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A person resourcing basically covers on the various modes of approaches utilized by employers in resourcing their respective organizations so as to meet their goals. Resourcing therefore comprises of a set of management activities which bring about success to the four groups of P& D objectives. These objectives include; performance, administration, staffing as well as change management. Staffing objectives `are to the effect that, the organization ought to have sufficient number of staff for the intended good of the organization. In this case, it is vital that an organization retains existing employees, recruit new employees and where necessary dismiss some of the said employees. The performance objectives come into \place after the staffing objectives where the employed personnel are expected to perform their duties effectively so that they can meet the organization’s goals. This be achieved by ensuring that these `employees `are less absent and are well motivated to work accordingly.
When it comes to administrative objectives, we see that the organization management ought to ensure that the existing employment relationship is sufficient. This means that they ought to apply their managerial tactics guided by the laws, natural justice as well as professional ethics. It is thus vital that, P&D policies be written in documents of employment such as job description, contracts and disciplinary warnings. This will in turn develop accepted procedures in the field of management. Under change management objective, there ought to be proper recognition and appreciation or change in a given organization. The resourcing function is thus vital playing the role of an agent who attracts, motivates and retains staff in a given organization.
The Twin Sickness: Absence and staff turnover
1. Staff Turnover
Basing n Ralkes and Vemier, 2004, the key strategy in achieving financial success of an organization is attraction and retaining. When a turnover occurs, an organization is greatly affected in terms of inter alia costs. Turnover affects even humanitarian organizations to which the decrease of performance in relief and aid agencies is evidenced. Retaining staff members can be very challenging, majorly because today the youth have a change of attitude towards work. This consequently makes them have a lower degree in terms of loyalty. The youth today respect knowledge and expertise as opposed to titles, and thus would not have much interest working for an employer who does not give them this challenge. Over the years the turnover rates that have been evidenced have been calculated using the formula as below;
Total number of leavers over period x 100
Average total number employed over period
In computing the rates and main trends, it is vital that the total figure includes all leavers; this also applies to persons who left the organization in question voluntarily, retirement, dismissal and redundancy. The formula further makes no significant distinction between turnover dysfunctional and functional turnover. By virtue of the UK (CIPD 2005b) research, turnover is of recent around 15% and the fact that, the biggest share is consists of the voluntary turnovers. This is contrary to previous assumptions of majority of turnovers being as `a result of termination of contract or even retirement.
Basing on the CIPD (2005b) report, one of the factors that cause turnovers is the attraction of new jobs outside the work force. Furthermore, dissatisfaction is also another reason that leads to turnovers so as to find alternative employment. In the humanitarian sector, it is evident that dissatisfaction with the employing agency has contributed much in resignation. According to Loquercio, 2005, the issues relating to turnovers that are more evident in the humanitarian sector include inter alia, the quality of life. Most employees under humanitarian agencies work in areas that are mostly in conflict and characterized with heavy workload. This hence gives them a limited privacy as well as comfort. Therefore, the employees usually accept such working conditions for a particular amount of time. Furthermore, under humanitarian agencies, the turnover is caused by the aspiration of workers to have a family. This aspiration is incompatible with the reality of the nature of the work they do, which limits them family time. Moreover, Loquercio’s research reveals that, majority of the young adults perceive their engagement with the aid sector to be a limited part o their professional \life. This is majorly because b y the fear of letting their market value suffers from their prolonged absence from their countries of origin.
Having realized the main causes of turnovers in humanitarian organizations, it is vital that such an organization considers the maintenance of employees so that the organization can succeed in its goals. However, when looking at the issue as to whether or not to retain staff, it is important that one looks at the quality o staff in place. Since Hansen’s research (2005) reveals on the fact that voluntary turnover is low, involuntary turnover is much higher today owing to the managerial reluctance in discharging poor performers. A report by Deloitte (2004) reflects on the fact that, people stay put in their jobs due to the economic state that has proved to be very low and thus creating less job opportunities. Organizations ought to find out which profiles, position and skills are considered most vital to them. They should further put effort in the reduction of turnovers in the given categories. The retaining of staff members that have long lost motivation is very detrimental for any given organization. However, it is also evident that the degree of motivation accrues from the management and HR actions of an organization. Organizations therefore ought to increase the engagement of their workers so as to increase productivity and boost the general success of their organization.
