According to Swamson, 2009, human resources are the most precious factor of production that an organization has; to benefit from their intellectualism, an organization need to manage them effectively.
Human resources department has the role of ensuring the right number of staffs in terms of quality, quantity, and experience are maintained within an organization. to conduct their role effectively, personnel managers need the support of the entire workforce particularly those in management positions.
Line managers have the role of heading revenue-generating departments and are responsible for achieving an organization’s main goals; to effectively undertake this task; they need to manage their human capital effectively.
When managing their immediate subordinates, line managers play a crucial role in enhancing performance among the staffs; they act as team leaders, mentors, coaches, and team players (Armstrong, 2006). This paper discusses the role played by line managers to manage under-performance among staffs.
Human resources performance management
Performance management within an organization refers to activities undertaken by an organization to facilitate the attainment of their corporate goals and objectives in an effective and efficient manner.
The focus of effective performance management is to improve an entire organizations performance; it may focus on a certain area, department, employee, or even the processes to build a product or service with the sole aim of ensuring that efficiency has been attained in an organization.
The concept of performance management was coined by Dr. Aubrey Daniels in the late 1970s where he looked at an organization from a scientific angle; he suggested that there is need to focus on total improvement of the organization for both behavior and results.
Human resources need to be managed effectively to facilitate the improvement of efficiency in the organization; the rate of performance as well as the processes they are using to attain high results need to be vetted to improve them accordingly.
Performance management aims at attaining three main corporate objectives as facilitating financial gain of an organization, enhancing and growing motivation in the workplace, and improving management control.
Performance can be seen as the difference between actual results verses desired results; it is always the desire of a company to record high actual results than the desired results/budgeted result.
Performance management is a continuous process that entails not just evaluation of the rate of performance of an organization but enacting such measures that enhance the improvement of processes within the firm.
Other than focusing on human capital, performance management aims at improving structures, infrastructures, and physical components of an organization; it involves partnering of teams of workers for future improvement.
To improve future processes and results, there is always the need to measure, gauge and analyze past and present performance of an organization (Bandt and Haines, 2002). Performance management can be analyzed into four main stages as:
- performance standards
At this stage the management has the role of setting goals and objectives to be attained with a specified period of time considering the available factors of production.
When setting the standards of the company, the management has to be very genuine on how it will evaluate the outcome of the organization; this calls for vetting the resources available and making the right combination of available assets.
The standards can only be attained if processes are improved and people skills enhanced to facilitate high performance. Performance indicators should also be placed and indentified as they assist keeping the company accountable of its current performance (Beardwell and Claydon, 2010)
- Performance Measurement
With set standards and expectations, leaders should develop performance measurement indicators, the measures enacted include gap-analysis (gap analysis involves considering the difference between the set standards and the actual standards attained), outcomes of data systems, and statistical responses.
Reporting of progress
After comparing the outcomes of a performance management process, the next most crucial aspect is to make regular reports to analyze the progress of the process.
There are times that the process may give mixed reports likely to suggest that the business is not keeping pace of the standards expected; in such an event the management have the role of enacting remedies to the process.
- quality improvement process
With the standards set and the right pathway determined, the next most crucial exercise that managers should do is to document the determined right path of operation. It is through the documentation that changes can be effected within processes and human resources training and learning exercises are set.
Line managers
Line managers are mandated with the role of managing micro-teams within an organization that accomplish a particular exercise in an organization. In current management strategy, tasks are divided among different task forces that are mandated with the role of giving a certain output to the organization.
For example a manufacturing company may have the following departments, manufacturing, processing, human resources, supplies, procurement, sales, marketing, finances among others; the above departments may be lead by departmental heads assisted by line managers.
In small organizations, departmental heads can double up as line managers. Line managers have the role of improving their employee’s performance through their actions and leadership skills (John, 2004).
The role played by line managers to manage under-performance among staffs
The role of line managers in managing underperformance among staffs is facilitated by their leadership skills; in the event they have effective management skills, they are likely to improve their staffs skills and expertise. They manage underperformance through:
- team spirit enactment and reinforcement
Line managers are team leaders of the sections they head; they have the role of ensuring that their team is effectively managed.
Effectively managed teams have the capability of enhancing the growth of strong team spirit that leads to efficiency, innovation, invention, and creativity within teams. there are different management practices that line managers should enact to facilitate the growth of team spirit, they include enacting effective communication systems where team leaders and members can discusses issues freely, creating a favorable working environment, and acting as the linkage between subordinates and top management.
Management experts have suggested that one of the most causes of underperformance or poor performance among staffs comes from lack of team spirit and ineffective teams. When teams are weak, opportunities are lost and businesses exposed to risks.
