Performance Management: Benefits and Concerns

Considering the changes that are occurring in the business environment, it is important for Integrated HR Services to develop a high competitive advantage in its operation. This will enable it to succeed into the long term as a going concern entity. The goal of the firm’s management is to improve on the delivery of consultancy services in the new firm. This will enable the firm to become a key provider of integrated human resource consultancy services. One of the ways in which the firm can attain this is by improving on the productivity of its human resource. By developing an efficient human resource, the firm will be able to thrive in an environment that is characterised by rapid changes. For instance, there are constant changes in the market, such as increase in consumers demand and improvement in the quality of services. To effectively develop its human resource and attain its goals, all the senior consultants should understand the need for human resource development. This can be achieved by conducting a comprehensive need analysis.

What is need analysis?

According to Sarah (2005, p.65), need analysis refers to identification and evaluation of organisational needs. It is also referred to gap analysis. According to MicKillip (1998, p.1), need analysis involves identification of existing gap between the current and the desired position. The senior consultants should understand all the steps that are involved in conducting need analysis. These include;

• Identification of the target audience and the purpose for need analysis.
• A comprehensive description of the target audience and the service environment.
• Need identification. At this stage, the management should have a clear understanding of its current human resource state and the ideal position.
• Need assessment. At this stage, the management conducts a comprehensive evaluation of needs identified.
• Communication to the target audience.

Organisation’s job analysis

Considering the fact that Integrated HR Services is a merger between Payroll Solutions, CheungGR and Erikson, the firm will be involved in diverse activities in its operation. These include provision of consultancy services related to change management, global recruitment, payroll administration, performance management, reward administration and core HR administration. In addition, considering the fact that the firm is in the consultancy field, it is important for the firm to a human resource that has technical knowledge of the human resource field. This will enable the firm to offer the most current human resource services to its clients.

For efficiency of operation, the organisation operates in three levels. These include the senior consultants, team leaders and the general staff. All these employees have been recruited from the three firms and additional ones from external recruitment.

Need identification

The management of Integrated HR Services has considered investing in human resource development. Human resource development refers to the process of unleashing the expertise within the employees (Richard, 1995, p.208). The objective of incorporating human resource development is to enhance employee growth, and hence their efficiency in job performance in the organisation.

There are various components that the management of Integrated HR Services should consider in the process of human resource development. These include; developing the organisation, employee training and development. Human Resource Development (HRD) is applicable in three critical areas. These include; quality improvement, career development, and Human Resource Management (HRM) (Werner, 2009).

Options available

In developing the human resource, the management of Integrated HR Services should consider the following options.

Organisation development

It is important that the management of Integrated HR Services consider the concept of organisation development. Organisation development refers to the process through which change is incorporated into an organisation (Richard, 1995, p. 210). Alternatively, it can be defined as the process of improving the performance of an organisation through reinforcement of new strategies, processes and structures (William & Roland, 2004, p.19). This can be achieved through the following strategies.

Harmonisation of the operational strategies

Integrated HR Services was formed through a merger of threes firms. In such situations, various staffing alterations result. Therefore, developing a good working relationship is paramount for the firm. This is due to the fact that the new firm will be composed of employee from different firms. This will serve a great deal in eliminating employee conflict (Michael, 2002, p. 23).

It is important for the management to harmonise its operational strategies. This will enable the strategies of the three firms to be congruent. In harmonising the operational strategies, the management of the firm should consider the various stakeholders. These include employees and the clients. This will enable the firm to make effective adjustments on the strategies to address all the stakeholders (‘What is organisation development ‘, n.d, Para. 4).

The management of Integrated HR Services should conduct a comprehensive analysis of the three firms’ corporate culture. This will help the management in determining the most effective way to harmonise the corporate cultures.

Currently, both the managements of CheungGR and Payroll Solution do not emphasise on employee development. On the other hand, Erikson has developed a comprehensive employee development program. The difference in perception on the importance of training amongst the three firms can result into inefficiency in the course of the firm’s operation.

