The main aim of HRD is to develop a variety of competencies (knowledge, attitudes, skills and technical areas, managerial areas, behavioural and human relations areas and conceptual areas) to perform various tasks or functions required by their jobs.
The nature of the job is constantly changing owing to changes in the environment, changes in technology, new opportunities, new knowledge, etc.
HRD also aims at preparing people for performing roles/jobs/ tasks/functions which they may be required to perform in the future as they go up in the organizational hierarchy or as the organization takes up new tasks through diversification, expansion, modernization, etc.
HRD also identifies competency gaps of employees to perform the present roles/jobs/tasks functions effectively and create conditions to help employees bridge these gaps through development.
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Some of the objectives of human resource development are as follows:-
1. Manpower Planning 2. Training 3. Performance Appraisal 4. Reward Systems 5. Organization Development 6. Development of Knowledge Resources
7. Role Analysis and Role Development 8. Quality of Work Life and Employee Welfare 9. Data Storage and Research 10. Participative Devices 11. Industrial Relations.
10+ Objectives of Human Resource Development
Objectives of Human Resource Development – 6 Important Objectives
HRD Systems in organizations, therefore, have four major objectives:
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1. To provide a comprehensive framework for the development of human resources in the organization.
2. Development of a climate for employees to discover, develop and use their capabilities for the organization.
3. To increase the capabilities of an organization to attract, retain and motivate talented employees.
4. To facilitate systematic information on human resources for manpower planning, developmental placements, career planning, succession planning, etc.
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The following functions of human resources development can be utilised to achieve the above objectives:
1. Manpower planning, career planning and development systems.
2. Training concerned with the present and the future needs of the employees.
3. Performance and potential appraisal of the employee for determining his developmental requirements aided by a feedback and counselling system to help an employee discover his capabilities and areas of improvement.
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4. Reinforcement of reward system for creating a climate of excellence in performance and collaborations.
5. Organizational development to improve the climate of the organization and make it more satisfying and productive.
Objective # 1. Manpower Planning:
As a prerequisite to human resources development, it is important that an organization initiates steps to take proper stock of their human resources, both at the present point in time and for future through manpower planning, based on business forecast in terms of parameters of business growth and levels of personnel productivity, of workload norms, both of which will have to be reviewed from time to time.
Exercises of this kind have been undertaken in some nationalised banks and industrial organizations. In a leading bank, for example, a five-year manpower forecast has been prepared for various categories of staff based on estimates of business growth and expectations regarding changes in production that are likely to take place with improvements in management and work technology.
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The forecast is to be reviewed every year so that five-year perspective plans can be rolled on. Closely related to the manpower forecasting is the need for developing an effective and reliable Manpower Information System, which will make available to the management, relevant information on the personnel, to enable developmental decisions on deployment and utilisation of personnel, to be made on a scientific basis.
This would call for preparation of a Personnel Inventory which can be built up on cardex or computer. It will include information on various dimensions of the profile of the work-force like age, qualifications, training, experience and so forth. As an organization grows, the need for such institutional memory is likely to become increasingly imperative.
Objective # 2. Training:
Among the various instruments of human resources development, training involving structured learning with faculty assistance is perhaps the most commonly used. However, a great deal of investment on training goes down the drain because of factors like irrelevance of training to the needs of the organization and staff, ad hoc and ‘distress’ nominations in the training programmes and vague and generalised contents not clearly aimed at the development of specific skills.
To avoid such wastage, an organization has to take conscious steps to marshal information about the training programme available for the staff, and match the specific training needs of the staff with their contents.
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Training needs may be identified by reference to the Line Managers, from discussions in the business planning and review meetings, and even from internal reports which highlight the common irregularities and lapses committed by the staff because of lack of knowledge and skills. It is also important to check the effectiveness of the training programmes, after an interval of six to nine months by collecting feedback from the participants and their immediate superiors.
