Challenges of Human Resource Management, Research Paper Example

Human Resource Management (HRM) is facing many changes and challenges. The function of HRMis to ensure that a company achieves its goals and objectives with employees in matters such as job satisfaction, strong identity with the company, and a low turnover.HRM can benefit both an organization and its workers by managing issues related to recruitment and hiring, performance management, and providing direction for employees.Human Resource Management (HRM) is the process of ensuring that the company achieves certain objectives for employees such as high engagement, job satisfaction, and low turnover. It costs businesses a lot of money to recruit, hire, and train employees. Employees that are highly productive and stay with the organization are a better return on investment than employees that leave within a year or two for another company.Human Resource Management (HRM) is the process of ensuring that the company achieves certain objectives for employees such as high engagement, job satisfaction, and low turnover. It costs businesses a lot of money to recruit, hire, and train employees. Employees that are highly productive and stay with the organization are a better return on investment than employees that leave within a year or two for another company.

Challenges in Human Resource Management

Factors such as the changing economy, the new healthcare system, and an increase in older workershave created the need for HRM to alter its priorities and development. According to Biro (2012), a major goal of HRM is to develop leaders and encourage an entrepreneurial spirit in employees. Both current and new employees will be coached to possess a collaborative cultural mindset, acquire good communication skills, and havea high emotional intelligence. HRM will need to rely on job analysis, recruitment, and selection when searching for these qualities in potential employees.

Benefits packages will also present HRM with many challenges. The new healthcare system has many unknown factors and workers will need information regarding benefits, compensation, and retirement. Retirement plans will create challenges for HRM because of the increased amount of older workers. However, it is imperative that HRM provideolder workers with the same opportunities as younger workers.

Equal Opportunity

Companies and organizations must ensure that there are equal opportunities for all workers. While most people would never admit outright to discrimination, it does happen, and may occur unintentionally. HRM is challenged because it can seem difficult to provide equal opportunity to all, while ensuring that potential employees fit with the company culture. Companies can still embrace diversity and help workers feel comfortable. Education programs on equal opportunity and diversity can offer benefit to both management and employees. A study by Armstrong, Flood, Gutrie, Liu, MacCurtain&Mkamwa (2010) found that diversity training is associated with an increased productivity and a reduced employee turnover.HRM can also guarantee equal opportunities by establishing preset procedures regarding job analysis, hiring, and training programs.

Job Analysis, Recruiting, Selection, and Training

Valuable time and money can be saved by establishing procedures regarding job analysis, employee selection, and training. Job analysis requires having preset job descriptions and specifications of duties and responsibilities. It helps in recruiting, selecting, and training employees. Companies need to establish their requirements of potential employees before they are hired. While it is important that individuals are provided with an equal opportunity to work, a company is within its rights to require employees to possess a certain amount of experience, education, or specialized skills. HRM may use many methods of analyzing potential employees such as questionnaires, checklists, and interviews. Employees may even be required to complete a preset period of observation where their work and behavior are monitored.

Job analysis can help individuals seeking work to know if they qualify for the position, and to inform employees of their responsibilities and duties.The information assists with training and helps individuals understand and perform their duties to the company with confidence. The more confidence employees have in their abilities increases the likelihood of higher job satisfaction and better performance.

Training is important for older workers as well. Older workers must overcome many stereotypes and may not have learned all of the new skills being taught in schools. However, their experience and loyalty toward the company is a valuable asset. Training has been found to be more beneficial for older workers, and while it is helps younger workers to learn their jobs, it does not guarantee their loyalty(Kooij, Guest, Clinton, Knight, Jansen &Dikkers, 2012).

Managing Compensation and Performance Appraisals

Performance appraisalsreview an employee’s performance and measure their skills and accomplishments. They can provide management with a better understanding of an employee’s abilities, and can be an opportunity to increase motivation and self-esteem, improve communication, and clarify job functions and goals. Performance appraisals can also be used to distribute rewards, such as compensation.

The relationship between compensation and performance appraisals can be challenging for HRM. Usually workers are paid a set wage, but this may or may not contribute to productivity and satisfaction. Companies often want to reward workers for good work and create incentives for better performance. However, performance appraisals have recently undergone criticism. Billikopf (2006) reports that performance appraisals should not be tied to compensation because it can create distention and make employees resistant to change and accepting the company culture.According to Bersin (2013), performance appraisals should be eliminated because annual reviews do not give an accurate rating of an employee’s performance and potential rating. And even though protective procedures may be implemented, workers may not be able to trust their managers to be objective. Regular feedback would be more beneficial to eliminate surprises and immediately address any poor performance. Another problem is basing compensation solely upon performance evaluations may motivate workers to act less for the company and more for themselves.

