How to Build a Successful Human Resource Strategies
In order for a company to grow and develop, people, goods, money, and information are important resources. While all of these are important elements, it is extremely important to focus on "people" for the long-term growth of the company.
In this context, for those who want to know "how to proceed with internal human resource development" and "effective human resource development methods," this article will explain tips and examples of human resource development that will not fail. If you are serious about human resource development methods, please continue reading to the end.
First, let's identify the purpose of conducting human resource development.
When conducting human resource development, it is important to first clarify the objective. Without a goal to aim for, any attempt at human resource development will end in half-hearted results.
Here, we will introduce some of the objectives of human resource development, so that you can use them as a reference for your own company's efforts.
Improvement of on-site productivity
The purpose of human resource development is to raise the awareness and skills of employees. By developing human resources who are not only able to follow manuals and perform their duties in a casual manner, but who are also able to work actively on their own initiative, the entire company's productivity will improve.
In addition, with the declining birthrate and aging society, the working population is expected to continue to decline in the future. Companies are also facing a labor shortage, but by improving the quality of each individual human resource, productivity can be maintained.
Improvement of the company's business performance
Human resource development can be expected to improve your company's business performance. By providing employees with the necessary training, the way they approach their work and their behavior in the workplace will gradually change. As their thinking and behavior change, the way they approach their day-to-day work will also change. The accumulation of these changes will lead to higher productivity in the workplace, which in turn will lead to higher business performance for the company.
Achievement of Management Strategies
The ultimate goal of human resource development is to achieve management strategy. As we develop our management strategy, we will identify the skills and operations that are currently lacking. In order to make up for these shortcomings, we will continue and systematically promote human resource development and nurture employees who can contribute to the achievement of our management strategy.
However, the series of flows, such as "training → employee retention → reflection in business performance → achievement of management strategy," take a considerable amount of time to complete. Let's take a long-term perspective while promoting efforts at the earliest possible time.
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Tips for Training New and Young Employees
What is important when looking at long-term management is how to nurture the future leaders of the company. From this perspective, it is important to establish know-how on how to train new and young employees.
Below are four tips for training new and young employees.
Don't stop at just having them learn the work.
When training new and young employees, do not just have them learn the tasks in front of them, but train them to see the whole picture and to be able to carry out their work.
In order to train them to become competitive human resources, it is important to assume that they will be with the company for a number of years and teach them to understand the entire flow of work from the time they join the company.
Since new and young employees lack knowledge and experience, it is difficult for them to understand the significance of the work they are currently performing. This may cause them to lose motivation for their work.
In order to improve their work ethic, it is important to explain to them from the beginning what the significance of the work they are doing every day is.
Assigning the right supervisor to each person
When training an employee, you need to provide the right guidance for each of them. The content, of course, but also the outcome will depend on who is providing the guidance.
The instructor and the coachee are compatible and have different values and ways of thinking. In the case of coaching new hires and young employees, there may be instances in which "Boss B seems to grow faster than Boss A because they are more compatible with each other.
The rate of growth can be greatly affected by selecting an instructor who is suited to the individual's qualities. It is important to select the right person for the job, as personality mismatches with the supervisor can be a cause of employee turnover.
Talk about success stories in moderation.
It is very important to share stories and real-life experiences with new and young employees, such as how you have been successful and how you have grown through your work. When new employees are new to the company, the experiences of their seniors and supervisors are the most important information.
However, it is not advisable to convey their successful experiences in an intrusive manner. Social conditions, industry trends, and internal initiatives change over the years. In many cases, the current situation is different from when you were successful, so it may not be helpful at all. In some cases, it may be perceived as mere boasting.
When talking about your success stories, try to be as abstract as possible and make it easy to apply them to various situations.
Remind them that no one can do it right the first time.
It is important for those in a position of leadership to recognize the fact that no employee can do everything from the start. In most cases, new graduates and inexperienced young employees, in particular, do not have the knowledge and skills to be immediately effective.
Avoid assuming that they have no experience at all and demanding the same work and the same quality as employees who have been with the company for years. It is important to take a long-term perspective and work to develop them gradually.
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Points to Consider When Training Mid-Career Employees
In parallel with efforts to develop new and young employees by giving them experience, it is also important to approach mid-career employees. By providing a solid education to the middle level within the company, the company's foundation will be more solid.
