Thị trường Head Hunting tại Việt Nam, tiềm năng nhưng không thiếu những khó khăn và thách thức

Trong bài viết này, tôi xin đề cập về thực tế thị trường Head Hunting ở Việt Nam và những khó khăn, thuận lợi.

Thị trường đầy hấp dẫn

Như các bạn đã biết, Head Hunting là một nghề còn khá mới mẻ, nhưng hiện nay, nhu cầu của thị trường là rất lớn trong nền kinh tế đang trên đà phát triển ở nước ta. Với nhiều thuận lợi về nguồn lực trẻ hóa, thị trường đa dạng và vị trí chiến lược, Việt Nam đã và đang thu hút sự quan tâm của các tập đoàn nước ngoài lớn đầu tư vào thị trường đầy hấp dẫn này. Theo đó, nhu cầu về nhân sự cao cấp cũng sẽ tăng lên.

Ở Việt Nam, để đáp ứng cho nhu cầu này, có rất nhiều công ty chuyên săn đầu người đáp ứng nhu cầu cấp thiết cho thị trường như L&A và các doanh nghiệp trong và ngoài nước khác… Các doanh nghiệp này làm dịch vụ tuyển dụng quản trị viên, chuyên gia trong từng lĩnh vực cụ thể về đầu tư chất xám cho khách hàng. Có thể ví người thợ săn như là những cỗ máy “đãi cát tìm vàng”, tìm kiếm và chọn lọc các ứng viên xuất sắc, những người đáp ứng được yêu cầu khắc khe ngoài thị trường sẽ được tiếp nhận, lưu giữ thông tin và họ trở thành một loại “nguồn lực cấp cao” trong thị trường lao động.

headhunting

Sự cạnh tranh

Mặc dù là một loại hình dịch vụ mới mẻ nhưng không phải là không có sự cạnh tranh, mà sự cạnh tranh đó thậm chí còn khốc liệt hơn những lĩnh vực khác. Khi đã và đang có nhiều công ty tư vấn tuyển dụng nước ngoài “nhòm ngó” thị trường nhân sự cao cấp Việt Nam và trên thực tế cũng đã có một số công ty nước ngoài liên kết cùng các công ty tuyển dụng trong nước khai thác tốt mảng này. Tất nhiên, với kinh nghiệm lâu năm trong lĩnh vực này ở thị trường quốc tế, các công ty nước ngoài có nhiều lợi thế về nguồn ứng viên đa dạng từ khắp mọi nơi với quy trinh hỗ trợ Khách hàng chuẩn hóa. Các công ty trong nước cũng có những mặc thuận lợi khác như nắm rõ sự phân khúc thị trường nhân lực nội tại, thấu hiểu về dòng chảy nhân sự và khéo léo kết hợp hai nhu cầu đó lại với nhau.

Một yếu tố cạnh tranh nữa là chi phí và chất lượng dịch vụ. Trong nền kinh kế đang hồi phục, các công ty đặt chỉ tiêu cắt giảm chi phí lên hàng đầu. Tuy nhiên việc đầu tư cho nguồn chất xám là cần thiết. Với mức phí dịch vụ cạnh tranh từ 17-20% từ lương năm của Ứng viên và chất lượng dịch vụ tương đồng giúp các Doanh Nghiệp Viêt Nam trụ vững và dần chiếm lĩnh thị trường. Trong khi đó, tại các nước phát triển, chi phí dịch vụ cho một ứng viên thành công bằng khoảng 30% từ khoản lương năm. Khi khai thác thị trường Việt Nam, một công ty nước ngoài sau khi trừ các chi phí thì mức phí dịch vụ để đảm bảo mang về lợi nhuận ít nhất 25% lương năm của ứng viên thành công.

Ngày nay, Nhận lực là yếu tố “sống còn” của doanh nghiệp.Trong xu thế cạnh tranh về chiến lược, sự đa dạng trong các loại hình dịch vụ giúp các doanh nghiệp khẳng định được vị thế trong thương trường. Doanh nghiệp luôn mong muốn phát triển đồng đều bộ máy nhân sự chuẩn, do dó nhu cầu nhân lực không dừng lại ở bất kỳ cấp độ nào kể cả nhân lực cấp cao, cấp trung và cấp thấp (như công nhân lành nghề…). Thế nên sẽ thuận lợi hơn cho các công ty đã và đang cung cấp các loại hình dịch vụ nhân lực đa dạng như L&A, nơi sẽ gắn kết nhân tài  và đồng hành cùng với sự phát triển vững bền của doanh nghiệp.

