Human Resources Development key to sustain organisations- Uni. Don
View(s):Text of the Speech by G.H.Abeyweera, the Dean of the Faculty of Management of UvaWellassa University at the HRM Diploma Awarding Ceremony organized by Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Uva Province, Badulla
Hon. Governor of Uva Province, the Chairman, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the distinguished invitees, the executive officers of the Board of Management of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uva Province, Dear Diploma Holders, Ladies and Gentlemen!
I consider the opportunity given to me as a privilege to participate as the keynote speaker to deliver the keynote speech at the maiden Diploma Awarding Ceremony organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uva Province while also extending my gratitude to the officers of the organizing committee for your kind invitation which is also a recognition and prestige to UvaWellassa University.
I also would like to appreciate the effort taken by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uva Province the only all private organization in introducing a Diploma in Human Resource Management for the first time in Uva Region, having recognized the dire need of professional training for employees in Uva Province with the view to increase the productivity and quality of the service. The Diploma in HRM consisted with the components of both human resource management and human resource development including 12 modules covers a wide spectrum of management where a quality and productive outcome could be envisaged for the benefit of the individuals and the organization as well.
Though I do not know much about management and its diversified disciplines, I thought of concentrating my speech on ‘Human Resource Development and Training for Modern Economy’ which I hope is an apt to the present context.
Human Resource Development is one of the major areas which needs grave attention. It is an area which has not been significantly touched and paid due attention particularly in the public sector organizations where the economic development is serious concerned. Developing human resources or the manpower requirement is not that easy as one perceives. It is simply because; we have to deal with human development but not the development of objects. So, in this perspective, one ought to think about, what is HRD?, why do we need HRD? Why HRD for us? And how do we achieve this?
Human Resource Development is relatively a young academic discipline but an old-established field of practice. The idea of human beings purposefully and intentionally developing with the view of being able to improve conditions is human nature. Since it is the central point, it is worthy to consider some of the definitions given to Human Resource Development.
According to Nadler, ‘HRD is a series of organized activities conducted within a specified time and are designed to produce behavioural change’. So, the key aspects Nadler highlights in his definition which came into practice in 1970s are the behavioural change and adult learning which is theoretically psychological.
Craig in 1976 provides another definition on Human Resource Development. According to him, ‘HRD focus is on the central goal of developing human potential in every aspect of life-long learning’. In this definition, Craig emphasizes the human performance as the key component in HRD which is philosophical and psychological in its underlying theory.
These definitions provides us some insight into our understanding of how HRD works in transforming human behaviour through adult learning for human performance in any given professional context.
The definition on HRD provided by Jones in 1981 takes us to another direction. According to Jones, “HRD is a systematic expansion of people’s work-related abilities focused on attainment of both organization and personal goals’. Jones tends to highlight performance, organization and personal goals for which the underlying theory being philosophical, systematic, psychological and economic. In simple terms, organizational or personal goals are achieved by means of engaging and exposing the workforce for improvement of the work-related abilities.
I also would like to draw your attention to one more definition on Human Resource Development provided by Watkins in 1989 where we happened to experience and cope up with a dark periodin the Sri Lankan context. According to Watkins, ‘HRD is the field of study and practice responsible for fostering of a long-term, work-related learning capacity at the individual, group and organizational level of organizations as such it includes- but not limited to –training, career development and organizational development’. Watkins highlights, the learning capacity, training and development, career development and thereby the organizational development as the key components of human resource development where the underlying theory seems psychological which emphasizes system, performance and economic relevance.
When all those theories so far discussed are sum-up, it is evident that human resource development is a process for developing and unleashing human expertise thorough organization development and personal training and development for the purpose of improving performance and thereby contributing to modern economic development.
In searching an applicable reply to the query on why do we need HRD? One may find several valid replies. Among too many replies, I would prefer to put forward a few statements as replies to the above query why we need HRD?