The pay-off from training can be further enhanced if proper attention is paid to monitoring of post-training placement, particularly after specialised functional training programmes. To ensure the involvement of line managers in training, it may be well worth introducing a system of pre-training briefing and post-training briefing; the supervisor should be specially advised to learn for his own development and for the improvement of the working of his office.
In the ‘de-briefing session’, the staff member returning from training can give his supervisor an idea of the quality, relevance and usefulness of the training programme attended by him.
Training in the in-house facility or in an external institution needs to be linked with on-the-job-training, which needs to be carefully planned and administered. Besides formal training, the organization can make use of several other methods like job rotation, special assignments, project work, etc. for the development of the staff in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes and vision required for effectiveness in their present roles and future assignments. Programmes of self-development will have a special place in all these efforts.
Objective # 3. Performance Appraisal:
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Another potent instrument of human resources development is performance appraisal. Traditionally, many organizations have the system of Annual Confidential reports modelled on the lines of the system used in the government. (Even the government is abandoning it now!)
In effect, these reports serve hardly any useful purposes because even withholding of an increment on the basis of poor performance amounts to a punishment which can be given only after proper departmental inquiry.
To achieve the objective of development of personnel through the medium of performance appraisal, it is important to move towards an open system focusing on clearly identified key performance areas and critical attributes for the various jobs in the organization. A system of self-appraisal can help the appraisee to take stock of his own performance and present the case about his work performance to his superiors.
In an open system of performance appraisal, the superior acting as the reporting authority uses his appraisal of the subordinate for objective and, as far as possible, non-evaluate feedback on the performance of the subordinate. Such feedback provides the basis of counselling and helps the subordinate to build on his strengths and overcome his shortcomings and weaknesses.
Performance appraisal also throws up useful data about the training needs of the appraisee and thus becomes the basis for working out a plan for his development and career progression. It can also reveal specific potential of the appraisee for higher responsibilities in the hierarchy of the organization.
Objective # 4. Reward Systems:
The Reward and Punishment System (or Reinforcement System) holds the key to employee behaviour and development. The banking industry has realised that pecuniary rewards have a limited utility for employee motivation. Even otherwise, management has hardly any leeway left in the matter of granting pecuniary rewards to, or inflicting financial penalties on employees.
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In such a situation, employee development can be ensured only by affording recognition and appreciation to those who are constantly learning new skills and are updating their knowledge. A system of HRD can contribute towards this end by identifying and rewarding, even though in non-pecuniary terms, those who evince interest in continued learning through training and education and varied job exposures.
For example, those who pass their CAIIB Examination in a Bank, are not only offered additional increments but are also offered felicitations, appreciation and encouragement by their seniors in some premier nationalised banks, sending a message down the line that such learning efforts on the part of employees have the approval and appreciation of the management.
Professional qualifications, training and postings in difficult areas could also be assigned proper weightage, even though informally in the promotion process to reinforce learning and renewal efforts of the personnel concerned. At the branch level, incentives can be offered to those officers of the bank who achieve the top three ranks on critical parameters like business development (deposits, advances, and ancillary business) and housekeeping.
An experiment of this type in a leading bank in India has yielded encouraging results in that it has spurred branches to try to excel each other through better teamwork and more effective leadership. A similar scheme of awarding prizes to the top-ranking training centres and administrative/controlling officers is being worked out to provide the right reinforcement for a high level of achievement motivation through teamwork and people-centred leadership.
Objective # 5. Organization Development:
The human resources in any organization develop best in a climate of mutual trust and confidence, which allows every individual the freedom and the opportunity to learn skills and grow in maturity.
From this point of view, organization development involving steps aimed at the personal growth of individuals, role effectiveness for the personnel in key roles and team-building and collaboration for accomplishment of corporate goals and objectives can be considered to be an integral part of the human resources development effort.
Considering the extremely routine nature of work in the organization, it will be worthwhile to try out programmes of job enrichment which aim at building a greater measure of satisfaction into the contents of various jobs by increasing the amount of responsibility through vertical loading. Also worth considering is the concept of ‘Quality Circles’ (QCs), which have been tried out in the Japanese and even some Indian industries with some degree of success to give employees a sense of participation and an opportunity for improving the ‘quality of life’ at work in the organization.
