strategies of employee relations and high performance strategies

Strategic Humana Resource Management

Tola Kanta NeupaneFourth Semester, Human Resource Management

Outline of the Presentation

Employee relation strategy Performance management Strategy Process of performance management

Employee Relation Strategy

Definition“The intention of the organization about what needs to be changed in the ways in which the organization manages its relationship with employees and their trade unions.”

Employee relation strategies will flow from the business strategy but will also aim to support it.

Concern of employee relation strategy

To build stable and cooperative relationship with employees that minimize conflict

To achieve commitment through employee involvement and communication process.

To develop mutuality- a common interest achieving the organization’s goals through the development of organization cultures based on shared values between management and employees.

Approaches of the employee relation strategy

Adversarial strategy Traditional Partnership Power Sharing

Approaches of the employee relation strategy

Adversarial strategy the organization decides what it wants to do,

and employees are expected to fit in. Employees only exercise power by refusing to cooperate.

Traditional Partnership Power Sharing

Approaches of the employee relation strategy

Adversarial strategy Traditional

a good day-to-day working relationship but management proposes and the workforce reacts through its elected representative

Partnership Power Sharing

Approaches of the employee relation strategy

Adversarial strategy Traditional Partnership

the organization involves employees in the drawing up and execution of the organization policies, but retains the right to manage.

Power Sharing

Approaches of the employee relation strategy

Adversarial strategy Traditional Partnership Power Sharing

employees are involved in both day-to-day and strategic decision making.

The HRM approach to employee relations

A drive commitment :An emphasis on mutuality Communication Shift from collective bargaining to individual

Contracts Total quality management Flexibility in working arrangements Emphasis on teamwork.

Policy options

The new realism- a high emphasis on HRM and industrial relations

Traditional collectivism- priority to industrial relations without HRM

Individualized HRM- high priority to HRM with no industrial relations

The black hole- no industrial relations

Formulating Employee Relations Strategy

Partnership Agreements Employee voice strategy

Partnership Agreement

An agreement in which both parties (management and the trade union) agree to work together to their mutual advantages and to achieve a climate of more cooperative and therefore less adversarial industrial relations.

A partnership agreement may include undertakings from both sides; for example management may offer job security linked to productivity and union may agree to new forms of work organization that might require more flexibility on the part of employees.

Key values

Roscow and Casner Loto (1998): Mutual trust and respect A joint vision for the future and the means to achieve it Continuous exchange of information Recognition of the central role of collective bargaining Develop decision making

Their research in United States indicates that, if these maters were addressed successfully by the management and unions, then companies could expect productivity gains, quality improvement, a better motivated and committed workforce and lower absenteeism and turnover rates.

Five paths of Creating employee Relations

Shared Goals- ‘understanding the business we are in’ Shared Culture- ‘agreed values binding us together Shared Learning- ‘continuously improving ourselves’ Shared efforts- ‘one business driven by flexibility’ Shared information- ‘effective communication

throughout the enterprise’

Employee voice strategy

“Employee voice is the term increasingly used to cover a whole variety of process and structures which enable, and sometimes empower employees, directly and indirectly, to contribute to decision making in the firm.” ( Boxall and Purcell (2003))

“The ability of employees to influence the action of the employer.” ( Millward et al, 2000)

The concept covers the provision of opportunities for employees to register discontent and modify the power of management.

The Framework for employee voice

Partnership Agreement

Indirect involvement

Shared Agenda

Direct involvement

Contested Agenda

Grievance Procedures

Traditional Collective Bargaining

Employee Involvement

High performance Strategy A high performance strategy sets out the intentions of the

organization on how it can achieve competitive advantages by improving performance through people.

High performance work system (HPWS) are composed of practices that can facilitate employees involvement , skill enhancement and motivation.

Thompson and Heron(2005) defines High performance work organization , which invest in the skills and abilities of employees, design work in ways that enable employee collaboration in problem solving, and provide incentives to motivate workers to use their discretionary effort.

High performance work system

Research conducted by Armitage and Keeble Allen (2007) indicated that people management basis formed the foundation of high –performance. They identified three themes underpinning the HPWS concept: An open and creative culture that is people-centered and inclusive,

where decision taking is communicated and shared through the organization;

Investment in people through education and training, loyalty inclusiveness and flexible working;

Measurable performance outcomes such as benchmarking and setting targets, as well as innovation through processes and best practice.

