Organizational Design
USAID has a dedicated department that handles all issues that are related to human resource management. The agency’s Office of Human Capital and Talent Management (OHCTM) manages the organization’s human resources. The office is responsible for the recruitment of new employees for the entire organization (U.S. Agency for International Development, 2020). OHCTM strives to find, train, and develop the best talent for the organization. Also, it ensures that USAID manages to retain its best employees through touching the lives of these individuals on the global platform. The department handles all aspects of personnel activities. OHCTM is responsible for the recruitment of new talents as well as workforce planning. Other human resources management activities handled by the office include assignment evaluation, discipline, promotion, career development, and retirement policies and programs (U.S. Agency for International Development, 2020). The OHCTM is also responsible for USAID’s Foreign and Civil Service employees. The existence of a centralized office that addresses the global human resource management issues of the agency is one of USAID’s strengths ( Řehoř, 2016 ). Dedicated central management ensures that the interest of employees is given the required attention.
In addition, the involvement of the OHCTM in policy development ensures that the interest of employees is given the required attention during the development of policies. As its recruitment practice, the human capital and talent management office participates in meetings of professional associations, job fairs, and also organize briefings for students and other groups ( Řehoř, 2016 ). This ensures that the organization retains a diverse and robust pool of employees. As an agency that operates globally, USAID has employees scattered around the world. Therefore, a central department may not be the most effective option in addressing disciplinary cases among employees.
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Global Linkages and Personnel Management
As an agency operating internationally, the organization deals with international human resources management. International human resources management involves the management of the workforce with additional responsibility beyond the requirements at a domestic level (Anthonia et al., 2012). As an international agency, the organization is often required to handle expatriates who temporarily reside in foreign countries. The organization majorly used the geocentric approach to global staffing. Based on the approach, the agency is less concerned with the nationality of its prospective employees in the headquarters as well as its subsidiaries (Anthonia et al., 2012). The human resource management is majorly concerned about the best person for the position irrespective of his or her nationality. The primary objective of this approach is to eliminate the issue of culture and integrate organizational culture instead, which cuts across the agency headquarters as well as its subsidiaries (Anthonia et al., 2012).
To improve efficiency in HR functions along with the provision of HR information to the relevant members of the management, USAID has a state-of-the-art HR platform that has automated, real-time reporting abilities (USAID, 2011). This facilitates better strategic hiring and talent deployment globally. The organization can effectively attract new talents through its association with various entities, such as the Development Leadership Initiative, the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows program, and the Inter-governmental Personnel Agreements (USAID, 2011). That way, the agency is able to ensure that priority nations are staffed, and a positive working environment through family-friendly work policies is created.
Personnel Recruitment and Hiring Practices
Any organization that aspires to meet its objectives in a sustained manner must find ways to attract and retain high-quality talent. Therefore, USAID has invested heavily in a talent management system that scouts for top talents (USAID, 2011; USAID, 2017). The organization’s goal is to have a faster, nimbler, and an effective human resources system that minimizes the time between identifying and hiring qualified personnel (USAID, 2011). In addition, the agency’s system ensures that the staff and management continue to acquire developmental training throughout their careers while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. For the efficiency of the multiple HR functions and the proper management of the HR database, the organization employs a platform, which is automated and records real-time information about its current and prospective staff members (USAID, 2011). To facilitate strategic hiring and talent deployment, the agency has harmonized the Department of State and the USAID workforce planning model and catalog the professional skills of its staff. The harmonization facilitates better expertise location by the system.
Aside for that, the agency targets new talents for the agency through various entities, particularly the Development Leadership Initiative, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows program, the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program, and the Inter-governmental Personnel Agreements (IPA) (USAID, 2011). Upon the identification of the new groups of employees, the organization allocates these employees as expatriates to the relevant countries. The deployment to these countries will be based on the identified needs.
Employees Skills Training
There are a number of qualities that USAID employees must develop to effectively help the agency in achieving its ambitious goals. Employees are required to pick up vital leadership skills that will help guide performance assessment and reward talents accordingly. Some of the qualities that new employees ought to pick up during training include:
Delivery meaningful results : Employees must be willing to take calculated risks, assess and report on developing results, and offer progress that will solve intractable development problems (USAID, 2011).
Showcase inclusive leadership : An employee should be able to bring together the resources and competencies of USAID’s fellow agencies, the private industry, country leaders, and the people being served.
Engage broadly and proactively : To work for USAID, the prospective member of the staff must be willing to seek constructive feedback from Congress, the American people, other relevant stakeholders, while learning from others (USAID, 2011).
Work individually and collectively to develop and retain talent : The agency strives to develop the talents of the workforce while working hard to retain them. Therefore, employees must be willing to solve challenging assignments that encourage growth and leadership (USAID, 2011). Also, one must be willing to dedicate time and resources to mentorship programs.
Recruiting and Training Recommendation
As an organization that operates globally, USAID human resources practitioners must possess adequate skills and knowledge in carrying out their duties regarding recruitment, training and development, performance management, compensation and benefits, and employee relations (Anthonia et al., 2012). The recruitment and selection, particularly when dealing with foreign expatriates, require the prospective staff members to portray technical competence on the job (Anthonia et al., 2012). In addition to that, the agency should incorporate personality traits as one of the aspects that employees must possess to be considered for a position in the agency. An employee must be able to interact effectively with colleagues, subordinates, and superiors within the organization (Anthonia et al., 2012). Since USAID deploys its staff around the globe, it should consider the ability of expatriates to adjust and reside in a new and foreign environment. There are instances where employees give up their careers and jobs just to relocate with their family; this is a huge challenge that the agency must address from the onset.
Aside from the recruitment process, the agency can also improve some aspects of its training and development programs. The agency should strive to deliver essential training programs that will assist in developing employee skills (Anthonia et al., 2012). These skills can either be short-term or long-term, depending on the status of employee posting. Adequate cross-cultural training is also vital to ensure that the agency’s employees are able to adapt to the foreign environment. The understanding of the host nation’s language and culture can help employees to serve people better (Anthonia et al., 2012). Besides, training will also help employees accustom to host country government policies.
References
Anthonia, A. A., & Omotayo, O. A. (2012). Human Resource Management: Theory & Practice.
Řehoř, P. (2016, February). Strengths and Weaknesses of Human Resources Management in SMEs. In INPROFORUM 2015 .
USAID. (2011). USAID policy framework 2011–2015.
USAID. (2017). ADS Chapter 101 Agency Programs and Functions.
U.S. Agency for International Development. (2020). Retrieved 3 August 2020, from https://www.usaid.gov/who-we-are/organization/independent-offices/office-human-capital-talent-management