The experiment of QCs has since been launched by the HRD Department in a leading bank through its regional staff training centres which are directly in touch with the field offices including branches in various regions.
A Quality Circle is a group of employees at an office of the bank formed strictly on voluntary basis to periodically consider working conditions, work systems and related issues and problems affecting them with a view to collectively devising improvements for common benefit. Free and uninhibited creative thinking is encouraged through the use of brain-storming techniques.
Counselling can also be utilised with advantage to promote trust, openness, and constructive confrontation between superior subordinate dyads (pairs). The ripples so created can lead to a change in the overall organizational climate and can pave the way for team-building and collaboration and through these to a climate in which every individual feels motivated to contribute, share and learn.
Objective # 6. Development of Knowledge Resources:
Considering the change in the profile of workers and managers in the new industries employing relatively modern and sophisticate technologies, special attention needs to be paid to the management and development of professionals, managers, technicians, engineers, scientists, etc.
To get the best out of such high-value human resources, all the instruments of HRD have to be pressed into service to ensure that they can continually update their professional knowledge, perspective and skills and that their professional commitment is maintained and supported even as they work towards organizational goals.
The organizational climate should be conducive to the development and nurturing of originality, open communication, creativity and even eccentricity. The reward systems will have a particularly important contribution to make in this direction.
Promotional opportunities and incentives to scientists and professional specialists can be provided through the “Dual Ladder” System, which offers promotional opportunities either within a scientific or specialist hierarchy or within a management hierarchy. In appraising their performance, special value has to be attached to the use of creativity and specialist contribution.
Work norms and time standards for specialists, particularly in R and D and similar developmental functions have to be set on different basis so as to allow for the fact that they cannot produce mechanically and in the routine way as others.
The leadership style used for these personnel will have to be appropriate to their work and temperament and should avoid close supervision that scuttles creative thinking. Finally, opportunities for self- development and self-evaluation will also serve to help knowledge resources to grow and develop.
Objectives of Human Resource Development – 10 Main Objectives of HRD in the Organisation
1. HRD focuses on people to ensure that sufficient number of people with knowledge; skills and experience are available at different levels of the organisation.
2. To provide equal opportunities to employees for growth and development and take up higher responsibilities in the organisation.
3. Align HRD activities with business strategies such as extension, diversification, joint ventures, mergers, and acquisitions etc. of the organisation and to ensure employee competency and create an achievement oriented organisational culture.
4. Employability refers to knowledge, skills and competency of the employees to take up employment in the organisation. HRD has to focus on upgrading the competency of the employees and make them high performers. This is particularly important in the case of new recruits.
5. HRD facilitates adaption of the employees to changes taking place in the organisation. This is possible by developing professional skills of the employees.
6. To provide two-way, open and interactive communication between employees and management for overall development of organisation.
7. To achieve competitive advantage by having highly knowledgeable and skilled employees. Effective training and development programmes helps to improve employee efficiency.
8. To make use of information technology by developing IT friendly HRD processes and programmes in areas such as training, career information, performance appraisal etc.
9. Create a learning organisation that provides opportunities for employees to gain knowledge, share with others and apply the same to improve productivity and achieve organisational goals.
10. To provide sufficient training and empower employees to take decisions required for carrying out his duties and responsibilities.
Objectives of Human Resource Development – Top 12 Objectives
HRD pertains to a set of functions aimed at improving the workforce in an overall manner.