Chất lượng nhân sự

Có thể thấy trong thời điểm hiện tại nền kinh tế Việt Nam đã phát triển ổn định hơn, đội ngũ  nhân lực VN trẻ hóa và có nhiều tiến bộ về tay nghề, kỹ năng chuyên nhiệp. Những người tài có được nhiều thuận lợi từ thị trường này, càng giỏi, họ càng được mời gọi nhiều và cơ hội rộng tay đón chào. Trong khi các nhà quản lý luôn phải vận hành và phát triển doanh nghiệp của mình, nâng tầm doanh nghiệp đến đỉnh cao cần chiêu mộ “đúng người, đúng tầm và đúng vị trí”. Và “nhân tài” cũng đã phần nào ý thức được giá trị của mình. Thực tế đang trở thành xu hướng, khi có nhu cầu thay đổi chỗ làm tốt hơn, thu nhập cao hơn. Ngày càng có nhiều người hội đủ năng lực đăng ký gia nhập ngay vào những công ty head hunting

Nhưng cũng có khá nhiều bất cập về chất lượng nhân lực. Chỉ riêng những ứng viên đăng ký tại công ty tôi, thì có thể nhận xét rằng chất lượng và số lượng Ứng viên cấp cao còn thấp , chưa đáp ứng được  yêu cầu trong nước. Đồng thời vẫn còn sự thiếu hụt nhân lực ở cấp trung hoặc các bạn mới vào nghề, có lẽ  họ chỉ nắm tốt lý thuyết trong nhà trường mà có ít kiến thức về thực tế cũng như chuyên môn. Vì vậy, quá trình tuyển chọn và đào tạo cũng rất khó khăn và mất nhiều thời gian. Sau khi tuyển dụng được người có năng lực, trong những trường hợp cần thiết, công ty còn tổ chức các khóa bồi dưỡng chuyên môn phù hợp với yêu cầu công việc. 

Kết luận

Với tất cả những thuận lợi và khó khăn nêu trên, thị trường Head Hunting vẫn là một thị trường đầy hứa hẹn trong tương lai ở Việt Nam. Có thể nói rằng, dịch vụ này góp phần giúp nâng cao chất lượng nhân sự và sự cạnh tranh lành mạnh trên thị trường, giúp thúc đẩy phát triển kinh tế và chất lượng dịch vụ.

Head Hunter - nghề hấp dẫn và những điều ít người biết

Làm trong ngành nhân sự 7 năm ở vị trí chuyên gia tư vấn cấp cao tại 1 vài tập đoàn nước ngoài. Hiện tại, tôi đang quản lý mảng Head Hunting tại một công ty cung cấp trọn gói các giải pháp về nguồn nhân lực. Có nhiều bạn hỏi tôi về dịch vụ này. Hôm nay, tôi chia sẻ bài viết này để các bạn có cái nhìn tổng thể về nghề Head Hunting.

Ai là người cần đến Head Hunting?

Khi các tập đoàn nước ngoài đầu tư vào Việt Nam, ngoài các yêu cầu tư vấn về nhân lực, về văn hóa và các điều luật tại nước sở tại, họ rất cần những người quản lý cấp cao hội đủ khả năng và tố chất lãnh đạo để lèo lái cả một tập đoàn trong môi trường mới đầy cạnh tranh và thử thách. Làm sao để tìm được người thích hợp? Đưa CEO người nước ngoài từ tập đoàn về quản lý sẽ có những ưu điểm bên cạnh những khuyết điểm. Họ có thể nắm rõ chiến lược của tập đoàn, phong cách làm việc chuyện nghiệp và đưa ra những kế sách hay. Tuy nhiên họ sẽ mất nhiều thời gian để thích nghi với môi trường sống mới, sự khác biệt về văn hóa, ngôn ngữ, sự thiếu hụt nhân lực và những trải nghiệm ở thị trường nội địa... Giải pháp thứ hai là tìm một người hội tụ đủ các yếu tố trên và đủ “tầm” để có thể tin tưởng giao cả số mệnh của cả một tập đoàn. Vậy tìm người đó ở đâu? Lúc này, những Head Hunter sẽ ra tay.

