Human Resource Management : The Importance of Effective Strategy and Planning

1
Human Resource Management The Importance of
Effective Strategy and Planning

• Professor John Taylor
• Centre for Higher Education Management and Policy
• University of Southampton
• CHEMPaS
• Jtaylor_at_soton.ac.uk

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Change in Higher Education

• Massification growth in student numbers
  increasing diversification in students
• Pressures on funding reductions in unit of
  resource importance of value for money
• The quality movement quality assurance and
  assessment
• Globalisation and internationalisation new
  approaches, new ways of working
• New technology in teaching, research and
  management
• Markets and competition
• NO COUNTRY AND NO INSTITUTION IS IMMUNE FROM
  THESE CHANGES NO ROOM FOR COMPLACENCY

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The Importance of Planning

• A conscious process by which an institution
  assesses its current state and the likely future
  condition of its environment, identifies possible
  future states for itself, and then develops
  organisation strategies, policies and procedures
  for selecting and getting to one or more of them
• (Petersen, 1999)
• Some important assumptions
• That the institution and its members are
  concerned about the future
• That they choose to try to influence the future
  rather than be shaped by external factors or by
  key individuals
• That they accept that some attempt to evaluate
  activities and to understand the environment can
  lead to benefits
• Some key words
• a conscious process deliberate and
  non-accidental
• current state analysis of the present
  position
• future states a forward view
• organisation strategies establishment of
  targets and development of the means for
  achieving them
• selecting the exercise of judgement
• getting to one or more of them clear outcomes
  and deliverables emphasis on implementation
• The Planning Cycle Planning, Documentation,
  Implementation, Monitoring

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The Importance of Human Resources

• Higher Education is a knowledge business
  depends on the quality of its staff
• Growth of markets and competition for staff
  with other sectors, with other institutions
• The quality movement focus on staff, no hiding
  places
• Pressure on funding importance of staff
  productivity and performance
• Globalisation
• Change management
• Legal environment health and safety,
  conditions, equal opportunities, European
  legislation

5
Strategic Plans and Operational Plans

• Strategic or Corporate Plan sets overall aims
  and objectives
• Operational or Tactical Plans set specific
  targets and actions, by organisational units
  (Faculty, Department) or by activity (teaching,
  research, estates, human resources)
• Individual Plans what the individual has to do
• A Human Resources Strategy will aim to create and
  maintain a workforce that is well motivated,
  appropriately trained, equitably rewarded and
  which performs effectively in pursuing the
  institutions objectives

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Linking Institutional Planning and the Human
Resources Strategy

• Understanding the external environment. Changing
  demand for subjects and research can mean too few
  or too many staff in particular areas. Knowledge
  of market data demand and supply of different
  categories of staff.
• Review of current performance in HR related areas
  recruitment and retention, employment
  relations, equal opportunities
• Data provision eg length of service, staff
  movements, nature of contracts, age, sex,
  salaries, ethnicity. Broken down by
  organisational units. Staff surveys
  satisfaction, training needs
• Importance of HR involvement in strategic and
  operational planning from an early stage

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Some Characteristics of a good Human Resources
Strategy

• Three key elements
• Diagnostic a comprehensive and systematic
  evaluation of current practice and performance to
  identify both where improvement is required and
  where policies and institutions are working well
• Aspirational a vision of effective HR practices
  which produce specific outcomes that contribute
  to achieving the institutions strategy,
  underpinned by clear values and principles
• Developmental a plan for achieving progress and
  building greater capacity to bring about change
  in the future (bearing in mind that effective
  human resource management depends as much on good
  quality line management as it does on skilled
  human resorce professionals)

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Clear Targets

• SMART targets specific, measurable, agreed,
  realistic, time-limited
• Input targets eg appointing a new member of staff
• Process targets eg developing new policies or
  procedures, or undertaking a review of practice
• Output targets eg producing a report introducing
  a new payments or job evaluation scheme
• Outcome targets eg increasing the number of women
  in management positions or the proportion of
  people with disabilities
• Performance measures
• Project management subprojects, milestones

9
Resource Allocation

• MUST be a clear link between human resource plans
  and resource allocation
• Clarity of approach actions-responsibilities-outc
  omes-timescale-cost

10
Monitoring

• Assessment of progress against input. Process and
  output targets
• Summative evaluation what works and what
  doesnt work. Formative process
• Problems of identifying cause and effect
• Importance of good feedback
• Implementation is assisted by
• Adequate levels of involvement
• Feedback on performance
• Focus on what is achievable
• Clear allocation of responsibilities
• Effective training and support
• Incentives and rewards

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Key Issues Recruitment and Retention

• Data collection
• Comparative analysis
• Identification of problems particular
  disciplines (eg computing, management,
  economics), particular categories of staff (eg
  electronics technicians, cleaners), particular
  regions (eg big cities)
• Some possible actions improving the recruitment
  process, startup packages, pay and rewards,
  market supplements, job evaluation, career
  routes, fast-track promotion, training and
  development

12
Key Issues Staff Development and Training

• Necessary to enhance the institutions skills and
  knowledge base
• Important to identify needs at ALL levels
• All categories of staff should be involved
• Programmes require regular evaluation problems
  of relevance
• Different forms of staff development
• Induction programmes
• Programmes for new academic staff (often linked
  with probation)
• Skills programmes particular activities, new
  technology, updating
• Management development programmes leadership
  and management

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Key Issues Equal Opportunities

• Data collection
• Staff development
• Possible actions awareness raising, flexible
  working, improvements to recruitment processes
  and literature, targeted skills development,
  progression
• Job evaluation equal pay for equal work

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Key Issues Staff Profiles

• Data collection
• Audit of existing staff current staff numbers,
  distribution by grade/level of responsibility,
  skills profiles, age profiles (succession
  planning, new blood), patterns of leavers and
  joiners (high and low turnover), which posts are
  difficult to fill, staffing costs, gender
  profiles, pay distribution
• External environment national and local labour
  markets, comparative analysis
• Link with institutional strategies where will
  more/less staff be needed
• Possible actions training/retraining,
  redeployment, severance

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Key Issues Performance

• Performance review vital in improving staff
  effort
• Must be regular
• All staff are entitled to feedback
• Formative process
• Rewarding good performance monetary and
  non-monetary
• Tackling poor performance clear agreed targets,
  opportunities for training, monitoring, training
  for managers, clear disciplinary procedures
  (including appeals)

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Human Resource Strategy Professional Services

• What are professional services?
• Administration, Non-academic staff, The
  Centre, Management, Support staff, or simply
  them!
• Professional services include
• Finance
• Estates
• Student and Registry Services (admissions,
  examinations, progress)
• Planning and institutional research
• Marketing
• Research support
• External relations
• Fundraising
• Members of the professional services have a
  crucial role to play in the running of their
  universities
• Key advisers in decision-making process
• Efficient and effective operation
• First point of contact for students and other
  stakeholders
• Responsible for the delivery of critical services
  

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Staff Development for Professional Services

• Career development recruitment, training and
  enhancement, performance and rewards, retention
• Training programmes for new staff in professional
  services (wide range of backgrounds)
• Specialist training and career development
  professional qualifications
• Training programmes for senior staff in
  professional services
• Formal programmes Continuing Professional
  Development
• Some particular themes broadening and
  deepening, sharing expertise and experience,
  formative and process benchmarking, leadership
  and management

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Professor John TaylorCentre for Higher Education
and Policy at SouthamptonCHEMPaSJtaylor_at_soton.
ac.uk44 (0)23 8059 6892
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