Human Resource Development in Organisations - Assignment Example

Human Resource Development in Organizations (HRD) Introduction Man, Machine, Material and Money are the major resources needed for the successful functioning of an organization. Among the four M’s mentioned above manpower or the human resources seem to be the most vital resource needed for an organization. Other resources cannot be utilized effectively if the manpower resources are not functioning adequately. In short, skilled manpower is essential for the growth of an organization. Human resources need proper guidance and assistances from the organization periodically for their effective functioning. In other words, human resource development is one of the major responsibilities of an organization in order to exploit the manpower properly. In order to make the human resources capable of meeting the present challenges, it is necessary to update their knowledge through training and development. It is impossible for the employees to adapt to the changing organizational culture and environment in the absence of proper training. There many different training methods adopted by an organization for the proper manpower development. In fact training starts immediately after the appointment itself. It is impossible for an employee to adapt with the organizational culture and tradition easily even if he/she might be richly experienced in some other organization. Induction training is a type of training given to the new employees at the time inducting them in the organization. This may lasts from few hours to few days depending on the nature of the employees, organization and the tasks employees going to perform. This paper mainly focusing on the need and importance of induction training, topics needed to be included in the induction training, the role of Human Resource Development (HRD), importance of organizational culture to the new employees etc. Why is induction training so important to an organization? Induction training is essential for the new employees in order to make them aware of the organizational culture and environment. It is impossible to have two organizations with similar culture or environment even if they are of same size, operating in same field and location. For example, if a printer working in a printing unit relocating to another printing unit in the same location, he needs induction training even if he is rich in experience. Some organizations may adopt some specific business strategies and it is necessary for the employees to be accustomed in it. For example, in tire industry, some manufacturers make steel radial tires whereas some others make radial tires using the fibers. Even though both the manufacturers are making tires, the process is different and the new employees should have given training on that. The work culture and the employment rules might be different in different organizations and the employees get proper awareness about the work philosophy, norms and their responsibilities in the organization through induction training alone. Even an experienced employee may struggle in a new organization if the employer fails to define his job responsibilities before inducting him in a department. What content should be included in induction training to new employees? The content of the induction training is important in ensuring a successful training. Employers should remember that the purpose of induction training is only to prepare the employee suitable for the organizational climate. It is not necessary to include complicated theories needed for career development or professional development as content in the induction training syllabus. Some of the topics included normally in induction training are; Introduction to the business/department and its personnel/management structure, Layout of the buildings (factory / offices), Terms and conditions of employment (explaining the contract of employment), Relevant personnel policies, such as training, promotion and health and safety, Business rules and procedures, Arrangements for employee involvement and communication, Welfare and employee benefits or facilities etc (Tutor2u, n. d). it is necessary for the new employees to know more about the organization and its setup, culture, business philosophy, brand image, career prospects, norms of his/her employment, organizational communication etc. In short, induction training is a process of equipping the new employee with the armory required to succeed in his/her profession. A new employee to an organization is just like a person visiting a foreign country. The visitor might not have the awareness about the do’s and don’ts of the visiting country because of the immense differences in culture, politics, legal frameworks etc between his mother country and the visiting country. Only a tourist guide would be able to assist the visitor under such circumstances. Induction training is also just like that. Here the new employee is the visitor to the foreign country and induction training is the tourist guide. The commonly adopted checklists in induction training are; Essential visitor level safety and emergency procedures, Washrooms, Food and drink, Smoking areas and policy, Timings and induction training overview, Organizational history and background overview, Ethics and philosophy, Mission statement(s), Organization overview and structure, Local structure if applicable, Departmental structure and interfaces, Whos who (names, roles, responsibilities), Site layout, Other sites and locations, Dress codes, Basic communications overview, Facilities and amenities, Pay, Absenteeism and lateness, Holidays, Sickness, Health insurance, Pension, Trades Unions, Rights and legal issues, Personnel systems and records overview, Access to personal data, Time and attendance system, Security, Transport and parking, Creche and childcare, Grievance procedures, Discipline procedures, Career paths, Training and development , Learning Styles Self-Assessment, Multiple Intelligences Self-Assessment, Appraisals, Mentoring, Awards and Incentives, Health and Safety, and hazard reporting, Physical examinations, eye test etc., Emergency procedures, fire drill, first aid, Accident reporting, Personal Protective Equipment, Use, care, and issue of tools and equipment, Other housekeeping issues, General administration Restricted areas, access, passes etc (Induction training and induction checklist, 2010) What role should HRD play in designing and facilitating employee induction programs? Heathfield, (2010) defined Human Resource Development (HRD) as a framework for helping employees to develop their personal and organizational skills, knowledge, and abilities. In his opinion, HRD should include employee training, employee career development, performance management and development, coaching, mentoring, succession planning, key employee identification, tuition assistance, and organization development (Heathfield, 2010). HRD can play an important role in the designing of the inductions programs aimed for the new employees. HRD should