Công việc của một Head Hunter

Cụm từ Head Hunting (săn đầu người) và Head Hunter (người đi săn đầu người) hẳn không còn xa lạ với nhiều người. Nhưng công việc của họ thì chưa được nhiều người hiểu một cách đầy đủ. Trong xu thế thị trường cạnh tranh, nhu cầu “chiêu hiền đãi sĩ” được các công ty đặt lên hàng đầu. Bên cạnh đó, Nhân sự nội bộ cũng không dễ dàng tìm kiếm một ứng viên phù hợp trong trăm ngàn hồ sơ thông qua các quảng cáo tuyển dụng và việc hạn chế mối quan hệ với nguồn ứng viên cao cấp ngoài thị trường cũng ít nhiếu ảnh hưởng đến chất lượng “đãi cát tìm vàng”. Tương tự như vậy, các chiến binh qua nhiều năm kinh nghiệm thương trường, nắm giữ các vị trí chủ lực của công ty – họ sẽ không dễ dàng công khai hồ sơ trên những phương tiện đại chúng như các website tìm việc, báo chí hay nộp đại trà vào các công ty đang tuyển dụng mà trên hết họ cần tìm hiểu thông tin đầy đủ về một công ty mà họ nhắm đến. Và cả hai nhu cầu gặp nhau ở Head Hunter.
Bên cạnh đó, Head Hunter cũng cần tìm hiểu về văn hóa gia đình của ứng viên, tính cách, quan niệm sống và định hướng nghề nghiệp đê có sự tư vấn các cơ hội thích hợp nhất nhằm giúp họ thăng hoa trong sự nghiệp.
Nhu cầu tuyển dụng người tài hiện khá cao, chúng tôi có hơn 100 vị trí cấp cao mỗi tháng. Trong năm 2009 – 2010, nhu cầu sử dụng dịch vụ Head Hunting tăng cao từ 2 ngành Tài chính – Ngân hàng và ngành Công nghiệp nặng được các nhà đầu tư từ những quốc gia có nền công nghiệp phát triển như Singapore, Kongkong, Úc, Nhật...

Tố chất để trở thành một Head Hunter thành công?

Một Head Hunter giỏi cần có đến 60% kĩ năng sales và 40% kĩ năng về nhân sự, bước chân vào nghề này với “background” xuất thân từ sales sẽ là một lợi thế. Ngoài ra, một head hunter thành công là người có phong thái cởi mở, tự tin trong giao tiếp, biết xây dựng và phát triển các mối quan hệ, là người kết nối trong công đồng. Họ đòi hỏi phải luôn thắp sáng suy nghĩ lạc quan, khéo léo nắm bắt tâm lý và tinh tế trong cách xử lý tình huống. Ngoài ra họ cần phải khách quan trong việc đánh giá ứng viện dựa trên năng lực, tố chất qua hành vi...chứ không dựa trên cảm nhận cảm tính.
Head Hunter luôn có sẵn một cơ sở dữ liệu ứng viên riêng cùng với sự am hiểu về thị trường trong lĩnh vực hoạt động, để khi có yêu cầu từ khách hàng họ sẽ phải định hình sẵn trong đầu những ứng viên tương ứng với vị trí đó giúp quá trình hỗ trợ khách hàng nhanh nhất và có chất lượng nhất.
Head Hunter không dừng lại ở góc độ tuyển thành công 1 vị trí cho khách hàng. Hơn thế nữa họ còn đảm bảo ứng viên trong quá trình làm quen với môi trường làm việc mới và tư vấn thêm cho họ những thông tin về công ty. Trong trường hợp họ ra đi thì Head Hunter cũng là người cần phải tìm hiểu để biết được lý do sâu thẳm, sự phù hợp và chưa phù hợp ở những góc độ nào, dồng thời nắm được những ưu – khuyết điểm của công ty tuyển dụng. Sau đó sẽ đưa ra những giải pháp phù hợp hơn cho những lần tuyển dụng sau. Mà những điểm này bình thường không phải lúc nào cũng biết được.
Sự đến – đi giữa ứng viên với các công ty có nhu cầu tuyển dụng cũng là một điểm lợi của các dịch vụ Head Hunting, vì nguồn nhân lực chỉ chảy từ nơi này sang nơi khác. Do đó, dịch vụ Head Hunting lại càng nở rộ. Các công ty có nhu cầu tuyển dụng có thể sử dụng cùng lúc nhiều đơn vị khác nhau để tìm kiếm nhân sự cấp cao bởi vì chi phí cho dịch vụ bằng 0%, trừ khi giới thiệu ứng viên thành công thì chi phí dịch vụ mới được tính dựa trên mức lương của ứng viên, nên cuộc cạnh tranh giữa các Head Hunter nói riêng và các công ty tư vấn nhân sự có dịch vụ Head Huting nói chung ngày càng khốc liệt. Và tất nhiên, sẽ không có chỗ đứng cho những “thợ săn” không thực sự chuyên nghiệp và không trau dồi kĩ năng cần thiết.

head hunter

Có nhiều ý kiến cho rằng, những Head Hunter thường bị những công ty có nhân sự cao cấp “sợ và ghét”. Lý do là họ “lôi kéo” nhân sự giỏi của họ qua đầu quân cho công ty đối thủ cạnh tranh, nhưng cá nhân tôi cho rằng, mỗi công ty thực sự tốt sẽ phải xây dựng những chiến lược về nhân sự và chính sách giữ chân nhân sự giỏi hiệu quả, còn không, nhân sự ra đi là điều tất yếu, không cần phải đến khi những Head Hunter cho họ biết về các offer tốt hơn.

