Human Resource Talent Management

Introduction

The Human Resource Management (HRM) is one of the most critical department of the organization. The organizations in Australia are managing their human resources in a global, competitive and deregulated environment since the last 20 years.  The human resource practitioners should integrate the human resource policies with the corporate strategies. This integration improves the organizational performance. This reflective journal would provide some key insights of HRM in areas such as legal context, recruitment and selection, managing diversity and work life balance of the employees. The utility of reflection is that it is synonymous with the deep thought process, which helps in better understanding of the basic concepts of the concerned domain (Moon 2013). In this journal, I have described, analyzed, evaluated and derived self awareness from my past experiences in the human resource department. I have analyzed the human resource management in the Australian context and learned important concepts from my own experiences.

Discussion

My course in human resource management gave me important learnings about cross cultural management in Australia. The HR plays a major role in providing a cultural bridge to the employees (Bird and Mendenhall 2016). I realized the importance of leadership, motivation and understanding of the expatriate behavior in dealing with the cross border employees (Bird and Mendenhall 2016). I was asked to manage a team of employees in South Korea and enhance the performance of our organization. My job location was in Australia, hence at first, found it difficult to manage a team, who are present in a different geographical location. I found it difficult to interact with a team which I cannot visualize. I took a lot of time to decide upon the suitable strategy for dealing with cross border issues.

After attending the course of human resource management, I am quite confident about handling such tricky situations. I should gain understanding of the different cultures of the world and understand their influence on the human behaviors. The culture of a country shapes the personality of an individual (Schultz and Schultz 2016). It includes the belief, art, knowledge, laws, customs and morals. The behavioral aspects of the employees are deeply influenced by the culture of their country. There are small sets of culture, known as “subcultures” within a particular culture (Ferraro and Brody 2015). The employees of an organization tend to acquire the culture of the organization along with the inherent culture of their country (Ferraro and Brody 2015). I should understand the needs of the employees and try to provide an effective solution for their fulfillment. The solutions should strike a balance between the organizational needs and the needs of the employees. I must understand the means of improving the ability of the employees so that they can adapt to the organizational culture. The establishment of a suitable communication channel is essential for interacting with the employees on a regular basis (Davison Ou and Martinsons 2013). The employees should be able to interconnect their country’s culture with that of the organization.

The primary benefit of the cross cultural management is the increased profitability of the organization. If the quality of the cross border teams is enhanced, then there would be increased revenues for the organization teams (Ahammad et al. 2016) . The efficient management of the cross border team would reduce the number of business obstacles as there would be less number of misunderstandings between the cross-border teams (Ahammad et al. 2016). There would be development of mutual trust between the cross cultural business associates which is beneficial from an organizational point of view teams (Ahammad et al. 2016). The efficient management of the employees in different geographical locations boosts the motivation level of the employees. This would subsequently lead to an increase in the productivity of the employees and they would be contributing more to the organizational output (Gounaris and Boukis 2013). The motivated employees would efficiently serve the customers and hence the customer satisfaction rates would increase considerably (Gounaris and Boukis 2013).

The act of reflecting on the cross cultural human resource management has aided me in developing a clear understanding of the course of action that should be adopted in specific scenarios. It has helped me to gain ideas about how to manage a cross border team effectively. I have also learnt about the various implications of managing employees located at different geographical locations. I have understood the details of the offshoring process, offshore partner and how to improve the human resources in a collaborative manner in Australia (Ahammad et al. 2016). I have learnt to design a suitable strategy keeping in mind the continuous process improvements. In my future career, I would be more confident in handling similar situations and demonstrate the skills that I have learnt in this course.

I encountered strategic human resource management issues during my professional life. I faced the issue of the retention of the employees. My organization was witnessing high turnover of employees, which was alarming for the senior management. The employees were leaving the organizations for some reason or the other.

I pondered upon the underlying reasons for the high level of attrition rates in my organization. I analyzed that some employees are leaving the organization due to low compensation while the others are unable to fulfil the expectations of the company. There are other reasons such as lack of employee motivation, poor coordination among the employees or the wrong fitment. I found that there are a number of ways to reduce the employee turnover rates. I should provide a competitive package to the employees that would satisfy their requirements (Roy 2013). The compensation package should consist of the financial benefits as well as attractive perks (Roy 2013). I should organize employee engagement activities periodically, which would increase the motivation levels of the employees. It is also true that if I make it clear to the employees about what is expected from them, they would be satisfied with their work.

