Best Human Resource Practices in Manufacturing Companies

Best Human Resource Practices in Manufacturing Companies

The role of Human Resources is changing as fast as technology and the global marketplace. Historically, the HR Department was viewed as administrative overhead. HR handled benefits administration, kept personnel files, and other records, managed the hiring process, and provided other administrative support to the business. Those times have changed. The positive result of these changes is that HR professionals have the opportunity to play a more strategic role in the business. The challenge for HR managers is to keep up to date with the latest HR innovations - technological, legal, and otherwise.

There is a need to know about the current HR challenges, and how to most-effectively manage them in your workplace.

This report discusses some best HR practices in few companies in specific function.

Introduction

Any practice that you devise to increase the competence, commitment and improve the culture can be termed as HR Practice, and this can be in the form of a norm, rule, system, or some practices.

Examples: -

Ø  Wishing Employees on their birthday, anniversary, etc., by HR Head

Ø  Having health facilities / baby-sitting facilities

Ø  Continuous learning and development oriented PMS system

Ø  Good Employee Services

Ø  If employee attends the office on his birthday and the amount will be given as allowance, etc.

Ø  Company's Internal Magazine covering all the happenings in your company

Ø  Regular training and development

Ø  Job rotations / internal department transfer like service employees based on their performance shifted to Research & Development, etc.

There is no single best practice to which all organizations should aspire. Rather, the literature shows that each firm has a distinctive HR system that represents a core competency required for the survival and sustainability for that particular organization.

"Best Practices" in HR are subjective and transitory. What is best for one company may not be best for another. What was best last month may not be best for today. The concept of "best" is highly subjective and non-specific. "Best Practice" is not a set of discrete actions but rather a cohesive and holistic approach to organizational management.

Best Practices are initiatives taken by HR to: -

Ø  Create a feel good factor

Ø  Give high visibility and focused impact

Ø  Be unique and relevant

Ø  Gel with organization culture

Ø  Provide fresh / creative way to accomplish a task

Influencing Factors

Some factors which constitute best practices in HR are: -

Ø  Communication

Ø  Continuous Improvement

Ø  Risk Taking

Ø  Recognition

Ø  Work-life Balance

Ø  Culture Consciousness

Ø  Recruitment

Ø  Training & Development

Communication

The "best practice" companies have the most intense communications which are broad, continuous and involve multi-directional employee contact. Communications with employees is "a given", and is formal, focused and on-going responsibility. Communications are not done as an "extra".

1. "Talk of the Week" where all the employers are asked to participate and give their word and   opinion about their superiors helping to bridge the gap.
2. "Taking a Step Ahead" is Round Table Initiative followed by GSK Group to empower the employees.

Continuous Improvement

The best companies are never satisfied. They focus not only getting it right but doing it better. They are intensely dependent on feedback from all sources as the prime basis of their continuous improvement philosophy.

1. "Dosti" Counseling Facility, where trained counselor offer free and confidential advice on any   issue under the sun - from work related stress to marital discord adopted by Texas Instruments.
2. Les Concierges Service - Outsourcing chores like paying bills, booking tickets and buying vegetables followed by Johnson & Johnson.
3. Breakfast with Department Head in groups of 10 adopted by GSK.
4. Cashless Hospital Scheme for employees & their families by Johnson & Johnson.

Risk Taking

The best companies have leaders who possess courage to make the hard decisions and carry them out.

1. People like Jack Welch, CEO of General Electric, is known as "Neutron Jack" for his massive shake-ups at GE. These people are not afraid to go face-to-face with people - internal customers included - to discuss issues they feel need to be addressed.

Recognition

1. On-the-spot Recognition followed by Shoppers' Stop where all employers are recognized on their contribution and talent they exhibit. For every contribution, they are given stars - making people feel Stars.
2. Special Awards like "Helping Hand", "First Mover", And Quarterly Rewards and appreciation are some of the initiatives taken by many companies.

Work Life Balance

1. An initiative taken by GSK that every employee can walk out of the office at 6.00 p.m. helping them to balance both professional and personal life.
2. Quarterly Star Performers awarded with packages like Dinner-with-Family, Stay-over-the-Weekend at Five Star Hotels by Hewitt Packard.
3. Spouses invited to give a pleasant surprise to employees on anniversary and birthday at Hewitt.

Culture Consciousness

The best companies are all sharply focused on their culture and are conscious of how culture shapes systems and behaviors.

The best example for that is an initiative Fun @ Work Cadbury Annual Theme identified, being a reflection of company's corporate goals. Celebration Calendar built around the theme is to ensure at least one event per month.

1. On Company Day, employees are encouraged to interact with consumers and bring back new ideas.
2. Worm controversy overcomes through 'Delivering Smiles'.
3. Specific days like Traditional Day, etc., introduced.

Training & Development

1. Individual Training needs, performance and targets are freshly evaluated each quarter.
2. e-Learning Portal to provide a choice of whole range of topics from Communication to Project Management to Strategic Planning - FEDEX, HEWITT.
3. Rotational Development Program to provide cross-functional exposure to junior & mid-level staff.
4. Mentoring Program promotes diversity - mentor from different department.
5. Employees spend 150 minutes a month on Kaizen & Behavioral Training - Classic Stripes.

Recruitment

1. Employee Referral Scheme.
2."Interview over a Meal" - Creating comfort level.
3. Congratulating Parents on final selection of a candidate adopted by Max New york Life.
4. Job openings are posted internally and anybody can apply for an opening two levels above his current designation, an initiative taken by BSL, are some of the best HR practices in recruitment