Strategic Human Resource Management

In this day and age, it is very rare to come across a computer-free workplace, whether it's POS systems or office based workstations, the fact is that they enable strategic human resource management. The efficiencies and reduced inaccuracies afforded by computer based technologies are integral to any business, regardless of size and turnover. At the end of the day, businesses are concerned with profit margins, of which wages to sales figures influence greatly. There are a lot of products on the market to assist in collecting, tracking and measuring this data. The data also provides a means to track and access figures from a strategic human resource management perspective, for example, retention, workplace safety and intellectual property.
Payroll processing is the time consuming task that all small to medium business owners look forward to on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis (note sarcasm). This process also ranges from a full hard-copy, hard-cash activity to a completely outsourced solution. Getting the payroll process right has significant flow-on effects, as staff quickly become unhappy when this process falls down.

                             
Take for example the business that rosters their employees in excel and posts this up in the workplace, with any inevitable changes pencilled in manually. The staff then work according to the scribbled upon roster, with the shift-supervisor recording late arrivals, early departures and breaks, either as they happen or retrospectively, relying on their memory on the day payroll is being processed. Finally, all the data is interpreted from the rushed scribbles on the tattered roster, entered into MYOB and net wage figures are spat out for the business owner to withdraw from the bank and physically hand to staff or store in the safe until the staff member is next rostered for work. Sure, this is an extreme example, but for some, not far from the truth. Without having to point out in detail, there are some obvious restrictions in this process, which include accuracy of information, ability to report on wages data, time required to complete the process, staff morale affected by inevitable mistakes and additional stress.
Now let's look at the other end of the spectrum where a roster is created via a tailor made web based time and attendance system with strategic human resource management in mind, accessible to all employees and each employee is required to clock in and out via a thumb-scanner, recording their working hours to the minute and comparing real times against rostered times. At the end of the pay period the times are reviewed, approved and processed by an outsourced payroll provider. Whilst this process maximises the accuracy and efficiency of the payroll process, allows for reporting and manipulating wage data, there are costs incurred for the customisation of the system, licence user and user fees and processing fees charged by the payroll processing company. The advantages are obvious, as the time required of the business owner and staff is minimal in this process, relying on technology reduces human error and most technology companies aim to improve their product to remain competitive.
Most businesses needs and budgets will slot somewhere in this scale and it is in applying a thorough analysis to find a solution that will provide the best results. Some business owners will forego expenditure in lieu of performing the task themselves, but there does become a point where you can put a dollar value on your time, and the more time you spend on repetitive and inefficient tasks with excessively complicated excel spread-sheets is less time spent on the success of the business.
When exploring the introduction of new technologies to enable strategic human resource management, ensure that a demonstration of the product is provided and that it is going to work under your business model and not the other way around. Once a decision has been reached, implementation is the next hurdle to overcome as change is rarely received positively and without criticism. Make sure there is an overlap stage, where initially the old system runs concurrently with the new technology as this will give you a direct comparison of the value and suitability of the system. The final step is "selling" it to the staff who will be affected, by highlighting the positives, providing training and being open about the reasons for the decision, inviting both positive and negative feedback.

Strategic Human Resource Management For Maximum Productivity

Human resources development as input to maximize the strategic investment in human resources

Human resource management is a tactical and rational approach to run an organization and manage its assets.  It includes persons working as joint groups and individuals so as to achieve the organization goals as according to Armstrong and Michael (631-635). He further says that human resource managing entails the managing of employees in an association. Strategic investment in human resources involves the guarantying of employment opportunities by small and medium investment, supporting of development projects and innovativeness. Strategic human resource management concepts are the management of employees, organization’s manpower and its production rate and level (personnel management in Columbia magazine, 1 of 12). It also involves looking for information precise to the administration of the HR, the profession, or the partnership of leadership teams and the HRM so as to properly plan and run an organization. These features are all interrelated and sometimes taken to be synonymous affecting mainly the administration and the employees. The views of the workers should be taken gravely since they increase the productivity of the organization and the administration should create time to listen to them. Strategic management involves making changes in an organization and involves the transformation of a traditional rational to strategic thinking, planning and learning of stakeholders of a company to maximize production. It also stipulates the strategies on how to get the achievements expected by having a focus to their mission as according to John and Wilkinson (137-161). The main reason for human resource management is to reduce the risks incurred by a company due to poor planning thus a need to formulate these strategies. Considering the HRM is synonymous to personnel management then we can use the expressions of Torrington and Hall who define it as “a series of activities which: first enable working people and their employing organizations to agree about the objectives and nature of their working relationship and, secondly, ensures that the agreement is fulfilled” (p. 49). This emphasizes why a strategic plan must be formulated to ensure an ideal operation of a company’s activities

