The management needs to make
special efforts to continuously improve their HR policies
By M. SHAFIQ
Associate Professor
Asian Management Institute IQRA University
May 13 -19, 2002
The most precious resource is human resource and
the finest human resource is committed employees. Such employees are
highly sought-after and avidly treasured for their attitude, skills,
outstanding contribution and effectiveness. Committed employees are
seldom a product of chance. They seem to develop through a process
based on interaction of employees' abilities, attitude, motivation and
behaviour patterns on one hand and human resource practices and
organization culture on the other.
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
The development process, which transforms employees
into committed employees, is a continuous one. This process seems to
go through four overlapping, though fairly identifiable, stages. The
first stage is that of a Satisfied Employee which is achieved in the
early stage of their career. A Satisfied Employee has a positive
attitude and believes that his input into the performance of the job
is being adequately and equitably compensated. Those among them who
are driven with quest for information and knowledge try to learn about
the intricacies of their jobs. When they fully master these and
appreciate their importance as well as their vertical and horizontal
integration with other jobs, they enter into the second stage of
transformation and become Informed Employees.
When these employees are fully immersed in the job
and enjoying it, they are ready to enter into the third stage of their
development. Such employees begin to broaden their knowledge about the
organization, its vision, strategic direction, core competencies and
larger plan of action. At this point the informed employees through
their organizational knowledge and conceptual skills transform into
Involved Employees. They keep on expanding their knowledge of the
business of their organization, key people and industry. They also
make determined efforts to improve their own abilities and leadership
qualities. Through their expert and referent powers and superior
emotional intelligence, they become formal and informal facilitators,
advisers and role models in their organizations and attain the highest
stage of their development i.e. Committed Employees.
HR POLICIES
Human Resource policies and procedures of an
organization play a vital role in the development and transformation
process of employees. Objective recruitment policies and procedures
can virtually ensure the necessary job fit by matching the abilities,
aptitude and motivation of the employees with the requirements of the
jobs. The fundamental requirements of proper recruitment, orientation
and need-based training and development programmes go a long way in
making employees adaptable and productive. The enormity of the impact
of recruitment on the employee development and organizational success
can be appreciated from the following observation of Akio Mortia,
Chairman of Sony Corporation, made in his book entitled "Made in
Japan":
"In the long run, your
business and its future are in the hands of the people you hire. To
put it a bit more dramatically, the fate of your business is actually
in the hands of the youngest recruit on the staff."
ORGANIZATION CULTURE
The organization culture, i.e. the shared values
and beliefs which create a certain way of doing things and shapes a
distinct environment, continually impacts the transformational process
of an employee. The supportive cultures work as catalysts and
accelerate the transformation of satisfied employees into committed
employees. It is appreciable that a culture, which trusts and
encourages employees to acquire knowledge; be creative and experiment
without being penalized for dissent or failure, helps the
transformational process. On the other hand, an organizational
culture, which insists on excessive compliance to rules and
regulations, lines of command, close supervision and status quo,
instills fear in the employees; the fear of committing mistakes, the
fear of damaging ones position and the fear of harming their progress
in the organization. Fears like this can sap their energies,
immobilize their productivity and foster frustration. Such a situation
may also compel certain employees, who otherwise may have great
potential, to play dumb and remain inconspicuous during their stay. It
is exactly to avoid this morass that the famous quality guru, Prof. W.
Edwards Deming created and taught his unique "Drive Out
Fear" philosophy admired by many world class organizations. His
simple advice to organizations has been to create conditions, which
eliminate all fears of employees and enable them to realize their full
potential and contribute creatively.
PRINCIPAL QUESTIONS
Three principal questions arise from the
description of the development process, which transforms employees
into committed employees. First, can all employees of an organization
become committed employees? Second, can an employees pass through all
these development stages, remaining at the same hierarchical level?
And third, what can management do to facilitate this development
process? Since a very large number of individual and organizational
variables are involved in the development process of employees, these
questions can be tackled in general terms only. In my view, the answer
to the first question is negative. All employees cannot be transferred
into committed employees mainly due to individual differences in their
abilities, attitudes, motivation and behaviour. The development
process of a committed employee pre-supposes that the employee
possessed suitable qualifications, aptitude and motivation to start
with. Without the required attributes, it is extremely unlikely that
he/ she can embark upon the development process successfully. The
general answer to the second question also seems to be negative. It is
highly unlikely that an employee can develop into a committed employee
without attracting management attention and attaining any hierarchical
progression over time.
The third question is the most important and
relevant to the organizational effectiveness. In order to strengthen
the required development and transformation process, the management
needs to make special efforts to continuously improve their HR
policies and practices. It is imperative that the personnel policies
and procedures, particularly recruitment, training and development and
performance evaluation, be objective, equitable and effective.
Creative interventions are also necessary in order to develop a more
supportive organizational culture, which is based on humanistic
values, free of fear and encourages creativity. This is a daunting
essential task. However, it is essential to develop committed
employees, which are an invaluable asset. Such employees not only
contribute exceptionally but also support, defend, promote and love
their organizations.
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