People Enabling and People Empowerment
Until now, we have discussed the role of an HR manager in various
processes related to the HR function. The emphasis was on a general
overview and a description of the various activities instead of specific
details. This article discusses a couple of the crucial functions that
an HR manager has to perform and those are related to enabling employees
to perform to their potential and empowering the employees to lead
fulfilling careers. In the earlier decades, organizational theory and
practice limited itself to ensuring that employees are well paid and
their benefits and other perks taken care of. There was little by way of
ensuring personal fulfillment and job satisfaction. This was because of
the predominance of manufacturing in the economies of the 1970s and
the 1980s which meant that the workforce was to be treated as cogs in
the machine instead of assets that the modern day HRM theory and
practice follows. With the advent of the services sector, a branch of
HRM known as SHRM or Strategic Human Resource Management grew in
response to the changing profiles of employees and this approach when
combined with the systems approach of management thought meant that the
enabling of employees and the empowerment of employees were the
buzzwords for HR managers.
Specific Aspects of the Twin Objectives
Concomitant with this trend, the HR managers in most firms these days
focus on these aspects by constantly seeking feedback, suggesting
improvements, and providing people support to the employees. in
multinational companies, it is usually the case that the employees above
the team leader level have one-on-ones with the HR staff where all the
issues concerning them are discussed threadbare. These meetings also
provide the employees with an opportunity to articulate concerns and
point to any grievances that they might have with regards to their jobs,
work, or the organization in general. The team members are usually
assigned a people manager who performs these tasks and ensures that the
employees are performing to their potential. Moreover, the HR function
in conjunction with the line managers conduct periodic trainings in soft
skills like communication, personal relations, and leadership. Indeed,
many organizations like Fidelity have established a set protocol for
employees to attend leadership development trainings that bring out the
leaders in them and groom them as future managers and future CEO’s.
Hence, the twin objectives of people empowerment and people enabling are
thus met in this paradigm.
How this works in the Real World
Of course, this does not mean that the whole situation resembles
utopia where employees and the managers along with the HR staff are one
big happy family. On the contrary, in most real world settings, the HR
managers have a tough time convincing the employees that the
organization means well for them and that they ought to look on the
bright side of things instead of complaining and being bitter about
issues and grievances all the time. This is where the HR managers skills
and personality come into the picture as the ability to persuade,
enlighten, and if necessary wield the stick play a crucial role in
people management. in other words, the HR manager has to tread a fine
line between giving in to the employees and following the organizational
mandate. This means that a variety of strategies are usually employed
by the HR managers that include some of the skills listed above in
addition to the personal equations that the HR manager has with the
employees.
Closing Thoughts
Finally, people enabling is all about gaining insights into the
personalities of the employees and matching them with the organizational
requirements. As mentioned earlier, by way of understanding the
employees and their motivations and how well these stack up against
organizational goals, the HR managers would be able to perform the
critical function of people enabling that is very much required in
contemporary management practice.
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