Human Resource Management Good Practices

Human Resource Management Good Practices
Introduction
Human Resource Management (HRM) is a planned approach to managing people effectively

for performance. It aims to establish a more open, flexible and caring management style so
that staff will be motivated, developed and managed in a way that they can give of their best
to support departments* missions. Good HRM practices are instrumental in helping achieve
departmental objectives and enhance productivity. For the purpose of sharing experience and
providing reference in launching HRM initiatives, we have gathered in this booklet some good
examples introduced by departments.
HRM Good Practices In Departments
Since launching HRM movement in 1994 in the civil service, the Civil Service Bureau has
sponsored and individual departments have introduced various HRM initiatives. In taking
HRM forward, we need a strategic and integrated approach in managing people effectively for
performance.
In taking a strategic and integrated approach, HRM is linked to the department's strategic
direction in a systematic way. Such an approach is often reflected in the following practices -
 clarifying a department's strategic direction by way of articulating its Vision, Mission

and Values statement;
 establishing the strategic linkage and integrating HR programmes through a HRM
Plan; and
 projecting its short to long term human resource needs through a Manpower Plan.
At the same time, all managers must adopt a more open, flexible and caring style in
managing their staff. Such an approach is reflected in a number of ways. The three most
common practices are -
 managing people effectively for performance through an open Performance

Management System (PMS) that will call for individual objectives tied to departmental
objectives, regular coaching, and developing staff on the job;
 enhancing staff's competencies to perform better through effectively training people to
achieve departmental objectives and results; and
 delivering quality service through training and engaging staff in developing a service
culture in addition to business process re-engineering and work streamlining.
Through experience in and analysis of various HRM initiatives, we have identified as given in
the following section a list of HRM Good Practice Indicators which departments may use as
reference when they embark on HRM initiatives and when they seek to evaluate their own
HRM initiatives.
HRM Good Practice Indicators
Initiative Good Practice Indicator

 Sense of purpose reflected in the department's VMV
 Elements of service culture captured in the department's VMV
 Involving staff in discussions and meetings to generate
ownership
 Management commitment shown in resource allocation in
achieving department's VMV
 Clear and effective communication programme in place to
Articulation
promote VMV
of Vision,
Mission and  Offering training to develop skills and behaviour in living the
Values (VMV) VMV
 Customer-focused culture reflected in departmental policies,
procedures and practices
 Measurement system in place to track performance
improvement
 Demonstration of understanding of VMV and observable
behaviour
 The HRM Plan developed under the leadership of the senior

management
 Department's strategic direction clearly articulated by the top
team
 Debate and endorsement of strategic and ongoing HR issues
by the top team
 HR actions to address HR issues debated, approved and
prioritized by the top team
 Department's VMV revisited as part of the strategic review
process
 An environment scan conducted to identify strategic HR
issues
Drawing up
 Staff's input on ongoing HR issues sought through, for
HRM Plan
example, staff opinion survey, focus group meetings,
interviews, etc
 Specific objectives and sets of actions clearly spelt out in the
HRM Plan and clearly explained as to how each will help
address certain HR issues in achieving departmental Vision
and Mission,
 Responsibilities to implement the HRM Plan clearly assigned
 Realistic implementation plan with adequate resource
support,
 Review system in place
 Development of a human resource information system
Manpower  A systematic information system in place

 A clear plan with action programmes in place to bridge supply
and demand gaps, succession gaps, and competency gaps
 Posting policy published and career paths made known to
staff
 Competency profiles of key job grades developed and made
known to staff
Planning  Information derived from succession plan fed into training and
development plans for individual officers
 Career interviews arranged for staff to gauge staff aspiration
and offer career guidance offered
 Regular review and update of the plan and competency
profiles
 Senior management's support and commitment in allocating

the required resources and according priority to this function
 Objective setting starting from the top and systematically
cascaded and linked to the departmental objectives
 All appraisers have been properly trained on PMS good
practices and the required skills
 Mechanisms to ensure openness, fairness and objectivity of
the appraisal process
Performance  The system being competency-based to help identify training
Management and development needs for staff and their potential for taking
System up higher responsibilities
 Information gathered from the performance cycle linked to
other human resource functions
 Staff recognizing that performance management is a joint
responsibility of the appraisee and the supervisor
 Staff performance management being an ongoing process,
not an annual event
 Review of the performance management system
Training and  Individual and departmental Training and Development plans

Development in place and strategically linked to departmental strategic
objectives
 A diverse set of training and development activities (e.g.
overseas attachment, overseas training, secretariat
attachment)
 Training and Development integrated with PMS and
Succession Plan / Manpower Plan
 Timely induction training provided to all new staff with
management training to be provided systematically
afterwards
 Regular review of the Training and Development policies
 Evidence of improvement in work quality and efficiency,
 Managers' positive feedback on learners' performance
 Training courses rated highly in quality and relevance
 Customer focused culture as reflected in programmes,

policies, procedures and practices
 Productivity and efficiency enhanced
Service
 Staff taking more initiative to serve
Quality
 Measurement in place to track performance improvement
Enhancement
 Mode of operation being service oriented
 Public image enhanced
Illustrations
In the following chapters, there are a number of cases, provided with the assistance of
departments, on how good HRM practices can enhance service productivity and quality. The
cases are grouped under the following categories -
Articulation of Vision, Mission and Values

Human Resource Management Plan
Manpower Planning
Performance Management
Training and Development
Service Quality Enhancement
The cases serve as examples illustrating how good HRM practices can help achieve
departmental goals and objectives. As service nature and organisation structure vary from
one department to another, departments should give due consideration to their own needs
while drawing reference from the case examples in planning for their own HRM initiatives.

Human Resource Management Good Practices

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Human Resource Management Good Practices

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Human Resource Management Good Practices

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Human Resource Management Good Practices

Human Resource Management (HRM) is a planned approach to managing people effectively

HRM Good Practices In Departments

 clarifying a department's strategic direction by way of articulating its Vision, Mission

 managing people effectively for performance through an open Performance

Initiative Good Practice Indicator

 The HRM Plan developed under the leadership of the senior

Manpower  A systematic information system in place

 Senior management's support and commitment in allocating

Training and  Individual and departmental Training and Development plans

 Customer focused culture as reflected in programmes,

Articulation of Vision, Mission and Values

You might also like