Keys to calculated Planning of Human Resource and Execution of the Achievements of a Business

For strategic management of human resources the keys to successful planning in a business implementation include having an active and full managerial support, involving of employees in decision making and systematic organization and planning. A thorough competitive analysis and a widespread perception of its need being advocated will helps in its implementation (Pfeffer (1994) and Pfeffer (1998). Effective communication of the employees and the employers will help to keep them informed of the events and happening of the company. Further putting the mind of people to think strategically and ensuring an employee oriented behavior with high level of trust of among your employees will help to plan successfully with their cooperation. Thriving strategic planning requires commitment of the administration in that they must direct, support, and follow up the strategic scheduling and implementation otherwise the plan will fail. This will increase the positivity and the morale of the employees towards a company’s goals.

Research on Strategic Human Resource Management

Research in this field has contributed to the development of an organization since for the last two decades much attention has been paid to observe the relationship of good human resource management and organization performance. According to Golding (342-357) it has resulted to improved levels of productivity, enhanced competence and eminence. According to Storey (2007, 324-377) it is sometimes referred to as strategic human resource management (SHRM). In this new method they are three principles as stated by Paauwe (1 of 22) the principle of best practice that entails working to your level best, the principle of best fit that doing the job you are qualified for at the right timing for right purposes and resource based view that entails maximizing resources for the company’s advantage. According to Pfeffer (1994) and Pfeffer (1998) that high commitment in this field will bring massive development to the company if the practice of competitive advantage is taken seriously other than first building up profits. He claims that providing security for employment, discerning hiring, widespread training of employees, communication and sharing information, self discipline at work and high pay depending on how much the company has made will promote the fulfillment of a company’s expectations. These are however rated as the best methods of Strategic Human Resource Management but according to Becker and Gerhart claim that there is currently no specific way to mange an organization since each of the strategies that work are unique (1996,779-801). Another alternative proposal to the best management practices is the assurance of a consistency of the management practices of the HR and the company’s plans. This will ensure a rhyme between the policies of both the business and the external market Kochan and Barocci, 1 of 54). The use of vertical and horizontal integration has also been on the rise to improve strategic Human Resource management.

Theories on improving HRM

The first theory proposes the use of an organization lifecycle that helps to stage the policies and practices of the HR. This is contrary to the views of (Dolery and Doty, pp. 802-835) who propose strategic choice of the map ranging to be done in an organization for competitive advantages. In both cases enforcement of a company’s plans will be unremitting and prior planned for. This includes a close scrutiny of the policies and practices of the HR. This theory is however limited for organizations that have a defined strategy for HRM but in essence many of the companies’ strategies are dynamic. Another of the theories is the resource based view (RBV) that according to Prahald and Hamel (1 of 1) who suggest that a company whose resources are heterogeneous has a wide scope of strategies for improving production compared to a homogeneity producing company. He defines the uniqueness of a company as advantageous but claims it is a very difficult strategy to adopt. According to Dave (1996, 1 of 5) the functions of strategized HRM are for administration expertise, employee engagement, creation of good deals with partners which will go along way to improve resources gained in a company.

Strategic human Resource Management Trends

Determining the current and future anticipation of your employees and future recruitment of workforce is an important consideration in any organization. This helps to enhance competence, flexibility and methodological abilities as suggested by Elwood and Trott (1996, pp. 7). The need for consideration of external and internal factors is essential to help in motivating and retaining workers. Factors that are external such as climate and labor marketing, government involvement in industrial development and educational competence for employee are becoming important considerations in improving HRM. Internal factors such as culture and management of organizations are important to monitor development of HR. In modern settings the workforce such as social class, age and gender is slowing fitting with what a company produces affecting issues of job security, insurance and pensions (Cascio, pp475-89). The diversity of the employees where an employer defines his employees’ characteristics is also a prominent trend (Kelly, 1 of 22). The skills and quality of employee is changing and being considered since learned people competent to handle organization operations

Aims and Objectives

1. Analyze the issue of strategic HR Management, its trends and keys on how to achieve it

2. Look for methodologies of improving Strategic human resource management, , how to access them, their problems and mitigations to those problems.

Research Questions

What are the methodologies of improving Strategic human resource management?

How can you access them?

What are their draw backs and how can they be mitigated?

