Introduction to the organization

 

I selected MAS Holdings to analyze the HR functions for the study purposes. The particular company has started its business back in 1987 and presently manages a portfolio of businesses with revenue of USD 1.8bn and is positioned as one of the world’s most recognized design to delivery solution providers in the realm of the apparel and textile manufacturing. It is also the largest apparel and textile manufacturer in South Asia. The organization is headquartered in Sri Lanka with 53 manufacturing facilities placed across 16 countries, with design locations placed in key style centers across the globe and over 95,000 people involved in its operation. The seamlessly integrated supply chain that is balanced to perfection with the organizations strategically placed design houses gives MAS the knowledge, the means and the speed to deliver what is demanded by the industry.

Human Resource Planning Process

Human resource planning is the process of forecasting the future human resource requirements of the organization and determining as to how the existing human resource capacity of the organization can be utilized to fulfill these requirements. It also can be defined as the human requirement to achieve organizational strategic goals in the coming years.

The selected firm reflects the method of human resource planning as per the structure given below.

In the initial stage, the organizational goals are being introduced and the profit margins will be enumerated. Therefore, the Human Resources Planning is to be done according to the organizational goals in the year.

The quantity of man power required to achieve afore mentioned targets or the organizational goals will be projected in this stage. It is calculated using the required manpower to gain an output of targeted quantity per day according to the organizational profit margin. Likewise, the full required manpower is being projected in this stage. This is the longest process of HR in this firm.

The third stage is to analyze the projected requirement with the existing manpower in the firm. Then the required workforce can be found in the fourth stage as per the diagram mentioned above.

The final stage is a continuous process done by the HR professionals in the firm. It is to analyze and observe whether the organization is meeting with the goals with the new workforce.

 

Job designing and Job Analysis

The particular firm is not concentrating much about Job Design and analysis since the firm has erected into a particular standard by now. But in case if a new job arises, that can be evaluated and examined via the HAY system. The HR Division analyses and records each and every job in the firm according to the HAY system and the particular evaluations are being uploaded to the Human Resource Integrated System (HRIS) which is named as TALENT 2’o’.

Theoretically, there are 03 main approaches for the Job Design and they are follows.

 

1.      Engineering approach

2.      Human approach

3.      Job characteristics approach

 

The existing job designs can be changed or renamed and the Head of the Department and the HR partner to make a proposal on the new job design. Finally, the proposed job design is been forwarded for the General Manger for authorization and uploaded to the HRIS. Further,

the proposal contains the instructions, standing orders and operational procedures. Therefore, this step defines the engineering approach of the job design.

The HRIS is to extract data not only about the employees of the firm but also about the jobs, key appointments which are used for succession planning and talent management as well.

The main function of the HAY system is to evaluate the jobs and which is an assessment of the relative worth of various jobs on the basis of a consistent set of job and personal factors, such as qualifications and skills required. Therefore, using this data analyzing and designing of jobs can be carried out to meet below facts.

1.      To meet organizational requirements with high productivity and high operational efficiency

2.      To satisfy employee needs

 

By using the HAY system it also covers rest all the approaches mentioned above.

 

HAY System

 

Hay Job Evaluation is a method used by corporates and organizations to map out their job roles in the context of the organizational structure.

 

The general purpose for carrying out job evaluations using this or similar job evaluation methods is to enable organizations to map and align their roles/jobs.

 

The system is based on four factors: Skill, Effort, Responsibility and Working Conditions, which Hay translates into Knowledge, Problem Solving, Accountability and Working Conditions. The system works on an integration of all the factors. A job is evaluated by looking at the knowledge required to do the job (whether practical or intellectual), the kind of thinking required to solve the problems which the job commonly faces, the responsibilities (accountabilities) assigned, and the work environment in which the work is performed.

 

Know how

 

‘Know How’ is defined as the "sum total of every kind of knowledge and skill, however, acquired, needed for acceptable job performance."

There are three dimensions in know how:

 

1.      Practical procedures, specialized techniques and knowledge within occupational fields, commercial functions, and professional and scientific disciplines.