I found it useful to improve the employee retention for the betterment of the organization. There would be a significant decrease in the organizational cost, including the cost of recruitment and the training programs (Mowday Porter and Steers 2013). I am aware of the existing talent and skills of the employees and know the aspiration of the employees. I can continue to leverage the capability of the workforce as I am aware of the attitude, cultural fit and the performance of the employees. The employees are also habituated to the organizational culture and hence can continue delivering optimum performance (Mowday Porter and Steers 2013).

The act of reflection on the retention of the employees has made me understand the steps that should be taken for the purpose of organizational benefit. The retention of the employees is an art which should be undertaken by every HR professional so that the organizational success is enhanced.

I encountered some legal issues while working as a human resource professional. Once, a female employee complained of sexual harassment charges in the workplace and sued our  company under the Sex Discrimination Act, 1984 of the federal laws (Humanrights.gov.au 2016). The legal complaint not only caused a loss of hefty amounts of finances, but created a bad image in the minds of the customers (Humanrights.gov.au 2016). The lawsuits and the subsequent hearings meant a loss of money, time, efforts and resources.

I had a discussion with my team members regarding the appropriate course of action. I presented some important facts regarding the legal procedures in Australia pertaining to the act of sexual harassment, which is a part of the sexual discrimination (Humanrights.gov.au 2016). The concerned authority for this issue is the Australian Human Rights Commission (Humanrights.gov.au 2016). The Sex Discrimination Act ensures that the women employees are treated equally in the workplace and are entitled to equal opportunities as men (Humanrights.gov.au  2016). The areas covered by the Act include employment, education, accommodation and other services. We inquired the concerned female employee and asked the reason for the complaint. She said that she was subjected to unwelcome physical touch and unwanted requests for sex. I formulated a procedure that would investigate all the sexual harassment claims in the workplace. The first step is a written policy for sexual harassment (Humanrights.gov.au  2016). The second step includes latest investigation within 24 to 48 hours by the HR personnel. The next step involves the determination of credibility of the complaint. The last step would require suitable legal action against the offender (if found guilty) (Humanrights.gov.au 2016).

I strongly believe that the incidences of sexual harassment should be addressed properly. The workplace sexual harassment causes not only physical attributes, but it affects the mental well being of the employees. It involves human, social, economic and health costs (Salin et al. 2014). It affects the overall development of the employees and the nation, at large. I also believe that it is difficult to curb this malpractice without the intervention of suitable legislations.

In  reflecting upon the incidences of sexual discrimination in the workplace, I realized the importance of federal laws in maintaining the law and order of the organizations. It is not possible for the human resource personnel to solve the employee grievances without a suitable legal framework (Salin et al. 2014).

During my tenure as a human resource professional, I faced the issue of lack of funds for the recruitment and selection purpose. My organization was facing acute financial problems due to which it was unable to allocate sufficient funds to the recruitment drive. I was supposed to fill up eight positions within a month and I was sanctioned limited budget.

I pondered upon the issue and tried to analyze the problem minutely. I know that the recruitment and the selection process are one of the vital processes of an organization. It determines the overall quality of the manpower by defining their skills, talent as well as expertise (Al Ariss Cascio and Paauwe 2014). It is important that I recruit the correct candidate in the correct job position. This is vital for achieving the organizational goals. I also realized that for recruitment excellent manpower, I need to find innovative sources. This would require a subsequent amount of costs, which would foster the recruitment of the right candidate in the shortest possible time (Al Ariss Cascio and Paauwe 2014). I found that there are many associated costs with the recruitment process such as advertising costs, agency costs, consultancy fees, compensation of in-house recruiters and outsourcing recruitment firms (Flamholtz 2012). The cost of the management time is also important as it indicates the valuable time of the managers spent in the recruitment process. I started finding out the most cost effective options that would be economical yet highly effective. I found out that employee referrals are the most cost effective ways of recruiting (Van Hoye et al. 2016). This refers to the recruitment of talented persons who are acquaintances of the existing employees. I found alternate methods of recruitment such as virtual job fairs, social networking sites, online recruitment websites, recruitment blogs and others, which are relatively cheap methods (Sills 2014). The positive word of mouth and the display of banners are also some of the tools that I can consider in such situations (Sills 2014).

