Introduction
Businesses have seen a substantial growth in the past decades into conglomerates of massive national and international influence. At the beginning, businesses were simply one manager entities that called for the proprietor to be well versed in all areas and facets of the organization.
With the increase in demand and population, more and more work needed to be done and it became apparent that no single individual would be apt for such a task. Slowly the proprietors had to get help from people who had the know-how and skills in performance of specific tasks that the proprietor would not be able to do on their own. As entities expanded, the tasks expanded as well and therefore many responsibilities requiring even more unique skills were introduced.
With this increase in workforce, the manpower itself became an entity that required some form of framework and goals to ensure their mandate was achieved. It is this demand to ensure productivity among the workforce that has led to the increase in importance of human resources department in a modern business entity. At first, the focus was on staff productivity in terms of physical attribute as there was a skill-based economy. This worked well especially, during agrarian revolution.
However, the workers started demanding for and began agitation regarding their well fare and working conditions that led to unionization across the industries. The knowledge-based economy has granted a challenge to human resource practitioner with emphasis shifting from the pushing of people to go to work into more motivation and individual centered techniques (Snell & Bohlander, 2010).
Human resources programme for planning
Currently, the major task facing a human resource department include; staffing, designing of jobs and the teams in which such tasks may be carried out, development of the skill set of the employees to enable them achieve their tasks.
Next is to improve performance, reward success and generally ensure the workforce is not only motivated but is also well equipped to carry out their work. It has become clear that understanding human behavior is a key ingredient in the performance of this task. The first task in developing a human resources programme for Brandsmart will be planning (Snell & Bohlander, 2010).
Planning
Human resources are the people who make it possible for organizations to achieve their goals. They are often employees who carry out day today activities of an organization. Human resources management embodies who these people are managed and helped to carry out their activities in away that helps an organization to achieve its mandate. However, human resources management (HRM) means more than this.
The reason being, unlike other resources such as fixed assets, machinery, people provide a challenge. But all one needs to do to get a machine to do a good job is simply to follow the manufacturers’ manual. People on the other hand, have thoughts and feelings, aspirations and needs.
Human resources planning is the unique and important activity that considers the need of an organization with the view to putting down processes of how the organization will answer to her needs. In this exercise, the planner realizes that an organization can only achieve her core values through people. The planning process therefore goes a head to describe the needs and the qualifications of the individuals to fill these particular positions.
For the Brandsmart, her responsibility is to offer a variety of retail store for appliances, TV, home audio, computer and cameras. This means that the planning must take into account the qualifications of people who can effectively help Brandsmart USA sell her wares to her customers. This planning therefore will involve issues placing these needs of the organization into sharp focus (Snell, & Bohlander, 2010).
Recruitment
Once human resource planning has been conducted, the next phase is recruitment. For Brandsmart USA, the choice of a recruitment scheme is most important. Many a times employees look at the recruitment process to decide on whether they think a company will be great to work for or not.
The best way for Brandsmart to recruit the best suited employees, is to consider the recruitment as a process in itself. Brandsmart may start off by calling on their employees who had left as contact persons with the potential employees. This has the advantage that previous employees know best who can be a perfect fit for any positions in their previous company. Second, they may encourage a more focused exercise by offering an incentive to anyone whose reference is eventually employed.
Next Brandsmart USA may use the people who have put applications for the positions they have already received to refer them to their other colleagues they hold in high regard and are likely to be a perfect fit for the advertised post. Being such a busy store, better recruitment may be achieved when the human resources manager works on a flexi-time that will be more attractive to the employees.
More so the HRM should help the recruits see how best they will be assisted to advance their career paths and interests. One source of potential employees Brandsmart must consider is the local institutions such as universities and community colleges. Finally should Brandsmart consider advertisement, then they must do that only in fresh places as people would rarely want to look at old adverts.
Staffing
This is the next phase in the development of a human resources programme for the Brandsmart USA. Recruitment is an expensive exercise and managers agree that at times it is often a gamble. It is however through staffing, that a company can use her human capital for the benefit of the whole organization.
Staffing allows an organization to fill positions identify and enhance competencies to challenges, retain personnel professionally and generally allow optimal utilization of the human resources. It has the benefit of placing the right persons on the right jobs. It should be the work of all line managers who must ensure that all the human capital under them are put to good use (Snell & Bohlander, 2010).
