Human resource management is crucial for the success of the educational organization/ system. Effective human resource management stirs growth in the education sector by addressing all employee issues that adversely affect productivity. This paper stresses on the need for effective human resource management in the educational institution that makes use of modern HR strategies, processes and technology. Human resources must be managed strategically to adapt to the organization’s strategy. The aim of this study is to explore the concept of strategic human resource management and its impact on organizational performance. The study will borrow from different reliable sources on strategic HRM to identify how educational organizations can remain competitive by taking advantage of its human resources.
Introduction
Human resource management refers to, “the set of organizational activities directed at attracting, developing and maintaining an effective workforce” (Omebe, 2014 p. 26). Thus, human resource management (HRM) is concerned with a wide range of activities aimed at creating an effective workforce, such as recruitment, welfare, training, promotion, motivation, and remuneration. HRM must be an effective process; otherwise the human resource will not receive adequate attention to enable them to fulfill their roles. Consequently, when staff in the educational organization is selected well, adequately trained, and rewarded well, the staff will be dedicated to the job and will maintain high levels of productivity.
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The role of effective HRM is often underestimated, yet it is the key ingredient in the success of educational institutions. Like any other organizations, educational institutions are guided by educational goals, and without effective HRM in place, the organization will not achieve maximum output required to achieve its goals.
According to Cania (2016), organizations are seeking to remain competitive by improving productivity, innovative products, and cost reduction among other strategies. Cania (2016) asserts that these goals will only be achieved through effective HRM as human resource is responsible for organizational performance. To optimize the HRM function, organizations have adopted strategic human resource management. Strategic HRM is a transformation of the human resource function such that HRM systems are created with the organization’s performance in mind. Caliskan (2010) asserts that strategic HRM is a new approach of using human resources to gain a competitive advantage.
How can the Concept of Strategic HRM be used in your Organization to enhance its HR Services?
Strategic human resource management (SHRM) aims to improve organizational performance. SHRM is a new approach towards human resource management, whereby the HR function is aligned with organizational needs and goals. Cania (2016) describes SHRM as a detailed inquiry on how the organization should manage its human resource effectively and efficiently. Hence, SHRM attempts to answer questions such as, “How should adapt the strategic management of human resources to increase organizational performance?” among other crucial questions (Cania, 2016 p. 374).
The concept of SHRM in itself enhances HR services in an organization. According to Caliskan (2010), SHRM’s premise is that organizations can be more effective when human resources are managed with the right strategies. Hence, better human resource strategies must be created. An integrated approach that combines both business strategy and human resource strategy must be adopted, such that core HR services like selection, training and reward will be done in a way that complements the business strategy.
SHRM is made up of improved HR approaches integrated with the business strategy. From its title, SHRM borrows a lot from the concept of strategic planning, such that SHRM will lead to enhanced HR services in comparison to normal HRM. The function of SHRM is different, in that it approaches organizational needs on a more comprehensive role (Purce, 2014).
Cania (2016), notes that SHRM is concerned with two forms of resources in an organization- human capital and organizational system. Hence, the challenge of strategic HRM is to transform human capital into something valuable and to create effective systems in the organization to take advantage of the human capital. The concept of SHRM is implemented by tapping the human capital using a bundle of HR initiatives and programs to generate competitive advantage.
It is indeed true that the role of HR has increased tremendously over the years. Hence, HR services are crucial for the success of an organization. However, with strategic human resource management, the HR services are tailored to address organizational needs as well as the challenges emerging from the external environment. SHRM improves HR services by relating them directly to the strategic direction of the organization. For instance, if the educational facility has a strategic goal of improving performance within the next two years, HR services will be dedicated to the attainment of the goal. Improved hiring strategies will be used to acquire the best talent, and the talent will be trained and motivated, well, so that they can help the organization attain its goal (Shields et al., 2015).
