for HR professionals so that they are provided guidance and information about the capabilities that they should acquire. The main purpose of this framework is to identify the competencies that will cultivate the leadership qualities and create awareness about the HR activities that have to be performed by the experts so that valuable contribution is made in the organisation’s performance. Organisations need to constantly adopt strategies that make them competitive in the market and hence adhering to advice by HR professionals is mandatory for them in one way or the other. Chen and Chang (2011) and Klett (2010) revealed in their studies that a HR professional must develop some crucial competencies so that the individual can provide appropriate direction to the employees. With the help of these characteristics, the HR professionals can ensure that an organisation’s performance is enhanced and it can flourish successfully in its respective industry. Following are the key areas of aptitude that are required by the HR professionals: 1. The person should gather knowledge about the business environment and important legislations so that policies are developed within the desired legal boundaries. HR professionals are required to have certain level of expertise in the HR field so that they can ensure that the rules and regulations are properly developed and implemented. International HR managers need to be well aware of international HR policies and regulations to accordingly address this issue. 2. HR professional is the leader who ensures that every employee is well-aware of the vision that the company has to pursue and is provided access to relevant sources to perform the required tasks with perfection. The expert has to ensure that the people and systems are effectively managed so that the leadership in the organisation can be effective and influential as well. 3. As the technical consultant of the organisation, the HR professional has to act as an advisor who can provide sufficient guidance on addressing the key HR and business related issues. In order to fulfil the advisory responsibilities, the expert needs to possess excellent creative thinking, decision making, counselling, project management, negotiation and client engagement skills. Along with these skills, conflict management skills should also be part of the HR professional's skills and abilities. 4. Since the latest requirement of the organisations is of strategic business partners, HR professionals have to assist the top management in setting realistic and long-term business strategy goals and objectives. The key competencies required for this role are organisational awareness, problem solving, workforce planning, logical reasoning and change management. Role of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in enhancing the HR professional’s performance Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has grown to become the mandatory pre-requisite for HR professionals as they have to employ this tool for the ongoing development of the workforce. According to Anwar, Djakfar and Abdulhafidha (2012), CPD incorporates a complete process in which the individuals take the responsibility of identifying their developmental needs. In order to discover the desired set of learning requirements, the employees have to learn the techniques of utilising the reflection and action procedures (Sharma, 2012). As a HR professional, it is the duty of the expert to provide the employees with the empowerment abilities and stimulate them to attain the desired level of aspiration and fulfil their own set of preferences. With the help of CPD activities, the employees feel appreciated and can envision their role in the enhancement of the company’s performance (Grossman, 2010). Each employee is asked to develop a Personal Development Plan (PDP) so that the strong and weak attributes of the personality are highlighted. HR professional discusses the PDP plan with every staff member so that the expert can ensure alignment between the personal goals and the long-term objectives of the firm (Caldwell, 2008). Likewise, HR professional has to upgrade the knowledge and skill base by attending various seminars and workshops that will help the person in updating the level of proficiency required in the profession (Rothwell & Arnold, 2005). Since the employment laws keep on changing and the demands of the workforce vary a lot, it is prudent for the HR professionals to monitor the environmental and potential employees’ needs. These HR professionals have to keep a track of the demand and supply of competent people who will be able to make meaningful contribution in the organisation’s performance. Hence, it is rightly stated by Long (2008) that CPD is a vital tool for the company’s enhanced and flourishing performance as it allows adequate maintenance of its competitive edge in the market on the basis of possessing a competent workforce. CPD is essential for the company’s success as it ensures that the following aspects are properly incorporated in the plan as depicted by Ulrich et al. (2007): 1. In CPD, the learner is in full control of the development plan and the individual is provided clarity about the course of action that has to be taken for the purpose of learning and development. 2. The tool ensures that all vital aspects of life and work are properly covered so that there is adequate amount of work life balance for the learners. With the help of CPD, an employee is able to effectively handle the work and personal lives’ issues and keeping the individual motivated becomes an easy task. 3. It ensures that the learner applies the reflection models which mean that the individual continuously looks forward to the aspiration that he/she wants to achieve along with reflecting on the current state. With a clear direction about future rewards, an employee utilises all the available resources with zeal and zest so that the CPD purpose is successfully attained. 4. In order to motivate the employees, CPD can incorporate some financial benefits that are valued by them so that they can view the rewards that they can achieve on successful accomplishment of the required competencies. Personal Development Plan (PDP) Now-a-days, the HR professionals are ensuring that they motivate the employees to develop their own PDPs; this method allows them to develop their own vision and get a broad viewpoint about the ways in which they can make a successful career. PDP is described as a process which enables a person to take control of his/her own learning; as a result, the learning efforts become proactive rather than reactive which are designed and prioritised for supporting both immediate and long-term desires of the employees (Winstanley, 2005). With the help of this tool, all employees are provided the opportunity of identifying their potential areas of development and learning. When the appropriate set of skill requirements are discovered and there is alignment between the people’s learning goals and the company’s long-term objective, HR professional can ensure that it has a capable and competitive workforce for meeting the organisational needs. Hence, it provides guidance to the employees about their career development initiatives that they need to undertake for thriving in the respective field. The crucial benefits that are derived from the PDP are as follows: 1. To enhance the performance of the employees in their existing roles. 2. To identify the predictable changes that will be required at the current positions. 3. To stimulate the employees towards attainment of the future career development goals (Sanchez & Levine, 2009). In order to ensure that I possess the skills and competencies required by the HR professionals of today’s business environment, I have designed the following PDP for developing the required expertise in my personality: Skills required Development objectives Resources that will be utilised Cost structure Measuring the effectiveness of skills learnt Completion Time Leadership To develop the ability of leading and motivating people Attending seminars and workshops £2000 Taking feedback from the colleagues and supervisors March-April 2013 Critical thinking To evaluate the problems from various aspects so that workable solution can be developed Seeking help from the seniors and supervisors Nil Reflecting on the performance of the solutions and analyse alternate, feasible solutions for the problem April-May 2013 Interpersonal To enhance the communication skills along with the ability to listen to other’s viewpoints and provide appropriate counselling sessions Get enrolled in an online course offered by a well-known institution £3000 Getting feedback from the supervisors and colleagues March-April 2013 Flexibility To be able to manage the challenges as they are encountered and respond proactively Learn from the projects that are given during the course Nil Reflecting on the problems that were encountered and reviewing the measures that were taken May 2013 Managing To polish the project management, people management and time management skills Undertaking the responsibility of prioritising things and managing various tasks effectively by meeting the deadlines Nil Reviewing the feedback given by colleagues and doing critical analysis on own April 2013 Decision making To ensure that the decisions are aligned with the organisational objectives Attend an online conference to understand the dynamics of HR field £1000 Seeking guidance from the mentor and evaluation of the progression made in other matters of life May 2013 Conclusion Since the market dynamics have evolved by leaps and bounds, HR professionals have to ensure that they develop and upgrade the mandatory skill requirements of their profession. Gradually with time, the level of competition is increasing in everything and hence employees need to develop competitive abilities as well on a constant note. In order to make a prospering career as an HR professional, it is vital for the upcoming experts to get enrolled in programs that will help them in developing an excellent level of proficiency in this field. All the pre-requisites of the industry are properly identified and I have ensured that an effective PDP is developed for assisting me in making appropriate choices in the HR professional field. Hence, HR professionals have to make effective use of the available information about the market so that they can employ the right sources for development of a capable, highly professional and a competent workforce. I plan to work upon my skills on a constant note to become a true professional. References Anwar, M.R., Djakfar, L. and Abdulhafidha, A.K., 2012. 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