Developing Yourself as an Effective Hr Practitioner

Developing Yourself as an Effective Human Resource Practitioner The CIPD Human Resources Profession Map The CIPD is the professional body for those working within a HR related role, to â€Å"manage the employer-employee relationship and align an organisation’s culture with its people† (CIPD). Researched through collaboration with business leaders the CIPD has developed a map of the activities, knowledge and behaviours required by the different HR roles to meet current business needs (diagram 1).The map consists of ten Professional areas, four Bands and eight Behaviours. Each area has an extended definition to clarify the key requirements of people who work in that area. Diagram 1 Diagram 1 At the core of the map lie ‘Insights, Strategy and Solutions’ and ‘Leading HR’. These two core elements are considered key areas as they extend across all the elements of the HR profession. Also read: HR Profession Map EssayInsights, Strategy and Solutions relates to the need for a successful HR professional to present and develop strategies and solutions based on a firm understanding of the business, it’s internal environment (vision, values, culture, structure and strategy) and its external challenges (competition, world economy, work/life balance, changing demographics of its workforce, changing legislation etc. ) It demonstrates the profession as a recognised business discipline with people and the organisation at its heart.Leading HR is defined as providing ‘active, insight-led leadership: owning, shaping and driving themselves, others and activity in the organisation’ (CIPD). Great leaders can be found across three main areas of leadership – personal leadership, leading others and leading issues. The ten Professional areas relate to the different roles within HR profession e. g. the requirement of someone operating within an Employee Eng agement role is defined as being responsible for ensuring â€Å" †¦ ll aspects of the employment experience – the emotional connection that all employees have with their work, colleagues and to their organisation (in particular line manager relationship) is positive and understood, and that it delivers greater discretionary effort in their work and the way they relate to their organisation†. The four bands of professional competence define the different levels of work activities and the corresponding responsibilities within each professional area, ranging from administrator to board level.Within the HR Map there is also a useful section on the knowledge and . activities required to transition from one band to the next. Finally the eight behaviours describe how the work activities should be carried out within each professional area. The Agency The Agency, despite being less than two years old, has grown from a team of five to 21 employees – 15 Consultants an d six Compliance Officers. The office is very fast paced and competitive, with Consultants urged to secure new posts for high calibre candidates as quickly as possible.Prospective candidates are invited to come into the branch for a registration interview, where they meet the Consultants who will try and place them within schools. Vivien is an experienced Compliance Officer, supporting three Consultants on her pod. Her role is to meet and greet new candidates when they come in for the registration interview, and check they have supplied the necessary paperwork to meet strict safeguarding guidelines before handing them over their consultant for interview. She works alongside Hans, the lead consultant in her pod.They have a very poor relationship, arguing frequently and demonstrate very little respect for each other’s point of view The Candidate proves to be outstanding and Hans manages to place the candidate in a school within two days. Hans is overjoyed and celebrating loudly in the office, at which point Vivien points out to him that she has Vivien has not completed all the necessary vetting procedures so the candidate does not yet meet the safeguarding requirements to begin work. Hans must now contact the school and delay the candidate’s start date, which inconveniences the school and reflects poorly on the agency.HR CUSTOMERS Consultants Need to meet targets to place high fully vetted high calibre teaching staff in school Consultants Need to meet targets to place high fully vetted high calibre teaching staff in school Managing Director Needs to ensure the company’s strategic objectives are met Managing Director Needs to ensure the company’s strategic objectives are met EMPLOYEE RELATIONS OFFICER EMPLOYEE RELATIONS OFFICER Compliance Officer Need to process high volume of new candidates quickly and accurately Compliance Officer Need to process high volume of new candidates quickly and accurately Diagram 2) (Diagram 2) HOW TO PRIOR ITISE NEEDS ‘Customers do want an HR function with strategic business impact, but this is about solving problems that are strategically important for the business, not about separate HR strategies’ (Hirsh et al) As a result of this lapse in correct protocols the school has threatened to end their contract with the agency, which would have a big impact in the revenue brought in by the pod. Hans is a very successful consultant, and part of his success he will interview a high volume of candidates, averaging 6 interviews per day.Hans has accused Vivien of not processing files quickly enough, letting them pile up on her desk. Vivien responds by telling them she can’t process files when she’s interviewing candidates consistently throughout her day for all three consultants. Vivien has asked in the past to change pods as hers is the most successful so she feels overworked whilst the other Compliance Officers are far less busy. The issues identified in this scena rio are a breakdown in communication, imbalance of workload, and damage limitation to one of the agency’s clients.They order in which they are prioritised – their significance, importance and urgency – must be taken in view of the