Question

For your own job, set a performance goal and an ethical goal

Answer 1

Job Title: Human Resources Manager

Human resource (HR) managers are involved with recruitment, training, career development, compensation and benefits, employee relations, industrial relations, employment law, compliance, disciplinary and grievance issues, redundancies etc. The job involves keeping up to date with areas such as employment law, which change often.

Generalist HR roles are usually found in small and medium sized companies, where the HR manager will deal with the whole range of HR activities. In large multinationals you will often find specialists, for example in learning and development, recruitment or employee relations. Here are some duties and responsibilities of a HR Manager:

• Developing HR planning strategies with line managers by considering immediate and long-term staff requirements
• Recruiting staff by preparing job descriptions and job adverts; deciding on how best to advertise
• Shortlisting applicants for interview using a variety of selection techniques including psychometric testing Interviewing shortlisted candidates
• Advising on pay and other issues, including promotion and benefits; administer payroll and maintain staff records
• Interpreting and advising on employment legislation; develop and implement policies on a variety of workplace issues, example like disciplinary procedures, absence management, working conditions, performance management and equal opportunities
• Listening to grievances and implementing disciplinary procedures
• Analysing training needs in conjunction with line managers; planning and delivering training, including staff inductions.

Goals of Human Resource Manager:

• Maintain Productivity with Workforce Planning:

One of the primary goals of the HR Manager is to maintain productivity by providing the company with an adequate number of skilled and efficient workers. A good HR Manager should continually analyse the workload and know where there are potential problems with manpower and when it's time for additional help. Similarly, understanding turnover within the company will help to identify problem areas and allow for policy corrections or other adjustments.

To speed the hiring process, an overall staffing plan should be a key element in the HR office. Not only should there be a complete job description for each role within the company, but a clear understanding of the type of personalities that will fit well in your corporate culture. When the HR Manager is intimately familiar with the company's personnel needs they will be able to attract and hire the most qualified candidates for open positions.

• Develop Evaluation Processes and Training Programs:

Retaining a skilled workforce should be a key focus within the department since employees are the business's most valuable resource. Workers who are appropriately compensated and feel that they can develop professionally are among the most satisfied. Increasing the number of training and professional development programs in your company will create a more skilled and productive staff.

Employees also like frequent feedback; they desire to know if they are performing their jobs well. Rather than a performance review, which can convey an ominous tone, a "designing my success" review helps employees to honestly evaluate weaknesses and strive for improvements while setting goals for future advancement. These career assessments will also help the HR Manager to be connected with the developing skills of their employees – knowledge that may be helpful when it comes time to fill open management positions.

• Increasing Employee Engagement:

Companies function well when employees are working at their best and they feel valued as important members of the corporate mission. Along with upper management, it is the HR Manager’s job to develop and foster a corporate culture where employees feel included, engaged and eager to perform well in order to achieve company-wide goals. Particularly, in a large company, individual departments need to feel that their work contributes to the overall good. In other words, the maintenance department should know it's just as important to the company's success as the guys in research on the fourth floor.

• Policy Creation and Education:

Every organization should maintain a formalized set of policies and procedures. The human resource department is often the creator of these policies as employees are expected to appropriately relate to fellow workers and be in compliance with company and sometimes government regulations. HR Manager should continually be on top of emerging regulations within their company's industry and seek to maintain compliance as necessary.

Compliance can only be achieved, however, if employees are aware of the requirements and understand corporate expectations. For example, certifications must be regularly tracked and updated. Also safety guidelines and operational procedures must be clearly communicated and enforced to ensure not only worker safety, but also to protect the company from potential liabilities.

• Streamline Processes for Efficiency:

Another goal of the HR Manager should be to streamline routine processes so that more time can be spent on people-focused activities. Human resources management systems are software programs that allow repetitive tasks to be completed easily and more efficiently than if performed manually. Tasks such as job posting, scheduling, time tracking, computing payroll and routine communications about corporate policies can all be handled by these specifically design programs to free up time for other people-facing HR roles.

1. Performance Goal of an HR Manager:

Management Support:

On practically every HR Manager's list of objectives is gaining acceptance and support from executive leadership. Gone are the days when all personnel administration employees did was hand out paychecks, enroll employees in benefit plans, and keep track of vacation. Many HR Manager’s outsource the department's functional duties so it frees up time, staff, and HR department resources to concentrate on impressing upon leadership how vital human resources meaning the workforce and the department are to the organization's overall goals. This process is called, "tying the functional set of goals to the corporate goals. Gaining acceptance and support includes providing executive leadership with factual data that justifies a return on investment in HR activities.

Employer-Employee Relationship:

Establishing HR's credibility among employees is near the top of the list of any Manager's performance objectives and, if executive leadership is already on board with supporting HR activities, strengthening the employer-employee relationship assumes the No. 1 spot. Championing the company's employee relations efforts, resolving workplace issues, and improving employee morale are among the successes that enable HR Manager’s to meet this performance objective. In addition, ensuring that HR follows through on its responsibilities to the company's "internal customers" the employees is another objective that HR Manager’s identify for themselves and their departmental staff.

Employer of Choice:

Companies that are employers of choice have applicants clamouring for open spots, a collegial work environment, engaged employees, and forward-thinking leadership. That's a tall order, but many organizations reach that designation by developing competitive compensation and benefits structures, and selecting candidates who fit the workplace culture and who make significant contributions to the company's success. HR Manager who understand the importance of these intangible objectives on the road to employer of choice status make developing actions plans one of their primary objectives. Action plans contain a series of steps or milestones that address every aspect of being an industry leader among business competitors, and an organization that both employees and prospective employees admire.