Organizations are changeable and as well as vulnerable as these organizations are human-made entities that rely on human expertise to establish and achieve their goals. So, organizations have been created by humankind and thus they can soar or crumble. Therefore, HRD is intricately connected to the fate of any organization. In this sense, HRD is important in any organization.
The other important reply one can provide to the query why we need HRD is that it is only through HRD process that human expertise is developed and maximized. This should be done for the mutual long and short term benefits of the organization and the individuals involved in it. That is HRD professionals are having powerful tools to get others to think, accept and act accordingly.
Another possible reply that one could find for having HRD is that HRD professionals are advocates of individual/ group, work process and organizational integrity. HRD professionals typically have a privileged position of accessing rich information that transcends boundaries and levels of individuals, groups, work processes and the organization. This is where the necessary reforms can be made to improve the efficiency of the organization.
From all these, you may understand why we need human resource development and the impact it has in behavioural change through adult learning for improving human performance, training and development, career development and organizational development.
Then, the next question one may pose is that HRD why for us?
In Sri Lanka, the context is an educated society where the educated with various qualifications ranging from certificates to Diploma and then Degree levels will never fit for jobs. Yet, jobs are given for degree certificates. What we really need is to provide the required training for a particular job and then recruit them in the profession for a productive outcome.
Training and Development is one of the functions in HRD. Training makes an impact on improving the knowledge, skills and the attitudes of the employees which are particular to a specific job or a task. This is where the HRD matters in employee orientation or orientation for novice employees for skills and technical training. In training and development: development is preparing the workforce for future responsibilities while increasing the capacity to perform at the current job. Thus, HRD is mandatory for us as individuals, groups and organization.
HRD also equally plays the role of the change-agent in organizational development. It is the process of improving an organization’s effectiveness and the well-being of the members through the application of behavioural sciences. In simple terms, where there is no HRD, there is no significant organizational development.
Optimum use of Human Resource Development is another vital aspect in any given organization. That is getting the maximum benefits to the organization by managing the human resources available within the organization. The fact is that Human Resource Management (HRM) is only possible and is healthy when there is the human resource development. From this too it is evident that HRD is inseparable from an organization.
Coaching and mentoring also play an important role in human resource development. The regular coaching and mentoring of the staff in any given organization will bring enormous results as they have a psychological impact on the mind-sets of the people to work for the organization. For them, the work is more important than that of what they earn. For them the commitment will be the top most priority in life. There the organization will never collapse. So we need HRD.
Concepts must have a set of principles. These principles guide the concept. Therefore, it is noteworthy to consider some of the principles that guide and govern Human Resource Development.
One of the principles of HRD is that HRD practice integrates a wide variety of disciplines but does not follow one style or set of ideas. That is, where there is diversity, there is the strength.
The relationship between organization and its stakeholders plays a pivotal role. It is this healthy relationship between the two parties that govern the smooth functioning of the organization. Thus, HRD practice is based on satisfying the stakeholders ‘needs and expectations.
Prompt response to customers ‘need and wants keep the image of the organization. Above all, it is a blessing for the employees of the organization. So, HRD practice is responsive but responsible.
Evaluation assists improvements. It is vital for every individual to recall of what we have done during a certain period of time. Having a philosophy of individual’s life also is important. It provides a feedback for our spiritual satisfaction as well. Similarly, HRD uses evaluation as a continuous improvement process. This is where performance appraisal system should be introduced rather than just giving increments.
Not only that, HRD practice utilizes strategic plan or corporate plan to help the organization integrating its Vision, Mission, Strategy and Practice. Every individual should be imbibed and inscribed with the vision and mission of the organization. It should be in the lifeblood of the employees who serve for the organization. The vision and mission should not be limited to name Boards and Walls. The vision and mission should be reflected from the employees of the organization but not from beautiful name Boards and Walls.
Being result oriented is another principle that governs the HRD practice. This is not visible in HRM and it is very difficult to achieve. Whereas HRD paves the way for results as HRD is goals oriented.