company’s organisational needs and requirements. When faced with such competing priorities, Stephen Covey’s Grid is a useful tool. In this scenario addressing the school’s needs will fall into Quadrant 1, whilst addressing the poor relationship between Hans and Vivien may fall into Quadrant 2. Good communication is the lifeblood of any successful organisation, the results of which can be detrimental (as in the above scenario).There are many ways of communicating within an organisation, and the method and significance of the message can often determine the best method. TYPE OF COMMUNICATION| ADVANTAGE| DISADAVANTAGE| ELECTRONIC| Provides a record for referral follow-up| Can be impersonal and open to interpretation. | WRITTEN/ POSTER| Easily accessed and visible| The Sender does not know if the communication is received unless a reply is required| VERBAL – FACE TO FACE| Allows immediate feedback | Poor communication ability can interfere with how the message os received. Key elements in providing an effective HR Service. Having an understanding and awareness of the strategic purpose of the company will enable the HR professional to operate in an advisory or educational role, assist in decision making, be proactive by applying an overseeing (or policing) role. Senior managers particularly look to the HR function to have an independent, and challenging, view The key elements of effective HR as identified as: Effective service deliveryChallenges the way in which things are done, to find solutions that are better, cheaper or faster as well as an administrative role in implementing relevant processes and practices. Handling and resolving complaints, informal methods, formal methods, appeals a nd escalation (if required) Effective HR services for employees are seen as supporting, not diluting, the responsibility of the line for people management, and the ability of HR to coach line managers, especially around managing performance, is highly valued.Reinforces the compliance role of the HR/personnel function (both legally and ethically) when it is necessary Building and maintaining good relationships A HR professional needs to have its finger on the pulse of what employees are feeling and how well they are working, balancing the interests of employees with the needs of the business. Delivering service on time with any budget implications Affective time management skills, keeping interested parties ‘in the loop’ Dealing with difficult customers Continuous Improvement Keeps in touch with their ‘customers' through networking in order to understand the business better, reacts to feedback and proactively develops (or contributes to the development of service i nnovations which yield ‘customer' advantage in order to provide continuous measured improvement (Kaizen concept).References: CIPD – The Truth about HR http://www. cliffsnotes. com/study_guide/Methods-of-Communication. topicArticleId-8944,articleId-8919. html Employee communication – Richard Croucher, Human Resource Management , A case study approach Michael Muller-Carmen, Richard Croucher and Susan Leigh. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey ï » ¿Developing Yourself As An Effective HR Practitioner I am doing this HR course to further my career at work. I am supervisor.I am involved in HR in my job, as we do not have an HR department. I work with my Manager at present to help conduct annual appraisals, disciplinary procedures and inductions. I have also been involved with redundancies.We are a medium sized company, which has expanded since I joined in 2000 but as we are growing we feel the need to have 1 person to take on the HR role so that all staff have someone official that they can go to with any problems that they may have.HRPM: this is an easy to use table containing behaviours, professional areas and bands of competence. It allows users to assess their capability in the HR role they have chosen – whether it is general or specialist.The two core professional areas are insights, strategies & solutions and leading HR.As an example of insights in my role at work there are quite a few members of staff who are nearing retirement age and will retire within around two ye ars of each other so we will be losing all the experience and knowledge that they bring to their roles within the business whether that be manufacturing cables or within our quality assurance department, So I have suggested that we employ younger people who we can train working closely with these people so that their knowledge can be passed on. This has been proven to work as we have two members of staff who joined us around 6 years ago straight from school and are some of our best operators as we have trained them in the way we work.The core of the map is about developing an understanding of the organisation that the user is working in, clerk of the works, contracts manager, and architect.Performance and reward – this allows individuals within a work place to use their own skills, behaviours and experience by using a reward scheme such as bonuses.Learning and Development: Build individual and organisational capability and knowledge to meet current requirements – in ma ny industries it is necessary to train an re-train employees as companies become more diverse to keep up with competitors for example, at my place of work we are starting to build completely different types of cable harnesses to what we would have been building one year ago so there is a lot of re-training required for all shop floor staff.Band 1 of the HRPM is most essential in the company I work for, as it is customer orientated.When I am doing the HR role full time my main customers will be shop floor staff although I will be working for others such as Engineers, Our Receptionist and the Managing Director.There are 8 behaviours on the HRPM.Curious: This person is open minded and focused on the future of the business they are in, inquisitive and is always thinking of ways to add to their organisation, focused on the future of the business they are in