Below are three key points for training mid-career employees.
Assign direct junior staff and subordinates.
When placing a mid-career employee in a certain position, try to assign a direct junior colleague or subordinate to the same department with whom you have already nurtured a relationship. There are various methods for training mid-career employees, but by teaming them up with members with whom they already have a relationship, you can expect to see an effect on their ability to communicate things straightforwardly and to learn how to lead according to the situation.
On the other hand, by teaming up with people with whom you have had no previous relationship, you can expect to gain the ability to create things from scratch and improve your communication skills.
What both sides have in common is that they will be in a position to provide direction. Let them gain experience in achieving business goals in an organized manner, taking into consideration the future growth of the company.
Job Rotation.
An effective method for developing mid-career employees is job rotation. Job rotation refers to the reassignment of employees to new positions with the aim of developing new skills. This reassignment is carried out based on a predetermined human resource development plan, and is expected to have the effect of providing employees with an overall picture of the company through various tasks, and of bringing about new changes through skill development.
This assignment can be conducted in various forms, from a short span of three to six months to a long span of three to five years, but it allows the employee to grasp the entire business and thus the entire flow of the company. Because mid-career employees have more experience than newer employees, job rotation is a mechanism that allows them to discover new details.
In addition, it is also effective in building personal networks with other departments. When you work in a team in the future, you will not have to build relationships from scratch.
Allow them to experience positions of responsibility.
One of the most effective methods for developing mid-career employees is to work on giving them experience in positions of responsibility. There are various ways to do this, such as giving them operational responsibility for a new store or starting a new business from scratch.
By experiencing positions of responsibility, employees are expected to improve their management skills, on-site coordination skills, and communication skills with superiors, subordinates, and business partners. It is also important to interview the candidate about his/her potential and hopes for the future, in anticipation of the possibility that the business you entrust him or her with will take off and he/she will be busy for a long period of time. It is important to grasp how the individual wants to grow and to prepare the foundation to encourage that growth.
For female employees, ask about their wishes regarding childbirth and childcare, and make efforts to create an environment that allows them to balance work and personal life.
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Be Conscious to Avoid Failure in Human Resource Development
Incorrect methods of human resource development can lead to cases where personnel are not developed as expected or are not suited to the corporate culture. Therefore, it is important to understand in advance how to avoid human resource development failures. The following is an explanation of the three points to be aware of when training employees.
Management clearly states the goals to be achieved for the company as a whole
An important initiative to avoid human resource development failures is for management to clarify what the company as a whole is striving to achieve. Without a clear goal for achievement that the company as a whole should aim for, it will be difficult for the field level to know what specific steps to take. Even if each individual sets his or her own goals and proceeds with the work, it will be difficult to achieve high results for the company as a whole.
In addition, even if human resource development is not progressing well, it will be easier to find areas for improvement if the goals for achievement are clear. Always explore what numbers and skills are needed to accomplish your goals, and how they should grow in order to achieve those numbers and acquire those skills. In turn, this approach will help unify employee awareness.
Set objectives and goals
Along with overall company goals, it is also important to have each employee set specific objectives and goals. By setting individual goals, you will have a clear indicator of how you should approach your work and grow on a daily basis.
By setting goals, you will be able to take the knowledge you gain as your own, not only in your regular work, but also when you attend internal and external training sessions. Conversely, if objectives and goals are not set, there may be cases where some employees will "just listen to the talk" and not remember the content.
Conduct periodic evaluations.
In order for human resource development to be effective, regular evaluations must be conducted in the correct manner. Without correct evaluation, motivation will not be maintained, and it will be difficult to see what one is working for.
When conducting evaluations, establish a system whereby supervisors regularly check with their subordinates, or senior staff with junior staff, to see if they are achieving their human resource development goals. It is also important to provide feedback and advice on job performance as needed.
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Five Means of Developing Human Resources to Become a Company's Workforce
There are several means to develop human resources who will be an asset to the company and improve its performance. Since the method of development differs depending on the condition and growth level of the employee, multiple means of development should be used effectively.
Below we will explain five human resource development methods, including OJT and Off-JT.