decide that what type of induction programs needed for the new employees based on the various departments they are going to work. For example, a general awareness about the organization, its culture, business philosophy etc is required for all the employees. But specialized training also should be provided for the new employees with respect to the various departments. Production staff needs specialized training on the production aspects whereas the accounts people need specialized training on accounting. HRD can design induction programs either in the classrooms or in the workplace itself. It can be accomplished either in a formal war or informal way. In any case the purpose of the induction programs is the fine tuning of the new employees to make them suitable for the organization. HRD can increase the value of an employee and the scope for his career development. Moreover the employee may increase his employability if he is undergone an induction program in any of the organizations. For example, many organizations prefer candidates with some experience at the time of recruitment because of their better knowledge about an organizational setup. Such employees may require only the basic induction programs to make them suitable for an organization. On the other hand fresh candidates need more comprehensive induction training programs in order to make them suitable for an organization. How important is organizational culture to a new employee and what are some strategies for getting employees to embrace the culture of the organization? Different organizations may have different culture and the organizational cultural adaptation is essential in the current globalized era. It is quite possible that an organization may consist of employees from different countries or regions with different cultures. They may have different types of work experiences in different organizations. For example, a Chinese employee working in an American organization may surprise to see the freedom employees are enjoying at the workplace. In China, employees don’t have much freedom because of the tight communist regime whereas in America, employees may enjoy lavish freedom. In other words, the organizational culture in Chin and America might be entirely different. Moreover, even in America itself, different states may have different organizational culture because of the different state laws. In short, cultural adaptation is essential for an employee working in a new organization. Some organizations may have democratic functioning styles whereas some others may have autocratic style of functioning. Based on this difference in organizational culture, the functioning of these organizations may also be different. An employee worked in a democratic organization may find extreme difficulties in an autocratic organization in the absence of proper induction training programs. The rights in one organization need not be the rights in another organization. The do’s in one organization might be the don’ts in another organization. Only through induction training programs, new employees will get correct picture about the organizational culture and they can make necessary changes in their approaches. Onboarding is a common strategy adopted by many organizations in order to make the new employees suitable for the organization. It is the process of acquiring, accommodating, assimilating and accelerating new team members, whether they come from outside or inside the organization. Acquiring is the process of identifying, recruiting and selecting the employees to join the team whereas accommodation is giving tools to the new employees. Assimilation is the process of blending the new employees with the existing employees whereas acceleration is the process to help the new employees to deliver better results faster (Bradt and Vonnegut, n. d). Right employee at the right place at the right time is always beneficial to the organization. It is impossible for an organization to identify the right talents for a particular position in the absence of onboarding. Onboarding will reveal the abilities of the employees to handle different type of responsibilities and the organization can use them effectively. Many organizations are committing the mistake of posting an employee in position based on his qualification alone. But it is not necessary that an employee with necessary qualification alone may excel in his profession. For example, it is not necessary that a MBA marketing degree holder may excel in the marketing department. If an organization post him/her in the marketing department without assessing his/her communication abilities, the organization may face unwanted results. On the other hand it is quite possible that a normal degree holder may excel in marketing department because of better communication skills. Onboarding will help the organization to post the right talents at the right places in the organization. Conclusions Induction training programs are meant for the fine tuning of the newly recruited employees. It is essential for the new employees to have better awareness about the organization in which they are joining. All the organizations may have different work culture and work philosophies and it is necessary for the new employees to have better ideas about it in order to make necessary changes in their attitude and approaches. The content of the induction training programs should be designed by the human resource development department I such a way that the organization and the employees getting benefit out of it. A well designed induction training program may include all the basic things about the functioning of the organization. It should include a list of do’s and don’ts according to the rules in the organization. Induction programs can be conducted either in classrooms or outside; it can be formal or informal. In any case the purpose of the induction programs is the adaptation of the employees with respect to the organizational culture or climate. Onboarding is one of the major strategies adopted by the organizations in order to bring maximum out of an employee. It helps employees to know more about the new organization and its work culture. Onboarding helps new employees to become useful members of the organization. It increases their employability, career prospects along with their productivity to the organization. References 1. Bradt George and Vonnegut Mary (n. d), Onboarding: How to Get Your New Employees Up to Speed in Half the Time, Retrieved on 1 June 2010 from http://humanresources.about.com/od/orientation/a/te_onboarding.htm 2. Heathfield Susan M. (2010), What Is Human Resource Development (HRD)? Retrieved on 1 June 2010 from http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryh/f/hr_development.htm 3. Induction training and induction checklist, (2010), Retrieved on 1 June 2010 from http://www.businessballs.com/inductiontrainingchecklist.htm 4. Tutor2u, (n. d), Training - induction training, Retrieved on 1 June 2010 from http://tutor2u.net/business/people/training_induction.asp Read More