Job Design
The next area in developing a human resources programme for Brandsmart is job design. The management takes into account considerations that will make the job enjoyable doable and in a way that it fits the criterion of the other accompanying tasks.
It involves, work organization, reorganizing or substituting tasks, job enlargement, job rotation or restructuring, more so it also involves offering additional responsibilities through job enrichment. Workers today also demand more autonomy, and hence desire room for self organization.
A key factor to consider also involves Location/Scheduling Telecommuting part or full off-site work, flextime, and the incorporation of virtual office or Virtual Organization. Most cases, job design performs the action of opening up opportunities for the enablement of even people who may seem unproductive at first. Kit unlocks workers potential leading to amazing results.
Training and development
Training is the key that unlocks the productivity of individual workers in an organization. The aim of any raining exercise is to equip the workers with all the necessary skills to accomplish their tasks. Workers are trained in all aspects including their understanding of the big picture to the ways in which the tasks they perform fit into the big picture.
Training should be a continuous process for Brandsmart limited. It is training that converts the knowledge people acquire from studying into a component that achieves results (Snell & Bohlander, 2010).
Setting up of the appraisal system
With the training and development in place Brandsmart must set up an appraisal system that will demonstrate to what extent the company is achieving her goals and objectives. Each and every employee must be targeted to ensure they understand the performance indicators that will be used to bench mark their performance. This exercise alone works to open the minds of organization and employees with regard to what the priorities are.
It defines performance and allows an employee to access if they are wholly equipped for duty as it brings the end into view from the beginning; it is an important process that Brandsmart USA must take very seriously. It helps a department work together to ensure success of hitting the targets as spelled out in the appraisal criterion. There are several appraisal systems that Brandsmart can employ and, the aim will be to bench mark performance.
Communication
Communication is a critical cog in the wheel of a human resources programme for Brandsmart. It ensures that the management and the workers have the same targets and same priorities. The method of communication chosen for Brandsmart must ensure that what needs to be communicated passed in the simplest language possible and as repeated as possible, rule out any misunderstanding.
Equally important is to ensure that whichever communication channel chosen must ensure presence of a reference record for future use. However, communication within the organization must also be targeted so that it does not get into the wrong hands (Snell, & Bohlander, 2010).
Compensation scheme
Workers who can be dependent upon to perform the functions of delivering value for the esteemed Brandsmart customers must be commensurately compensated. Compensation normally ranks among the top issues that employees consider in any work engagement.
Because workers in an organization are the true reflection of the organization, it is always important that they be happy as they perform their function and compensation is the one way this shall be insured. When customers visit any organizations, their first encounter is normally the junior employees whose action and enthusiasm normally inform the decisions of those who visit.
In considering a compensation plan, Brandsmart must ensure they offer competitive salaries and remunerations that ensure their workers that they are as valued as employees in competitor organizations if not more. Second within the organization, the scheme must be reflective of the core values operate with. For example, productivity, loyalty, knowledge and skill set should be a ground for ensuring compensation procedures are well coordinated and no employee is left short changed (Snell & Bohlander, 2010).
Benefits Scheme
Because of the nature of human capital, it requires a plan that takes into account there future aspirations. The best way Brandsmart can ensure their staff is freed of any anxiety is to have a benefits scheme that caters for their desires for the future. The scheme can be pension, medical, educational and any other that the workers thought are relevant. For Brandsmart USA, to have contented employees, they would need to allow the employees to form a union within which they shall be able to articulate their issues.
Of paramount importance is a savings scheme from where the employees may borrow for any emergency financial needs. With a proper functional scheme, Brandsmart employees can focus on their main agenda that is to deliver productivity and sales to the Brandsmart customers with minimal outside interference (Snell & Bohlander, 2010).
Labour relations
Labour relations are a critical part of a human resources development programme that must be taken very seriously. To begin with, workers now are involved with challenges that can easily distract them from performing their duties and thus put organizations intentions into disrepute. As a result Brandsmart must set up a labor relations office for quick and effective communication of workers grievances in a way that proactively averts any industrial unrest. With this in place, operations can run smoothly and workers will feel more honored and hence will be able to contribute more to the operations of the organization (Snell & Bohlander, 2010).