and is always thinking of ways to add value to their organisation.Decisive Thinker: This person takes in data and information and is a fast learner. They use the information they receive in a structured way to identify options and make recommendations.Skilled Influencer: This person can influence stakeholders to gain commitment and support within the company/industry they work within.Personally Credible: This person uses professionalism to bring value to the whole company they work in including stakeholders and peers.Collaborative: This person works very well with other people within and outside of work.Driven To Deliver: This person is determined and resourceful and uses these skills to deliver the best results for their company.Courage To Challenge: This person will speak up for what they believe in even if confontated with resistance and unfamiliar circumstances.Role Model: This person always leads by example, has integrity and independence and balances personal organisational and legal matters very well.Activity 2In my HR role, I have 4 main customers. These are shop floor staff which includes inductions for new members off staff, Engineers and Our Receptionist. Shop floor staff: I sit in on (and will conduct) appraisals. We have a written assessment, which the shop floor staff must fill out before attending the appraisal. This includes questions about personal development. In the appraisal we discuss the types of work they would like to do in the future, any pay/skills upgrades they may be getting and when they can expect to get them by. We also discuss any problems they may be having although we always encourage them to come to us (our manager, the other shop floor supervisor or myself) with any problems as they come up rather than waiting for the appraisal.The shop floor manager currently  conducts the appraisals and I sit in on them and take notes then type up all the outcomes of the appraisal with a copy to be given to the employee. I conduct Return To Work interviews for employees who have had any unauthorised absence(s). This is conducted using a form with set questions asked and recorded by my-self about the nature of the absence. The Employee and myself then sign it and it is then scanned into their personnel file. I have sat in on and taken the minutes for redundancy meetings. I have had a limited role in these. As well as taking minutes, I am there for moral support, as I know all of our employees personally due to My job as a supervisor and the number of years I have worked there.Engineers:When I am a full time HR practitioner, I will be able to support the engineers with any problems they may have with other members of staff such as conflicts about the way the engineers plan jobs and the way they are actually built on the shop floor. This can be an issue for both the engineers and shop floor staff as the engineers quote the times for each job but they are not always accurate so this means that the shop floor staff may appear to not build cables in the allocated time.New Employees:I will be conducting all inductions for new Employees – This i ncludes a walk around the factory introducing them to key members of staff such as our other supervisor, first aid, fire marshals and the other members of staff who they will be working closest with. I will also show them the fire exits, evacuation points and show them the fireboard with everybody’s names on. I will tell them when the fire alarm is tested and register them on out hand scanner, which clocks everyone in and out of the building and is also used for payroll. I will show them where the toilets are and what times their breaks and lunch breaks are. New Employees have to read our health and safety handbook thoroughly.Conflicting Needs:I prioritise these by consulting with my manager and shop floor staff so that I am able to decide what to deal with first. For example, I would deal with a conflict between two or more employees by speaking to them separately away from their normal work environment and if appropriate, I would get them together to talk about the problem. This would take priority over an appraisal or other day-to-day activity.Communication:I use email to communicate at work. The advantage of this is that everything that is said between Myself and the person I am communicating with is in writing and can be referred back to if necessary. The disadvantage of this is that if it is something urgent, the person I am communicating with may not see the email straight away, as many members of staff are not desk bound. Verbal communication: this has the advantage of getting the message across immediately and being able to get an instant reaction both verbally and assessing through their body language. The disadvantage of this is that you would not be able to accurately refer back to the conversation at a later date, as verbal conversations are not always accurately remembered.Printed memo:I use these to communicate anything I need to tell the whole shop floor as they do not have access to email in their workplace. The advantage of this is tha t I can carefully think about and word the memo exactly how I want it to be put across. It is also good because it is in writing and can be referred back to at a later date. The disadvantage is that I cant always get an instant reaction to it as everyone gets it at the same time so will not necessarily inform me of any feedback unless I ask them.An example of all the above methods of communication is that when we unfortunately had to make redundancies some time ago, there was a memo given to every member of staff from their manager to let them know that everyone was at risk of being made redundant. My Manager and I then had to liase with our legal specialists via telephone and by e-mail. We then sat with each individual and let him or  her know if they were being made redundant or not. We felt that sitting down with everyone individually, they would be able to speak about any concerns they had whether they were being made redundant or not.