Customized HR Frameworks – HR Horizons

Given the plethora of conferences, seminars and workshops organized internationally regarding HR best practices, line managers and HR practitioners in Pakistan tend to implement global benchmarks without customizing them suit their organization’s vision, mission, culture or industry trends.

Executives should factor in the following to design and implement an effective and efficient HR framework;

¤Size. The size of organization, the number and range of skills and ethnicities of employees, make each organization unique. Implementing HR initiatives across the board in a homogeneous (single-location) setup is relatively simple, but mapping these changes in complicated hierarchies across multiple locations requires managers to adapt policies in line with employees’ belief systems to ensure loyalty, motivation and productivity.

¤Nature of business.  An often quoted example of enlightened HR practices is that of Google, with sushi bars and salon offerings at work. But, if you are a low-tech manufacturing outfit that is highly unionized or spread across remote locations, you need to be careful about implementing too many head office-centric privileges as this may discourage employees from taking up field assignments.

Organizational lifestyle. It is important to determine at which stage of business lifecycle the company is currently at. Is it a start-up or an established entity? If you are an old organization, there will be entrenched policies that are now part of the value proposition employees expect. To suddenly shift to a ‘new way of doing things’ would cause a backlash, particularly when senior employees feel their authority and influence is being encroached upon. The optimum strategy is to proceed in incremental step, with a clearly outlined roadmap, explaining the rationale or business case for change.

Strategic agenda. HR strategies should be aligned with the organization’s strategic direction, be it growth or consolidation. Upgrading the current HR mix to match the evolving needs of the organization and employees requires a delicate balancing act- can you afford to do it, or can touch afford not to?

By Leon Menezes. The writer is a senior HR practitioner, professor-of-practice and an executive coach.

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