In addition, Payroll Solutions and CheungGR do not have an employee career development strategy. This means that it was the initiative of the employee to develop his or her own career. On the other hand, Erikson has a well developed career development program. The management of Integrated HR Services should consider formulating an employee development strategy for the entire organisation.

Service innovation strategy

The management should consider continuous innovation of their consultancy services. Through innovation, the firm will develop a high competitive advantage. In addition, innovation will enable the firm to improve on the quality of its services. Customers’ demands are dynamic due to changes in tastes and preferences (William & Rothel, 2004, p.19).

Customers continuously demand quality services, and effective service delivery. Through continuous innovation, the quality of the firm’s services will be improved. This will culminate into an improvement in the degree of customer satisfaction. Innovation will also enable the firm to cope with the changes in the environment.

Implementing a comprehensive recruitment strategy

For the firm to attain a competitive edge in the global market, the management should formulate a comprehensive recruitment strategy. This will enable the firm to recruit employees who will enable the organisations succeed into the long term (Scot, Evan & Fillip, 2003, p.986). Effective recruitment will enable the firm to conduct human resource development in an effective way since it will have sufficient and necessary staff at all times in all the departments. Recruiting should be from both the domestic and the foreign labour market. To target the entire market effectively, the recruitment strategy should consider integrating the services of recruitment agencies.

Conducting need analysis interview to identify the employee training and development needs

It is important that the management of the firm consider the importance of training and development in attaining its goals. The management of Integrated HR Services should conduct an employee interview. This will help in the identification of the priority areas in relation to training needs. Need analysis interview will enable the different level managers to analyse on the development needs (Beverley, 2009, para.1). Training and development refers to the process of enhancing the expertise in the employees (Richard, 1995, p.210). The objective of training and development is to improve the operational efficiency of the employees (Geoff, 1994, p.23). Employee training will enable the firm to offer its specialised services more effectively. Through training, the employees of the firm will become more eligible for to perform the integrated duties within the new firm formed (Carter, 2008, Para. 5).

By incorporating employee training and development, Integrated HR Services will be able to increase the employees’ rate of motivation. In addition, the firm will benefit from a decline in the rate of employee turnover. Employee turnover can result into an increase in the degree the cost of recruitment (Dreher &Dougherty, 2002, p. 12). This is due to the fact that the management would be required to recruit and train other employees to replace the positions of those that leave the organisation.

There are various procedures that are necessary for the management of Integrated HR Services to understand in undertaking employee training (Sarah, 2005). These include;

• Identification of the skills that the employees need to learn.
• The level of training that the employees require.
• The cost that will be incurred in training the employees.
• The method through which employee training will be conducted, for instance through outsourcing.

Career development

Through employee training, it will be possible for the organisation to incorporate career development in the organisation. Career development refers to the process through which the employee progresses through a particular job by performing a wide range or activities (‘Career development summary’ 2009). This means that training will culminate into career enrichment for the employees. The result is that the organisation will grow as a result of having a skilled human resource. In addition, career development will result into increased employee loyalty and hence their rate of retention.

Knowledge management

Considering the fact that the firms’ management is concerned with the firm’s long term HRD investment in knowledge, skills and attitude it is important that the concept of knowledge management be considered. This will enable the firm to have a competitive advantage in human capital (Haslinda, 2009, p.182). Knowledge management is the process through which the management of a firm identifies the various sources of knowledge that is important in the process of the firm’s operation According to (Lakshman, 2005, p.57). This knowledge enables the employees of a firm to be efficient in their duties. In addition, knowledge management results into improvement of the employees’ attitude towards the management and the firm in general. This is due to the fact that the employees understand the priorities of the firm effectively. For instance, knowledge management enables the employees to share knowledge amongst themselves. The result is that there is minimal knowledge attrition in the firm( Donvan ,2006, p.24),.