Justification

            Currently many organizations are realizing the importance of HRM development in order to improve performance of both workers and economic gain for the organization. The HR department has identified the potential of the personnel and their talents so as to allocate them to departments they fit better. They have also provided a link with their employees by giving them a salary and rewards for hard work in developing the economy and to make the method of payment fair they have introduced numbered criteria on how to pay but these have not been well careered for thus resulting to the closure of many companies. The personnel have also bee charged with the mandate to advise top management and consult them if need be but in most cases the HRM makes decisions as an autonomous group then inform employees. Employee engagement is also yet to be real in our organizations (Jackson and Mathis, 2000, 164-169) who say that there has been a complete breakdown of communication between employees and the HRM. According to Price (2003,197 ) the main problem that HRM is experiencing is the new age causing a problem in the right structure of the HR department thus emergence of mismanagement and poor service delivery and the problem of rapid supply of the company’s needs. According to Tsang (1994, 4-12) and Mayer (2002, pp165-75) the major problems facing the HRM are recruitment methods, procedures of dismissal, lack of labor discipline, poor managerial skills and poor recruitment procedures. It is with these problems that new and advanced strategies have to be formulated to ensure that human resources are developed to ensure maximum strategic investment.

Methods to Improve Strategic Human Resource Management

Santiago (2004, pp. 59-64) claims that the three ways to improve thee HRM’s strategic planning is by the implementation of the Vertical, Horizontal and Functional integration strategies in organizations. In the vertical strategy the activities of the HR must dovetail with the organization’s mission and vision. This will improve HR practices by increasing employment security, ensuring transparent recruitment and firing of employees. According to Becker and Huselid (1995, pp. 635-72) it has been successful to curb impunity. It is however accompanied with problems of slow implementation or even not being implemented at all. It also causes a monopoly in decision making by the HR. This can be mitigated by careful monitoring of the HR managers, taking stern measures incase of corruption and implementing employee engagement. The other strategy is horizontal integration that involves a joint decision making in the performance management, giving credit to management so that each decision is made by both the administration and the employees. This has improved the management of intellectual capital which entails the skills and experiences used to generate value (Stewart, 1997 I of 77). Virtues such as: staff motivation, employee satisfaction and leadership should be improved (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997 and Becker et al., 2001). This has increased the problem of problem of nepotism and slow decision making in an organization. The third strategy is the functional integration that employees both skills of horizontal and vertical integration and has proved to be more successful than the other two (Haynes and Fryer, 2000, 240-248). Just like the two it has experienced slow implementation and decision making. These problems can be mitigated by setting of deadlines and ensuring that the deadlines are strictly followed. Employment of competent managers, encouraging transparency and positive altitude to work will encourage strategic operations (Boyatzis, 1982). Prior planning and budgeting for implementation of these strategies since they are costly is essential.

Summary

The issue of human resource management has been discussed many times due to its ability to influence the operation and the outcome of an organization; it entails mostly the engagement of employees in organizational operations so as to enhance communication. It ensure there is no absenteeism at work, motivates workers by paying them on time, rewarding them periodically, offering them with the required tools for their job, job security and insurance incase of an accident. Further human resource management is charged with the mandate to link an organization’s departments and also the outside world. A lot of research has been done on improving HRM in order to ensure sustainable economy in an organization but still more has to be done. The theories proposed for HR are the resource based view and the recycling of policies ensuring competitive advantage. To manage the problems the three strategies of horizontal, vertical a functional integration as ways of improving Strategic human resource management, management and improve resources gained by a company.

You Can Implement Performance Management

Need a way to manage employee performance? Performance management is on my mind this week. An effective performance management system, implemented with the appropriate spirit and process, can help you develop the talents of every employee.

A performance management system provides clear direction, sets goals for accomplishment, and increases the ability of each employee to contribute to your organization's success.

Performance appraisal, as a stand-alone system, doesn't work to help you accomplish your most important goals; performance management does.

Despite millions of dollars spent on consultants, training, and books, few organizations get performance management right. Managers say it's too time consuming. My regular response? Who doesn't have a couple of hours a year to spend with a reporting employee? Others say, performance management hurts employee relationships. Not when you implement performance management as I recommend.
                                                    
What the questions and excuses all boil down to for me, is that you and your organization are sincerely interested in developing both employees and how you accomplish work, or you're not. You want employees who clearly understand the company direction and are achieving goals within your success framework, or you don't.

And, lip service, which I often see and hear, doesn't crack it at all on this topic with me. How's that for feisty Thursday? Why do you think organizations have so much trouble with performance management?

The end of performance management (as we know it)

Introduction

Statoil is a Norwegian energy company with 21000 employees in 36 countries. On Fortune, the company ranked in 2011 #1 in Social Responsibility and #7 in Innovation, and has over the last ten years consistently performed above peer average on return on capital and value creation.

We have continuously developed our management model “Ambition to Action” with “agile” and “human” as key guiding principles.  For instance, in 2005 we abolished traditional budgeting, and we decided in 2010  to leave the calendar year in our management processes where-ever possible  Read more about Statoil and our management model in this MIX story: “Taking reality seriously”.

