DQ - Strategic HRM
Lesson 3
Introduction
This week we will explore recruitment and selection, contingent workers, outsourcing and virtual organizations. The life cycle of employment has changed drastically over the years. Not long ago, workers would hire on with an organization with the intent to work there for 30-40 years. There was loyalty from the employer to the employee and from the employee to the employer. This is not longer the case. In fact, it is not even expected that employees will stay with a company for more than a few years.
When a company is planning for mid-term and long-range plans, HR should be at that table. Typically, manpower is the largest expense to a large organization. When planning growth, manpower needs to be part of the equation. Moreover, not just people in seats, but the right people for the right job. HR can be a major strategic player in this.
Recruitment and Selection
Many people are out of work but many companies cannot find people with the talent and skills they are seeking. For instance, 100 years ago a manufacturing job did not require any previous skill or education. Today, even assembly lines are filled with robotics that needs programmers and technology literate operators. These things are no longer being taught in many of our schools. We are facing a skills gap in this country.
One example of this is a manufacturing company looking to hire 100 skilled workers. They received only 140 applications. When they took into consideration experience and skill, they were able to find 40 applicants to consider. They administered tests to those 40 applicants that tested to national standards. Of the 40 applicants, four passed the test. They made offers to all four of those applicants and only one accepted. This is an example of the knowledge gap; they wanted to hire 100 skilled employees and could only find one.
Many organizations do not utilize an HR department to its full potential. Some firms restrict HR to administrative and operational functions such as record-keeping, compiling reports, recruiting, employee orientation, training, safety, and health, employee relations, and administration of the benefits program. This narrow viewpoint, however, ignores the strategic quality of human resources that must be viewed in the same context as are financial, technological, and other resources. Effective use of people in the organization can provide a competitive advantage, both domestically and abroad.
The strategic role of HR management emphasizes that the people in an organization are valuable resources representing significant organizational investments. For HR to play a strategic role, it must focus on the longer-term implications of HR issues. The more successful companies recognize top HR managers as being members of the top management team. Without the strategic aspect of HR, it would be difficult for companies to engage in such things as plant expansion, plant relocation, plant closings, mergers, and acquisitions. It has also been established that the strategic role has greater potential payoffs in terms of valued added per dollar spent than either the administrative or operational roles.
To transform an HR department from administrative and/or operational to strategic may require some additional talent, or a restricting altogether with some outsourcing of other functions or a new way to view the recruitment and selection process. This would also require buy-in and actually a push from the top down to get everyone on board. This transition can either make or break a company as they consider other alternatives.
Contingent workers
“As employers seek new ways to make the employment relationship more flexible, they have increasingly relied on a variety of arrangements popularly known as "contingent work." The use of independent contractors and part-time, temporary, seasonal, and leased workers has expanded tremendously in recent years. The Commission views this change both as a healthy development and a cause for concern” (DOL, 2015, para. 1). This week, we will discuss the benefits and concerns of a contingent workforce.
Outsourcing
As we look at the transformation of HR and outsourcing, it is not that the other responsibilities go away but the alignment of the department is transformed. How the key components of daily HR duties get completed can vary. Some organizations will outsource while others will keep folks on to handle payroll, benefits administration and so on. These are still foundational tasks that must be carried out and the senior HR person will still be held accountable for those things. How they are handled is something worth considering. A cost-benefit analysis may be the first step.
Virtual organizations
APUS/AMU is a virtual organization. I can use myself as an example about working from home. I sometimes miss the personal interaction of the office or shop environment but still find myself interacting with students, colleagues, and supervisors throughout the day. I also find myself more productive.
Managing virtual employee’s is a new realm for many managers and employees as well. Some ways to make sure the work is being done is for supervisors to monitor reports on production or sales. Calls can be recorded and evaluated for employee performance as well as monitored live by the supervisor on occasion.
With some phone systems employees use, supervisors can also monitor the incoming calls, what number called in and the duration of the calls. These can be compared to the standard or norm. In many cases, I have seen productivity and output actually increase with remote employees compared to those doing the same job in an office.
Conclusion
This is an interesting week exploring beyond the norms and into the future direction of HR as it relates to jobs and work. Our discussions will be interesting this week with our conversations around leveraging technology and the use of virtual employees.
As HR professionals, we should always be looking for ways to improve the workplace while increasing the bottom line. If HR finds themselves as just paper pushers and not a strategic asset to the organization, they may soon find themselves outsourced.
References:
Contingent Workers. (n.d.). Retrieved June 15, 2015 from http://www.dol.gov/_sec/media/reports/dunlop/section5.htm
Contingent Workers. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2016, from http://www.dol.gov/_sec/media/reports/dunlop/section5.htm
Reading Resources
Leung, K., & Peterson, M. F. (2011). Managing a globally distributed workforce: Social and interpersonal issues. APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology, vol 3: Maintaining, expanding, and contracting the organization. (pp. 771-805) American Psychological Association. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/12171-022
Morris, S. (2008). Virtual team working: Making it happen. Industrial and Commercial Training, 40(3), 129-133. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/00197850810868612
Neuwirth, E. B. (2004). Blurring corporate boundaries: Staffing agencies, human resource practices and unions in the new employment relationship. (Order No. 3137581, University of California, Davis). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 224-224 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/305214618?accountid=8289. (305214618).
Toppin, L. M. (2006). Defining the psychological contract of the virtual worker: Implications for the human resource professional. (Order No. 3218610, The George Washington University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 185-185 p. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/305332241?accountid=8289. (305332241).