Workforce Diversity

Introduction

Having the best combination in a team is very important. The right balance with the inclusion of the aggressive ones, calm and collective, educated, experience they all do matter. Diversity in workforce is a true blessing when adopted for any organization.

 

Hiring employees different in age, ethnicity, gender, education, background and experience etc., is termed as workforce diversity (Give A Grad A Go, 2019). However, it is not going to bring any benefit by symbolically hiring in diversity. Instead, the employer should ensure that contribution is made towards the organization by all these employees. Hence it is important that you look at Diversity with adequate qualifications and experiences.

 

The employee and employer both are benefited by workforce with diversity. Employees are benefited in the manner of being able to reduce conflicts, better understanding of one another, their level of confidence increases etc. On the other hand, the employer gets the benefits with variety of ideas, increased employer engagement, computer reputation gets boosted, reduces employee turnover etc.

 

It is important for the employer to identify the type of business he/she is involved in, the volume, the customer base etc., before deciding on how diverse the workforce. Inappropriate staffing in any manner will not contribute to the growth of the organization

 

In a country like Sri Lanka, where different ethnicities live, it is important to have Diversity in Workforce. Companies should evaluate the location and it’s surrounding, target customer background and the level of skill required. This will attract more business.

 

Conclusion

Workforce Diversity is important in order to get multiple benefits. However, it is important to ensure that diversity comes with qualifications and experience.  

 

References

Give A Grad A Go, 2019. Give a Grad a Go. [Online]
Available at: https://www.giveagradago.com/news/2019/08/what-is-diversity-in-the-workplace/424
[Accessed 12 12 2020].

 

Flexible Work Design

Introduction

The nature of work keeps changing. With the availability of information in fingertips, accelerating technology and geographical distance being reduced today’s work design is much different for what it was a decade ago (Torraco, 2005). An important theory of work design is virtual work and alternate locations for work.

 

Workplace flexibility is a strategy of responding to the changing circumstances. This emphasizes the willingness and ability to adopt to change particularly when and how work is being done (Doyle, 2020).

 

Flexible employees have their company’s objective in their mind and work to achieve them, adjusting their efforts. This benefits the employee in learning new skills, being able to support colleagues, becoming more valued by the employer etc. Flexible employers analyse their subordinates and allocate working style in a manner in which maximum output can obtained by him/her.  Flexible schedules are an alternative for the traditional 9 to 5 schedule. This provides space for more flexibility in working hours and allows more work life balance to the employees.

 

Flexible work environment brings in employee satisfaction, commitment as a result of improved work life balance of the employee. This in return will benefit the employer by increasing productivity and reducing employer turnover.

 

It is important for the employers to identify their trade and come up with the best possible solutions. For some, especially the education sector it will not be possible to provide flexible schedules. The educators and administrators are connected with the fixed schedule of the students. Students are given fixed schedules and to have flexible schedules will mean a total mess up. Hence it is important to identify different ways where flexibility can be provided in such sectors. Employers can select to provide flexible leave schedules,

 

Conclusion

In the modern world where people are stressed, it is important for the employers to understand that the employees needs to be looked after in every aspect. When they are being allowed to be committed towards the organization the end result is benefiting the organization. However in sectors like education a different mechanism should be imposed to achieve this.

References

Doyle, A., 2020. The Balance Careers. [Online]
Available at: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/workplace-flexibility-definition-with-examples-2059699
[Accessed 12 12 2020].

Torraco, R. J., 2005. Work Design Theory: A Review and Critique with Implications of Human Resource Development. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 16(1), p. 109.

An overview of Performance Management

Introduction

Organizations expect their employees to perform individually and as groups. These performances are expected to contribute towards the organization in many ways such as, profitability, productivity, goodwill etc. It is important that the performances are continuously evaluated and space is provided to improve.

 

Developing the performances of individuals and teams in order contribute towards the organization performance is known as performance management (Armstrong, 2006).  Many get performance management confused with performance Appraisal. Performance Appraisal is the periodical evaluation conducted to check the performances of individuals and teams.  Appraisal without a proper performance management system where continuous feedback is obtained and coaching is provided is not benefitable.  

 

The objective of performance management is to align individual goals towards the organization goal and making individuals uphold corporate core values (Armstrong, 2006). When a proper management system is implemented aligning to the above objectives, it provides with many benefits such as increased motivation to perform, increased self-esteem, more clarity about the expectation of the job role, employees become more competent, minimized poor conduct of employees etc (Aguinis, 2013)

 

Similarly, when a performance management system is not executed properly it brings out negative results. Increased staff turnover, waste of time and money, damaged relationship, demotivation to perform, unclear rating system etc., are some of them (Aguinis, 2013)

 

A performance management system with characteristics such as alignment of individual goals with the organization goals, the system should suit the organization culture, should be practical, identification of effective and ineffective performances, should be reliable etc (Aguinis, 2013) will be a good system and can expected to be providing meaningful contribution towards the growth of the organization.