Compliance:

Labor and employment laws are complex and seem to be changing constantly. Therefore, HR Manager’s compliance-related objectives begin with a thorough understanding of applicable laws, policy interpretation, and continual updates to ensure the employer complies with federal, state, and local employment regulations. In addition to HR departmental oversight regarding employment regulations, legal counsel for the organization may also be involved. Attorneys should be involved in proactive steps to achieve compliance and not simply act as the company's representative in a reactive role when in-house complaints about unfair employment issues look like they might turn into formal complaints or litigation.

Professional Development:

Empowering departmental managers is tantamount to the success of many HR Manager. Empowerment through leadership training enables department supervisors and managers to be the first to respond to employee issues, which often relieves HR of the hand-holding guidance they often provide to department leaders. Developing the skills and expertise of HR department staff is also an objective worth pursuing. HR Manager are equally as responsible for keeping their department staff engaged in their work as other department leaders. Therefore, giving HR staff opportunities such as job-shadowing and cross-functional training, and recognizing their capabilities, talents, and interests are counted among the HR Manager's many performance objectives.

2. Ethical Goal of an HR Manager:

As a Human Resource Manager, he is ethically responsible for promoting and fostering fairness and justice for all employees and their organizations. To create and sustain an environment that encourages all individuals and the organization to reach their fullest potential in a positive and productive manner.

Know the laws:
As a representative of an organization, HR Manager need to make tough decisions and hold employees accountable for wrongful action and that's not an easy task. To do so effectively requires confidence and authority. Knowing important labour laws and compliance practices will help manage these issues as they arise, as opposed to after the fact.
For example, if an employee were to request short-term disability, you would need to understand your benefits provider’s short-term disability policy and eligibility. You will also be expected to know insurance laws and explain them to your employee. Familiarizing yourself with these laws early on will save you time and equip you with knowledge to navigate legal challenges in the future.

Prioritize professional development
HR is a constantly changing field, especially as new conversations arise and technology continues to change the way we work. Staying on top of these changes requires a new set of skills and knowledge. Participating in trainings is one way to stay ahead of the curve.
HR Manager also pursue advanced degrees and certifications specific to the field. Some become specialists in a particular area, like payroll, recruiting or benefits. Others, like HR generalists who have a broader set of responsibilities, may choose to continue their professional development through workshops and continued education. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. HR Manager, especially those who are new to the industry, should assess their progress and consult their managers to find a career path that works for them.

Be an ethical HR leader:
Conflict between colleagues is inevitable in the workplace. Imagine, for example, an employee tells you that their manager, a high-level executive, has treated them unfairly. A situation like this requires you to engage in tough conversations with everyone involved. Being an ethical HR Manager means being confident in your moral decisions and effectively communicating them to employees. Making an ethical decision requires three things:

• Commitment: “The desire to do the right thing regardless of the cost.”
• Consciousness: “The awareness to act consistently and apply moral convictions to daily behavior.”
• Competency: “The ability to collect and evaluate information, develop alternatives and foresee potential consequences and risks.”

Understanding where you, and your organization, stand on important issues will be critical in this process. Once you define these ethical standards, you can figure out how to respond to any human resources ethics issues and maintain your employees’ trust and respect.

Understand conflicts of interest:
Conflicts of interest are detrimental to how a business operates because they create internal politics that distract from a company’s bottom line and cause the quality of work to deteriorate. Take favouritism for example, the practice of giving certain employees preferential treatment. It is not illegal to play favourites, unless in doing so you are discriminating against someone else on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation or another protected class. While you can’t change the law, you can implement company policies that prohibit this behaviour.

One way to establish these policies is to update your employee handbook to define and discourage conflicts of interest your employees might be partaking in this behaviour without realizing it. In the case of favouritism, according to the Employment Law Handbook, the first step is to distinguish between favouritism and fair recognition based on measurable performance. Once you have written standards in place, make sure to also determine consequences for employees who fail to abide by the rules.

Implement diversity and inclusion practices:
Discussions today about diversity are often focused on recruiting efforts across race, class and gender. While these are important considerations, it’s only one piece of the diversity and inclusion puzzle.
Diversity is about making people feel like they belong. A company might recruit and hire a diverse workforce, but if only certain groups of people feel valued and included, there’s a problem.
By working with colleagues to develop a list of company values and morals, HR Manager set the standard for diversity and inclusion at their organization. This list will help professionals zero in on what’s important to their organization, and hold employees accountable.

Keep information confidential:
From social security numbers to medical records, HR Manager have access to a lot of confidential information about employees. By making sure paperwork and electronic systems are secure, you can rest easy that your company’s information is protected.

As an HR Manager, you also have a legal obligation to keep everything an employee tells you confidential, unless otherwise specified or discussed. For instance, if an employee comes to you with a concern about a colleague or tells you they have witnessed sexist or racist behaviour in the office, it is your job to manage this information without revealing your sources.
While HR Manager face a number of hurdles that can make the job challenging, it can also be equally rewarding. After all, HR Manager give a company meaning by improving and enhancing the employee experience. Once you navigate the ethical challenges of the job, you will be able to effectively attract and retain a talented workforce.