HR Management

The BCSA has a HR advisory service exclusively available to member companies and has also developed a Guide to Human Resource Management to help the members with the issues associated with recruiting, employing and the sometimes thorny issues of terminating employment.

The purpose of the guide is to highlight why organisations within the Steel Construction Industry would benefit from establishing and implementing a Human Resources Strategy. It is not the aim to outline a specific HR strategy as this varies for each organisation. Instead it tackles the key reasons why a strategy is necessary and in particular will explore 3 critical areas:

• Risk Management
• Recruitment and
• Retention.

Guidance is also given on managing Human Resource through employment.

The guidance booklet is available from the members area.

Risk Management

The guide addresses the potential financial implications of non-compliance with employment legislation coupled with the impact on organisations internal and external image of poor risk management.

More specifically, there has been an onslaught of employment legislation from the EU which organisations should be aware of. Today’s society sees employees who are more ready to challenge their employers. Those employers who are not fully aware of the current and regularly changing legislation and best practice, and who take risks with their disciplinary practices or working environment, are more readily caught out by their increasingly well informed employees and suffer the financial consequences. Proof of the number of employees challenging their employer is demonstrated by the increased number of applications received by UK Employment Tribunals - 115,039 cases in 2005-06 as opposed to 86,181 in the previous year.

Recruitment

Key to recruitment is attracting the right candidates and the right strategy, company image and culture is a crucial part of this. Unfortunately selecting and appointing the right candidate isn’t the end of the recruitment strategy. An IDS study in 2005 claimed that 1 in 8 new recruits leave their job in the first 6 months. Employers need to work to ensure their managers induct the employee into the business and work with them to develop an open relationship which facilitates the achievement of business objectives. HR works to support managers in this task by ensuring the time spent working on this is productive and effective.

Many smaller organisations cannot afford a full time HR position but this does not mean that the HR process is not important, just that it will usually be allocated across a number of people in the organisation. All the more reason to have clear policies and procedures so that everyone knows what to do.

Retention

Price-Waterhouse-Coopers recently presented the view that the new generation – people born after 1998 – will demand both increased flexibility and employers with a social conscience. As the times change it is apparent that job choices will, and are, being made based on the company image, with particular regard given to the way the organisation contributes to society and benefits the environment. Organisations that don’t focus on these issues risk finding it harder and harder to attract, and subsequently retain employees. With this in mind the HR strategy for some successful businesses has been for HR to act as the social conscience for the business, promoting this internally and externally.

In summary a good HR strategy supports and drives forward core business objectives by actively encouraging employee commitment and open communication. It is not the role of HR to introduce gold plated policies or to offer enhanced benefits purely under the guise of attracting and retaining staff. Instead, when operating at its best, HR will develop a people strategy that mirrors the organisational culture, is in line with competitors’ practices and supports managers to work effectively whilst ensuring the business is protected.

BCSA employment helpline:

To access the helpline, telephone 0844 5618133 and quote Scheme Number BCSA32867.

Business Link website.
ACAS – (Advisery,Consiliation and Arbitration Service)