The development programs are conducted with a view to achieve the following objectives:
i. Overhauling the management machinery
ii. Improving the performance of employees
iii. Providing the specialists an overall view of the functions of an organization and equipping them to coordinate each other’s efforts effectively
iv. Identifying the persons with the required potential and preparing them for more senior positions
v. Increasing the morale of the members of the management group
vi. Increasing the versatility of employees
vii. Keeping the executives abreast of the changes and developments in their respective fields
viii. Creating management succession, which can take over in case of contingencies
ix. Improving the thought processes and analytical abilities of employees
x. Broadening the outlook of the executives regarding their roles, positions, and responsibilities
xi. Understanding the economic, social, technical, and conceptual issues
xii. Understanding the problems of human relations and improving human relation skills
Objectives of Human Resource Development – 4 Important Objectives According to T.V. Rao
The important objectives of HRD, according to T. V. Rao, are as follows:
1. To provide a comprehensive framework and methods for the development of human resources in an organisation.
2. To generate systematic information about human resources for purposes of man-power planning, placement, succession planning and the like.
3. To increase the capabilities of an organisation to recruit, retain and motivate talented employees.
4. To create a climate that enables every employee to discover, develop and use his/her capabilities to a fuller extent, in order to further both individual and organisational goals.
The main goals of HRD, according to T. V. Rao, are as follows:
1. To develop the capabilities of each employee as an individual.
2. To develop the capabilities of each individual in relation to his or her present ant expected future roles.
3. To develop the dynamic relationship between each employee and his or her supervisor.
4. To develop the team spirit and functioning in every unit of the organisation.
5. To develop collaboration among different units of the organisation.
6. To develop the overall health and self -renewing capabilities of the total organisation.
In order to achieve the above mentioned objectives and goals, the HRD system includes the following methods or mechanisms or sub systems:
1. Manpower planning
2. Performance appraisal and development
3. Training, education and development
4. Potential appraisal and development
5. Career development and career planning
6. Compensation and reward
7. Organisation development
8. Role analysis and role development
9. Quality of work life and employee welfare.
10. Data storage and research
11. Participative devices
12. Industrial relations.
Objectives of Human Resource Development
(i) To acquire or sharpen capabilities of the human resources in order to facilitate them to perform functions associated with the organization’s present as well as expected future challenges and roles.
(ii) To develop general capabilities of individuals and exploit their inner potential and capabilities for their own and/or organizational development purposes.
(iii) To develop an organizational culture where team work and collaboration could contribute to the professional well-being and motivation of the employees.
Basically, the main areas which have to be managed by HRD people are:
1. Managing succession politics,
2. Managing appraisal politics,
3. Managing the reward system,
4. Distribution of power across groups,
5. Balancing power across groups,
6. Influencing the key people.
It will be primary responsibility of the HRD people to develop the right kind of culture, values and norms to be followed by an organization.
Objectives of Human Resource Development
The main aim of HRD is to develop a variety of competencies (knowledge, attitudes, skills and technical areas, managerial areas, behavioural and human relations areas and conceptual areas) to perform various tasks or functions required by their jobs. The nature of the job is constantly changing owing to changes in the environment, changes in technology, new opportunities, new knowledge, etc.
Such a change in the nature of jobs requires continuous development of employee competencies to do the job well. HRD aims to assess the competency requirement of different individuals to perform the jobs assigned to them effectively, and provides opportunities to develop these competencies.
HRD also aims at preparing people for performing roles/jobs/ tasks/functions which they may be required to perform in the future as they go up in the organizational hierarchy or as the organization takes up new tasks through diversification, expansion, modernization, etc. HRD also identifies competency gaps of employees to perform the present roles/jobs/tasks functions effectively and create conditions to help employees bridge these gaps through development.
The main aims, goals and objectives of HRD are as follows:
a. To maximize the utilization of human resources for the achievement of individual and organizational goals;
b. To provide an opportunity and comprehensive framework for the development of human resources in an organization for full expression of their latent and manifest potentials;
c. To locate, ensure, recognize and develop the enabling capabilities of the employees in the organization in relation to their present and potential roles;
d. To develop the constructive mind and overall personality of the employees.
e. To develop the sense of team spirit, team work, and inter-team collaborations;
f. To develop the organizational health, culture, and effectiveness.
g. To humanize the work in the organization;
h. To develop dynamic human relationship.