Interview
(The interview took place at the HRD professional’s, Mr. Richey Odio, office at about 1100 hours. The interviewee is a professional trainer and human resource developer with fifteen-year experience in the industry.)
Interviewer: What are the functions performed by the HRD Professionals?
Mr. Richey: We perform diverse functions that range from obtaining, maintaining, and developing employees. We also perform human resource planning to foretell the feasibility of the organization’s trends in the near future. Job design is also an important aspect of the overall human resource development process that is aimed at improving organizational efficiency at every level of management. Other activities include coaching and counseling of employees to improve their conduct in the organization.
Interviewer: Do you conduct any management training and development programs in your organization? How is the program relevant to the employees?
Interviewer: What has changed in your job over the last five to ten years?
Mr. Richey: Various changes have significantly changed in the last five to ten years. The global economy and movement of the workforce have also led to immense changes in the human resource department. There is also increased use of the internet that has tremendously led to increased efficiency in the management of information and activities in the firm.
Interviewer: Have you noticed any change in how the rest of the organization views the contribution to the goals of the organization? If so, what have you noticed?
Mr. Richey: The rest of the organization has diverse views on the realization of the set goals. For instance, they have appreciated the fact that the working relationships developed in the organization have had a significant impact on its success. The adoption of favorable work terms has also brought about a mutual understanding among the employees.
Interviewer: Where do you see the field going in the next five to ten years?
Mr. Richey: The future has much in store for HRD professionals. The uncertainty and changing organizational structures require the HRD professional to be aware of the nature of work with a view of ensuring that their employees remain relevant in the industry. The indefinite economic conditions make the frequent assessment of the employees challenging.
Interviewer: How can you rate the safety of employees in your organization?
Mr. Richey: Our employees are concerned about their safety and the ability of the government to provide the required security amidst the rising levels of terrorism. The organization highly regards matters that pertain to the security of its workforce, premises, and finance. Communication technology has been integrated into the company’s operational and human resource systems to detect any activities that can pose a threat to the organization.
Interviewer: Does your HRD department adopt the modern-day electronic lifestyle?
Mr. Richey: The modern world has been characterized by an electronic lifestyle. The human resource department should be prepared for a transformation where employees are virtually working together regardless of space and time difference. The use of teleconferencing also holds many potentialities in the profession.
Discussion
The activities of the Human Resource Development (HRD) department are aimed at ensuring the organizational preparedness to meet the current and future trends regarding human resources. Human resource development refers to the integrated utilization of training, and career advancement aimed at ensuring effectiveness at the individual or group level in an organization. An HRD professional acts as a strategic advisor to help in the decision-making processes in the human resource management department. This paper seeks to address the functions of the training and development of staff in an organization.
The role of the training and development (T&D) department in an organization
The interviewee affirms that the professionals provide education and training programs that complement the strategic management in the organization. Linking the training efforts to the enterprise goals is paramount to the alignment of the employee objectives with those of the organization. According to Werner and DeSimone (2011), training and development seek to address the improvement desired in the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and perceptions of the employees. This practice focuses on the transmission of knowledge and skills required for particular tasks and assignments.
Obtaining, Maintaining, and developing Employees
The activities begin when the new employees join the organization. The orientation of the necessary skills is important at this stage. The training and improvement section ensures that the training and general induction sessions are conducted appropriately (Werner & DeSimone, 2011).
Human Resource Planning
It is important to predict future trends in the management strategies used by the organization. The changes in administrative strategies can demand special skills for the implementation process. External demands for articulate skills are also met through such training. Therefore, the training and development department continually charts the way forward in the promotion of personnel management (Lawler & Boudreau, 2012).
Job Design
It is paramount to design and develop human resource systems that result in the improvement of staff performance and productivity in the organization. These systems are linked to the organizational objectives for enterprise transformation. This situation heightens team efficiency since it ensures quality management at every level of operations (Budhwar & Debrah, 2001).