 

In the context of Sri Lanka, except for a very handful of high ended organizations, many have misunderstood the Performance Management to Performance Appraisal. The HR department more or less being disliked by the employees due to this reason. It is important to provide necessary space for growth by obtaining feedback, providing coaching and of course when matters get out of control it should begin with discussion.

 

Conclusion

Performance Management should not be misunderstood for Performance Appraisal. Performance management should be effectively implemented in order to bring in good results.  

 

References

Aguinis, H., 2013. Performance Management. Third ed. s.l.:s.n.

Armstrong, M., 2006. A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Tenth ed. s.l.:Kogan Page Limited.

Development Through Learning and Training

Introduction

Learning and Development is something attached to human throughout the life. In our daily life we get the opportunity learn many new lessons and develop ourselves in many ways depending on how we adopt the opportunities. The process of empowering employees with specific skills is Workplace Learning and Development (L&D) (BasuMallick, 2020).

 

Learning is a long-term practice which focuses on career development and training is the short-term practice which focuses on the immediate requirements. Organizations should systematically practice both training and learning as tools of development of the employee.

 

According to the theory of Kolb, learning takes place in four stages (McLeod, 2017)

 

 

 Figure 1 Kolb’s cycle of learning (McLeod, 2017)

 

• Concrete – A new experience or situation
• Reflective – Observation of the reflection of the new experience or situation
• Abstract – Formation of concepts and generalization
• Active – Applied and tested for results

 

It is important for the Educators and trainers to identify their audience. Individual or a group, on the job or class room, the trainer should identify the trainees learning pattern. VAK learning styles were designed by Walter Burke Barbe and later developed by Neil Fleming (MACMILLAN, 2018). Learners are divided into three categories based on their style of learning.

• Kinesthetic – Absorb information by moving
• Auditory – by Sound
• Visual – by Sight 

According to (Belyh, 2019) the following methods can be utilised to teach to different types of learners.

VISUAL	AUDITORY	KINESTHETIC
Phrases they respond to	Phrases they respond to	Phrases they respond to
I see what you mean.	That rings a bell.	That feels right.
I get the picture.	I hear what you are saying.	How does that grab you?
What’s your view?	That sounds okay to me.	Let me try.

 

 

Conclusion

Learning throughout the job is very important to the employee and the employer. The employee develops his skill and in return contributes to the organization. It is very important no to misunderstand training to learning. Learners have 3 different ways of learning and it is very important for the educators identify them for better results.

 

References

BasuMallick, C., 2020. ToolBox. [Online]
Available at: https://www.toolbox.com/hr/learning-development/articles/what-is-learning-and-development-objectives-strategy/
[Accessed 10 12 2020].

Belyh, A., 2019. Cleverism. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cleverism.com/vak-learning-styles-understanding-how-team-members-learn/
[Accessed 10 12 2020].

MACMILLAN, F., 2018. Engage Education. [Online]
Available at: https://engage-education.com/aus/blog/vak-learning-styles-what-are-they-and-what-do-they-mean/#!
[Accessed 10 12 2020].

McLeod, S., 2017. Simply Psuchology. [Online]
Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html
[Accessed 10 12 2020].

 

 

Division of Labour

Introduction

Though there are several definitions given, Division of Labour is Separation of a work process into a number of tasks, with each task performed by separate person (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017). This strategy emerged with the industrialization and more quality output was expected in a short span of time with minimum cost. French scholar Émile Durkheim used the term Division of Labour initially.

Though it is generally considered to be disadvantages, Division of Labour has many benefits.

• ü  Eliminates unnecessary Motion and handling different tools
• ü  Less time spent for production
• ü  Enables low skilled employment
• ü  Replacements are very easy
• ü  Supervision becomes much easier
• ü  Required when working with machines
• ü  Employee becomes specialized in the task he performs

One of the main concerns of Division of Labour is that a certain employee who is assign to a task would not be exposed to different job tasks. As a result, his/her future job opportunities become very narrow. In order to overcome this main negativity, organizations can switch their employees on the tasks assigned to them. Though there will be a minimal effect on the productivity, this will be a good Employee benefit.

However, this does not remain a disadvantage in high profile employment such as, Doctor, Teacher, engineer etc. instead it is benefit to be specialized in one area and that gives the additional value for the employee.

