HR For The Elite

The great divide that exists in a manufacturing sector is of the two categories: the worker level and the staff/managerial level. When it comes to the functionality of Human Resources in this sector, there is a modified version that has been into existence since long, better known as the Personnel Department. They look into each micro level of the organization ranging from dealing with Trade Unions, to handling contractors, to being the caretakers of housekeeping and safety propositions. They even have employee grievances both from the worker and managerial level in their kitty, et al. They go around getting water source tanks cleaned too with disinfectants and sometimes have worked in those roles that were very technical, yet the organization needed the shift. It surely amounts to enormous tasks under their paper weights.

But on an hypothetical comparison with the IT industry, where Personnel is non-existent the functionality talks about words like Employee Engagement, Succession Planning, Competency based Development, and the likes in this genre. When we try importing these concepts into the manufacturing sector, and in particular the mid sized organizations, what happens is initial resistance and severe criticism that follows. One of the contributing reasons that I can think of is that these terminologies sound like fancy words picked up from an American dictionary. And it’s like an uphill task to convince people that HR is here for good and means good intention.

Analysing on the criticality of one of these aspects namely Succession Planning, for one it’s the workers who are into the jobbing process in the industry. Be it the welding, or soldering, or working on auto parts or with the arc furnace there are skilled and un-skilled workers for each category of work. Whereas the staff/managerial employees are into supervisory work and their main competency involves around understanding the drawings and technology behind a process. The technicalities are what staff/managerial employees possess; however working on site with tools, cranes, lathe machines etc is the workers job. And if these workers go on strikes, the organization suffers in productivity. When we talk of Succession Planning, we may have our slots filled in for staff/managerial level folks by the next competent fellow fished from the market. Yes without him any breakdown in a machine cannot get proper directions to be fixed, or the strategies and shortest path solutions cannot be brought about. But it’s equally necessary to fill in the slot of a worker, who after 3 decades of service in the organization leaves a post vacant minus the skill too. Though it’s well known that doing a certain task for n number of years makes the person able and capable in it; however when we talk about using shorter path means to achieve quicker cycle times of the products life cycle and achieving delivery time; won’t it be quintessential to have a similar competency chart available for workers too. What if worker x is on leave for 2 days, there should be a worker z to quickly fill the spot! We as HR involve ourselves into designing On-the-Job-Training (OJT) schedules of numerous training sessions for the staff/managerial; however how many OJT schedules for workers are made? What if an organization has a worker’s average age of 40-45? The next decade would see the organization exhaust it’s value in the market as the core skill workers would be due retirement. Succession Planning isn’t just about queuing up the next man hour resource, it is about a competent workforce that needs less of coercing into doing the job and an equal opportunity of availing training and upgrading themselves in courses that are relevant. It’s a part of an HR’s responsibility to aide everybody in the organization. But if the HR and the Top Management feels that the organization would be wasting resources on unnecessary development of a task that requires no prior knowledge, but just common sense and the knowledge of the right way of doing a certain thing, which is more or less monotonous in nature; we are indicating that after all HR policies are for the betterment of the Elite a.k.a. staff/managerial.

Along with grooming the next level of employees, we also indulge in activities that would make our employees happier in the long run. We come out with this message that says “Look we are not just aiding you in your career growth; but we are taking care of you as well in the best of the ways. It’s because you mean as much to us, as we do to you!” We’ve come up with various policies indicating the benefits that they would be entitled to receive because they lay in the band level. Surely it does make them happy, and yes it has been a practice being followed all over the globe. Benefits like purse allowance, magazine allowances, etc, all tagged under the Fringe Benefits kitty, of which am so thankful to the Government for abolishing it from the Budget 2009. We do try our every bit of taking care of our employees; however why just restrict such benefits to staff/managerial levels? Human Resource is about taking care of the entire employee base of the organization and inching towards development of every individual. Would HR always cater to the needs of the Elite or are there chances of broadening the span to the less blessed? Would introduction of HR in an atmosphere that existed as a conglomerate of functions – Personnel Department survive the tests of meaning good intention? Would Succession Planning stand good for workers? Would mid sized manufacturing organizations grow with the process or end up being tangled in a mess of understood and not much understood methodologies? All of it depending upon the culture of the organization and the openness to accept HR with arms wide open, minus the nitpicking of associating it with American mumbo-jumbo as well as broadening the expanse and the reach of the HR Department in the lines of hereditary Personnel bloodline.