1) On the Job Training (OJT)
OJT (On the Job Training) is a training method in which new employees or those with no work experience are engaged in practical work while developing skills and knowledge related to their work. OJT has been introduced in various companies, and is expected to have the effect of making employees immediately effective by engaging them in practical work.
When introducing this program, it is important to prepare a systematic program that allows new employees to easily get involved in work while at the same time allowing them to grow gradually.
On-the-job training is a method often used in human resource development, but in some workplaces, there are cases where people in training are left unattended or specialize in menial tasks. It is important to plan efforts in advance, as there is no point in implementing the program if the trainees do not properly learn the practical work of the workplace.
Off-JT (Off the Job Training)
Off-JT (Off the Job Training) refers to group training in which participants gather at a single venue to attend lectures and group work together.
Off-JT is often used to acquire knowledge and practical skills in a uniform manner, as it is conducted for a large number of people rather than individually. The unique advantage of this method is that the quality of the learning is assured by a predetermined program, and the necessary skills are conveyed all at once.
There are many things that need to be decided before the program is implemented, such as the schedule, location, and instructors. It is also effective if the training is conducted in tandem, for example, by applying what is learned in the Off-JT program to the OJT program.
3) Self-development
Self-development is a development method that encourages employees to learn on their own initiative, along with OJT and Off-JT, but the decisive difference is that employees are not forced to learn by the company, but rather they are encouraged to do so on their own. What the company should do is to support employees to deepen their learning through self-development.
Effective ways to encourage employees' self-development include inviting them to seminars and introducing them to books they should read. It would be better if the company provides financial and time support to employees to promote self-development.
4) MBO (Management by Objectives)
MBO (Management by Objectives) is a system in which each employee sets his or her own goals and is evaluated based on how well he or she achieves those goals. Since the goals are set by the employees themselves, they are expected to make independent efforts and use their own ingenuity to achieve the goals.
When introducing this system, it is recommended that the company establish a support system to help employees achieve the goals they set. It is also important that supervisors and managers provide dedicated training to confirm the appropriateness of these goals.
In addition to simply setting goals, it is also a good idea to look at how well individual goals can be linked to the company's overall goals and departmental goals.
5) E-Learning
E-learning is a training method that aims at efficient knowledge acquisition through content that is learned using smartphones and computers. Various services are offered by various companies, and the number of companies and organizations introducing e-learning is on the rise.
The major advantage of online content is that participants can learn from anywhere and at any time. There is no need for group training, so there is no need to gather all employees at once.
When introducing this service, select the one that best suits your company's objectives and budget after picking out several companies that offer the service.
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Examples of Human Resource Development with e-Learning Systems
More and more companies are adopting learningBOX as a useful e-learning system for human resource development. Below, we will explain the issues that companies had before introducing learningBOX and how learningBOX has solved them.
Ventuno Inc.
Ventuno Co., Ltd. has the philosophy of "living beautifully together" and sells health foods and cosmetics that utilize the slimy ingredients found in mozuku (Cladosiphon okamuranus), kelp, and other seaweed.
The company has two locations, its head office and a call center, but the company was facing a time-consuming and costly problem in conducting training together.
However, by introducing learningBOX, the company has succeeded in building a system that promotes employee learning by reducing travel time and costs. The introduction of the system before the spread of the new coronavirus also made it possible to prepare in advance a system that can smoothly provide employee training even in the event of a coronavirus disaster.
The Japan LD Society
The Japan LD Society is an academic research organization that studies LD (Learning Disabilities), ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), etc. and promotes support using its content.
The society had been facing issues such as increasing the number of participants in training sessions and having users who are not familiar with IT. The number of participants in the training sessions and the number of people acquiring professional licenses are increasing.
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Use e-Learning to Develop Your Employees' Skills
In order to increase the value of your company, it is important to systematically develop the human resources who will be responsible for the company's future. There are a variety of methods for human resource development, and you should select the best training method for your company's objectives.
If you would like to introduce e-learning, which is highly effective for knowledge acquisition, please consider our e-learning system "learningBOX". Not only does this system have a wide range of functions, but it also provides easy management of students, ensuring a smooth system implementation.
If you would like to systematically enhance the skills of your employees, please try our free plan, which is available free of charge.
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