Basing on the results accruing from Towers Perrin report, it is vital that employees gain the willpower, passion, sense of mission and pride that will consequently give them motivation in their work performance. Furthermore, workers need to be facilitated with the necessary resources, tools and support from the organization so that they can effectively act on their sense of passion and mission.
In the child care sector related to humanitarian organization, it is evident in the sectorial level that staff turn over in the said sector causes skill shortages. Despite the fact that the child care sector is expanding, the labor from which to recruit is diminishing. According to Simon et al, 2003, this causes by inter alia, the fact that there exists low pay as` well as low status for the workers. Childcare worker have low academic qualifications and have thus joined child care due to the few carrier options available for them toady. Due to the fact that 99 % of the persons to be recruited are females, the current education system that has made women study more and gain higher qualification makes the child sector less attractive to them. Consequently, these women have higher career expectations and have a wide range of better-paying jobs to choose from. Child care jobs have become less attractive by virtue of their low payments which are less `desirable and thus turnovers in such sectors have become rampant. Furthermore, some researcher like Smith et al., 2004 came to the fact that, the child care work does not easily support with the act of one caring for one’s own children. Conclusively, staff turnover in humanitarian organization has for long been a major=r threat to development. As discussed above, there are many reasons that cause staff turnovers in humanitarian organization, these reasons are can either be general or specific as portrayed in the above discussion.
2. Sickness Absence
According to statistics, thousands of workers each year leave their employments due to injuries or illness. It is also evident that less has been done in the HRM literature in terms of policies `and strategies to which an organization can utilize to reduce such job losses. This working climate exists despite the fact hat; employers are capable of placing arrangements that may enhance the employee’s return to work. The fact that HRM literature has committed such strategies is against the background accruing from policy developments as ell as debates that are for purposes of facilitating the return to work of the sick. The existing Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 gives an employer the obligation to provide reasonable adjustments in supporting the continued employment for workers who become disabled.
The most common cause for employee long-term absence are acute medical conditions, stress, musculoskeletal injuries and mental ill-health. Basing on statistics, approximately 86% of employers often record the cause of absence in their respective organizations. In comparison, the private sector is likely to this 81-84% as compared to the public sector 94%.The man cause of most short-term absence in organizations (a month or less), is minor illnesses for non-manual workers and inter alia musculoskeletal in juries for manual workers. The factors that influence an employee’s absence in an organization includes the fact that older workers may be more reliable, some of the personalities may be more prone to absence than others. Moreover, the culture, work ethics transport difficulties and home commitments may also affect ones absence from work. Fear of being unemployed can however encourages diligent attendance. Conclusively, the other factor that greatly affects humanitarian organizations is absenteeism from workers. As discussed above, this absenteeism may be as a result of sickness or any other factors that have been reflected above.
Remedial Recommendations
1. Staff Turnover
As revealed in the given discussion above, staff turnover has become an issue of concern in organizations today. There is thus a great need to maintain workers in such an environment by management. Distinct managerial approaches towards retention can be employed to humanitarian organizations. It is thus vital that a retention strategy is first designed to find out the reasons why people leave their employment, why they stay and what could consequently make hem stay even longer in their jobs. This has been proven vital basing on the research conducted by Hinkin et al. (2000) who observed that, where it is seen that a significant share of workers stay only for a limited period before leaving their jobs, then this is a symptom of a problem that ought to be addressed.