The understanding of this major role of creating a favorable working environment is the parting-point that line managers need to understand and take effective measures as a result.
Orchestrate teams are created when line managers have effective teams management strategies thus issues affecting his team are addressed effectively to avoid chances of failure; orchestrate teams are highly productive.
- line managers and talent management
Under performance within an organization can be managed if human capital talents and intellectual capabilities have been managed effectively. At the level of line management, managers at this level need to understand how to handle their employees to facilitate the growth of their talents and intellectualism.
Line managers should take their time and understand the strengths and weak points of their team members and enact such policies that combine strengths and weaknesses optimally for high results.
One area that results to low human resources performance is when their talents, skills, and strengths fail to be matched with the kind of job in their company; they tend to become bored and unsettled.
When tapping human capital talents, line managers should have the skills, professionalism, and right attitude to build a winning team. An organization made of well managed talents has a competitive advantage over its competitors as this is an asset that is limited to individuals.
Other than managing talents, line managers should have the capability of combining their human capital effectively; the combination should be able to take advantage of human capital strengths and mitigate against any human resources risks.
Morale and attitude of employees is determined by the kind of relationship the company develops with its employees. When morale and attitude is low, it follows that the employee’s production is low and inefficient.
When managing a large team, line managers should have the team further divided into smaller micro teams on a certain basis, this helps in dealing with matters from a micro-angle which is likely to bring better and more satisfying results to the company.
- involving employees in decision making
Decisions are the driving force of an organization, organizations that have effective, quality, and timely decisions have strong competitive strength. In contemporary management systems, management gurus are emphasizing the need to make decision via scientific decision making process; scientific decision making process requires that management involve their subordinates when making business decisions.
The inputs of subordinates are considered crucial as they might have some insight information either derived from experience, education or their intellectualism. When human resources are engaged when making decisions, they develop ownership to the decision and work hard to ensure that it has been attained.
By itself, engaging human capital when making decisions results to highly motivated staffs that are willing to work an extra mile for the benefit of the company.
In the event of failure, the human resources are willing to learn from the past activity; they take it as if it is them who wronged thus they are willing to take up the entire blame. Since line manager is the person on the ground or who is close to the subordinates, he should be the first element to involve his human capital in decision making.
He should learn how to guide the subordinates in giving their views, how to disregard that information that is not essential, and how to differentiate quality input by employees without hurting either. With such a policy, the human capital become motivates and willing to give their input to the organization.
Looking at involvement from another angle, when subordinates are involved when making business decisions, and the decision give rise to better working condition and improved performance, they become motivated and willing to learn. the satisfaction that subordinates derive from the knowledge that their input has given positive results is enough motivation to assist them work harder and improve their performance in terms of efficiency and loyalty.
With this in mind, line managers have the responsibility of ensuring they have structures that involve subordinates in decision making and communicating the results of the decisions with time.
Any challenge that comes along should be discussed and solution sort for the same. as a manager, line managers should be given some float to assist them arrange some social activities like team building with the aim of thanking subordinates and involving them when forging the way forward for the organization (Swanson, 2002).
- enhance learning and training in the organization at micro-level
Business processes are changing fast, for competitiveness and high competition, organizations need to have employees who are dedicated, experienced, and well versed with the changes in their industry. Line managers’ act as coaches, trainers, and mentors in their departments; the extended role of line managers means they need to be knowledgeable of what changes are taking place in their industry as well as how to handle the situation.
When training, mentorship, and coaching is well embraced, leaders learn the weak areas of their subordinates and make such efforts that will assist them improve in the said area.
Line managers have the role of establishing the training needs in an employees and enacting such measures that enhance training by the subordinates; by so doing the line manager is assisting human resources and top managers enhance performance and productivity in the company. training can be done by internal parties who are experienced in a certain area or can involve third parties like experts, gurus, and professionals in particular areas of interest.
- line managers in recruitments, promotions, demotions, and performance appraisals
When making decision on the employee to deploy, human resources managers should consult line managers who advise them on the right candidate to deploy in terms of education, experience, age and gender.
It is through recruitment that an organization is able to get the right caliber of employees who can handle the business situation of the company effectively. In the event that line managers fail to offer such quality advice, they are likely to mislead the company and get employees who are inefficient, inexperienced and who have little input to give to the company (Pause, 2009).
When the right candidates have been selected for a particular position, line managers have the role of orienting them to the company systems and organizational culture. With the move to include them in organizational culture, the companies need to have a positive culture that will enhance production.
Positive organizational culture involves having structures that facilitate the development of favorable working conditions and informed decision making procedures.
After recruitments, line managers should be actively be involved when appraising employees, the appraisal model should be a balance score board system as it assists the management know the exact strength of its human capital and make decisions on the kind of interventions they can make to facilitate an orchestrate team.