Coaching
The process aims at identifying any work-related problems and addressing them. According to Werner and DeSimone (2011), the activity results in increased performance. The central idea exploited in the coaching process ranges from the individual employee to the organizational hindrances that impede employee productivity. Coaches encourage them to embrace the responsibilities given.
Counseling
Human beings face many challenges in life. These trials interfere with the achievement of set individual and organizational goals. This department addresses the issues of stress management, fitness, substance and drug abuse, and weight control among others. Some of the challenges are frequent in the business world. Besides, they have adverse effects on the output and general productivity of the organization.
Management Training and Development
Human resource development professionals are mandated to ensuring the administrators and supervisors have the skills and knowledge required to manage their positions in the organization effectively. In light of this knowledge, the re-training of supervisors and the provision of refresher courses become necessary.
Changes in the HRD
In the Junior HR Guide, Cummings and Worley (2014) reveal that the changes in the organizational environment, technological innovations, global economy, and workforce have contributed immense changes in the human resource department. In the last five years, employee inefficiency has led to the introduction of counseling sessions in the organization. The actions taken help the employees overcome stress-related and other matters that impede productivity. Innovation in technology has also affected the human resource. In the wake of the digital era, Wang (2009) identifies that technology is quickly becoming a fundamental fragment of organizational activities. Today, the use of the internet to manage the human resources in the organization has resulted in increased efficiency.
The Perceived Contribution of HRD Professionals in Organizations
The working relationships initiated by the HRD professionals immensely contribute to organizational success. The employee reaction emanates from the attitudes and perceptions developed within themselves (Kuvaas, Dysvik, & Buch, 2014). The selection procedure, compensation methods, training, and career development, and working conditions influence the attitude and perception of the employees and affect their productivity.
Future Trends
The indefinite economic conditions make the frequent assessment of the organization’s future challenging (Jacobs, 2014). An appropriate mechanism to handle these issues includes forecasting the future structure of human resource development based on the current situation. Globalization together with the increased human communication technology has diversified the connection and interaction of people worldwide. In this case, the human resource development agents must compete and pace with the changes (Kim & Ko, 2014).
Security
Insecurity can adversely affect human resource productivity. Therefore, it is imperative to assess the safety implications in particular parts of the world when assigning tasks to the employees. The maintenance of proper working conditions ensures the promotion of health security paramount to employee productivity. In this case, individual and organizational objectives will be achieved (Kim & Ko, 2014).
E-Lane (Electronic Lifestyle)
The modern world has been characterized by an electronic lifestyle. The human resource department should be prepared for a transformation where employees are virtually working together regardless of space and time difference. The use of teleconferencing also holds many potentialities in the profession. Werner and DeSimone (2011) reveal that the need to integrate technology into human resource development is a new area of inquiry.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is imperative to recognize the role of human resource development professionals towards the success of the organization. The paper has addressed the issues covered by the training and development body in an organization. The changes realized in the past and expectations of the profession have provided insights into the future of the organization. The perceptions the employees develop towards the professionals will help them build successful work relationships to reduce production inefficiency.
Reference List
Budhwar, P., & Debrah, Y. (2001). Human Resource Management in Developing Countries. London: Routledge.
Cummings, T., & Worley, C. (2014). Organization development and change. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Jacobs, R. (2014). Perspectives on Adult Education, Human Resource Development, and the Emergence of Workforce Development. Adult Education & Human Resource Development, 26(1), 13-21.
Kim, Y., & Ko, J. (2014). HR practices and knowledge sharing behavior: focusing on the moderating effect of trust in supervisor. Public Personnel Management, 1(4), 586.
Kuvaas, B., Dysvik, A., & Buch, R. (2014). Antecedents and Employee Outcomes of Line Managers’ Perceptions of Enabling HR Practices. Journal of Management Studies, 51(6), 845-868.
Lawler. E., & Boudreau, J. (2012). Effective Human Resource Management: A Global Analysis. Redwood City, California: Stanford University Press.
Werner, J., & DeSimone, R. (2011). Human resource development. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.