Organizations ought to create encouragement at greater levels of communication as well as trust between the employers and their employees. This can be accomplished through involving the employees more in the organization band empowering them. The organization can adopt practices such as staff association, self-managed teams, circulation of information, staff surveys and staff association. Furthermore, the human resources practices ought to target creating of skills within the given organization via appraisals, mentoring, training, job performances and review of training needs. The organization can also embrace reward and commitment practices that should be aimed at creating a greater sense of belonging for the employees and consequently commitment to the organization. These practices may include job rotation, flexibility of job descriptions as well as family-friendly policies that have non-pay benefits.
Deloitte (2004) recommends that humanitarian organizations ought to put emphasis on developing, connecting and deploying their employees. The development should be in terms of skills not only through training but also teaching them hoe to find information that could sharpen their skills. This can also be enhanced by coaching and mentoring. The report further explains on the need for deployment. Employees require lateral experiences which result to growth and have challenges. An organization therefore should encourage greater mobility so that it can be able to inspire a more committed workforce thus promoting greater strategic flexibility. Organizations should have strategies that enable them to stay engaged with alumni because persons who are granted latitude so that they can explore new jobs may often return with new insights and vigor. On the aspect of connection, Deloitte urges organizations to develop rich networks on both internally and externally. This for instance can b e done via informal discussions over a cup of tea or coffee.
Human resource strategy ought to be an integral part of an organization’s strategic and operational plans. It is vital that action be taken at agency level in order to make recognition of the role of HR function as well as integration in strategic planning. Funding is also an issue that needs to be addressed so that poor HR practices are not able to negatively impact on the quality of agencies programs. Agencies in humanitarian sectors get more turnovers and thus ought to train their employees to gain more knowledge and skills. Some of these agencies are more reluctant in investing in staff training due to fear that if the particular employee does not stay with them at the lapse of his untenured, they would have lost their investment. Organizations need to realize the fact that, training is very beneficial if adapted to the needs. Lack of staff ought to be an incentive for them to have even greater likelihood of leaving. This is because such a policy will be perceived `as unfair and also endangering the existing employability of the employees.
CIPD (2005b) further recommends that, organizations should maximize opportunities so that individual employees develop their skills so that they can move to their own careers. Despite the fact that the traditional approach was via career progression as well as advancement, this may not always be possible but employees can accept this if the selection process for promotion is viewed as fair. Another option that the organization can adopt is the redesigning of job descriptions and the promotion of laterally as opposed to vertically. Humanitarian organization should also take steps in offering more possibilities `for staff development as well as training. This can be done through encouraging employees in taking a year off to further their studies in University (Loqurcio)
The adoption and development of the increasing use of advanced IT technology is another way of allowing affordable and much easy contact between field offices in a given organization, and its headquarters. Headquarters can in this way avoid the form o0pf expatriate presence in the field while allowing a more flexible distance management. This can greatly improve the interactions and relations with national staff that can in turn make better use at the local level and longer commitment to the same agency and location by staff members.
2. Sickness Absence
Sickness absence can be managed by humanitarian organizations in various ways depending on whether the sickness is that of short-term absence or long-term. Incase it is short-term, an organization can conduct return-to-work interviews that will consequently trigger modes of reviewing attendance, provision of disciplinary measures for unacceptable absence and supplying sickness absence information to head managers. In case of long-term absence, return to work interviews are carried out, disciplinary methods for unacceptable absence as well as occupational health involvement are often utilized in management of long-term absence.
The punitive approaches in managing absence could b inform of disciplinary sanctions, reduction of pay or docking pay for the period not work for. Furthermore, punitive measures may also include the taking of attendance records into account when deciding on whom to promote. Incentive approaches involve the issuance of lotteries, attendance bonuses; well pay plans, team bonuses and profit sharing. An organization may also take preventive approaches by adopting to work rotation, better supervision and training, team working, job enrichment, encouraging employee participation, , psychological contract that is based on both confidence and trust, giving employee well-being benefits ,change the cultural way of working for long hours to working towards intensification and improve on employer-employee communication. The above mentioned strategies can be employed in ensuring proper management of absenteeism due to sickness within organizations.
