effective human resource management 101
something i picked up over december when i worked part-time at my previous co... just sharing with you future managers out there.
what exactly is "effective human resource management" you ask? i'm not a HR major so i cannot really explain here, but i can tell you what i saw and how i felt which had an impact on my personal job performance.
EHRM in my perspective is about a human-based approach to management. you ask again, doesn't this scope of management revolve about managing people? realize that i'm not talking about management of people... but instead using a human-based approach to management of people. that is, cast away the policies and red tape. throw them in the bin. shred them. dump them.
the human-based approach of management is concerned about management via the individual. be individual-oriented. i cannot say that this works for a large group but roughly a number of 5 - 10 should not pose as a problem. given that we are now working as cross-functional teams instead of the typical i'm-from-HR-dept-so-you-who-are-from-marketing-don't-concern-me method, this approach works great (at least for me).
having gave an intro to EHRM, basically the underlying principle is to LISTEN to your subordinates. not HEAR, mind you, a very passive action. LISTEN. SHOW CONCERN. PAY ATTENTION and VIEW THINGS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVES.
LISTEN: Sometimes employees gripe about things in the company and about customers who pay late, default on payment, show attitude, banks who cock up... etc. Listen to what they have to say and suggest solutions, but of cos take into account their own suggestions too. Remember, you being the manager doesn't make you the expert in everything. realize that. you don't graduate with a business degree and do things your way without taking into account the views of the IT staff, which is the REAL expert here. if i were to use armed forces lingo, you are the officer and your employees the specialists. being the generalist (know a bit here and there, mostly concerned with strategic management and direction) doesn't mean you can just use your rank (although in saf is can la...) and then suppress your subordinates. they are the specialists, people who are specially trained in their areas of expertise. give them due credit for this.
SHOW CONCERN: Please, you are managing humans, not the trashy table you have at home. sometimes i feell even pets get better treatment that humans. When they come in to your office and start pouring out things about their personal lives, please... LISTEN again. and SHOW CONCERN. then, grant them permission or give concesssions on certain requests. if they are sick, tell them to rest at home. if they have something urgent, grant them urgent leave and follow up by asking if everything is alright. talk to them as if they are your own family, your own friends. i believe power distance to be crap. you mean, as a human, albeit in high-power distance countries, you cannot show compassion to a fellow human?
PAY ATTENTION: Some overlapping perhaps with the previous 2 headings. again, listen with attention. this shows that you actually care and respect your employees. this will in turn gain their respect for you. Respect... earned not coerced.
VIEW THINGS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVES: the old adage, standing in their shoes. an employee-oriented approach. the heading says pretty much for itself.
you can expect some benefits from this:
1) employee respect
2) employee motivation - motivation doesn't always require the use of cash or fat bonuses. some simple words of encouragement, heartfelt concerns... they work great. i read somewhere this very true statement... the only thing humans need more than sex is recognition
3) savings and lower labor turnover - with part 2 comes the part of saving on bonuses. actually i'm not a strong advocate of this, being that i have myself to support and that year-end bonuses ought to be sufficient as proper compensation and ancilliary motivation. if the company is doing well, please hand out 2 - 3 month bonuses. you cannot even begin to fathom how this bonus can spur your employees to strive even harder along with the recognition (verbal) you just given to them. lower labor turnover comes from the usual... if employees are happy, they are less likely to job-hop and thus you really save on classified advertisements, interviews, selection... etc. and dun forget this. customers and suppliers want to talk to ppl they are familiar with. if they like to talk to a sales exec / purchaser X (but disgruntled with a fucked-up boss) and the latter leaves, think! you gotta waste time and money to get another 1, teach the basics again and establish trust from level zero. how is that for you? you sure wont like that! i'm not talking abt zero turnover... just minimizing it.
this basically concludes EHRM 101. hopefully there will be 102, 103... will share whenever possible.
what exactly is "effective human resource management" you ask? i'm not a HR major so i cannot really explain here, but i can tell you what i saw and how i felt which had an impact on my personal job performance.
EHRM in my perspective is about a human-based approach to management. you ask again, doesn't this scope of management revolve about managing people? realize that i'm not talking about management of people... but instead using a human-based approach to management of people. that is, cast away the policies and red tape. throw them in the bin. shred them. dump them.
the human-based approach of management is concerned about management via the individual. be individual-oriented. i cannot say that this works for a large group but roughly a number of 5 - 10 should not pose as a problem. given that we are now working as cross-functional teams instead of the typical i'm-from-HR-dept-so-you-who-are-from-marketing-don't-concern-me method, this approach works great (at least for me).
having gave an intro to EHRM, basically the underlying principle is to LISTEN to your subordinates. not HEAR, mind you, a very passive action. LISTEN. SHOW CONCERN. PAY ATTENTION and VIEW THINGS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVES.
LISTEN: Sometimes employees gripe about things in the company and about customers who pay late, default on payment, show attitude, banks who cock up... etc. Listen to what they have to say and suggest solutions, but of cos take into account their own suggestions too. Remember, you being the manager doesn't make you the expert in everything. realize that. you don't graduate with a business degree and do things your way without taking into account the views of the IT staff, which is the REAL expert here. if i were to use armed forces lingo, you are the officer and your employees the specialists. being the generalist (know a bit here and there, mostly concerned with strategic management and direction) doesn't mean you can just use your rank (although in saf is can la...) and then suppress your subordinates. they are the specialists, people who are specially trained in their areas of expertise. give them due credit for this.
SHOW CONCERN: Please, you are managing humans, not the trashy table you have at home. sometimes i feell even pets get better treatment that humans. When they come in to your office and start pouring out things about their personal lives, please... LISTEN again. and SHOW CONCERN. then, grant them permission or give concesssions on certain requests. if they are sick, tell them to rest at home. if they have something urgent, grant them urgent leave and follow up by asking if everything is alright. talk to them as if they are your own family, your own friends. i believe power distance to be crap. you mean, as a human, albeit in high-power distance countries, you cannot show compassion to a fellow human?
PAY ATTENTION: Some overlapping perhaps with the previous 2 headings. again, listen with attention. this shows that you actually care and respect your employees. this will in turn gain their respect for you. Respect... earned not coerced.
VIEW THINGS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVES: the old adage, standing in their shoes. an employee-oriented approach. the heading says pretty much for itself.
you can expect some benefits from this:
1) employee respect
2) employee motivation - motivation doesn't always require the use of cash or fat bonuses. some simple words of encouragement, heartfelt concerns... they work great. i read somewhere this very true statement... the only thing humans need more than sex is recognition
3) savings and lower labor turnover - with part 2 comes the part of saving on bonuses. actually i'm not a strong advocate of this, being that i have myself to support and that year-end bonuses ought to be sufficient as proper compensation and ancilliary motivation. if the company is doing well, please hand out 2 - 3 month bonuses. you cannot even begin to fathom how this bonus can spur your employees to strive even harder along with the recognition (verbal) you just given to them. lower labor turnover comes from the usual... if employees are happy, they are less likely to job-hop and thus you really save on classified advertisements, interviews, selection... etc. and dun forget this. customers and suppliers want to talk to ppl they are familiar with. if they like to talk to a sales exec / purchaser X (but disgruntled with a fucked-up boss) and the latter leaves, think! you gotta waste time and money to get another 1, teach the basics again and establish trust from level zero. how is that for you? you sure wont like that! i'm not talking abt zero turnover... just minimizing it.
this basically concludes EHRM 101. hopefully there will be 102, 103... will share whenever possible.
posted by shicong says... at 1:03 PM
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