Human Resource Development Key Performance Indicators - Example

Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & Name: Date of Submission: Word Count 4114 Table of Contents HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT 1 Human Resource Development Key Performance Indicator in Many Firms 1 Plan: Human Resource Development Programs. 3 Advantages of Human Resource Development Programs 5 Design; Human Resource Development Programs 7 Implementation of Human Resource Development Program 10 Evaluation and assessment of human resource development program 14 Conclusion 16 Reference 16 HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Human Resource Development Key Performance Indicator in Many Firms I identified human resource development (HRD) as an important tool of management and it originated during early 1980s when it was defined as integrated framework that employs the skill of employee training and development towards achieving goals and objectives of the company. In today’s global business environment and ecological zones, the aspect of human resource has been a key area of concern by management teams of many firms while forecasting on achieving high profitability levels in their businesses (Harris and DeSimone, 1994). In my view, Competitive age that have covered business environment has forced firms to adopt human resource development schemes that aims at indulging self-motive within the employees thus realizing high output levels. In simple business environment, it is defined as a process of imparting new skills, expertise, techniques and abilities among the employees of the firm. Human resource development programs were developed after a series of research done on many forms regarding identity and value that an employee had towards the organization’s objectives (Ehrich and Hansford, 1999). It only shows that employees with positive view about the organization yields high output level thus high profitability within the company and vice versa. This developed the need for management team and directors of the company to adopt free job description programs, free policy samples, employee relationship, leadership and development programs, project management and business employee motivation programs to help gain confidence and loyalty among the employees. Some firms in Australia and United States of America have been identifies to adopted effective feedback mechanisms that helps the management to evaluate, monitor and develop their employees to equip them with new skills, techniques and expertise (Galperin and Lituchy, 2013). According to Mr. Jerrys, Director of Melbourne shoe and manufacture company, experience among the company’s employees is the best policy to adopt. Human resource development programs are a remedy that solves issues related value of the firm. Human resource development programs aims at developing the career of employees through uplifting their skills. This is achieved through effective coaching, performance training, employee identification, job specialization training and organizational development training. The major focus on adopting human resource development in an organization is the motive to develop an effective workforce that will not only enhance quality services but also increase the profitability of the firm. Achieving the best skills to serve target customers is an essential practice in business concept that leads to customer loyalty and trust (Ehrich and Hansford, 1999). However, an effective workforce should be developed to analyze and predict the future needs of various customers in the market while developing effective solutions to their problems. An organization possess many opportunities to indulge in employee motivation and training programs both within an outside the organization. The company can use available resource within the organization to motivate their employees. They management team may strive to offer conducive working environment, job security, respect to human rights and freedoms and effective formulation of organization policies that aims at favoring both the employees and the entire organization (Galperin and Lituchy, 2013). Human resource development includes the aspect of recognizing individual’s efforts at various sectors of the environment while employing new skills to improve the career even more. Plan: Human Resource Development Programs. Human resource development has been recognized as an important aspect of management that can be used as a tool to improve levels of performance within the firm (Sheehan, 2006). The need to adopt such programs result though evaluation of key performance of employees in various units within the organization, conducting survey and questionnaire on employees regarding their work experience in the organization and daily reports that are developed by the organization that regards challenges facing employees as well as employee achievements. The growing need to adopt development of employees organization results from factors such as the need to adopt competitive age within the organization through offering effective services to customers in the market, the need to be unique by designing effective products and services that are accepted globally. Furthermore, the need to develop management systems and through integration of production operation management, supply chain management and business information management is an effective strategy towards achieving high level of success (Galperin and Lituchy, 2013). Employee development programs includes staff training and motivational program, performance and promotional programs, offering incentives, job security as well as conducive working environment and developing effective relationship between management team and employees. In Early 1990s, many firms experience downfall in the levels of profitability which was articulated to management performance. However, further research defined clearly that employees used traditional methods of production to produce products and services (Galperin and Lituchy, 2013). Such methods were not only tiresome but also demanding. The need to adopt training of employees was first experienced in United Kingdom, when firms went global and face competition from big firms. This derive the need to train workers regarding specific task and performance targeted towards specific customers in the market. Employees are the core drivers of production, implementation of key objectives of the company and forum for formation of effective policies that drives the company to the next stage. Including employees in development programs within an organization indulge some sense or order, trust and loyalty. When companies are associated with high levels of performance, employees will be among the proud achievers within the organization. Recognizing the efforts of an employee that contributes to the value of the firm forms a strong basis for motivation and trust. It is realized when coaching are administered by management team to employees with an aim to improve their capabilities, skills and techniques. Through daily evaluation and assessment of employee programs, management team can be able to establish the performance of various sectors within and outside the organization while integrating performance with