People factor for progress

Overview

In an increasingly competitive world, people have become a cutting edge factor. Is it just any people or right people? As the typical HR mantra says, the right person at the right job with right targets in a right environment will produce right results within the right time. How can we make this a reality than rhetoric? Today’s column will shed light on it. 

The People Factor 

Truss and Gratton (1994) stated that the strategic role of Human Resources (HR) is to adapt individual HR practices (recruiting, rewarding etc.) to fit specific corporate and competitive strategies. As they further elaborate, “For any particular organisational strategy, there is purportedly a matching human resources strategy”. This is true for Sri Lankan organisations as well. The decisions with regard to people should be much aligned with the decisions related to growth and profitability. 

What is the practical relevance of such a stance to Sri Lankan managers? I would propose seven Gs of reaping the best from people. They refer to get, give, grow, glue, glow in the broader context of goals and guard. Let’s go through them in detail. 

Get

This is all about getting the right people in. The hiring challenge looms large for organisation in diverse environments, mainly owing to a talent gap. I would call it R-R gap, the gap between required talent and raw talent. 

The market is abundant with raw talent, especially with school leavers. Are they geared to a demanding job in a target-driven environment? Sadly, the answer is no. We teach complex subject matter but not how to gain confidence. Job-orientation in the academic courses has been recognised as important only of late. 

In practical terms, updated job descriptions and job specifications should be available for each position and these should be used in the selection process. Also, selecting the appropriate test in predicting future performance on the specific job is of importance. Managers should be trained on effective hiring, with special emphasis on interviewing skills. 

One acute issue I see in this context is the non-availability of updated job descriptions. The job description can be viewed as a “list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working conditions and supervisory responsibilities”. 

Dessler (2005) defines a job specification as a “list of a job’s ‘human requirements’, that is, the requisite education, skills, personality and so on”. Presence of basic level could be seen in most of the organisations in the sample. 

It reminds me what the advertising tycoon, David Ogilvy said. “Hire people who are better than you are, then leave them to get on with it…; Look for people who will aim for the remarkable, who will not settle for the routine.”

Give

“If you give peanuts, you get monkeys,” goes the old saying. What you give to the person who came in by way of reward and recognition is of utmost importance in the context of competition. Your competitor can grab our best talent by “giving” more. 

Heathfield (2012) offers several tips for effective recognition. All employees must be eligible for the recognition. The recognition must supply the employer and employee with specific information about what behaviours or actions are being rewarded and recognised. Anyone who then performs at the level or standard stated in the criteria receives the reward. The recognition should occur as close to the performance of the actions as possible, so the recognition reinforces behaviour the employer wants to encourage.

One may observe that some Sri Lankan organisations have well-structured reward and recognition schemes. What is needed more could be strengthening of the behavioural aspects, such as verbal appreciation of exceptional performance. 

Grow

This refers to the need to build people. Training and development go hand in hand. The simple difference is that the former is for current and the latter is for future. In essence, training is to do something. Development is to be someone. Both are intertwined in such a way that training leads to development.

Choices in training and development are captured here. Identification of training and development needs is of utmost importance in this regard. Having clarity on programme participants, presenters, designers, coverage, delivery methods and expected behavioural changes are some of the vital components associated. 

A growing emphasis on training effectiveness with proper mechanisms to measure is seen in the Sri Lankan private sector. Use of Kirkpatrick model to assess training effectiveness at different levels is one such approach. Return on Training Investment (ROTI) has slowly become a critical factor in the local scenario as well, in justifying the monetary allocation for training and development.

Despite the boom in training with the mushrooming of trainers, the measurement of effectiveness has not yet received its due prominence in Sri Lanka. I see a clarity issue as well as a commitment issue. Are the leaders and HR practitioners clear about how to measure training effectiveness? My observation is “yes” and “no”. 

There are multinationals operating in Sri Lanka who use a variety of techniques driven globally, to measure training. A few high-performing Sri Lankan organisations, with competent and dynamic HR professionals attempt to do something in this direction. However, the majority, particularly the organisations in the public sector, have not paid adequate emphasis on this front. 

Glue

I would associate the feature “binding” with glue. This refers to the range of choices in retaining talent. Having developed the knowledge and skills of high performers of any organisation, seeing them leaving is the last thing an organisation would like to see (Ulrich and Brocbank, 2005). 

Finding out why talented people leave and taking appropriate actions to arrest the outflow should be high in the HR agenda. Offering of a variety of financial and non-financial rewards to stay has also needs to be strengthened. 

Encouraging evidence can be found in many leading organisations in Sri Lanka. Yet, the reality remains that, when overseas opportunities are galore with unmatchable financial offers, employees tend to seek better prospects. As we discussed in several earlier columns, effectively engaging the employees with a clear purpose can be a sure-cure in arresting the rot. 

Meaningful strategies for employee engagement also become relevant in this context. Devising mechanisms to appeal to “head” (stimulating them intellectually) and “heart” (stimulating them emotionally) of employees are the right way forward. 

Having an employee suggestion scheme and aptly rewarding the most value-adding suggestion is one such example. Organising a family day where the loved ones’ of employees proudly associate with the organisation is another example of strengthening the bondage. 

Glow

This is the subtlest of all. It can appear in several forms. As one such form, choices in promoting the employees can be captured. When a career ladder is available for them to climb, and when the organisation is genuinely providing the support and encouragement, chances of them contributing better in a more committed manner is high. 

Establishing criteria for new jobs, allowing volunteers to take up challenging tasks, evaluating candidates’ potential, supporting of new job holders are some of the key actions in this regard (Ulrich and Brockbank, 2005).

In another form, encouraging the employees to unleash their potential is also a way of allowing them to “glow”. Creating an environment where employees feel free to experiment, resulting in innovative products and services is a right step in this direction. Global examples such as 3M and Google have made this a sure fire approach in making people glow. 

Sri Lankan organisations irrespective of their nature of operations can do more in this front. Existing policies should not be barriers in this regard, and the time has come to critically look at them once more. 

Five Gs in the broader context of two Gs 

The five Gs described above typically operate in the context of two Gs. Figure 1 illustrates this. Now let’s explore the other two Gs that link our discussion to a broader context. 

Goals

They occupy the centre stage in setting the direction of the entire organisation. It revolves around the strategic intent, comprising vision, mission or aspiration whatever the terminology may be. Aligning the grooming of people with goals of the organisation should be the right approach. There are numerous occasions where people are unclear about their top goals and priorities. 

Guard

Guarding is all about the employee protection through a proper policy framework. It may include controls as well as clearance for creative action. A widely shared and wilfully practiced set of corporate values also fall into this perspective. A weak guarding may result in employees having uncertainty and ambiguity with regard to their direction, resulting in lower involvement and contribution. 

Way forward

“If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings, and put compensation as a carrier behind it, you almost don’t have to manage them.” So said Jack Welch, the one-time most-admired CEO. I see a mixed scene in the Sri Lankan organisations in this respect. 

Thomas J. Watson Jr. the founder of IBM, in his book, ‘A Business and its Beliefs,’ says: “I believe the real difference between success and failure in a corporation can be very often traced to the question of how well the organisation brings out the great energies and talents of its people.” This is relevant to Sri Lankan organisations and their managers as well. 

(Dr. Ajantha Dharmasiri is a learner, teacher, trainer, researcher, writer and a thinker in the areas of Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour. He can be reached on [email protected].)