HRM can resolve these challenges and use performance appraisals effectively. New software and technology designed for HRM can be used to help employees and managers give one another regular feedback in a safe environment. The software will allow employees and management to have anonymous access to praise, constructive criticism, and to make immediate improvements. Performance appraisals can also help managers become more comfortable with the company culture, and better able to motivate workers and increase productivity.

Benefits

In larger organizations, employees expect to have benefits. Benefits packages may include health insurance, retirement plans, life insurance, disability insurance, and may even include tuition for school, or lifestyle support. HRM can determine benefits packages based on the culture of the employees. While certain benefits, such as health insurance are desired by many, younger employees may be more interested in tuition for school, where older employees may be more interested in retirement or life insurance. The challenge is to offer a broad-based plan which accommodates the majority of employees in the company.

Labor Relations and International Human Resources Management

HRM must pay particular attention to labor relations to ensure that management and employees work well together. Labor relations involve issues such as employee rights, election activities, and the settling of negotiations and disputes. Strong labor relations are important to a company’s success in one’s own country and can be especially challenging for HRM when working with international branches of an organization. Due to technology and other various factors, many organizations are expanding and outsourcing their work to other countries. Issues regarding differing cultural values may arise, and it is important that HRM respects local customs, while retaining the company’s culture and objectives. HRM must be aware that different countries will have different customs and be flexible in how they are managed (Almond, 2010). By being sensitive to diversity, HRM can ensure that each organization functions within the comfort level of its local workers, while fulfilling the company’s mission

Creating High-Performance Work Systems

High-performance work systems (HPWS) are groupsof multiple human resource practices designed to increase employee productivity and satisfaction. They help HRM meet challenges involving equal opportunities, job analysis, hiring, training, and facilitate better labor relations both locally and internationally. Other aspects include benefits, compensation, technology, and job security. A current goal of HPWS is to promote better relations between management and employees. One way HPWS is accomplishing this is by reducing thebarriers between management and employees. This includes better communication, and less distinction in dress and office arrangements. Managers are learning to act more as coaches as opposed to rulers. HPWS must possess adaptive capability to changing conditions(Wei & Lau, 2010);because of the shifting workforce, unstable economy, and increase in research, striking a healthy balance with employees and management is essential.By understanding the future and the new direction of HRM, HPWS can exhibit the required flexibility to provide the best service to both employees and the organization.

Conclusion

The new research and knowledge about optimizing employee performance is creating many new developments in the field of HRM. Factors such as equal opportunity and diversity, good benefits and compensation, and feeling confident in their performance help to increase job satisfaction and loyalty to the company. HRM producethe best results for both companies and workers by continuing to adapt to the changing climate and culture in the work force.

References

Almond, P. (2010).Re-visiting ‘country of origin’ effects on HRM in multinational corporations.Human Resource Management Journal, 21(3), 258-271. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-8583.2010.00153.x

Armstrong, C., Flood, P., Gutrie, J., Liu, W., MacCurtain, S., &Mkamwa, T. (2010). The impact of diversity and equality management on firm performance: Beyond high performance work systems. Human Resource Management, 49(6), 977-998. doi: 10.1002/hrm.20391 (Armstrong, Flood, Gutrie, Liu, MacCurtain&Mkamwa, 2010)

Bersin, J. (2013, May 06). Time to scrap performance appraisals?.Forbes, Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2013/05/06/time-to-scrap-performance-appraisals/

Billikopf, G. (2006). Performance appraisal. Informally published manuscript, Agricultural Labor Management, University of California, Retrieved from http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/06.htm (Billikopf, 2006)

Biro, M. (2012, November 11). 5 great challenges ahead for HRand leaders.Forbes, Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2012/11/11/5-greatest-challenges-ahead-for-hr-and-leaders/ (Biro, 2012)

Kooij, D., Guest, D., Clinton, M., Knight, T., Jansen, P., &Dikkers, J. (2012). How the impact of HR practices on employee well-being and performance changes with age. Human Resource Management Journal, 23(1), 18-35. doi: 10.1111/1748-8583.12000

Wei, L., & Lau, C. (2010). High performance work system and performance: The role of adaptive capability. Human Relations, 63(10), 1487-1511. doi: 10.1177/0018726709359720