Human Resource Evaluation - Literature review Example

Human Resources (HR) Human resource evaluation An organization should not devote its time and resources to the human resource activities unless they seem to enhance value to the organization (Storey et al. 2009; p4). Value addition to the organization of human resource activities increases the organization’s productivity that translates to an increase in profits. None useful human resource activities reduce organizational efficiency increasing resource misappropriation leading to decreased productivity and profits. The organization should evaluate the human resource determining its effectiveness in terms of support and service delivery and also at the strategic level (Armstrong 2006; p66). Evaluation should analytical consider both quantitative and qualitative efficiency of human resource activities. Pfeffer (1994, p 57) states that the organization’s failure to accurately analyze human resource policies and practices in a world where financial achievements are necessary dooms the organization to a second class status surrounded by potential failure. This essay will critically analyze the relevance of the human resource and the key issues surrounding its evaluation. The organization should formally evaluate the human resource activities to avoid expensive tribunals and to improve selection decisions. An internal evaluation by the organization averts the services of contracting consultants that could be expensive for the organization. The organization will base the evaluation process on an informed understanding of the individuals involved making it easier and more efficient to produce credible results. In its evaluation of human resource activities, the organization can evaluate the quality of services provided, the costs in the provision of these services and contributions to the strategy. Evaluating the quality of services gives the value addition of the human resource activities. The organization needs to check the speed of delivery whereby time management gets outlined. For example, how long it takes the human resource department to replace an accountant for a given department of the organization. The organization will compare the duration taken to the shortest time possible to measure the relevance. Accuracy and appropriate quantity of information provided are relevant to determining the effectiveness of the human resource. The evaluation checks the quality of the provided service. An example would be a measure of how productive the employee is and what chances there were to find a better candidate in the prescribed time. Taylor (2008) states that the costs should be outlined and measured against the returns. Productivity, time management, retention rate and pay scales are some of the things that should get considered. The costs of human resource activities should not be greater than the benefits gained by the organization. The human resource activities to retain employees should reflect higher returns than the acquisition of new employees. All factors like the benefits of a permanent employee to a contractual employee should be outlined and considered carefully. According to CIPD (2005), two fifth key measures of human resource activities succeed due to adopted strategies. The evaluation process seeks to measure contributions to a policy with evidence to show that people management affects the business and that the policies they implement are congruent with the business strategy (Matthewman and Mantignon, 2005). There are four efficient evaluation methods of the human resource activities that include benchmarking, survey-based assessment, HR auditing, and goal-based evaluation (Philips et al., 2001). Benchmarking is where the human resource activities get compared with the best human resource activities from other organizations. The organization can also set a base year and compare current results to the base year. Survey based evaluation on the other hand involves a random study of human resource activities to generate an overview of the success of their strategies. Goal-based evaluation occurs when the organization measures the performance against the set goals to determine the effectiveness of human resource activities. The other method that is HR auditing involves a summary of all quantitative and qualitative data on a range of organization measures. CIPD (2014) states that stakeholders expect human resource reports to be standardized or become compulsory internally and externally. There are critical issues surrounding human resource evaluation. Elias and Scarborough (2004) state that external audiences lack interest in providing assessment information during human resource evaluation processes. Without credible external contributions, the evaluation can produce improbable reports. Another limitation to efficient evaluation is that it is exceedingly difficult to express individual qualitative and quantitative contributions to the success of an organization. Organizations work as a team and separating the success to infer individual contributions is a significant challenge. Human resource in most organizations lacks the necessary skills to interpret or explain evaluation data and to measure the contribution of people to the business. Most organizations feel that the human resource contributions are too sensitive to share with the public or even with human resource people and other employees. This approach hinders efficient evaluation. Organizations have previously collected data for administrative purposes and not evaluation purposes. Due to this the evaluation process has faced setbacks as people treat this information with low regard to its relevance. In most organizations, the validity of internal and voluntary external reporting has affected the need for compulsory reporting (Torrington et