2.      Planning, organizing, coordinating, integrating, staffing, directing and or controlling the activities and resources associated with the function of the unit, position, section, etc.

3.      Face to face skills needed for various relationships with other people.

 

Problem solving

 

‘Problem Solving’ is "the amount and nature of the thinking required in the job in the form of analyzing, reasoning, evaluating, creating, using judgment, forming hypotheses, drawing inferences, arriving at conclusions, etc."

 

There are two dimensions in problem solving:

 

1.      The environment in which the thinking takes place.

2.      The challenge of the thinking to be done; the novelty and complexity of the thinking required.

 

Problem solving is always expressed as a percentage of know how since it directly relates to how one uses the knowledge which he or she must have in the job to solve the problems which are encountered as part of that job.

 

Accountability

 

‘Accountability’ is "the answerability for action and its consequences. The measured effect of the job on end results in the organization."

 

There are three dimensions in accountability:

 

1.      "Freedom to Act" which is the extent of personal, procedural or systematic guidance and control on the job.

2.      "Job Impact on End Results" which is the degree to which the job affects or brings about the results expected of the unit or function being considered.

3.      "Magnitude" is the size of the function or unit measured in the most appropriate fashion.

 

Working conditions

 

‘Working Conditions’ assess the environment in which the job is performed. Working Conditions are made up of four dimensions:

1.      "Physical Effort" - jobs, which may require levels of physical activity, which may produce physical, stress or fatigue.

2.      "Physical Environment" - jobs which may include exposure to unavoidable physical and environmental factors which increase the risk of accident, ill health or discomfort to the employee.

3.      "Sensory Attention" - jobs which may require concentrated levels of sensory attention (i.e. seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching) during the work process.

4.      "Mental Stress" - refers to exposure to factors inherent in the work process or environment, which increase the risk of such things as tension or anxiety.

 

Each of these four dimensions is measured according to duration, intensity and frequency.

 

All of these factors are evaluated in each job evaluation and the cumulative total is a total point factor for the position. Because jobs have so many different variables it is possible that a job without a high score in Know How but with severe Working Conditions could result in the same number of points with a job that has the opposite components.

 

For example, an insurance clerk and a bus driver have few job responsibilities that are similar, but might be evaluated in total at the same point level.


Please note that the following examples do not represent jobs at the University of Waterloo and are used only as an explanation of the Hay system.

 

 

 

(https://uwaterloo.ca/human-resources/support-managers/compensation/hay-evaluation- method)

 

Recruiting and Selection process

There are two main selection processes in the firm.

 

1.      Employee selection process

2.      Executive level selection process

 

The selection process for the employees is not much complicated since the process goes together with the recruitment. Such system has two methods for recruiting and selecting line level employees.

The first method is the internal method whereas handbills and advertising is been done among the employee population so that they may convey the message of the new job opportunity to the relatives and neighbors

The second method is the external method which is been done by travelling through the villages and towns in Sri Lanka advertising about job opportunities in the company.

The selection process for the executive level employees has a number of stages to go through.

Stage 1: The HOD will announce the job vacancy to the HR Department via the HRIS named as TALENT 20. It can be a single HOD with one single vacancy or multiple HODs with multiple numbers of vacancies.


Stage 2: the HR department is responsible for advertising therefore the vacancy will be advertised initially in the internal web site of the firm. Though the site is intranet, yet the web page which displays the job vacancies is an open source to the candidates who are looking for jobs.

Stage 3: If the there are no replies for 07 days, same vacancies will be posted in local web sites which are related to jobs. Further, head hunting from universities is also being done in relevant time periods. Most of the candidates tend to join from this method since the competitive advantage concerned.

Stage 4: A deadline is given to forward the CVs of the candidates. And after receiving, the CVs will be screened according to the Job specification of the candidate. Further, screened

considering the age, past working experience and educational qualifications of the particular candidate.

Stage 5: The first interview with the candidate will be carried out. The session is chaired by the relevant technical manager of the department or the HOD. The aim is to evaluate the technical knowledge of the candidate possesses.