When appraising line managers should give their recommendations on what they think is fit for the company and the employees at large. the appraisal method adopted by a particular company can break employees or build them, in the event they are appraised by a person they are sure understands their issues, they are likely to give some personal business related information that can be of much benefit when making decisions.
Sometimes differences occur between the appraisal gotten by an employee and what the employee think its right for him or her, in such cases, the employer has the right to determine the right approach not to discourage or de-motivate the employee.
In most cases, appraisal comes with an appreciation or an acknowledgement to the staff; the right performance appraisal is thus important as it will assist the company give the right appreciation to the right person for the good of the company.
Line managers play a direct role when choosing the kind of employees that have to be deployed in their organization; they need to advice the management on the right candidate and enact such policies that will see them get the employees on board.
The growth of a candidate in an organization is determined by line managers thus they need to be fair and just to their subordinates. When the right employees have been deployed, chances of under-performance will be reduced; there will be structures that will enhance staff skills development for the benefit of the company.
Management gurus have suggested that one of the best methods to ensure high productivity in an organization is to have the right number and quality of employees at all sections (McGoldrick, Stewart and Watson, 2001).
- line managers and fulfillment of psychological contracts
One area that many organizations have ignored is the appreciation that they have engaged in some psychological contracts with their employees; they are affected by the psychological and emotional well-beings of their human capital.
Human beings have different attitude, potential, emotional intelligence, and perceptions; the differences need to be professionally managed as it affects the performance of employees. effective line managers ensures that the psychological contracts of their employees have been fulfilled; in the book, “Organizational Behavior” by, MeShane, Olekalns, and Travaglione, the writers are of the observation that for a highly motivated staff, managers should look into their psychological, emotional, and intellectual well-being; this looks into the social aspects of employees and assists keeping them at peace with the system.
The advantage that line managers have is that human behavior can be predicted as well as molded; the most important thing is to know the right intervention to make to facilitate positive behavior reinforcements. line managers assisted by policies enacted by human resources management should enact policies that will facilitate the growth of positive behavior in their organization; the right method create an environment that enables a favorable working condition where employees feel their emotional and psychological needs are respected (Legge, 2004).
In managers in top management decision making and advising their subordinates
When making corporate goals and decisions, line managers have the role of participating in the decision making and making sure that the right decisions have been made.
When in top management meetings, line managers should understand that they are representing a certain section so any decision that is likely to affect the section negatively should not be made. In this case, the line manager should understand that he is a link between the top management and subordinates staffs thus should keep a top gear approach which looks into issues from all sides.
Underperformance may result from decisions that are not attainable; this means that it might be optimism on the part of the management as they might not understand what is actually happening on the ground.
Line managers should be up to the challenge where they advise on the attainable targets as well as advice on what should be done to make the attainment of the goals even easier.
For instance they might recommend the adoption of a particular technology, buying of machinery or any other business action that will facilitate the attainment of corporate goals and objective.
It adds no value for line managers sit in top management positions without offering insight details that can assist in making the right attainable targets for their team. Despite this, the attainment should be justified and one that will ensure that the talents, capabilities, and skills in the team have been utilized effectively (MeShane, Olekalns and Travaglione, 2020).
Conclusion
Line managers have the role of managing micro-teams within an organization; they are team leaders mandated with the task of enacting policies that fit their organization model. The role of line managers in managing underperformance among staffs is facilitated by their leadership skills; in the event they have effective management skills, they are likely to improve their staffs skills and expertise.
To manage underperformance line managers should work with top management and subordinates to determine their organizations strengths and weakness.
With an understanding of their organizations strengths and weaknesses, line managers should actively be involved in decision making to ensure their team’s interests has been considered. Some of the management practices that the managers need to take include talent management, skills development, psychological contracts fulfillment, and performance appraisals.
References
Armstrong, M., 2006. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. New York: Kogan Page.
Bandt, A. and Haines, S., 2002. Successful Strategic Human Resource Planning. San-Diego: Systems Thinking Press.
Beardwell, J. and Claydon, T. ,2010. Human Resource Management A Contemporary Approach.New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
John, B.P., 2004. Organizational Behavior, from theory to Practice. New York: Wiley.
Legge, K., 2004. Human Resource Management: Rhetorics and Realities (Anniversary ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
McGoldrick, J., Stewart J., & Watson, S.,2001. Theorizing Human Resource Development. Human Resource Development International, 4(3), 287-290
MeShane, S. Olekalns, M. and Travaglione, T., 2020. Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim Focus. Sydney: McGraw Hill Irwin.
Paauwe, J., 2009. HRM and Performance: Achievement, Methodological Issues and Prospects. Journal of Management Studies, 46 (1), 123
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