Employee concerns
In setting up all these functions Brandsmart must be aware of employee concerns and work to make good use of such understanding to affect an effective job placement and job design. First, employee background diversity affects their ability to adapt to their new environment and his or her ability to feel accepted.
Given one has very little he or she can do to prevent attracting employees from certain backgrounds and even if it were possible such an act will not only be discriminatory but also counterproductive as the company may hurt by locking quality talent from these very areas, the beast approach is to agree on a mechanism to level the field for all employees. Such diversity should be considered a strong point as it brings together a pool from which Brandsmart may tap into for creative solutions to her very challenges.
Second, the issues of gender parity and equality and equity should be taken into consideration in developing a successful human resources programme. Gender considerations requires Brandsmart to create a working environment in which both gender feel they have the same environment in which to grow, work and deliver on performance indices.
A work environment that makes worker feel valued irrespective of gender is a must for the success of Brandsmart USA. Brandsmart must also consider as a matter of seriousness people desire for job security. An apprehensive workforce is a disaster in waiting as this apprehension will easily perm eats their engagement with the customers.
The best way to safeguard Brandsmart from this is to ensure sufficient protection from the externalities and any rapid job losses. People should be assured beforehand that no ad hoc mechanisms may be employed at any moment into render employees jobless and that whenever this becomes in evitable, necessary steps shall be put in place to ensure transparency, preparedness and smooth transitioning with such affected employees being candidates for optimal compensation.
The education level of employees is also a factor that Brandsmart has to consider from the very on set. People should be allowed to do jobs they are best qualified and knowledgeable about. Not only that any single education qualification should be put to use so may that employees value their time taken to seek necessary knowledge.
The other issues that the human resources programme at Brandsmart will entail, includes looking out for the employee rights. We are in a generation that the rights of employees must not only be respected but the organization must create forum where employees indeed get to feel that their right are respected and even the fact that they have the very rights.
The next issues are those of privacy. No one will give his or her ultimate best where there privacy is encroached and this will be a fact as well for Brandsmart Ltd. It’s paramount that the human resources programme for Brandsmart involves a policy on privacy of employees in which the company and workers agree to both uphold and monitor the privacy of each party.
Even with the most comprehensive human resource programme successful application is not guaranteed if the attitudes of the workers are not positive and inviting. Attitude is a great investment that enables everything to work just perfectly as planned. Bad attitude toward business, toward fellow workers among others must be curtailed.
But attitudes are affected by a number of issues including family concerns. That is why family concerns form the last aspect of the employee concerns that the programme for Brandsmart must consider.
As we adapt this programme for Brandsmart USA, it is imperative to realize that this entire programme is anchored on the competitive challenges happening around the world. These critical competitive challenges that will affect the performance of the programme include: globalization, technology, management of change, human capital mobility, responsiveness and cost containment (Snell & Bohlander, 2010).
Competitive Challenges
To begin with, globalization is a factor that has determined seriously the human resources programme for all organizations across the globe. Brandsmart must understand the impact of globalization on their customer demands for products and nature of his or her products and services.
Second, Technological advancement is critical in putting up the programme as the nature of business and employee engagement is dependent on it. In practicality, Brandsmart USA should make use of technology to help facilitate ordering, processing, cost analysis and, product release to customers.
The human resources programme that Brandsmart USA eventually puts in place shall need to consider the human capital in terms of availability and their competencies to deliver on the required product and services. The whole structure must be responsive to whatever changes are bound to come and not only that we must consider cost containment as the bottom-line of any business is the most critical to fulfilling all the requirements of a human resources programme (Snell & Bohlander, 2010).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the task of creating a human resources programme is one most critical function in any company irrespective of size. It involves critical consideration of the goals and objectives, vision and mission, of the organization and eventually finding the right breed of people to fulfill them.
As this process is designed, one must keep in mind that people are a unique resource with feelings and attitudes that must be managed. Because of this, employee concerns must be considered. Last, the whole process takes place in a competitive challenging environment that must all be taken into consideration for the successful implementation of the programme for Brandsmart USA.
Reference
Snell, S., & Bohlander, G. (2010). Managing Human Resources (15th ed.). Cincinnati, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.