The Sweetest Sound

I remember coming across one statement which I felt is so true. It said “Remember that a man’s Name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language”.

Yet there are many of us who within minutes of introduction to a person forget their names, worse despite being embarrassed in all such situations, try little to possessing an elephant’s memory. And when it comes to HR folks, this is one tool that is supposed to be congenital.

I have known this very efficient a HR Manager, but he was bad at names, which was his biggest flaw. At the organization where he worked, his department had just one lady owing to the fact of being a manufacturing industry. There were days when she would be called by altogether different names, and everyday a new name would crop. But since she was the only lady, she would figure out it was her who was being summoned. Other colleagues faced the same fate; however they got used to it, since he would signal which subordinate he wanted in his cabin.

However this is one habit that refused to leave his premises even when he interacted with people from the other departments. He would end up coming confused, thinking hard recollecting names and attaching them to faces. It was always like an uphill task against earth’s gravity. There would be moments when large number of workers would turn up to his cabin in the count of 10-15 and every few minutes he would ask their names. And after giving up, one of the subordinates would help prompting the names, or go ahead with the session without mention of names. This adversely affected his reputation, who otherwise meant good work and intention, yet his forgetfulness indicated less attention in the interests of the employee.

Though his forgetfulness dodged areas that required strategic thinking and prompt recollection of information that meant crucial to the Co.’s working. His observations were always very thorough and scientific in approach. Nobody could question his calculations, since they were just very accurately made. However the name recollection wasn’t his cup of tea. He was in fact suggested of trying ways to learn and remember names; however despite accepting the lacuna he worked less in that direction.

The consequence being, his subordinates started resisting from being addressed as somebody they weren’t. As a crude joke the workers would pop their names between conversations and the whole organization knew that this HR Manager could recognize nobody from their names. The general perception grew by manifold that he wasn’t interested in the welfare of the employees, as he paid less attention towards their minutest details. And if he couldn’t remember a name, how could he remember the grievances they faced. How could he stand against the Management for those rights, each person had a different one and each had a name to it?

Dignity of Labour

Working in an organization for 3 decades would make one more than a mere employee. The person would view themselves as one of the army of men who build the organization pillar by pillar and brick by brick. There would be no corner of the unit that the person wouldn’t be aware off. And there would be no policy that cannot be measured by the employees’ eyes. Devoting all his youth to the vision of making the unit into something big and known worldwide would be a dream not just the owners would sleep and rise with every new day. And when the day to his retirement seems to be approaching, what would be the ultimate reward he would be looking forward to expectantly?

No it’s not the compensation, nor the farewell gifts. It’s not about sitting in a cabin all to himself, nor having a chauffeur driven car. It’s neither about being a critical member of the team nor smiling with pride seeing the enormous numbers of turn key projects he’s handled, yielding huge profits. These are all secondary points which add on by the by in the experience of life.

One fine morning among these days prior to retirement, one of the top management guys who has been with the organization for equal periods of decades decides to take a walk around and visits this department as well. For some reasons the top guy cannot remember this persons name, and doesn’t give even a minute to his memory for a recollect. Instead tries drawing attention of that employee by making certain sounds and clapping his hand and knocking at the door with a ‘hhuussshhh’, ‘oye’ and a ‘psstttt’, where everybody is an audience.

How would that do the 3 decades of blood and sweat in the name of this organization? How about a lesson on ‘Dignity of Labour’?

Surfing the Internet, I came across several definitions/meanings and essays to these 3 words. The best of which I could choose was:

“Dignity of labour chiefly means respectability of all labour such that one is not viewed as superior to the other”. And we even have a Labour Day marked on the calendar!

However I come up with a very different definition of mine, which says:

Dignity of Labour chiefly means not just bringing equality in work, appreciation of a job well done, time and again; but when one retires after serving the organization the top management knows his name and each one’s who is currently associated with the organization and they are addressed by it, doesn’t matter a blue collar employee or white collared.

This is one feeling of being recognized, which can surpass all materialistic gifts and rewards ever received in the whole career life - cycle of an employee. It’s the sweetest sound to any person’s ear that he/she lives his /her entire life to hear!

So if we really appreciate work done by somebody, and are in all praise for the effort and knowledge, apart from a memento at the rewards & recognition event, the first thing we could do, is call him/her by their name and make them realise they are not a forgotten lot and they will be remembered each passing day for their contribution towards building the organization.