Not only that but also HRD is designed to improve the effectiveness of the organization relying on the relationship mapping to enhance operational efficiency. Further, HRD is linked to the organization’s strategic business goals and objectives achieved and realized on partnership assuming credibility as an essential element. Thus, all those principles guide the HRD practice in an organization.
In this presentation, I also would like to pay my attention to the challenges of human resource development in an organization.
Employees’ compliance with rules and regulations is one of the challenges in human resource development. Though it is difficult to achieve, we need to make sure the novice recruitments are trained to suit the organizational goals and objectives and train them to compliance with the rules and regulations.
Management Changes is another hurdle in human resource development as the employees are immune to management changes. When people are accustomed for a certain task, they tend to oppose the change in management. Therefore, HRD trainers should focus on making the staff aware of the benefits of the management changes for everyone where regular staff meetings are a good place to start.
Leadership Development
Leadership in an organization plays a significant role. It leads the organization to achieve its objectives according to a well-developed plan. Developing leadership in human resource development is not that easy as everyone cannot be a leader. Therefore, leadership development is critical in keeping the management team engaged and motivated and prepares them to take more responsibilities in the future. Developing leadership should be a part of the culture of the organization.
Workforce Development and Training
In human resource development, workforce development and training is another central challenge that senior leadership will have to encounter. However, one ought to remember that training and development should not consume lot of time and spend a lot of money. What is required is in workforce development and training is to recruit managers and senior leadership in mentoring their subordinates and practice it as a continuous process.
Recruiting Talented Employees and Retaining Talented Employees
Recruiting talented employees is another challenge for any organization. The success of any organization depends on the talented employees recruited. For this, one of the best ways to find the right people for any organization is to use a staffing institution. They provide tempt-to-hire solutions. A tempt-to-hire position is one in which an individual is hired for a temporary period often about 3 to 6 months period. At the end of the period, the employee is eligible for a fulltime position. What is expected in this situation is to have a rigorous training for human resource development of an organization.
Then, retaining talented employees is also equally a challenge for any organization in human resource development. For this, on-boarding is the highly effective method for retention. That is the process of integrating new employees to the organization and its culture. So, organizational socialization techniques lead for positive outcomes for new employees such as higher job satisfaction, better jobs performance and greater organizational commitment.
Workplace diversity also is another challenge in human resource development. What is required in such a context is to create a culture of teamwork and respect. Creating culture of teamwork and respect will keep the work environment positive and productive.
Finally, I would like to discuss how do we achieve human resource development in an organization?
As we discussed previously, an organized learning experience given in a limited time period for improving job performance and growth is referred as human resource development. Training is a component of human resource development in which special programmes are designed to provide specified employees knowledge and skills are that are useful for performing various functions of the job. The best way to achieve human resource development is to introduce some of the activities. Among many activities
- Training and Development
- Organizational Development and
- Career Development are most prominent
Training and Development: training is linked with the provision of certain skills and knowledge that is useful for the trainees to overcome their deficiencies of job performance. On the other hand, development is related to the provision of certain skills to the employees so that organization would use them in future for achieving HRD.
Organizational Development: it is the application of knowledge of behavioural science in the organization so that strategies, processes and structures are improved through proper development and reinforcement.
Career Development: it is the assistance of the organization for the acquisition of the required knowledge and skills by the employees to perform the current jobs as well as some future jobs effectively.
Establishing human resource departments in every organization will also contribute to the achievement of HRD objectives in a given context where orientation for particular jobs also can be made for increasing performance for organizational development. Within HRD departments, coaching also has to be introduced so that the organizations would be having trained workforce for an efficacious output. Jobs rotations, group and committee assignments, simulations and, outdoor training are also helpful in achieving Human Resource Development.
Coming back to the event: the Diploma Awarding ceremony that I have no doubt that all of you have succeeded in earning a Diploma in Human Resource Management where from outset of the course outline, we get an insight as to what this Diploma has given to you. I have no doubt that what you have earned throughout the programme will bring you enormous benefits provided you apply them in day to day work-life to be veteran professionals in your field where challenges are meted out successfully.
I wish all the best for your lives.