rewards. Every step taken to identify the progress of an employee is a strong framework to realize better goals and objective in the firm. Firms have adopted technological inventions to improve ways to analyze their business units. Formation of company blogs and websites have is a way to collect information from employees through engaging in chat rooms, debates and comments. Such conversation helps to draw various views of employees towards the company. It is a tool of assessment that has moved organizations to greater heights. Advantages of Human Resource Development Programs It is essential to acknowledge the fact that human resource development programs are essential activities in the firm that enables the organization to realize its goals and objectives within the organization. It is an avenue where a business firm imparts new skills, techniques, expertise and experience to their employees to perceive high levels of performance within the organization (Sheehan, 2006). It empowers the skills of employees in an organization and to enable them to offer effective services than before. Employee motivation programs forms a strong basis towards increasing employee loyalty and trust within the organization (Leimbach, 2005). Employees who are rewarded based on their levels of performance are likely to increase their efforts to realize the goals and objectives of the firm. In today’s business environment, small and medium term enterprises faces a lot of competition from large government corporations and multinational organizations who enjoys the economies of scale. However, the satisfaction of the customers does not depend necessarily on the size of the company. It depends on the quality of services and products offered by the firm that meets the expectations of many customers. Small business firms will adopt human resource development program to empower their employees with skills that meets completive age globally. Trends regarding business technology are changing at faster rate. This requires the firms to be informed with latest technological advancement that can increase their profits. Some business programs are complicated and hard to adopt. However, training employee’s o how to use the services faster forms a strong basis towards achieving high levels of success within the company. According to Grieves (2003), effective human resource development programs integrates various business units including production unit, supply and chain unit as well as business information units through enhancing teamwork among employees within different departments. Interaction of employees from one business unit to another imparts some new ideas, contribution and performance. Involving employees in business development processes is simply known as participative management. Employees are attached to an organization by appreciating any achievement obtains by the company while looking for effective solutions to the company’s problems. Effective implementation of human resource development process forms strong assessment tool regarding progress of the firm (Bartram, 2005). High levels of profitability in the firm reflect a positive move by employees towards their task and vice versa. It keeps the company being legal and operational while giving room for sound developments of the business. Through adoption of human resource development mechanisms and process within the company, talents and skills are built amongst key employees (Bartram, 2005). Talents are created when employee engage their efforts on tasks that they enjoy without pressure. Such employees may only realize their talents when they are being assisted by an organization to engage in development programs. Lack of employee training limits the scope of thinking, creativity as well as innovation by employees towards realizing new business avenues that can increase the profitability of the firm. Going global requires high talented and skilled employees who will not only expand market size but also conforms to international ethical standards and considerations within business concept. Design; Human Resource Development Programs This essay will focus on staff training and motivation program. Staff training and motivation is human resource development tool that aims at empowering employees with new skills to adopt better business ethics (Grieves, 2003). The aim of staff training is to impart new skills and development throughout the employment period of an employee to help them cope with global changing trends. Such programs include training staff in good customer care services and how best to relate to customers, training employees on how to enhance team work within the organization, training the staff on how to manage projects and evaluation of such projects within the company and to train employees on how to produce quality products and services to target customers. Other important areas involves imparting knowledge to employees on how to cope up with organizational challenges and problems as well as equipping them with skills necessary to adopt business information systems techniques. While today’s business is competitive and demanding, adopting the best information technology to increase productivity in the firm is a good direction to be adopted (Sheehan, 2006). Business firms should adopting modern strategies to market their products and services through engaging in internet marketing (Sheehan, 2006). It will be expensive to hire daily expert to operate company’s websites, blogs or emails as well as notifications. It makes it easier for the firm to train employees to administer such jobs not only to reduce cost incurs when hiring individual consultants but also to achieve high efficiency levels within the company. Firms must aim to maximize the shareholder’s wealth by improving the skills of employees within an organization (Smith and Smith, 2007). This can only be achieved when staff is trained to achieve technical skills to operate such services. Training programs can found within or outside the organization. Companies cannot outsource experts from other companies while it can offer training programs to their employees. In the past decades, firms introduce staff training programs as part of the mandate and portfolio that should be achieved within certain financial period. Motivation is also an important employee development that rewards employees according to their performance levels. Motivation is an inner drive within an employee that drives him/her to achieve high goals and objectives within the firm. It is an inner drive that results from positive view about tasks and the entire organization. Employees are affected by personality, perception, attitude and self-actualization. Though motivation is a tool that is neglected by managers, I strongly recommend that motivational development programs should be implemented since it helps to build confidence among the employees. It is also clear that long serving employees are articulated to high levels of performance due to proper motivation programs adopted by such firms. In realizing both domestic and international business goals, employees should be provided with proper working environment to enable provision of quality services and products. It imparts sense of honor respect and teamwork