Strategic HRM can be applied specifically to the different HR services. Common HR functions include selection, training, employee motivation, performance evaluation and remuneration. These HR services are conducted in a more effective manner when the concept of strategic HRM is applied. For example, in implementing training programs, the HR department has mandate to train staff based on the responsibilities that they will undertake. The responsibilities of a teacher include preparing lessons, teaching and evaluating students. However, when the concept of strategic HRM is applied, the teacher will not be taught how to fulfill the responsibilities of a teacher only, rather the training will align personal, professional and organization aspects of growth. Strategic HRM initiatives will be applied to improve the usual HR service of employee training. Initiatives such as the Six Sigma can be applied in training to ensure that employees produce the best results and remain competitive. Application of strategic management will lead to delivery of stronger HR services that are known to produce better income.
Another HR service is talent management. In most cases, HR departments do not approach the process of talent management in an effective way. HR often neglects to develop talent to cope with the changes in the environment. For instance, in the education sector, teachers find themselves ill equipped to cope with contemporary challenges. However, when the concept of strategic HRM is applied, employees are trained and empowered to keep with the challenges in the environment, as well as potential future challenges. SHRM will enable the HR department to keep the organization’s crucial talent well motivated to meet the present and future needs of the organization (Caliskan, 2010).
Lastly, the concept of SHRM is associated with three categories of metrics that can be used to understand and evaluate HR services. The three categories of metrics being: efficacy, effectiveness and impact (Cania, 2016). SHRM incorporates the metrics of efficacy, effectiveness and impact to enhance HR services. In an educational organization, SHRM will use the metrics of efficiency such as absence rate and performance rate to evaluate teachers.
How can the HR functions described by the authors help companies generally gain a competitive advantage, and how they might enhance your organization's leverage?
In most organizations, competitive advantage is gained through factors such as production, marketing, R & D and the financial sector. However, an educational institution is unique, and competitive advantage relies heavily on human resources. While other factors such as finances are relevant, the education sector relies on human resource to grow and achieve its target. Therefore, the HR department in an educational institution is one of the core units. The HR department will perform its responsibilities while taking into consideration the organization’s goals.
According to Berisha & Kutllovci (2015), the main role of human resource is to create a competitive advantage for the organization. The resource-based claims that human resource is critical to the success of the organization because people and systems cannot be copied by competing organizations unlike processes. While human resource has almost the same functions across educational institutions, only talented human resource is capable of delivering impeccable service.
The most important HRM function is recruitment. The human resource department is responsible for filling vacant positions in the organization. HR is responsible for advertising job postings, sourcing candidates, and screening applicants, conducting interviews and making the final decisions on the candidates that will be hired. Hiring the right candidates is the first step in ensuring that the organization will work towards the attainment of its goals (Omebe, 20140. In educational organizations, the best personnel must be able to interpret and implement the curriculum program. The recruitment of teachers and other staff members should be done in a way that only those with the right skills, abilities, knowledge and experience are given the role. It is not uncommon to find unqualified teachers in educational organizations, such teachers have no idea what they are doing, and they are incapable of meeting their targets.
Pahuja & Dalal (2012) training and development as another important HR function. Training and development is made up of many factors related to the job description of the employee. Though an educational institution hires employees with the right skills, the organization must spend resources to train and develop the employees to prepare them for the challenges of their new rules. New teaching staff with little or no experience has theoretical information, and they need to be equipped with practical and effective skills to deal with real life challenges in the teaching world. Proper training and development will equip employees with new skills to enable them to thrive regardless of the challenges, and they are more likely to produce better results than teachers who are not trained.
Pahuja & Dalal (2012) explore the different aspects of training and employment, such as encouraging teachers to use new and innovative teaching styles, senior teachers guiding new teachers on the best methods, and specialized training programs. HR must assess employees well and match them with the right training and development to enable them to do their job better.
