Introduction
Human resource management is basically the process of organizing and directing employees of an organization so as to obtain the targets set by an organization. It entails various issues affecting employees in any organization; these include recruitment, staffing, orientation, staff placement, training, retirement, benefits of employees, safety, compensation, motivation and many others.
Human resource is an essential factor of production and just like the other resources of an organization it needs to be properly managed due to the fact that it is valuable. It works to relate the top management who issue policies with the sub-ordinate who implement them. All organizations no matter the size require human resource managers so as to maximize its productivity (Chan 1). The human resource department of any organization bridges the gap between the top management and the sub-ordinate employees.
A human resource manager has the obligation of making a decision on what staffing technique to employ depending on the needs and requirements of the organization. This is also the person who will determine how long employees work for an organization and if people will be attracted and contented to work for the organization. Thus, due to their numerous obligations they face so many challenges in their work.
HRM challenges
The major challenges facing most Human Resource Managers are change and globalization. Human resource managers play the role of change mentors in the organization hence they should be customer focused as well as business driven.
This is because they hold the future of the organization and have the duty of making the organization succeed depending on how well they manage their employees. Human resource managers face challenges when it comes to globalization since globalization comes with free movement of both financial and human resource.
The whole world is involved in business hence they are required to know a variety of languages and cultures of the people they interact with. It therefore forces the human resource managers to learn and understand the different cultures of people they deal with. Apart from cultural differences, there are also political, economical and the differences in the treatment of the employees among different countries.
All these have to be clearly taken since a well managed human resource gains better position in the global market (Chan 1). To overcome the effects of globalization, a strategic human resource management system has to be put in place which integrates and adapts different situations.
Another challenge faced by the Human resource managers is the issue of managing change and competition. The general overview of the Human resource management is rapidly changing and the conditions will not be the same in the future.
This therefore calls for the human resource managers to be aggressive to overcome the change or be ready to handle it as it comes. For example in the near future employees will be able to diversify their places of work and work in places away from the organization’s premises. In this context the human resource managers will have no one at hand to manage.
Also the employees will be rated according to their output results and not the number of hours worked. Thus specialization will be more common since employees will prefer to work on what they can handle best. This as a challenge to the human resource managers is difficult to overcome since in the long run due to the inability to oppose change they will be rendered obsolete. This therefore means that everyone will be his or her own manger hence no need for the human resource managers.
Motivating the employees is an important function of the human resource manger though very challenging. This is especially because of the competitive market where all organizations are competing to be the best through achieving the most experienced and knowledgeable employees.
Organizations are able to sacrifice and spend large sums of money in training their staff so that their products or services out do those present in the market (Hollenbeck 97). Since a worker’s performance is directly proportional to the motivation received, human resource managers have a hectic time trying to satisfy the needs and requirements of their workers.
Challenges faced
In my place of employment I faced the challenge of having to motivate the employees. This was a difficult task as I was not in a position to satisfy everyone’s needs. Most employees could grumble and at times work incompetently until questioned to explain their grievances.
Inefficient work y the employees led to poor sales hence I was answerable to the authorities which also threatened by job in the organization. I also had the problem of retaining the employees as most of them were leaving without explanation making the company incur extra costs of recruitment.
Another challenge was facing the competition in the job market. Getting employees with the right experience and knowledge from the market scope was a difficult task all together. This happens because most employees go to highly remunerating organizations or opt to be self employed (Hollenbeck 23). I had to try by all means to persuade the company to train the existing employees in circumstances where the right personnel were not available.
Managing the workplace for the employees was another hurdle. Employees require a conducive environment to work in so I had to check that there were no causes of accidents within the premises. I also had to campaign for the construction of a cafeteria within the premises to save time, minimize costs on employees and motivate them through offering free meals.
Organization of talents among the employment was also a difficult task for me. For one to be effective in this you have to know what each employee can do best under certain conditions. This gives you the opportunity to be able to assign the respective employees to specific duties hence maximizing output without much struggle (Hollenbeck 69). The main challenge in this is that some employees tend to hide their talents leaving others that cannot handle the tasks to perform them poorly.
Effects of the challenges on employees
The employees were indirectly affected by the challenges I faced since I was at times not able to meet their requirements. This lead to them feeling oppressed to the extent of some opting to quit employment in the organization.
Conclusion
The most appropriate way of handling the challenges and changes in the Human resource management is constant assessment and control in the organization. This includes issues like pay, workplace environment, benefits to the workers and opportunities like training and promotions. The human resource manager is therefore advised to be someone who can take risks as well as a critical thinker to handle the stress that comes with this post.
Works Cited
Chan, Alvin. (2010). “The Challenges of Human Resource Management”. Web.
Hollenbeck, Noe. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. Singapore. McGraw Hill, 2000. Print.