Stage 6: An aptitude test will be carried out for the candidate with aim of evaluating his/her technical skills and knowledge. Moreover it is to evaluate the skills of pen to paper ability of the candidate.

Stage 7: The second interview will be held between the candidate and the HR Manager. This session is to evaluate and understand the human quality, behavior and thinking pattern of the candidate.

Stage 8: The candidate will face the final interview with the Director of the company. By then, the candidate will be already selected considering the evaluations made in afore mentioned stages.

However, there is a process which undergoes simultaneously with afore mentioned stages, which is the references and background check of the candidate. Various methods are used to initiate the steps including verifying educational qualifications, behavioral qualities and past working experience and performance.

 

Training and development

Training and development is one of the key functions of HR in the firm. As in Human Resource planning, Training and development plays a vital role with respect to achieving organizational goals in this firm. Therefore, the requirement of training and development is forecasted at least before 06 months. The main purpose of forecasting is to stream line training and development of the employees to reach organizational goals by fulfilling the performance gap. Moreover, employees and even potential managers are trained to enhance skills and to learn. Further, the final outcome would be not only meeting organizational goals but also building team work effort, understanding each other’s job tasks and career development.

Analyzing the training need is a self-analyzed process from the HRIS itself. Initially employees supposed to fill an evaluation sheet which is an automatically generated by the system based on each other’s competencies. This process is directly integrated with the HAY system. Next, the employee will submit the sheet and the system will give an opportunity to rate him/herself from 1 - 5 according to his/her competency.

The same evaluation sheet will be forwarded to the immediate manager of the employee to rate according to the manager considering the performance of the employee. Thereafter, the system will give away a rating to the employee which is an ‘agreed point’ whereas the rating is been done considering both the employee’s and manager’s rating.

According to such ratings the training requirement is been forecasted for the future and accordingly all the departments will forward the requirement to the HR Department. Thereafter, the HR Division will plan out the training plan accordingly well in advance.

There are three main methods to carry out training in the firm.

 

1.      On the job training – carried out by highly experienced employees to new or moderate potential employees. In such sessions, the experienced are encouraged to share their working experience with the juniors.

2.      Class room based training – such sessions are carried out for potential mangers mostly but also for senior employees in certain situations. Mostly based on enhancing theoretical knowledge and new emerging trends in the industry. Further, classroom sessions are included for employees whom facing for their career development programs.

Further, after each class room session the HOD is supposed to evaluate the employee and send a report to the HR division.

3.      Coaching – worked on freshly joined employees. A coacher will pay attention to a certain number of new employees in the plant.

Performance management and rewarding

Performance Management

 

The process of handling performance evaluation is been done according to following methods

1.      Setting Key Performance Indicators (KPI)

2.      Periodic evaluation by 06 months

3.      Grant of ratings from 1-5

 

Setting Key Performance Indicators – Setting of KPIs is announced in December each year. Every executive level manager is supposed to know his/her KPI for the next year. When defining a KPI, the firm always considers about the following facts.

 

·         What is your desired outcome?

·         Why does this outcome matter?

·         How are you going to measure progress?

·         How can you influence the outcome?

·         Who is responsible for the business outcome?

·         How will you know you’ve achieved your outcome?

·         How often will you review progress towards the outcome?

 

As an example, let’s say the objective is to increase sales revenue this year. Therefore it is called as Sales Growth KPI. Here’s how to define the KPI:

 

·         To increase sales revenue by 20% this year

·         Achieving this target will allow the business to become profitable

·         Progress will be measured as an increase in revenue measured in dollars spent

·         By hiring additional sales staff, by promoting existing customers to buy more product

·         The Chief Sales Officer is responsible for this metric

·         Revenue will have increased by 20% this year

·         Will be reviewed on a monthly basis

 

Periodic evaluation by 06 months – After starting a new year, an evaluation is been done by the HR department after 06 months to check whether the managers are on track or in off

track from the given targets. If the managers are on track, they are recognized as ‘on date managers’. If the managers are below the targets, they are called as ‘off track’ and the HR department will change the strategies to achieve the particular goals given. Further, continuous monitoring is done.