Another crucial HR function is employee motivation and empowerment. Employees must be properly motivated for them to fulfill the roles effectively, especially in the education sector. The education sector has many challenges, teachers are often over-worked, they have long schedules and the pay is not motivating. Therefore, it is crucial to motivate and empower employees to curb burnout and low productivity. According to Caliskan (2010), the first step in motivating employees is to gain their commitment using the organization’s mission and vision. Employees in the education sector are more motivated if they buy into the mission and vision of the organization. In most cases, dedicated teachers are the ones, who believe that they are making a real difference in the lives of students. The organization must also invest extrinsic forms of motivation such as better pay, bonus, and better work environment and career development opportunities. Motivated employees will engage wholeheartedly in their work, and they generate better results.
Lastly, the HR function of monitoring performance is also a source of competitive advantage. HR monitors employee performance to ensure that the employee is working towards the attainment of individual and organizational goals. The HR department must design effective employee review framework to ensure that the organization is making the most out of the human capital. The performance evaluation framework should not be based on quantitative measures only; rather it must capture other quantitative aspects that make the employees perfect for the position.
Different HR functions should be conducted with the business strategy in mind. In an educational organization, the fuel behind the organization’s growth come from employees, hence they must be managed in a way that brings out the best out of them.
Careful selection, training and evaluation of employees will help the organization to derive the most out of human capital. Through effective selection, the organization will secure the right talent, and when coupled with the right work environment and motivation, the organization will have a high chance of achieving its goals.
What are the potential impacts on business or HR practices of current issues such as social networking, talent management, diversity, and employee engagement?
Contemporary issues such as social networking, talent management, and diversity and employee engagement have implications on HR practices and the educational organization in general. The work setting is changing drastically because of technology and other external factors, and there is a need for HR departments to adjust accordingly.
Social networking is a technological innovation that has taken over most organizations. While some organizations have a zero tolerance towards social media, they cannot prevent employees from accessing social networking sites using their smart phones. Ashraf & Javed (2014) explore the risks, opportunities, strengths and weaknesses brought by social media to HR and the organization. Notable social media strength is that it can disseminate information to many people in real time. However, social networking does not guarantee privacy of information; anyone can access information in social media, even competitors. Social media can be a source of weakness in the organization when employees spend time on social media instead of being productive.
HR must find a way to harness the strengths and opportunities of social media, while minimizing the risks. Parry & Solidoro (2013), talk about the role of social media in the engagement of employees as a source of competitive advantage. Today’s employees want to be kept in the loop through constant communication; social media enables HR and the management to communicate with employees in a fast and efficient manner. Additionally, social networking is a popular platform not only among young people; this can be leveraged in educational institutions to encourage young people to pay attention to school work by reminding them about class work using social media (Ashraf & Javed, 2014). HR must come up with sound policies to protect the organization from the negative effects of social media, for instance, teachers and students should be allowed to use social media during break time only and after school to share education related information. Social media policies should also spell out guidelines on the kind of information that should be shared on social media. Teachers should only engage with students on educational-related matters, and they should be careful to avoid crossing ethical boundaries.
Talent management is another contemporary issue that affects HR and the organization. Kehinde (2012) describes talent management as the implementation of integrated strategies to increase productivity. Talent management affects all aspects of HR practices starting from recruitment, training and utilizing the workforce. Talent management affects HR practices because it is seen as an additional management process on top of the normal HR function. Talent management acts as a planning tool for HRM aimed at attracting, identifying, developing, engaging and retaining the right talent (Kehinde, 2012). It is often used as a strategy for attracting and retaining “high potential” that are crucial for the success of the organization. In an educational organization, there are indispensable employees that the organization cannot function without.
The issue of diversity is affecting educational institutions tremendously. Today’s workforce is very diverse in terms of ethnicity, gender, generation, religion, disability, national origin, veteran status, and sexual orientation. HRM must take into consideration the differences between employees rather than treating all employees uniformly. Diversity is not just an HR issue; the law mandates organizations to give equal chances to qualified employees from different ethnicities, genders and generations. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission warns employers against discriminating against discriminating employees on the basis of their differences.