al. 2009). Employees’ voice Dundon et al. (2004, p. 1149) found that voice was defined by managers in terms of alleged input to competence and tended to downplay ideas of rights. Employee voice, as described by Armstrong (2012 p. 420), is the arrangement that encourages a two-way dialogue to take place and through this, employees influence the activities at work. Employee voice includes the processes of involvement, participation, upward communication, and upward problem-solving. Employees in most organizations seek to be heard by the management and are not afraid to express their views. Arguments for giving employees a voice come from a combination of employees seeking higher levels of performance within the organization and those desiring better representation in the workforce (Dundon et al. 2004 p. 1149). This essay will critically discuss employee voice giving particular reasons for and against it and methods in that it can be achieved. Employee voice can be achieved through employee engagement and employee participation. The managers make decisions that are abiding by employees in an organization and these decisions impact largely on employee and organizational performance. Decisions can improve or decrease organizational performance and efficiency. Organizations and managements are required to differentiate between employee voices from the notion of rights to increase efficiency. Armstrong (2012 p. 446) states that giving employees a voice in the organization’s range of decisions results to benefits in the workforce and subsequently to the organization. Employee engagement is defined as a workplace approach structured to encourage employees’ commitment to the organization’s values and goal and to increase their motivation to contribute to organizational success (MacLeod and Clarke 2009 p.9). Through employee engagement, they feel motivated and associated directly with organizational performance and can improve their logic of well-being (MacLeod and Clarke 2009 p.9). Employee engagement increases job satisfaction and perception to perform tasks while receiving support from immediate supervisors. An employee can balance his life and work as both become an integral part of the employee. MacLeod and Clarke (2009 p.11-13) claim that there is evidence that improved engagement correlates with improved organization performance. Another approach to achieving employee voice is through employee participation. Salamon (2000 p.369) defines employee participation as the opportunity employees get provided with to take part in the decision-making process. Employee participation methods include consultations and joint decision-making. In consultations, the managers can discuss verdicts with employees directly or indirectly with their representatives. In joint decision-making, decisions are arrived at through consultative committees or collective bargaining between the managers and the employees. Van Wanrooy et al. (2013 p. 14-21) states that joint committees and trade unions with a seven and thirty-five percent representation of the workplace respectively are the most prevalent arrangements. Employee voice advocates claim that employee involvement is necessary because managers don’t always know what is best for the organization but through employee voice an expert can provide a solution. In most organizations, managers are people with good leadership abilities and not necessarily experts in their department. Issues may arise that need the attention of the experts and solutions can be acquired through employee involvement. Another reason for employee voice is that through employee involvement, a pool of ideas is generated and open for discussion. The more the ideas, the more the productivity and the more a problem can be handled efficiently. Employee voice promotes job satisfaction as the employees are provided with a sense of worth and belonging leading to improved turnover, recruitment and retention, and performance (Torrington et al. 2008). Some of the reasons against Employee voice is that involvement leads to time wastage and slow implementation of policies that undergo long discussions. In some organizations, decisions need to be implemented immediately, and employee involvement could delay implementation. Another reason against employee voice is that some employees undermine management’s authority viewing themselves as better than the managers. Gennard and Judge (2010 p. 259-260) state that employees should not mistake employee voice with jointly regulating or sharing managerial powers. The decision to accept, or reject the views of the employee rests with the management alone. Employee voice can be achieved by sharing information with the management, downward communication, and two-way communication. An employee can share information with other employees and the management on how to improve on a given issue during implementation or seeking to change a policy. Downward communication involves the use of notice boards and the intranet to communicate personal views and objectives. An employee can use provided platforms to address a contiguous issue with the management or fellow employees. The third approach to achieving employee voice is through two-way communication where the managers or an employee with the consent of the manager can suggest an idea or during team briefings and problem-solving groups. Organizations should ensure efficient employee voice at all times to encourage convenience and efficiency. Employees, on the other, hand should not abuse employee voice or try and take advantage of the management. Budd (2004 p. 13) states that, voice is an intrinsic participation standard and that participation is an end in itself for rational humans in a democracy. The intrinsic voice is relevant whether or not it alters the distribution of economic rewards. Read More