| HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT HR and bottom-line performance The evidence that progressive HR practices improve business performance is "overwhelming", according to a new book by Michael Armstrong and Angela Baron, published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. A central thesis of Strategic HRM is that the crucial factor in achieving higher and higher levels of business success is designing strategies to maximise and retain all the talent available. Hang on to your human capital "Holding on to the best talent is one of the cornerstones of an organisation's effectiveness," Armstrong and Baron argue. "Investing in your employees by improving their skills and designing and implementing people management and development strategies that are going to maximise their job satisfaction and performance - and hence their productivity - is the key to success." Armstrong, who is a managing partner of e-reward.co.uk, and Baron, the CIPD’ s adviser on employee resourcing, believe that one way of doing this is to have leading-edge practice in place. These initiatives ensure people are continuously stimulated and challenged, and that they share their knowledge and understanding willingly to achieve business goals. "It's true that people are more likely to move to another organisation to progress in their careers as flatter organisational structures and devolved business units have changed the face of career management. The challenge for organisations is to ensure that they capture the knowledge and talent they need to move forward. "We talk about the 'war for talent' now and the labour market is likely to get tighter," they add. "You have to hang on to your human capital you don't let people just walk out and take all their knowledge, understanding and expertise with them. Through systems, you can capture that knowledge and make sure that you're investing in the people you do have, constantly improving your human capital." Components of strategic HRM Armstrong and Baron summarise the key conclusions emerging from the vast tranche of data from four leading research projects into good practice — dating from the US Department of Labor's guidelines, published in 1993, to more recent research by David Guest for the CIPD and others. Common factors include:
A practical guide Spread across 257 pages, Strategic HRM is a readable and non-academic review of the wealth of theories about strategic human resources management. The book concentrates on how theory can be translated into practice and knitted into organisations at all levels. It also looks at the importance of trust and of ensuring that mission statements are seen to apply to the workforce as well as customers. Besides a review of the major research projects on the impact people management policies and practices make on business performance, the authors have added their own material from interviews with senior HR managers in companies, health trusts and charities in the UK. Want to know more? Title: Strategic HRM: The key to improved business performance, Michael Armstrong and Angela Baron, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Availability: The CIPD book is available from Plymbridge Distributors, tel: 01752 202301. Please quote ISBN: 0852929234. For a list of all titles by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development visit the CIPD web site . . . Posted 11 June 2002
|