Strategic Human Asset Management
What’s the problem?
Employment costs, if not the largest expense in a business, are almost always among the top three. Unlike materials and energy, the utilisation and development of people is all too often a piecemeal affair with individual managers adopting a wide range of different practices resulting in a confusing picture of the 'culture' of the organisation. This can lead to substantial 'hidden' losses through:
- untargeted training, with no 'follow through' benefits to the business
- high staff turnover, with the most talented seeking new pastures
- high absenteeism and short term sickness
- low morale leading to lowered performance
- undeveloped ideas
- internal conflict
- errors and waste
- 'not my job' attitude
Strategic Human Asset Development (SHAD)
Strategic Human Asset Development is a vehicle for identifying and instigating change in the management of human resources by addressing the environment within which people work, both physical and psychological, and tracing the root causes of attitude and behaviour formation. Thus we examine, with the 'opinion leaders' within the organisation, the whole portfolio of systems through which the company interacts with its employees recruitment, induction, training, communications, organisation structure, reward and recognition, rules, authority bases, reporting and control processes, problem solving techniques etc.
A root and branch approach
SHAD is different from most organisational development approaches in two ways. Firstly, we treat the employment relationship as an ongoing process of formal and informal influences, rather than a series of discrete systems. Secondly, we involve a much wider range of people in the diagnostic procedure, which is why we refer to ‘opinion leaders' rather than 'senior managers'. Employee involvement should start at the beginning of the process, not be something 'added on' at the end.
The process
Following initial discussions with the executive team, to clarify the ground rules, the first stage of SHAD is a one day workshop designed to solidify the organisation's own view of itself, and the kind of relationship it would ideally wish to have with its employees. By using an analytical tool designed by Culturetracker, known as the CID continuum, (Communication, Involvement, Development,) the organisation is helped to paint a picture of its current culture and 'ideal future state'. From this, the various elements which influence the shape of the picture are identified and the participants on the workshop briefed to address these during a period between stages one and two of the process.
At the second stage of the process, the same group meets for a ‘structured brainstorming' session under the direction of the facilitator, to assign levels of influencing strength to the variety of factors identified at stage one and in the intervening period. Using simple Pareto analysis, a set of key organisational change mechanisms is established and responsibilities agreed for the development of each mechanism. The facilitator will help the group to select an appropriate route by providing a 'shopping basket' of systems and techniques identifying their probable effects on the employment relationship in the current and 'ideal' states.
The length of the follow through process and the amount of further support provided by Culturetracker will depend on the nature of the organisation, its size and resources. The effort required on the part of the senior mangers and others involved is considerable but the payback in the long term, as with most preventive approaches is well worth the time spent. In essence, using SHAD is the difference between going to the Supermarket without a shopping list and going with one. Those without usually end up spending more, buy things they don't need and forget things they do.
A side effect of a committed approach to SHAD is that your business will waltz through an Investors in People assessment if you would like your efforts to be recognised more widely.
If you would like to know more about how the use of SHAD can help your business raise the performance of its workforce, please contact us for further information or to set up a meeting.