among the employees while creating effective relationship between the management team and the work force (Smith and Smith, 2007). Training and employee development programs enhance change in an organization (Sheehan, 2006). Change is realized when an organization moves from a regional structure to a national or international structure through reforming its operation mechanisms, processes and procedure as well as approaches to decision making. Transformation process is a series of steps that applies from top management to employees. The major aim of this program is to develop a business unit from the external environment while anticipating more improvement in internal operation mechanism (Mankin, 2009). To transform economic culture needs to reform the operations of the company and how tasks are coordinated from one productive unit to the other. Implementing organizational change is a difficult task that may not be accepted by employees. It involves changes in roles, operations as well as work stations, changes in company’s portfolio, systems of operations and the entire structure (Long and Shields, 2005). Some employees will not agree for managers to change their status quo while others prefer working under normal working conditions and experiences. However, engaging the employees in organizational change is an important step towards realizing organizational change objective. I strongly recommend that, organizational change is a series of transformation by a company from regional culture to more organized systems while considering the reaction by employees towards such changes. According to my view, well design human resource development plan should have five major features. It should have an effective systematic approach through which employee’s efficiency is improved. The system should clearly define how employee development processes are to be conducted, relevant authorities to carry out the training process as well as mechanisms, procedures and methods to be used to enhance success (Long and Shields, 2005). On the other hand, human resource development process should be a continuous process that is carried out through ought the period to ensure updated skills and techniques are upheld. Furthermore, continuity in implementing staff training and development programs will ensure technical managerial ethics. It is essential to sharpen the skills of an employee regardless of their need to retire in future. Human resource development framework should be a multi-disciplinary aspect that draws its arguments from science, commerce field, engineering and economics as well as medicine (Sheehan, 2009). Effective human resource framework should be technical while giving employees an opportunity to learn new skills regarding their jobs. Such techniques includes appraisal of performance, planning of careers, worker participation, guidance and counseling units and enhancing equity among all participants within the organization (Leimbach, 2005). Well-designed human resource development program should define the scope of developing employees within an organization. Human resource management is a field that deals with compensation, utilization of resources as well as engaging in procurement activities. Firms may want to change the company’s products and services, change the type of management, change it operational process, and carry out retrenchment of workers and other business unit to cut on cost or expand their operations through mergers and acquisitions (Leimbach, 2005). However, identifying the effects that such organizations may have on business environment is a key performance indicator to realize firm’s goals. Implementation of Human Resource Development Program Employee training and development programs are essential parts of management that helps to reduce anticipated risks within an organization (Lehmann, 2009). Under normal circumstances, changes will occur within the organization that indicates the need to carry out human resource development programs. Such changes include the request by employees to the management team to carry out training programs due to problems experienced in their work places. Employee survey results that shows that training programs are necessary within the organization, deficiencies that results from regular evaluation and assessment of key employee performance, changes in law and regulations regarding the operations of the business as well as new programs and operations in the firm (Lehmann, 2009). Despite these factors, the implementation process requires proper selection and strategic plan that aims at selecting the right people and units of the business to be developed. Based on performance of an organization, managers can strive to select various employees from different sectors of the business and train them (Joy-Matthews, Megginson and Surtees, 2004). There are two options available for a firm to carry out implementation programs, internal methods and external methods. Internal methods involve using the resources available within the organization to train employees regarding various tasks within the organization (Harris and DeSimone, 1994). The firm can use past experiences on its levels of performance to train new employees or to identify key performing departments within the organization and adopt the skills used by such workers to train others. According to Grieves (2003), developing an effective implementation framework is key indicator towards achieving high levels of success within the firm. It provides many benefits to the firm and employees but needs careful implementation mechanism that strives for long term benefits. Simple implementation process should include setting of goals and objectives to be achieved through the training process. For major firms and business entities, the major objective for conducting training programs is to equip their employees with new skills and techniques to handle their tasks better and thus better services to target customers in the market (Galperin and Lituchy, 2013). A firm may tend to waste resources and time investing in employee training activities when global markets of their products and services are not effective. Firms should aim at designing and implementing their programs at the right time, right place and for the right purpose. Step two of implementation process is to select employees who will take part in training process. Draw effective schedules such as those by company policies that define clearly how employ programs are executed in your organization. Skill based training as well as basic employee training should be programmed for all employees to attend. However, tasks that require advanced training will require selection of competitive team who will not only will to accomplish the task but also those who have shown standing performance in their relative fields (Ehrich and Hansford, 1999). Selection process of employees can either be random or through selection based on competence. You should also consider developing a training schedule that will meet the needs of various employees within the organization. Getting all employees to be trained within your organization can be a tiresome procedure to adopt. According to D'Netto, Bakas and Bordia (2008), planning employee according to shifts