Jeewansing Ramlugun
Chartered FCIPD, FCMI, FMIoD, FRSA.
African Development Consultant.
Member of African Think Tank Network
Parliamentary Development Researcher
Preamble
There is no dearth of reflections, ponderings, even pontifications on bettering Human Resource Management (HRM). And , while there may be some convergence on core issues, this is less evident when it comes to the discipline’s deeper or wider aspects at both conceptual level and future directions. The fundamental causalities behind the complexities or perplexities underlying workforce behaviour and performance get scant attention. The discipline of HRM, as of management generally, epistemologically sprang from various fields of the social sciences. Yet, it is confounding to encounter high level debates, for example surrounding the subject of organisational culture, without a thorough examination of its anthropological roots and its more nuanced specificities. Dominant canons on the theme tend to be treated as self-evident or axiomatic.
In this article, I will adopt a more discursive approach and possibly veer into unconventional avenues, to a large extent the views expressed being my own.
I will take a sceptical look at certain disparities between the pursuit of best practices and the compromised realities, and the possible explanations.
HRM as a profession is often peopled by non-specialists in many parts of the world, rare in other established professions. Hence, qualities of practice, of learning and development may vary significantly.
Echoes of proclaimed concerns for, and focus on human assets in the workplace, if proven to be hollow, will alarmingly ring down the corridors of giant corporations, SME’s, or other entities.
Given the well-documented or self-evident disjunctions between hortatory espousals of good or exemplary work practices and the reality, does it not provoke consternation at the actual sub-optimal harnessing of employee potentials at all levels, notwithstanding their commitment, goodwill and dedication, not to mention the lower than expected or possible bottom line outcomes.
With a farming metaphor in mind, for maximal yields the most promising seeds are sown, fertilised, watered, in sum well-tended, the gardener as nature’s steward not posturing as the master of his or her dominion but the servant of the soil. There are weeds that can run rampant as can unhealthy or toxic work cultures and practices.
The farmer’s seeds will grow and flourish, favourable elements pertaining and spread over the expanses and the hopeful bumper crops get harvested.
Why should it be different when it comes to managing, nurturing and getting the best out of people?
A servant leader rather than being one assuming lordship of the corporate enclave, is better placed to coax into growth the tender offshoots of promises with multiplying performance outcomes and outputs. There cannot be any room for amateurism.
Bent on ambitious goals, the farmer may not necessarily rely on home-grown or native nous, recognising the need to undergo more formal grounding to improve husbandry skills and transform farming fortunes across the board.
The same principle should apply to corporate or organisational leadership, in particular the managing of people. This tenet is subverted when leadership learning and development attainments are selectively and partially applied, the high ideals easily compromised due to real or proclaimed internal challenges/exigencies or owing to external nudges or imperatives. The rewards of high status can prove ends in themselves, resulting in a safe, cosy distancing from the coalface.
Think of the phenomenal efflorescence of enterprise fortune when the leaven in the dough is spread fairly and uniformly or when the field is tilled and nourished from end to end.
A farmer acquires the accoutrements of prudent land management for cultivation’s munificence; a pilot cannot fly safely and competently without thorough training, qualifying and applying every aspect of the acquired learning, or a ship’s captain steering through untoward waters, from years of skill honing and application. Constant skills updating and knowledge upgrading are integral to safe practice. Sinecurism should be anathema.
Why is it then assumed that a political neophyte or upstart can be parachuted into high office or occupy a specialised function without the requisite credentials, or for that matter those with perfunctory (mostly theoretical) foundations whether in management or leadership, be accorded pre-eminence and who can be relied upon to provide solid grounding to others?
Perhaps, farmers may have meaningful contributions to make when it comes to seeding human talent and phenomenally growing them!
The flipsides of bumbling, fumbling or fudging, in sum underperforming, can be incalculably consequential.
The afore-adumbrated realities or scenarios can be stark and invidious enough under ‘normal’ or predictable conditions. We must dare to think of and contemplate upon the fast unfolding discontinuations and disruptive changes in the world of work and the challenges for HRM.
We can consider a few germane ones:
- Health, safety and welfare and the rising associated costs.
Greater protective rights at work, and legislative changes, especially in well-established democratic societies and where evolved polities prevail. The recent pervasive and prolonged pandemic had presented acute predicaments in making adjustments to the workplace. In the UK the furlough policy and scheme ensured financial support to those unable to attend work at significant costs to the state. Such eventualities can quite likely recur and HR’s proactive response in managing continuity will be indubitably critical. ‘Business as usual’ mindsets will be hopelessly out of place.
In this context the increase in mental ill-health can present unique quandaries as to the appropriate professional resources required to address them.
- Low morales and disengagement from work.
In cases of personal financial pressures and lack of provisions for adequate sickness benefits and welfare, or the threats of job loss, people continue attending for work despite ill-health, while being unable to perform to their best due to a negative adaptive response dubbed as ‘presenteeism’.
There are also issues of job dissatisfaction, poor leaderships and unconducive work cultures, or where skills and responsibilities or work roles are mismatched.
Positive workplace morale is a fundamental factor underlying active engagement, highly significant in terms of making maximum practical and innovative contributions toward consistently good work and improved productivity. Engaged for Success (EFS) predicated on work satisfaction, commitment and alignment with the organisation’s values and goals, is vital. This critical work success factor needs constant monitoring and evaluating.
- Greater emphasis on ESG (Economic, Social and Governance) issues as well as EDI (Equality Diversity and Inclusion), point to the need for a comprehensive, complex, holistic and sophisticated approach to managing organisations, on the operational side and at the people management end.
- There are other highly pertinent problematics such as : Frontier technological developments, including AI, cybersecurity and data breach threats, pollution, biodiversity and sustainability (conformance with carbon footprint tracking and monitoring), ecosystem collapses, extreme weathers becoming more commonplace, international relations strains due to conflict, war and terrorism having adverse impacts on energy resources and supply chains, and the risks of economic downturns, not forgetting adverse social impacts, including possible civil unrests.
Poor infrastructure, lack of societal stability and lack of business-friendly environments, paucity of skilled labour and talents are further impediments.
From an HR perspective, at a time of its unprecedented closer identification with business ethos and modality, the profession has a clear need to equally maintain its focus on the people issues and accordingly design policies and procedures, realign strategic decision-making, placing appropriate stress on wellness, on fair treatment at work, employees having a say, benefitting from both personal and professional growth, acquiring new skills to stay up-to-date and have an enduringly employable profile, as well as experiencing high morale through engagement at work.
Hence the HR bars are continuously being raised in a disruptively and discontinuously challenging world of work. It is not a calling for the ill-prepared, complacent or with a penchant for placidity.
Concluding remarks
The philosopher Karl Popper in his seminal work, ‘The Poverty of Historicism’, laid to rest the idea of there being ineluctable and immutable laws of history, whereby large-scale social engineering projects are embarked upon on the back of extreme political ideologies, as somehow predestined to happen.
In a way, I would like to posit the idea of a ‘Poverty of Empiricism’, to refer to unexplained realities, transcending the established supposedly proven phenomena. In the management disciplines, the examinations of issues need to be open-ended, not reworked as rehashed ideas or treated as enduring, sacred orthodoxies.
Reference
Work Journal, CIPD, September-November 2024.