In the Small and Mid-size Enterprise (SME) it is important to identify the requirement of the division of labour. It is either all the tasks are handled by one person or multiple tasks are handled by one person. This in return reduces the productivity and as a result disables to deliver on time or deliver the quality product.

Conclusion

Division of Labour emerged with the industrial revolution, has many benefits and few shortcomings. If the shortcomings are addressed properly and implemented effectively it is a very good way of producing quality product and service in a very short time. The SME’s should adopt to the division of labour in order to increase productivity.

References

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017. Britannica. [Online]
Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/division-of-labour
[Accessed 09 12 2020].

 

The Importance of Employee Value Proposition

Introduction

In the modern world where employees are considered as an asset, it is not all about the salaries and the allowances. Only 12% of the employees leave an organization for a better pay check, some leave because of the organization culture, some because they look for a better career path (Zojceska, 2018).  

 

While it should be accepted that an organization cannot satisfy all its employees, there should be a good Employee Value Proposition (EVP) which keeps the majority of them satisfied. EVP is the benefits given to the employees in return for the sills, capabilities and experiences the employee brings in (Shekhar & Srumita , 2012). As human one tends to perform well, take ownership of his duties when he/she is well looked after. This motivation enables more productivity than any other. In other words, having a good EVP system will help retain the skilled employees and at the same time will attract new employees (Armstrong, 2006) .

 

The EVP should define your organization’s essence.  It should cover all the core reasons why people work there. Some important factors such as Financial Compensation, Employment Benefits, Career Development, Work Environment. An EVP system which is not executed properly will create more damage than not having one.  

 

Social Service Sector, which is non-profitable yet are expected to provide quality service need the skilled employees to execute their tasks. Unlike in any commercialized organization, employers get shadowed by the term “Service” mostly when it comes to their employees. It is very important for the employers to design a suitable and effective EVP system which will create a good employee brand value.

 

Conclusion

Employee Value Proposition, is a key factor in attracting and retaining skilled employees for an organization. Employers should pay special attention to create a proper EVP system which suits them. The Social Service Sector should take EVP as key component and make appropriate arrangements to accommodate EVP.

 

References

Armstrong, M., 2006. Human Resource Management Practice. Tenth ed. s.l.:Kogan Page Limited.

Shekhar, S. & Srumita , N., 2012. SIBM. [Online]
Available at: https://www.sibm.edu/assets/pdf/beacon3.pdf#page=37
[Accessed 08 12 2020].

Zojceska, A., 2018. TalentLyft. [Online]
Available at: https://www.talentlyft.com/en/blog/article/105/employee-value-proposition-evp-magnet-for-attracting-candidates
[Accessed 08 12 2020].

The Impact of a learning Organization

Introduction

Learning is an important aspect of human life. There is a lesson in every incident that takes part in our life. Learning is a continuous process of gaining knowledge, competencies and skill development (Bashin 2019).

 

As a person, mentioned below are few of the benefits of learning

1.      Growing income and status

2.      Access to new opportunities

3.      Self confidence

4.      Important to achieve goals

 

It is important for an organization to create a learning environment where to be in competition with the high pace changes in the business world. (Asian Development Bank 2017). Marsick (1994) Organization learning is a process of ‘coordinated systems change, with mechanisms built in for individuals and groups to access, build and use organizational memory, structure and culture to develop long term organizational capacity (Armstrong 2006). Organizational learning outcomes, though seems like a cost is actually a contribution as in knowledge and skill.

 

The leadership should be really loud about the importance of learning. The employees should be given the impression that there is no sustenance without learning. To execute a learning organization effectively, there should be people who are reflective practitioners and team work is a key component in such organizations (Asian Development Bank 2017).  

 

In the plantation sector, the employee force should be educated on the job. The learning becomes very important especially for the management staff (Kankaani) as they perform a job role of a operations manager, maybe a General Manager’s role in a small tea estate. It is important that the owners or the educated management to take adequate measures to create a learning environment as in enforcing different strategies to overcome challenges (i.e. working with the labor shortage, unpredictable climate, experimenting new systems etc.). One of the most successful way is to create a learning environment with this nature of employees is to share as much as information with them and get them implement them blindfolded. Mostly their learning comes through hands on experience

 

Conclusion

Leaderships of organizations should give importance in creating a learning environment. They should buy the correct people who can create such environment. For an industry like the Sri Lankan plantation industry the most suitable learning system is on the job learning.

 

 

 

Bashin 2019 – https://www.marketing91.com/importance-of-learning/#:~:text=The%20importance%20of%20learning%20is%20that%20it%20helps%20the%20individual,help%20in%20reaching%20specific%20goals.

 

Asian Development Bank 2017 – Knowledge Solutions

Armstrong 2006 – Human Resource Management Practice