I strongly believe that recruitment should be done carefully as it determines the quality of manpower of an organization (Okoye and Ezejiofor 2013). The presence of best physical resources or the possession of the latest technology is not sufficient for the organization. It requires a talented workforce to deliver the desired results (Okoye and Ezejiofor 2013).

I have learnt from this incident that it is important to find the best way for recruitment which provides the best manpower at the most economical manner. This would make the organization reap the benefits of the qualified workforce without spending too much in the recruitment drives (Okoye and Ezejiofor 2013). It is possible to get premium quality manpower if proper low budget recruitment tools are followed.

I had a diverse workforce in my organization and was having several problems of poor communication in the diverse workplace (Barak 2013). There was no proper communication between the department or hierarchy levels. This caused several problems at the operational levels. The human resource department was asked to provide a solution for this issue.

Initially, I was not sure about how to tackle the situation. I started investigating the matter in detail. I found out that there are different people in the organization who belong to different culture, age group, gender, ethnicity, attitude, religions and political beliefs (Patrick and Kumar 2012). This leads to different communication styles of the individuals. This also leads to incorrect conveying of the intended message, which lead to conflicts among the employees (Barak 2013). There are increasing instances of misunderstanding among the employees which is causing poor workplace relationships (Patrick and Kumar 2012). I proposed a system of knowing the co-workers and thus fostering the employee engagement activities (Bal Kooij and De Jong 2013). Such activities not only reduces the boredom in the work, but also let the employees know more about their colleagues. This also leads to increased communication between the employees, which reduces the conflicts (Patrick and Kumar 2012). I also proposed designing of suitable strategies for the encouragement of the different diverse groups and their smooth work life.

I strongly believe that the management of diversity is important for the betterment of the organization. The diversified workplace gives better adaptability and the organization is able to provide a broad service range. The increased variety of the viewpoints leads to the more effective execution of the organizational tasks. It is important to manage the diversified workforce well, so that there are no internal issues in the organization and the employees can contribute the most to the organizational productivity (Snell Morris and Bohlander 2015).

I found that my employees are not having sufficient work life balance. They are overburdened with their professional tasks, hence find it difficult to find time for their family (Todd and Binns 2013). This is negatively affecting the performance of the employees and there is a subsequent drop in their productivity levels.

I tried to find various ways of encouraging optimum work life balance for the manpower. I have formulated certain regulations and would present it before the senior management for seeking approval. I have proposed to allow the employees to avail “work from home” options so that they can strike a balance between the job and family (Gatrell et al. 2013). I should also make sure that the employees are not overburdened with work which usually leads to them to work even after the scheduled office hours. I must try to pay attention to the workplace culture and promote an adequate number of breaks during a typical work day. I should make the employees aware of the dynamics of work life balance. I have also decided to give sufficient benefits to the employees such as paid vacations, child care benefits, maternity leave and others (Kamerman and Kahn 2013). I have also proposed to offer flexible work hours to the employees and offer them various wellness plan so  that they are physically fit to carry on their job duties.

I strongly believe that optimum work life balance is the key to the organizational success. A good work-life balance is the key to lower absenteeism, happier workforce and positive perception of the employer. There are significant improvements in the overall well being of the employees as they are able to spend time with their dear ones.

I have learnt that the human resource department plays a key role in promoting the work life balance of the employees (Gangwisch 2014). I have learnt that all the multinational companies are focussing more on the enhancing the work life balances. It leads to improved employee motivation, improved customer satisfaction, reduced stress levels and less turnover, which are extremely beneficial from the organizational perspective (Gangwisch 2014).

Conclusion

The course on human resource management helped me a lot in the self-reflection. I have learned some of the important concepts of HRM such as recruitment, selection, work life balance, strategic human resource management, managing diversity and others. These important concepts helped me to relate my practical personal experiences with the theoretical framework. It also helped me to gather essential self-learning on key HRM issues. In the future too, I would implement the concepts learnt in this course, in addressing the issues of HRM in my organization. I am sure that I would be able to make significant contributions in my workplace after going through this course. This course has not only given me extensive knowledge, but has also given me self confidence to handle difficult situations in the workplace. I feel confident in handling difficult HRM situations and I am confident that I would be able to contribute to the success of my future organization.

References

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