The management of the Integrated HR Services will be faced by increased complexity in managing knowledge in the organisation. This is due to the fact that the firm is involved in providing diverse human resource consultancy services. This means that the management of the firm will be required to develop a comprehensive knowledge centre for knowledge management to be effective. The knowledge centre will ensure that only the important knowledge is shared in the organisation.

Performance management and 360^o feed back

For Integrated HR Services to be successful, it is important that the senior consultants should appreciate the concept of performance management. According to Carter (2008, Para. 6), performance management refers to the various activities that are undertaken to ensure that the set goals are achieved. Performance management should be conducted by considering variables from the three levels of the firms operation. By considering these variables, performance management will be effectively incorporated in the organisation. Bacal (1999, p.3) asserts that performance management involves a continuous communication between the employee and the immediate supervisor.

For performance management to be effective, the executive management should understand the requirements of the various jobs and their contribution to the attainment of the organisations overall goal. This will enable the management to conduct a comprehensive employee performance appraisal. In addition, the management should ensure that sufficient feedback is integrated in its operation. This is can be achieved by adopting a 360⁰ feedback mechanism. This is an employee evaluation mechanism that is based on effective communication from the worker, subordinates, supervisors and the customers (Terri, 2004, Para. 2). Cynthia and Russell (1996, p.16) asserts that this would enable the employees to identify the areas he or she is supposed to improve. In addition, the management will be able to identify the employee training needs.

Initially, neither did Payroll Solutions nor CheungGR did have a well developed employee development strategy in their operation. In addition, these firms did not have a performance feedback mechanism. This means that the employees could not be able to know about their performance. On the other hand, the management of Erikson had incorporated performance management in their operation. To ensure that synergy results in the new firm, the management of the firm should integrate performance management and the360⁰ feedback mechanism.

However, it is paramount for the management to ensure that the firm’s performance management is simplified. This is a challenge that the management of Integrated HR Services will be faced with. This is due to the fact that it will be required to develop a comprehensive performance management framework that will incorporate the activities of the three firms. To develop a performance management plan that integrates all the three companies might be complex. According to Nestor (2008, Para. 4), a complex performance management plan may be counterproductive to an organisation.

Conclusion

Considering the dynamic nature of the business environment, it is important for firms to devise ways on how to remain competitive. This can be achieved by conducting a need analysis. Need analysis enables the firm to identify gap between the current position and the desired position. For need analysis to be effective, conducting a job analysis is important since it enables the managers to understand the details of the various tasks.

Integrated HR Services intends to improve on its performance by developing its human resource. To achieve this, various options are available. Through organisation development, the management of the firm will be able to improve on its performance. This is due to the fact that there will be harmony in the firm’s operational strategies. Need analysis will enable the management of the firm to identify the differences among the three firms in relation to strategies, structures and procedures. Through harmonisation of the three firm’s strategies, the new firm will be able to operate effectively.

In addition, organisation development can also be achieved through service innovation. The effect is that the firm’s consultancy services will be superior relative to those of the competitor firms. Service innovation will also enable the firm to offer relevant consultancy services to its clients.

Through recruitment strategy, the firm will improve on its human resource by acquiring a wide range of employees with relevant skills. Employees’ skills can be improved through integration of training and development. Employee training can be incorporated as continuous organisation process by formulating an employee training program. Effective training can be achieved by conducting a need analysis interview. This will help in identification of employee training needs and priority areas. Alternatively, human resource development can be achieved through incorporation of career development and knowledge management in the firm. Knowledge management will ensure that the firm’s employees are aware of the changes that are occurring in the firm’s industry. It will also reduce knowledge attrition in the organisation enabling the organisation to remain competitive. Human resource development can also be attained by implementing performance management. Performance management can be enhanced by ensuring that there is a 360^o feedback mechanism.

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