UNIT 2:

Human Resources

in the Built

Environment

2.1: Understanding the Need for an Effective Human

Resources Management in the Built Environment

i. In order for the Built Environment to function, the basic requirement is for an organization to have an effective HR function so that staff retention is kept at a healthy level;

ii. Whether the HR function pertains to a maintenance or construction

function, a high level of resignation rate can be a serious problem for the built environment.

iii. In order to keep Human resources retention rates at a sufficient level, an

effective Human Resources Management (HRM) system needs to be in place.

iv. Definition of HRM: A management function that helps managers recruit, train and develop members for an organization.

i. To ensure effective utilisation of human resources, all other organisational resources will be efficiently utilised by the human resources.

ii. To establish and maintain an adequate organisational structure of relationship among all the members of an organisation by dividing of organisation tasks into functions, positions and jobs, and by defining clearly the responsibility, accountability, authority for each job and its relation with other jobs in the organisation.

iii. To generate maximum development of human resources within the organisation by offering opportunities for advancement to employees through training and education.

iv. To ensure respect for human beings by providing various services and welfare facilities to the personnel.

v. To ensure reconciliation of individual/group goals with those of the organisation in such a manner that the personnel feel a sense of commitment and loyalty towards it.

vi. To identify and satisfy the needs of individuals by offering various monetary and non-monetary rewards.

2.2: Objectives of Human Resource Management

2.3: FUNCTIONS OF HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT

a) Managerial Functions:

1) Planning : The planning function of human resource department pertains to the steps taken in determining in advance personnel requirements, personnel programmes, policies etc. After determining how many and what type of people are required, a personnel manager has to devise ways and means to motivate them.

2) Organisation : Under organisation, the human resource manager has to organise the operative functions by designing structure of relationship among jobs, personnel and physical factors in such a way so as to have maximum contribution towards organisational objectives. In this way a personnel manager performs following functions :

preparation of task force;

Allocation of work to individuals; U

Integration of the efforts of the task force; (d) coordination of work of individual with that of the department.

3) Directing: Directing is concerned with initiation of organised action and stimulating the people to work. The personnel manager directs the activities of people of the organisation to get its function performed properly. A personnel manager guides and motivates the staff of the organisation to follow the path laid down in advance.

4) Controlling: It provides basic data for establishing standards, makes job analysis and performance appraisal, etc. All these techniques assist in effective control of the qualities, time and efforts of workers.

b) Operative Functions

1) Procurement of Personnel : It is concerned with the obtaining of the proper kind and number of personnel necessary to accomplish organisation goals. It deals specifically with such subjects as the determination of manpower requirements, their recruitment, selecting, placement and orientation, etc.

2) Development of Personnel : Development has to do with the increase through training, skill that is necessary for proper job performance. In this process various techniques of training are used to develop the employees. Framing a sound promotion policy, determination of the basis of promotion and making performance appraisal are the elements of personnel development function.

3) Compensation to Personnel : Compensation means determination of adequate and equitable remuneration of personnel for their contribution to organisation objectives. To determine the monetary compensation for various jobs is one of the most difficult and important function of the personnel management. A number of decisions are taken into the function, viz., job-evaluation, remuneration, policy, inventive and premium plans, bonus policy and co-partnership, etc. It also assists the organisation for adopting the suitable wages and salaries, policy and payment of wages and salaries in right time.

4) Maintaining Good Industrial Relation : Human Resource Management covers a wide field. It is intended to reduce strife, promote industrial peace, provide fair deal to workers and establish industrial democracy. If the personnel manager is unable to make harmonious relations between management and labour ,industrial unrest will take place and millions of man-days will be lost. If labour management relations are not good the moral and physical condition of the employee will suffer, and it will be a loss to an organisation vis-a-visa nation. Hence, the personnel manager must create harmonious relations with the help of sufficient communication system and co-partnership.

5) Record Keeping : In record-keeping the personnel manager collects and maintains information concerned with the staff of the organisation. It is essential for every organisation because it assists the management in decision making such as in promotions.

6) Personnel Planning and Evaluation : Under this system different type of activities are evaluated such as evaluation of performance, personnel policy of an organisation and its practices, personnel audit, morale, survey and performance appraisal, etc.

2.4: IMPORTANCE OF HR MANAGEMENT

1) It helps management in the preparation adoption and continuing evolution of personnel programmes and policies.

2) It supplies skilled workers through scientific selection process.

3) It ensures maximum benefit out of the expenditure on training and development and appreciates the human assets.

4) It prepares workers according to the changing needs of industry and environment.

5) It motivates workers and upgrades them so as to enable them to accomplish the organisation goals.

6) Through innovation and experimentation in the fields of personnel, it helps in reducing casts and helps in increasing productivity.

7) It contributes a lot in restoring the industrial harmony and healthy employer-employee relations.

8) It establishes mechanism for the administration of personnel services that are delegated to the personnel department.