or business units makes it effective to execute training programs within the f rim. It is essential to identify the resources to be used during implementation process. For instance, training of staff may require financial support from the management team of the company as well as books on leadership and development. Some of the books to be adopted during training process include implementing organizational change, human resource development and leadership in business firms and methodologies to be used to implement organizational change (D'Netto, Bakas and Bordia, 2008). The third stage will involve carrying out implementation process through execution of step one ad two. It is important to implement different staff development modules at different levels for efficiency. Employees serving marketing department have different opinion with those in finance department as well as those in administration post. This requires proper implementation process that will cover all departments within a business firm. In this stage of human resource development, it is advisable to use a professional counselor or an experienced employee to train the staff on how to handle various tasks within the organization so as to gap competitive age (Busine, 2005). The interaction between the tutor and employees is a major achievement towards realizing good training programs. During training time, it is important to use media devices such as electronic board’s projectors etc. to enable proper contact between the professional and the employees. The use of videos and white boards to illustrate procedures and mechanisms to be followed by employees forms strong basis for good training program (Busine, 2005). Involving the employees to participate during training programs is essential practice. It ensures that employees are keen on understanding key points from the tutor. It is a good practice to design employee feedback mechanism where training program can be rated (Bartram, 2005). Employees will rate training programs based on how much they benefited from them. Such mechanisms will help the management team to come up with better ways to train their employees. I recommend that employers should keep employ training program a continuous process for new and existing employees. When recruiting new members to an organization, the process of staff development should be repeated with an aim of achieving better performance. Effective feedback mechanisms should be developed to get comments and reactions from the employees. Evaluation and assessment of human resource development program This section seeks to identify evaluation techniques and methods to be used to assess human resource development in the firm. It gives a series of steps to be followed to evaluate employee training program while giving the benefits derived from the evaluation process. According to Bartram (2005), implementation process alone is not worth to know the impact of training to employees. Evaluation of performance helps the firm to estimate the levels of satisfaction from employees thus formulating better policies to improve employee training programs. It helps to estimate expected performance levels against actual performance. Evaluation methods to be employed by the company should be specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic and also time bound. The methods of evaluation include getting feedback from employees regarding how such development programs affect their performance. There are various levels of evaluation and assessment of performance of key employees within the company. The management team may evaluate the effect of training programs at individual levels. The core aspect to consider is the behavior change of employees in their respective areas of work (Apsc.gov.au, n.d.). Change in behavior regarding performance of employees will show the effect of employee training program. Determinations, competence and time management will show you that training programs were effective and vice versa (Apsc.gov.au, n.d.). Evaluation can also be done at team work levels. Employees showing high levels of team work and co-operations towards realizing the goals of the firm were affected positively. Such employees will tend to work together, contribute positively towards the achievement of goals and objectives of the firm while participating actively in activities of the company. Employees can also be evaluated based organizational level. Organizations have policies and structure that controls its activities. Such policies require employees to adhere to its structures and systems. When employees respond positively to policies of the organization demonstrates how employee development programs affects the employees. Evaluation and assessment process should be a series of steps that are meant to evaluate the performance and satisfaction regarding staff training and development Such programs include training staff in good customer care services and how best to relate to customers, training employees on how to enhance team work within the organization, training the staff on how to manage projects and evaluation of such projects within the company and to train employees on how to produce quality products and services to target customers . The steps include reviewing the previous performance and relate it to current levels of performance to the effects of the program. If the current performance is higher than the previous performance then the level of performance is positive and vice versa. Analysis should be done to identify any gaps between expected level of performance and actual level of performance. It is essential to design an effective action plan that meets the needs of performance and the objective of its evaluation. I recommend that firms and business entities should carry out evaluation and assessment of human resource development projects to establish the effectiveness of their programs. It helps to evaluate the effect of such programs on the performance of the firm. It also assists the management team to formulate effective policies to enhance high levels of performance by offering skills and techniques to their employees. It assists in provision of better services to target customers. Conclusion In summary, human resource development is a process that equips employees with skills and techniques to handle both complex and simple jobs in the firm. Effective human resource development should be designed, planned, implemented and evaluated to establish its effectiveness. It also assists the management team to formulate effective policies to enhance high levels of performance by offering skills and techniques to their employees. Reference Apsc.gov.au, (n.d.). Australian Public Service Commission - Strategic projects. [online] Apsc.gov.au. Available at: http://www.apsc.gov.au/projects [Accessed 2 Jun. 2015]. Bartram, T. (2005). Small firms, big ideas: The adoption of human resource management in Australian small firms. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 43(1), pp.137-154. Busine, M. (2005). Succession management: Trends and current practice. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 43(2), pp.225-237. D'Netto, B., Bakas, F. and Bordia, P. (2008). 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