HR Corner Putting staff into the right gear by Mayse Lam Human resources management a key strategic function Historically human resources departments have played predominantly administrative and supportive roles, hiring sufficient human capital to ensure smooth corporate functioning on a needs basis. However, with the expansion of global businesses and the rapid increase in market competition, the roles of human resource experts have changed. "Our responsibilities have transformed significantly. Human resources management no longer revolves exclusively around recruitment, staff training, and other administrative tasks. Now we play an extremely important role in strategic business planning for the company," says Tammy Leung, human resources manager, Leeport Machine Tool Company Limited. Timely recruitment and effective allocation of manpower have become determining factors for corporate success. "One of the most significant differences is that the recruitment processes we manage nowadays involve more comprehensive and complex strategic planning and market research. We do not hire individuals to satisfy our present needs. We contemplate our long-term plans as well. As our business continues to grow, the human resources department must ensure that the company is able to attract suitable candidates to take on future positions," adds Ms Leung. "People now see the human resources department as an important player in profit making" Besides participating in corporate business development plans, Ms Leung manages and ensures internal affairs operate smoothly. "Our department is an internal communicator between staff and management. It is our duty to ensure company expectations and policies are fully understood by our staff, and conversely our managers comprehend the changing needs of all our staff members. In other words, we play a crucial role in shaping the company's culture. Through various events and gatherings we aim to promote a harmonious relationship between our staff and at the same time instil a strong sense of belonging," explains Ms Leung. Best practice Offering training programmes for employees is not a new concept. However, providing tailor-made programmes has now become common practice in the field. "A sense of belonging can be enhanced through innovative corporate training," Ms Leung says. The company's "rocket programme" best demonstrates this. It is a two-day programme exclusively devised to educate new recruits about the company's products and culture. While senior staff act as trainers in the programme, guest speakers feature in the company's "miracle training", where sales executives' training is a focus, aiming at providing members of staff with more professional dealing techniques. In addition, external coaches also deliver a management training programme to teach effective communication, leadership, and supervisory skills to employees. "Through all these innovative programmes we hope to equip our staff with the essential skills they need to better perform in their respective fields," Ms Leung adds. Participants in the training programmes have been exceptionally proactive in the feedback process offering comprehensive advice and suggestions to aid the development of future training. "One of our major responsibilities is to conduct surveys and gather information from staff to learn more about individual requirements. Upon completion of each programme, we again require colleagues to provide us with anonymous feedback. Analysing their opinions and suggestions, our department is able to better understand programme effectiveness and make necessary alterations to enrich future content," says Ms Leung. Leeport's human resources department also regularly reviews post-training performance. "The most useful measure of programme effectiveness is examining the performance of our staff. The results of a successful training programme should be evident in the improved performance of staff," Ms Leung remarks. In the future, the responsibilities of human resources personnel will increase and diversify. The ultimate challenge is for a human resources team to act as strategic partner, working alongside the management team ensuring company requirements such as recruitment, training, company culture development as well as corporate goals are met. "People now see the human resource department as an important player in profit making, instead of an enormous spender of corporate resources," says Ms Leung. Salient points Paradigm shift in corporate attitude to human resources effectiveness Hiring reflects future business requirements Human resource team acts as internal communicator Anonymous feedback shapes future training programmes Taken from Career Times 23 November 2007, p. A20 Your comments are welcome at [email protected]