2.5 CATEGORIES OF STAFF WITHIN AN

ORGANIZATION

i. Within an organization, there are many categories or ranks. Each staff has his or her designated role an rank within an organization.

ii. Generally, there are two broadly classified types of staff within an organization: Blue collar and white collar workers.

iii. Blue collar staff: These are hands on workers who deal with the nuts and bolts of an organization’s operations. In a construction company, construction workers such as welders, form work craftsmen, electricians form the bulk of the blue collar team. These workers are typically led by senior tradesmen or supervisors who have risen through the ranks and are experienced enough to lead their respective teams.

iv. White Collar Staff: In a Facilities team or a construction company, white collar staff consists of specialists who form the bulk of middle or senior management. They are basically the “brains” of the company’s workforce. Middle management staff would include engineers and managers. Senior management would involve directors and CEOs.

iv. For an efficient HR function to be able to deal with many

hierarchies and levels within an organization, there is a need to

understand how best to communicate with them and understand

their needs so as to better facilitate their work processes.

v. For example, white collar staff and blue collar staff have different

training needs. When the HR manager is planning training courses

for these personnel, they need to look into their respective roles

and tailor their training based on their job scopes. For example, a

site supervisor will need to sign up for safety related courses, while

a manager at senior management role will need to sign up

programs which are related to management and communications.

i. Like the BAS system, an Effective Information System is needed to track the necessary information and data for the HR function, which has to be updated consistently, so that the Human Resources Department can keep track and make the necessary decisions that will be beneficial to both management and staff alike. Such information can also be made available online to staff for ease of assess.

2.6: Developing an Effective Information System for HRM

ii. Information systems for HRM can be used to track the following

essential HR information:

• Payroll;

• Attendance records;

• Key Performance Indicators for staff;

• Recruiting/Resignation Data;

• Company regulations in the form of staff handbooks, both online and

hard copy (For staff who do not have assess to the internet);

• Training Details (e.g, type of training attended by staff, no of training

hours, etc).

• Benefits and entitlements, such as annual leave, bonuses and so on.

iii. Information, when disseminated to staff, tends to follow a hierarchical chain of command. This is to control information flow, as well as maintain cohesion by keeping sensitive information secret, e.g pay checks of staff:

Information is classified and categorized accordingly;

Various information is disseminated to various staff levels;

Various levels and departments will require different types of information to function.

2.7: UNDERSTANDING THE HR REQUIREMENTS

OF BOTH STAFF AND ORGANIZATION

i. In any organization, it is important to note that staff and organization alike will have various needs. These needs will need to be synchronized in such a way that both sides are able to co-exist and thrive.

ii. Such a scenario can be achieved when a organization strategic plan, ably reinforced by a viable, updated HRM Information system, is put in place.

iii. An Organization Strategic Plan will need to take the following HR functions into consideration:

• Recruitment: Taking into consideration the skill trade and educational levels required for various jobs within an organization proper;

• Training: Analysing the training requirements of staff and sending them for external or internal training programs;

• Compensation: Compensation may involve compensating staff for accidents: The types of risks faced by staff, and benchmarking the type of compensation required. Typically, this would involve purchasing insurance schemes for staff. Other forms of compensation may include compensation for retrenching staff.

Setting the ground rules: Typically, the HR organization will have a set of rules and regulations determining issues relating to termination of staff. Such rules must be in line with Ministry of Manpower regulations. For example, adequate warnings must be given to errant staff before a termination is warranted.

Replacement of retiring staff: This will also include training and succession plans (More applicable to management staff and specialists).

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Appraisals: HR staff should have a set of KPIs for appraising their staff. This will help the HR assess the capabilities and performance of the staff. Typically, supervisors and managers will have to give their inputs on their respective subordinate’s KPIs before submitting to the HR department.

Benefits, such as AWS and other forms of bonuses, to reward staff accordingly based their KPI, are taken into consideration.

Data Management: A strategic plan must also include a detailed, systematic manner of collating and keeping track of staff’s details in a computer server system. Such systems are confidential and must only be assessable by appointed senior management staff only.

The Human Resource Management Process

Organizational Strategic Plan

Human Resource Planning Job Appraisal & Design

Compensation

Staffing

Training

Replacement

Evaluation

The Human Resources Function Facilitates the Flow of

the Personnel Resources

Recruiting

Potential employees

Hiring

Employees

Education and

Training Benefit

Administration Termination

Retired employees

Data Management

The Firm

Evaluation

iii. Benefits of an Information System for HRM include:

• Control: Allowing management to make the desired information available

in the right form to the right personnel and at the right time;

• Supplying the desired information at a reasonable cost;

• To use the most efficient method of processing data;

• To provide necessary secrecy and security for important and/or

confidential information;

• To keep the information up-to-date and relevant;

• Allowing management to have access to accurate data to make the

necessary HR decisions via an Organizational Strategic Plan.

2.8: OUTSOURCING VS IN-HOUSE

i. For most organizations, staff are almost always under the organization’s payroll, i.e in-house crew;

ii. For some reasons, there may be cases when a job function is preferably outsourced than in-house. The reasons may include:

• Job function is too specialized and rarely utilized, e.g the crew for repairing an automated glass door;

• Job function involved is not directly related to the core business of the organization;

• HR function does not have sufficient manpower to handle too many staff, hence outsourcing.

iii. It must be noted that for functions which are outsourced, the organization’s HR has no direct control over the staff of the outsourced function.

TUTORIAL QUESTIONS

1) The Human Resources (HR) function is integral to any organizational

function, including the Built Environment.

i. Identify the basic requirement of a HR function in any organization and

explain why it is important to the organization (2 marks).

ii. Define Human Resources System (HRM) (2 marks).

iii. Explain, in detail, how an effective information system can assist the HR

function of an organization.(6 marks).

iv. Explain why an organization should have a viable, organization strategic

plan in place (4 marks).

v. List down the benefits of an viable, working Information System for an

organization’s Human Resources System (6 marks).

2) The Organization Strategic Plan is an integral part of any organization’s

HR department.

i. Identity two broad classifications and give brief descriptions of their roles

within an organization (4 marks)

ii. List down and explain in detail the HR functions of the Organization’s

Strategic Plan (16 marks).