However, HR does not approach diversity as a legal issue only; diversity is also seen as a source of competitive advantage in the global market. Employees from different groups have different perspectives that must be harnessed. HR must carefully create new HR strategies and processes to support the diverse workforce. Training is also necessary to equip different employees with skills for relating with other employees from different groups. HR training should be thorough to avoid diversity related conflicts at work. Different individuals at work must be trained on how to relate with each other well, rather than rely stereotypes associated with other groups.
Lastly, the issue of employee engagement is about creating a relationship with employees based on trust, integrity and communication. Employee engagement has become necessary for today’s workforce that no longer values traditional management styles. In a learning organization, employees expect to be kept in the loop about the important decisions being made by the management because it affects their wellbeing and productivity. Employee engagement keeps the employee aware of one’s purpose and role within the organization; hence it is an important way for motivating teachers in educational institutions.
HR must build an environment whereby managers can engage with all employees positively through informal team meetings and other engaging activities. A well executed employee engagement will generate pride and loyalty among employees. Employees will become advocates for the organization, and they will go an extra mile to produce the desired results. Employee engagement will only have positive effects if it is done right, the organization, executive management and HR must be willing to put in the work and establish positive relationship with employees.
How are new technologies being used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of HRM practices?
With the advancement in technology, HR cannot afford to rely on traditional HR practices anymore. Jain (2014) notes that the traditional HR role was supportive, whereby HR hired personnel and monitored employees from the periphery of the organization. Fortunately, today’s HR is more involved in the success of the organization. The HR manager must understand the business strategy, and formulate an HR strategy that supports the business strategy. A crucial way of creating an effective HR strategy is through the adoption of new technologies.
New technologies have improved the efficiency of HRM practices. In the past, HR staff relied on traditional ways of doing things; hence activities such as strategic planning or everyday HR events took time. With technology adoption, HR personnel find it is easy to keep and update employee records, keep up with employee performance, strategic planning and other activities. Technology is a source of efficiency in that HR activities that were considered tedious are much simpler now. HR managers can now easily cope with the growing demands of the increasingly complex educational organizations because of the human resourcing functions of technology (Jain, 2014).
Jain (2014) describes the new HR as strategic business partners, change agents, administrative experts and employee champion, the biggest role being a strategic business partner. HR must work with the organization’s top management in the creation of policies and other strategies to support the main business strategy. To achieve the new roles, HR professionals use technology to align the organization’s strategy with HR strategy. They use technology to constantly remind themselves of the business objectives, and to generate new HR models to support the main objective. For example, if the educational organization is aiming at being the best in the district in the next three years, HR manager must use this objective to come up with an HR strategy to guide employee selection and performance management. There are technological models that are applied to make the process more effective so that HR can play its role well as a strategic business partner.
Technology now plays an important role in the operations of the HR department. HR is now more efficient because of technological capabilities of integrating databases, providing information on policies and HR events easily. Employees can now access HR easily through their website or social networking websites and share their grievances easily. Hence, HR can keep up with employee issues better than before and to create better policies to address employee issues.
Technology has also improved the effectiveness of HR in an educational organization through specific HR-based applications (Jain, 2014). There are a host of softwares and technological solutions that can be used to generate effective frameworks for employee selection, training, talent management and other HR functions. HR based applications reduce the routine work; allow better communication and supports decision making.
Jain (2014) analyzes the specific HR-based technologies that are now used to make HR operations more efficient and effective. There are a number of e-recruiting systems, e-selection system, and e-performance and e-compensation systems. Employee recruiting is now done online using various job websites, social media, company website and LinkedIn. HR can now evaluate potential applicants online to avoid the tedious work of face to face interviews. HR can also use e-performance systems to check employee performance using online employee appraisal system. All HR functions are now supported by technology solutions that make work easier for HR and employees.
How are companies evaluating HRM practices to determine their value?