“Self-regulation” has become an increasingly important word for us on this journey, not as a goal in itself, but as a great way of achieving great performance. We found inspiration in something which one initially might think of as very different from organizations and business, but where we all also want the best possible performance. I have yet to meet anyone enjoying being stuck in traffic or exposed to inefficient and dumb traffic controls.  We would all like a safe and efficient traffic flow.

Here is a great story from the Netherlands. As in most cities, the consequences of increasing traffic were a major problem in the city of Drachten. Traffic jams and accidents in the town centre were steadily increasing, as did the doses of the standard medicine for this modern disease; more traffic lights and more signs to regulate and control drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. The same medicine as any other growing city would chose to combat its traffic problems. However, traffic authorities in Drachten found that increasing doses did not help. In 2003 the city decided to challenge accepted truth. A bold decision was made to remove all traffic lights and signs in the town centre, based on a belief that people pay more attention to their surroundings when they cannot rely on strict traffic rules.

Results were impressive. On the busiest intersections crossing times fell significantly, and accidents were reduced to almost zero.

I find this a fascinating example of self-regulation as an alternative to more traditional ways of managing performance in increasingly complex environments. We will return to Drachten a bit later.

About “performance management”

Readers of my book “Implementing Beyond Budgeting” may remember that I am not too fond of the phrase “performance management” (even if I have it in my title!).  I definitely like the word “performance”, but not in combination with “management”. Chew on those two words put together. ”If I don’t manage you, there will be no performance”, is what I hear. I have had many managers throughout my career, many great ones but also a few of more mixed quality. But none of them ever told me that they wanted to “manage my performance”. If one would have uttered those words, I am afraid the effect would have been the very opposite of the intention.  My defence system would have gone on red alert. No one is going to mess around in my head, or treat me like a dancing marionette. I actually get offended if someone believes I will only do my best if I am managed; instructed to deliver on a very specific and detailed target, told exactly how to get there and with which resources available, put under a tight and suspicious follow-up regime, and given a dangling carrot as a motivational incentive for getting there, with “getting there” meaning “hitting that number“.

I don’t want to be “managed”. I want something else. I want a definition of performance that makes me tick. I want to understand and be ignited about direction. I want to contribute. I want support and learning, and I want to have fun. I want to perform at my very best, but I don’t want to be “managed”.

Peter Drucker put it like this “Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done.”

Maybe I am a bit harsh with “performance management” here, but isn’t much of what I just described familiar ingredients in a traditional performance management process?

I am not saying it never works. For organizations operating in predictable and stable surroundings, with simple tasks and with little motivation in the work itself, where results are easily measured, and with most employees prone to do what detailed control mechanisms are there to prevent (maybe they actually behave like this because the controls say they will?), then “performance management” might be the right medicine and also the right phrase. But is this really a good description of your own organization?

In knowledge organizations operating in dynamic and unpredictable environments, people can’t be treated like robots and organizations can’t be viewed as machines.. Traditional performance management easily becomes a medicine with side effects so serious that they completely outweigh the benefits. We might feel we get “control”, although a closer examination will probably reveal that much of it is only an illusion of control.

Do detailed job descriptions really ensure that talent, competence and resources are fully utilised?  Do thick procedure manuals cover every possible situation that can occur? Do detailed variance analyses of actual vs. budget secure that we now are safely back on track? Does actual cost coming in spot on for every single budget item prove that we spent our resources in the most optimal way? Does “hitting the number” represent great performance if our path is covered by casualties, if there was strong and unexpected tailwind, if we were completely outperformed by peers?

Traditional management certainly gives us “control”, but does it really give us best possible performance? Our goal can’t be to “manage performance”, our goal must be the best possible sustainable performance, given the circumstances. Performance Management people sometimes seem to get this order wrong. Control can actually get out of control.

But what can and should we do if we can’t “manage” performance? Don’t worry, there is still a big and important job to be done, but it is a very different one that requires a very different mindset. It is about creating the conditions needed for great performance to take place and for business to flourish. You can’t make a flower grow by pulling on it.

We need to create a new and different framework for teams and people to perform within, with different and wider boundaries but also with new rules of the game. This requires something new, but also just as much dismantling of the old, all the stuff that work more as barriers than support for great performance. There are significant implications for how we define performance and set targets, how we forecast, how we allocate resources and how we evaluate and reward performance. The traditional fixed, detailed and annual budget and the whole mindset it builds on have to be first to go.

Our new framework must take reality seriously, both inside and outside the company gates. It must understand what it really means to be a people-oriented knowledge organisation. It must tackle a dynamic business environment of uncertainty, turbulence and constant changes in assumptions. It must reduce number-crunching, stupid gaming and the need for constant management interventions. Our new framework should actually require as little management as possible; it should be as self-regulating as possible. Not because self-regulation is a goal in itself, but because it is a much better way of getting that best possible performance.

Let us return to traffic and to self-regulation as a way of achieving this.