Characteristics of high-performance culture

• A clear line of sight exists between the strategic aims of the organization and those of its departments and its staff of all level;

• People know what is expected of them – they understand their goals and accountabilities;

• People feel that their job is worth doing , and there is a strong fit between the job and their capabilities;

• People are empowered to examine their contribution;• Management defines what it requires in the shape of performance

improvements, sets goals for success and monitors performance to ensure that the goals are achieved;

• There is strong leadership from the top, which engenders a shared belief in the importance of continuing improvement;

Contd.• There is a focus on promoting positive attitudes that result in an

engaged, committed and motivated workforce;• Performance management processes are aligned to business goals

to ensure that people are engaged in achieving agreed objectives and standards;

• Capabilities of people are developed through learning at all levels to support performance improvement and people are provided with opportunities to make full use of their skills and abilities;

• A pool of talent ensures a continuous Supply of high performer s in key roles;

• People are valued and rewarded according to their contribution;• People are involved in developing high performance practices;• There is a climate of trust and teamwork, aimed at delivering a

distinctive service to the customer.

Developing HPWS

• Analyze the business Strategy;– Where is the business going?– What are the strength and weaknesses of the

business?– What threats and opportunities face the business?– What is affect of SWOT on the type of people

required by the business, now and in future?– To what extent does(can) the business obtain

competitive advantage through people?

2. Define the desired performance culture of the business and the objectives of the exercise.

3. Analyze the existing arrangements: What is happening now in the form of practices , attitudes

and behaviors (what do we want people to do differently?) What should be happening? What do people feel about it( the more investment in this

analysis from all the stakeholders the better)?

4. Identify the gaps between what is and what should be:(Identify room for improvement)

5. Draw up a list of practices that need to be introduced or improved .

6. Establish Complementarities;

7. Assess practicability; It is worth doing? What’s the business case in terms of added

value? What contribution will it make to supporting the achievement of

the organization’s strategic goals? Can it be done? Who does it? Have we the resource to do it? How do we manage the change?

8. Prioritize The added value the practice will create; The availability of the resource required; Anticipated problems in introducing the practice, including

resistance to the Change by stakeholders; The extent to which practices can form bundles of mutually

supporting practices.

9. Define project Objective; According to step 2

10. Get by-in; By Top level executives Should fully communicated and transparent

11. Plan the implementation; Who takes the lead : must from top level; Who manages the project and who else is involved; The time table for development and introduction; The resource( people and money) How the change program will be managed, including

communication and further consultation; The success criteria for the project.

12.Implement

Performance Management

What is Performance Management?

• Systematically managing all the people in an

organization, for innovation, goal focus,

productivity and satisfaction--it is a goal-

congruent win - win plan

What is Performance Management?

Armstrong and Baron define performance management as a

“strategic and integrated approach to delivering sustained success to organizations by improving performance of people who work in them and by developing the capabilities of teams and individual contributors”

• It is integrated, because it effects four types of integration:– Vertical– Functional– Human Resource– Goals

What is Performance Management?

What is Performance Management?

Performance Managed Organizations are likely to have the following characteristics:– Measurable performance targets– Manage-learning linked with organizational goals

on the one hand and with career development on the other

– Pre-eminence of intrinsic needs of managers without neglecting their extrinsic needs

– Ownership of performance management by line management rather than the personnel function

The Manager’s Concern and Interests

• The rationale for establishing a performance management system does, and must emerge from the managers’ concerns and interests

• To be effective, this process must start with identification and analysis of the managers’ performance problems and related management skills, in the context of the specific organization– remedying poor performers and performance– bridging gaps in performance expectations– securing equitable rewards and punishment decisions from

the management– softening performance pressures through appropriate

planning, scheduling and delegation

Key to Performance Management• Building organizational capability and successful

implementation of high-commitment management practices is a key managerial responsibility

• High-performance management practices require consistent leadership attention, while time and attention are the scarcest of resources in most organizations

Three basic principles, which effective leaders use to transform their organizations into high-commitment models of management are:

– build trust– encourage change– use appropriate measures

Performance Management and People Management

Performance management is that part of an organization’s people-related function, which is performed by those directly managing the people.

Within any organization, there are at least two levels of effort, that ;– concern the performance of its people – and optimize individual and collective output

effort at the organizational level, which determines the organization’s internal environment

effort at the managerial level, which constitutes core of the leader-manager role--- what each manager does to supervise subordinates.

Performance Management System

A set of sequential dynamic subsystems Like any system, it has relatively autonomous, but

interdependent and inter-related parts, which ensure effective and smooth functioning of the total system

Three broad sub-systems: performance planning and development monitoring performance and mentoring development annual stocktaking

Performance Management: A four step process

Step 1: Performance Planning and Communication

Step 2: Coaching/Feedback

Step 3: Performance Review

Step 4: Staff Development

THANK YOU