As stated earlier, today’s HRM plays a significant role in the success of the organization. The entire HR department and HRM practices must be evaluated to determine their value to the organization. HRM is now considered a salient business partner, and it must be evaluated just like other crucial departments.
There is a need to evaluate HRM practices to check the progress of the HR department. Evaluation refers to planned information-gathering activity undertaken with the aim of judging the progress of something. HR evaluation can be used to determine future HR investments, identify progress and HR flaws, and to identify ways of aligning HR with business strategies. Lastly, HR evaluation will be used to keep HR personnel accountable to stakeholders. HR act as employee advocate, and depending on the results of the evaluation, one can determine whether HRM practices in place are in the best interest for employees or not.
McLean (2005) explores Kirkpatrick’s four levels as a widely used method of evaluation for HRM practices. Developed by Donald Kirkpatrick in the late 1950s, the model is made up of four levels: reaction, learning, behavior and organization impact. The first step measures HRM practices using a short survey often done in focus groups. The learning step is the second measure of the model that uses a written test and a demonstration of the HRM practices. The last step of the measures uses bottom-line measures to evaluate the organizational impact of HRM practices. Kirkpatrick’s four levels evaluate HRM practices using different metrics such as employee attitude, turnover, and employee satisfaction with HR service, staffing process, and training utilization among other metrics.
Kirkpatrick’s four level model is a simple method of HRM evaluation. It has been widely used because it is simple and easy to understand. However, the model has notable weaknesses, particularly the weak link between the Reaction and Learning levels. To avoid flawed evaluation, organizations must use more than one evaluation model.
Return on investment (ROI) model and balanced score card can be used to evaluate HRM practices. ROI model has a similar approach with Human Resource Accounting; it attempts to convert all inputs and outputs in financial terms to determine how HR has contributed to the organization. Though, it is hard to quantify certain aspects of HRM practices such as training and employee motivation, these factors are given certain variables based on the HR investment on the practice. ROI model has its flaws, but it is an effective way of comparing human capital with other quantifiable investments. Human capital must pay off, and the outputs must show a positive correlation with the inputs. ROI is often applied to other departments such as marketing and finance, but since HR plays an important role in the success of an educational organization, ROI should be used to evaluate HRM practices.
The formula for determining ROI is:
ROI (%) = Benefits – Costs x 100
Costs
The ROI measure has been criticized heavily because of a lack of agreement on the estimators. The numbers assigned to different HR practices will be based on guesses; however, the measure can be used to get a glimpse of how the HR is functioning.
Lastly, a balanced scorecard can be used to evaluate HRM practices in an educational institution. A balanced scorecard is made up of four perspectives: financial, customer, internal business, and innovation and learning. The financial perspective is concerned with what HR must achieve to satisfy the organization. Each aspect of the balanced scorecard attempts to establish what HR has done to excel in different areas. A balanced scorecard is strategic, and it evaluates HRM practices from different angles. It can be used to match the organization’s strategy with the HR strategy. However, a balanced scorecard shares most of the problems seen in the ROI strategy.
Conclusion and Recommendations
HRM refers to a set of activities aimed at attracting employees and managing performance to support the organization’s strategy. HRM has evolved over the years, and now it is no longer seen as a supportive administrative role. The evolution of HR role in an organization led to the development of strategic HRM. Strategic HRM creates a linkage between overall organizational strategy and HR strategy. This explains why HR is a notable source of competitive advantage. Organizations must be careful in addressing contemporary issues such as diversity and social media that affect HR practices and organization’s operations. Lastly, HR practices must be evaluated regularly to identify the progress, flaws and how HR practices can be adjusted to offer more support to the business strategy.
Human capital is important for the success of educational organization. Educational goals will be achieved when staff is provided with a conducive environment, better remuneration, technology and the right attention. A well structured HRM will deliver all the necessary factors and address all issues in the organization, such that teachers and other staff members will focus only on being productive.
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