Human resources management is a very important function within an organisation that involves the management and recruitment of employees in an organisation. It also encompasses the provision of direction for employees. It is imperative that the human resources manager understands these functions to retain the organisations workers besides ensuring that they perform well. As organisations become global with regard to their operation, the management of people continues to become more complex.
This essay looks at several functions of human resources management based on interviews conducted on two human resource managers from a motor vehicle service company and retailer market store. The main objective of this essay is to understand the leadership requirements in organisations by looking at the way the managers spend their time in the handling of human resources.
The first person interviewed was a line manager from both the Toyota Company. The second interviewee was a line distribution manager in a retail market store. The two managers have been employed in the companies for over one year now. Both of them are responsible for 15 and 22 employees respectively in their departments.
The departments are involved in the production and distribution of commodities and services offered by the companies. To find out the importance of the human resource in the company, a questionnaire was prepared. The questions covered the importance of communication and human resources as a whole in the company.
First of all, it was important to know what the two managers found to be most challenging about human resources management. The two managers agreed that the most challenging part in the department was maintaining proper communication among the employees. It was realised that most employees usually had difficulties in interpreting orders issued from the top management. For this reason, many issues arose in the organisations.
This situation was seen to lower the performance at both individual and organisational levels. At times, it brought about various problems associated with customer delivery. The interview also revealed that the human resource managers always tried other innovative ways of communicating to their employees. However, in this regard, managers have improvised new ways such as emailing, internal memos, and reminder notice boards to encourage the employees perform as per the organisation’s expectations.
When asked to describe human resource in their companies, the two managers responded that technology was also one of the most challenging areas in communication. Some employees were not computer literate. This situation made it difficult for the human resources department to perform their work.
It was also revealed that communication was the most vital part of the human resources management (Bennis and Thomas 134). In cases where there is a clear line of communication, managing employees became easier. In this regard, both companies had embraced new technologies as a way of improving communication.
With this state of events in put in place, the managers were also asked what distinguishes a successful human resources department. First of all, there must be a clear link between the systems in the company. The company must also have a clear vision and mission statements that ensure that all efforts in the company drive towards a common goal. All aspects of the business should be set up besides giving the employees an orientation immediately after recruitment.
Communication was also an important aspect of successful human resources management. The two managers agreed that a company must have a clear line of communication from the top to the bottom level of management. There should also be clear structures for employee motivation at all times. Workers should be rewarded for good work. Besides, methods of discipline should also be outlined. There should be room for promotion among other incentives that make employees feel appreciated (Kelly 94).
This state of events means that successful managers are those who allow people to work individually while at the same time appreciating their contributions towards the success of the company. According to Kelly, a successful manager should enable employees to utilize and develop their skills (102).
At the same time, the manager should observe the welfare of the employees to ensure low turnover rates. Communication channels were also mentioned as important areas for a successful manager. According to Bennis and Thomas, clear communication channels make the work of the human resources manager easier as employees adhere to similar regulations (134). Media such as loud speakers, internal networks, and extension lines for calling should be put in place to facilitate communication amongst the employees.
As leaders, the two managers agreed that employee motivation was an important aspect in human resources management. However, both parties held that operative enthusiasm varied from one human resource manager to the other. It is important that a human resources manager recognizes the effort of each employee with a view of rewarding them accordingly. Ways of motivating the employees included providing them with day offs, annual leaves, performance based incentives, scholarships, promotions, and salary increment among others. Lastly, the careers of the human resource managers depend on how well they treat the company’s personnel because their productivity depends on how they handle them.
Works Cited
Bennis, Warren and Robert Thomas. Leading for a Lifetime: How Defining Moments Shape Leaders of Today and Tomorrow. London: Harvard Business Review Press, 2006. Print.
Kelly, Eamonn. Werful Times: Rising to the Challenge of Our Uncertain World. New York, NY: Wharton School Publishing, 2006. Print.