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Viewpoint
HR management solutions
Iyer Subramanian
Iyer Subramanian |
The quality of any organisation depends upon the quality of
its people. When properly utilised, the human resource along with other resources
can take the organisation to unbelievable heights. This is a fact which every
management is aware of but in order to make it a reality the company has to
strategise or take some painful decisions. Having said that, the human resource
is the most unpredictable of resources available to an organisation.
Everyone would agree that putting the right man for the right job is as important
as hiring the right person. But perhaps getting the right output from the right
man at the right job is extremely essential for the growth and the well-being
of the organisation if it has to survive and thrive amidst such competition.
The question is where to get such highly trained, committed workforce for every
department and at every level. Assuming we procure them from the competitive
market, how long would these employees consistently give their best? The results
shall be in terms of productivity (quality and quantity), interpersonal and
communication skills, resourcefulness, integrity, punctuality, team work and
attitude. If any of these attributes indicates a downward trend, the employee
concerned is not giving out their best. This is where the management has to
think of solutions to dispense their employees from services. The solutions
can be in the form of:
- Must go
- May go
- May be retained
- Must be retained
 Before
we compartmentalise each and every employee of the organisation into any one
of these categories one needs to understand how one should go about performing
the said exercise in a systematic manner so that the best of the talents are
retained and the dead wood is clipped away. If their services are not dispensed
with, the health of the organisation shall deteriorate slowly but definitely.
Just as the doctor after critically diagnosing the patient removes the cancerous
part from the body, the management must also use this tool to weed out these
liabilities from time to time.
- Must go: The employees who were performing well
once upon a time but are not a contributory factor today must be asked to
leave. They cannot just continue with the organisation on the strength of
experience. If their experience does not culminate into results they need
to make way for the new incumbents.
Further, their lack of interest and enthusiasm shall rub on the other employees
as well. Their presence in their employer's premises itself is enough to upset
the smooth functioning of the department. They are mainly concerned about security,
company's recruitment plans, retirement plans, sick leave policy, and extra
time off. These employees view the job as a sort of necessary evil. They can
be termed as liabilities and the company can accordingly devise a plan to see
that these employees are weeded out cleverly by giving them some kind of compensation
package.
- May go: These are the employees who were performing
well but their work performance of late has been a cause for concern. They
lack motivation, energy and perform their functions well below their potential.
They do not upgrade their skills or knowledge and lack necessary initiative
and enthusiasm required for the work.
With the years of experience, they take the department for granted. These employees
frequently avail leave and their level of commitment, dedication and responsibility
over the years show a downward trend. They are in line to be asked to quit after
the first category of employees is cleared. The said process requires careful
thought and study before a final decision is taken by the department of human
resources.
- May be retained: These kinds of employees who are
on the rolls need to be retained as they are extremely valuable in terms of
productivity. He constantly thinks that his job is very important, gets mental
signals on how to do the job better and goes about performing it well. He
realises that a job done well means promotions, more money, more prestige
and happiness. They are the kinds of employees whose services are sought-after
and their resignations shall mean/have an adverse impact on the department.
While leaving the company for better prospects they take away with themselves
wealth of experience, expertise and trade secrets to other place. Thus the
company needs to take a lot of
care and precaution to see that these employees are not only retained but
are taken care of monetarily and non-monetarily. However, they are not indispensable.
- Must be retained: These employees are intensely
result-oriented and take a lot of initiative. They volunteer for assignments
and are always asking for more responsibility. As a result, they become the
most valuable and respected people in the organisations. They continually
prepare themselves for positions of higher authority and responsibility in
the future. They have identified their key result areas and work absolutely
and positively to give out their best. These employees work very hard and
their commitment towards their job assignments is unparalleled. They have
learned every detail of the business so minutely and thoroughly that nothing
can stop them from getting paid more and getting promoted faster. In other
words, they are invaluable and priceless. The company at all costs has to
make efforts to retain these people.
The author is head of the department at Anjuman-I-Islam’s
A K Hafizka College of Hotel & Tourism Management Studies & Research,
Mumbai and can be contacted at iyerpdkgnm@yahoo.com
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