 

At the end of the year, the targets are being evaluated by the deviations. However, the performance of each manager will be uploaded to the HRIS and the managers who failed to achieve the targets will be directed for more training development programs.

 

Giving a rating from 1 – 5 – According to the performance, each manager is rated from 1 – 5 by the immediate superiors. As a company, it is expected that every employee to on level 03 or above. The employees, who are above level 03, will be entitled to a special pay allowance which is called as Performance Related Pay (PRP).

 

If any employee found below level 03, he/she will be directed for training and development programs.

 

Rating of managers is done by a special one – on – one meeting with the employee and the manager which is held at the end of each year. The meeting is called as the Performance Review Meeting (PRM).

 

In the PRM, the manager is supposed to talk about the good behavior of the employee and secondly, the areas he/she has to improve (If there are any), and finally, the good work and contribution given by him to the organization. Such system starting with +/-/+ is called as the sandwich theory. The managers must ensure that he has to control the emotions of the employees during this meeting all the time.

 

The end result of the PRM, which is the rate of the individual, will be updated in the HRIS of the relevant profile.

 

Rewards

 

Offering rewards of this organization is normally done in the month of April and December. Most of the rewards are offered considering the performance rating of the employees.

Organizational reward system concerned with the selection of the types of rewards to be used by the organization. Therefore, organizational rewards are the type that results from employment with the organization, which includes all types of rewards intrinsic and extrinsic.

 

The intrinsic rewards refer to the reward which is based on involvement and performance of the employee. The main intrinsic award in the organization is the PRP (Performance Related Pay). Moreover, performance also is considered for the promotions as well therefore considered as an intrinsic reward system.

 

Extrinsic rewards refer to the type that are controlled and distributed directly by the organization and are of a tangible nature. Further, the organization considers following facts when awarding extrinsic rewards.

 

1.      Age

2.      Marital staus

3.      Number of dependents

4.      Years of service

 

After considering above conditions, extrinsic awards will be awarded during the festive season which is in April and December. Gift vouchers, book vouchers for the employees who have children, and bonuses is been granted. For unmarried employees, mostly financial rewards will be given considering the number of dependents of the employee.

 

Talent Management and succession planning

Talent management and succession planning is done mostly for the executive level employees. When evaluating assigned targets, it was mentioned earlier that a rating system is being practiced to rate the employees to check the performance. In such cases, the employees who have over performed will be selected for the succession planning process. In such scenario, the selected employees will be assigned to oversee duties of the next immediate senior designation and will be observed by an experienced manager who is currently in charge of that particular designation. Subsequently, another rating will be done by the

supervising officer and finally employees who gain level 03 or above will get the opportunity to work in the next immediate senior level.

The organization follows a process which is similar as the talent management is concerned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contribution of Human Resource professionals in achieving organizational targets

The most important contribution of HR as I see in this organization is the human resource planning process of the organization. It is the sole responsibility of the HR department to forecast the human requirement of the organization to achieve the goals of the year to come as per the plan. In this regard, the HR professionals have to go through with the following process.

The recruitment and selection process is another important area which the HR professionals are handling. The HR department is always vigilant in selecting the correct person to the correct job to achieve the organizational objectives.

The rating system is another vital area that HR department handles. As per the observations made, the rating system is a noble method of encouraging the employees to reach their next levels of performance. Further, it is also an identifier for the weak performers who has to be brought up in to the required standard of the organization.

Forecasting training and development requirement is a key function of the HR department. According to this organization, training and development is integrated with the rating system of the employees therefore it is known exactly who to be trained and how to train. Moreover, training sessions to withstand the technological innovation is also being handled.

Mostly, it is observed that HR department is to make strategic plans considering the technological issues, globalization human capital and the cost effectiveness simultaneously considering the employee concerns.

 

Conclusion

According to the above assessment done, it is observed that the following HR functions are practiced within the organization

1.      Recruiting and selection

2.      Training and development

3.      Performance management

4.      Rewarding

5.      Talent management and succession planning.