HUMAN RESOURCES MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES

Transcription

1 HUMAN RESOURCES MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES

2 HR Maintenance Activities - MEANING It refers to all HR activities that which guide people in the organization. In briefly, these are Policies which provide the frame work of Do and Don t within the organization.

3 POLICIES Policies: are broad general guidelines to action, which relate to goal attainment. HR policies are rules and procedures designed to provide a clear structure for human resource management. According to Armstrong (2003) human resource policies are continuing guidelines on the approach the organization intends to adopt in managing its people.

4 POLICIES Human resource policies, define the philosophies and values of the organization and how people should be treated and from these are derived the principles upon which managers are expected to act when dealing with HR matters.

5 The significance of Human Resource Policies Human resource or employment polices help to ensure that when dealing with matters concerning people, an approach in line with corporate values is adopted throughout the organization.

6 The significance of Human Resource Policies They provide frameworks within which consistent decisions are made regarding workers welfare and organizational sustenance. Establishes rights/responsibilities of both employees and the employer. Documents these rights/responsibilities.

7 The significance of Human Resource Policies Ensure that people management is in line with corporate values Provide for consistent decisions Provide for equity of employee treatment Facilitate decentralization and delegation They facilitate legal compliance.

8 Overall Policy Human resource policies can be expressed as overall statements of the values of the organization The overall policy defines how the organization fulfills its social responsibilities for its employees and sets out its attitudes towards them. It is an expression of its values or beliefs about how people should be treated.

9 Overall Policy The values expressed in an overall statement of HR policies according to Armstrong (2003) may explicitly or implicitly refer to the following concepts:

10 Value Concepts (i) Equity: treating employees fairly and justly by adopting an even handed approach. This includes protecting individuals from any unfair decisions made by management regarding employment, promotion pay etc.

11 Value Concepts (ii) Consideration: taking account of individual circumstances when making decisions that affect the prospects, security or self-respect of employees. (iii) organizational learning: a belief in the need to promote the learning and development of all the members of the organization by providing the processes and support required.

12 Value Concepts (iv) Performance through people: the importance attached to developing a performance culture and to continuous improvement, the significance of performance management as a means of defining and agreeing mutual expectations, the provision of fair feedback to people on how well they are performing.

13 Value Concepts (v) quality of working life: consciously and continually aiming to improve the quality of working life e.g. increasing the sense of satisfaction people obtain from their work, reducing monotony, increasing variety, autonomy and responsibility, providing acceptable balance between work and life outside work, and reducing stress at work.

14 Value Concepts (vi) Working conditions; providing healthy, safe and so far as practicable pleasant working conditions. (vii) Job expectation; providing the framework of the tasks and responsibilities expected to be achieved by the employee and the evaluation mechanism

15 Types of Polices (i) Equal opportunity: The policy spells out the organization s determination to give equal opportunities to all, irrespective of sex, race, disability, age or marital status. It also states the extent to which the organization is committed to affirmative action to redress the imbalances between numbers employed according to sex, race or differences in all levels of qualifications and skills they have achieved.

16 Types of Polices Cont.. (ii) Employment policy: As part of HR policy, employment policy is concerned with recruiting staff and making sure that the human resource needs of an organization are met. The employment policy need to include:

17 Types of Polices Cont.. (a) Commitment to adequate salaries and conducive working conditions (b) rapid recruitment procedures (c) Fair and open selection procedures (d) Regular monitoring of posts and wide dissemination of policy procedures.

18 Types of Polices Cont.. Recruitment policy should indicate the extent with which there should be centralized recruitment, a balance between internal and external sources of recruitment. (refer presentation on recruitment and selection)

19 Types of Polices Cont.. Training and development policy: it should be an explicit statement of intention to train and develop human resources. Policy should address issues related to needs assessment, development of HR, Development plan, salaries for employees on training etc.

20 Types of Polices Cont.. (d) Pay Policies: Such policies are designed and intend to meet the following objectives: to attract suitable employees, to retain effective employees, obtain optimal performance from employees, to operate within the framework of national legislations and economic polices, cost effectiveness, assurance of equity, feeling of fair job rewarding etc.

21 Types of Polices Cont.. According to its policy objectives, management is likely to be concerned with three issues in the establishment of fair pay: (i) wage or salary relatives-fair pay within the organization, (ii) Fair pay in comparison with other employers, (iii) Methods of payment, which encourage effective performance and commitment.

22 Types of Polices Cont.. (e) Health and safety policy: it is a general statement that states management intentions, means, and guidelines for the protection of organization s employees from hazards at work. Health and safety policies cover how the organization intends to provide healthy and safe places and systems of work.

23 Types of Polices Cont.. Health and Safety Policy Objectives: (i) promotion of safety-employees and public (ii) Clarification of the role of management, team leaders, and employees in the development and implementation of health and safety procedures, (iii) Compliance with health and safety legislations.

24 Types of Polices Cont.. (f) Disciplinary Policies: the disciplinary policy should state that the employees have the right to know what is expected of them and what could happen if they infringe the organization s rules.

25 Types of Polices Cont.. Disciplinary policy would also make the point that, in handling disciplinary cases, the organization will treat employees in accordance with the principles of natural justice. N:B - DP has to reflect with the Labour Laws

26 Types of Polices Cont.. (g) Employee relations policy: the policy will set out the organization s approach to the rights of employees to have their interests represented to management through trade unions, staff associations or some other form of representative system.

27 Types of Polices Cont.. Employee relations policy will also cover the basis upon which the organization works with trade unions, for-instance emphasizing that this should be regarded as partnership.

28 Types of Polices Cont.. (h) Grievances Policy: the policy on grievances could state that employees have the right to raise their grievances with their manager, to be accompanied by a representative if they so with, and to appeal to a higher level if they feel that their grievance has not been resolved satisfactorily.

29 Types of Polices Cont.. Sexual Harassment Policy: the policy need to state that: (i) Sexual harassment will not be tolerated (ii) employees subjected to sexual harassment will be given advice, support and counseling as required (iii) every attempt will be made to resolve the problem informally with the person complained against

30 Types of Polices Cont.. (iv) Assistance will be provided to the employee to complain formally if informal discussions fail (v) A special process will be available for hearing complaints about sexual harassment. (vi) Complaints will be handled sensitively and with due respect for the rights of both the complainant and the accused.

31 Policy Process Formulating HR Policies The following steps should be taken to formulate and implement HR policies: (a) Gain understanding of the corporate culture and its shared values (b) Analyze existing policies, written and unwritten. HR policies will exist in any organization, even if they are implicit rather than expressed formally.

32 Policy Process Cont Analyze external influences. HR policies are subject to the influence of government employment legislations and also East African Community legislations. (d) Assess the areas where new policies are needed or existing policies are inadequate. (e) Check with managers, preferably starting at the top, on their views about HR policies and where they think they could be improved.

33 Policy Process Cont (f) Seek the views of employees about the HR policies, especially the extent to which they are inherently fair and equitable and are implemented fairly and consistently. Consider doing this trough an attitude survey. (g) Seek the views of union representatives (h) Analyze the information obtained in the first seven steps and prepared draft policies. (i) Consult, discuss, and agree policies with management and union representatives. (j) Communicate the policies

34 Human Resource Policy Implementation Line managers have a key role in implementation of human resource policies fairly and consistently. It is line managers who bring HR policies to life. It is line managers who are on the spot and have to make decisions about people.

35 Human Resource Policy Implementation The role of human resource managers is to communicate and interpret the policies and convince line managers that the policies are necessary. HR managers should provide training and support that will equip managers to implement the policies.

36 Q & As

37 Thank you