http://www.workforce.com/articles/is-hr-at-its-breaking-point
I think it is a really interesting article. I could see part of that happening during my PTS. I wasn't really assigned to the HR department, but ended up there working anyways. First it was only sorting files (very challenging...), then entering all the applicants for job vacancies from the past 10 years in an EOCC log (required by the US government for data analyzes) and then I was also present, when the potential candidates were being interviewed.
The first decisions (reading the resumes, declining or accepting those people who got an appointment for an interview) were taken by the HR manager. But when it came to the interviewing process, also the supervisors or managers of the respective departments were involved. Because it simply doesn't make too much sense if the HR manager is the one deciding about who gets the job and who doesn't. In my opinion those people, who will closely work together with the new employee should make the major decisions in the hiring processes. How can a HR manager of a large company possibly know whether this person will fit into a certain team and get along with all the co-workers and team members? It is not only about who has the best CV and skills.
Great article! It really hits the point and invites everyone to rethink! Sorry Lisa, I had to steel this one and post it also on the fb site of the other group because I feel they should also read this one! Thank you so much!
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AntwortenLöschenDuring my PTS I could experience nearly the same as you, Lisa. Even though the HR department read through all incoming CVs and made a pre-selection of appropriate candidates, the line manager him/herself decided on whom to invite to an initial interview and whom to put on the short list. It is also the line manager's decision whether to hire a candidate or not.
LöschenSince, just like you pointed out, the line manager will be closly working togehter with his/her team, it is indispensable that the new employee really fits into the team and also has the same understanding of common objectives and goals as his management. And who could judge this better than the line manager?
HR managers are doubltlessly able to assess an applicant's qualifications and educational background according to his CV, however, it's not just qualifications and skills that matter, a new employee comes with a "new personality" and contributes a new attitude, new ideas and opinions to the team.
In the article the term "holistic managers" is used. This basically implies that line managers are taking on much more responsibilities then solely operational, financial or strategic management and decision-making. They are now also respnsible for attracting, hiring, training, compensating and retaining their own employees. Since one of - if not the - most valuable assests of an organization is its workforce, this human capital should also be treated and taken care of accordingly. Hence, employees, as unique they are and as individual their skills and compentences are, should also be managed individually. An HR department responsible for all employees of an enterprise could never provide for such individual management. Therefore, in my opinion it is absolutely right to divvy up such tasks to line management.
Organizations are constantly developing since they strive for adapting and accomodating to the global changes that are constantly taking place. It would be hasty to adapt an organization's strategy and objectives to altering markets or growing competition, but simultaneously not considering internal (traditional) organisational structures for change which might not meet today's requirements of managing human capital properly any longer.
I also agree with Tanita because I had similar experience during my PTS. I applied though their online platform for my internship and finally landed in a complete technical department although I am a business student. This was because the HR department only roughly group applicants related to their working- and educational experience and then distributes the CV´s to the managers which are responsible for the interviews. Therefor I was able to contribute with my full potential due to the face that I already have 19 years of technical experience. I also had a lot of professional and private contact to expatriates, some of them getting friends. One of them gave me a CV of a friend of him in Germay, who is also studying at this time, which I forwarded to my responsible manager as a potential sucessor for my position. His experience is very similar as mine; working a long time for this company in Europe and then started a secundary education. So my manager told me to get in contact with him to do a interview as well as negotiating his starting time. Afterwards he only sent the CV to the HR department in order to make the contract with my succesor. My manager also agreed that he has to wait 2,5 months for him because he only wants people who can really support his team as well as give some of their experience to his team members. This is also, like duscussed in class, a matter of having a good network especially in big (german) companies.
AntwortenLöschenFor me it looks that organizations are going the right direction! As Ulrike Maria said above "... line managers are taking on much more responsibilities then solely operational, financial or strategic management and decision-making." - at the end in order to achieve all their strategies they need people to do so!
AntwortenLöschenBasically, I also agree with the article and what has been said so far. However from my experience during the PTS I would like to add that one shouldn't underestimate the importance of a HR department. Even if the line Managers and department heads should participate heavily in the recruiting process, a well structured HR department shouldn't be substituted by that. The company I worked for during the PTS was a rather small one and didn't really have a HR department and the recruiting was solely done by the General Manager and the department Manager. Sadly this resulted in a very unstructured application process and essentially there were two vacant posititions throughout the whole period of my PTS since the two Managers simply didn't have the time to deal with the recruiting of new staff. Therefore I would like to emphasize on the importance of a HR department, no matter who else participates in the final recruiting decision.
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