(By the way, I have yet to find a good alternative for the phrase “performance management”. If you find one, please let me know, because we desperately need it!)

A self-regulating control system

In traffic, we defined good performance as a safe and smooth traffic flow. Traffic authorities have different ways of “managing” us to achieve this.

One alternative is the traffic light.  Let us ask ourselves a few questions about this option. Who is actually “managing”; who is actually in “control”? There is no-one sitting inside the traffic pole as far as I know (and let us not stretch the metaphor to include sensor systems etc.!) Someone programmed those lights, because they are just dumb machines. And which information did these guys base their programming on?  Those red-green intervals were decided at some point in time, based on historical and expected future traffic volumes and patterns. For obvious reasons, we can hardly expect that information to be fresh and fully updated as we sit there waiting for the green light.

To conclude, performance is managed by someone who is not present in the situation, based on assumptions which are rarely updated (and if they are, often with considerable delay).  It is a simple, rules-based system. Green means drive, red means stop; while yellow seems to have a few different interpretations!  It is a centrally regulated system, with decisions made too high up and too early.

The Best Headhunting Techniques

This article features some headhunting techniques which could help you land that ideal candidate for a key position in your company. Whether you represent a large corporation or whether you are just starting out your business and you have to do your own recruiting, rethinking the matter and starting fresh is paramount. There are cases where headhunters get completely stuck and cannot lock down a candidate, especially for positions higher up in the company. This is where the best advice is not to force things, maybe it wasn’t a match made in heaven. Another mistake you have to avoid is to oversell a position which might result ultimately in ending up with an unhappy employee. Considering all these, let’s take a look at the most effective headhunting techniques.

1.    Wisely select from a sea of CVs. In some cases, you might get flooded by an enormous group of willing candidates, each of them claiming they are the one. You have to arm yourself with patience and actively scan all the resumes for details which might indicate more about each candidate. It goes without saying that the content is paramount, but the layout of the resume, the relevance of the details and the writing style are also paramount. These also point out character traits in your candidate which are advantageous to know beforehand. After scanning the CVs, make a list which candidates are below expectations, which are decent and which are great. With this database in hand you can proceed to the next step.

2.    Background research. After you select the best candidates for the job, typically you would do a little background check to see if all that was presented in the resume is accurately depicted. You might check the college degree, their projects or contact the persons who offered references. The most important thing is to be able to deduce the degree of preparation and the personality of your candidate.

3.    Scan your own backyard. One of the more obvious headhunting techniques, but nonetheless equally efficient is to look through your own colleagues to see if anybody would fit the ideal candidate profile. It could happen to get so lucky that one of your colleagues would want to make a transfer and that he/she would fulfill all the conditions. After getting this clear, it might take a while to analyze if the candidate has the proper experience and preparation for the new position or if he/she needs specializing courses. In any case, in the end you would obtain a candidate who is familiar with the organization of the company and who can skip the induction period. Some companies encourage this practice as it motivates employees to go after what they really want, therefore it ensures retention.

4.    Keep track of your database. One of the more popular headhunting techniques is to remember good candidates in past interviews make notes on them and then contact them again when a new opportunity has arisen. In direct relation to the previous point, if you keep track of your colleagues and remember who applied for which job, if you think they have a potential to be promoted, you should support them to enlist in specializing courses in order to be ready for a transfer or a promotion the next time around. Saving said this, you should always keep an open mind and select the best candidate for a job, not necessarily the one you have grown if he/she still isn’t the best you have seen, making sure you don’t commit a positive bias.

5.    You want the candidate with a positive vibe. Always keep in mind that having the right attitude is the shortest route to success in business. Try to choose candidates with a strong psychological profile, they are the ones who, with the right incentives, can be motivated into learning new skills, acquiring more information and increasing their performance spectacularly. My advice is to choose the optimist over the pessimist even though he is slightly inferiorly prepared, but pay attention to monitor his performance and his promises.

6.    A profile of the competition. In the world of headhunting techniques, stealing personnel from your competition is the worst crime imaginable. But there is nothing wrong in making a profile of the best candidates out there and keeping an ear to the ground to check if any of them is looking for something else.

7.    Offer all kinds of stimulation: money and a challenge. Especially for the ungettable gets, for those white whales of the recruiting world, offering huge amounts of money is not enough anymore. You need to offer them something extra: a good old-fashioned challenge. A riddle, a puzzle, something to put their great mind at work. In addition to this you could put on the table some amazing benefits or a working environment which feels more like a family, this having been aspects which have always attracted people in the past.

These are the most effective headhunting techniques available at the moment. Just remember to make sure that the person actually wants the position, do not make it into something it could never be or else he would be disappointed. And keep looking for that ideal candidate, but be realistic and accept those who might meet 80% of your conditions.