Dear HR Professionals,
I am an MBA in HR (and have also done M.A.). I have been working with an Engineering Company which is a fast growing Company. There are altogether 45 Personnel in the Company (including the Directors). I am the only one to handle HR Functions and I have been designated as Manager - HR & Admin. So, I handle and manage all HR and Admin related work.
I have been employed in this Company, for more than 2 years and have been doing almost same work in the HR field though I get to do different tasks in Admin. But most of the times I sit idle due to lack of work. I took initiative and done so many things for book keeping and performance management. But now, I am desperately looking for tasks. Nobody supervises me. I have all the liberty to do my job in my own way.
But it is really painful to sit idle and surf the internet all the time. Our Company is very good with very descent employers and employees. The work environment is amazing. So, I don't want to quit this job.
Please suggest me what unique and useful responsibilities I can add to my job profile. Being an only HR Personnel, I do not see any scope of promotion or hierarchical growth.
From India, New Delhi
15I am an MBA in HR (and have also done M.A.). I have been working with an Engineering Company which is a fast growing Company. There are altogether 45 Personnel in the Company (including the Directors). I am the only one to handle HR Functions and I have been designated as Manager - HR & Admin. So, I handle and manage all HR and Admin related work.
I have been employed in this Company, for more than 2 years and have been doing almost same work in the HR field though I get to do different tasks in Admin. But most of the times I sit idle due to lack of work. I took initiative and done so many things for book keeping and performance management. But now, I am desperately looking for tasks. Nobody supervises me. I have all the liberty to do my job in my own way.
But it is really painful to sit idle and surf the internet all the time. Our Company is very good with very descent employers and employees. The work environment is amazing. So, I don't want to quit this job.
Please suggest me what unique and useful responsibilities I can add to my job profile. Being an only HR Personnel, I do not see any scope of promotion or hierarchical growth.
From India, New Delhi
PROFESSIONALS AND BUSINESSES PARTICIPATING IN DISCUSSION
Hi! I am still waiting for response from you all. Please give some suggestion.
From India, New Delhi
From India, New Delhi
Dear Sarkar,
Greetings!!!
Tremendous opportunity to learn and create a fantastic working environment !!!
1) Have you completed your employee handbook ? Do you believe, that it needs something which might not have been included?
2) Is your PMS good enough ? Can you look for a better system ?
3) Have you conducted Employee Engagement Survey ? What is it that keeps your people motivated, what is it that needs to be done ?
4) How about having a team outing , if everything is looking so promising? Have some fun and some team spirit?
5) Is your training calender ready ? Have you done skill gap analysis?
6) Let us have a look at the environmental responsibilities that your firm needs to address? Do you have a ready reckoner for that ?
The list is endless, Sarkar !!!! It's upto you, how far do you want to go.
From India, Delhi
Greetings!!!
Tremendous opportunity to learn and create a fantastic working environment !!!
1) Have you completed your employee handbook ? Do you believe, that it needs something which might not have been included?
2) Is your PMS good enough ? Can you look for a better system ?
3) Have you conducted Employee Engagement Survey ? What is it that keeps your people motivated, what is it that needs to be done ?
4) How about having a team outing , if everything is looking so promising? Have some fun and some team spirit?
5) Is your training calender ready ? Have you done skill gap analysis?
6) Let us have a look at the environmental responsibilities that your firm needs to address? Do you have a ready reckoner for that ?
The list is endless, Sarkar !!!! It's upto you, how far do you want to go.
From India, Delhi
Thank you so much Team - Group HR for your guidance. Let me inform you that our working environment is extremely good. We have also prepared an Employee Handbook and I keep on updating it as per need. Twice or thrice a year we organize some sports events and all the employees and employers take part in these events willingly. We have Lunch or Dinner Party post event. I try to make a strong Performance Management System through timely performance reviews. We also interact with all individuals personally during performance review to express manager's view and know individuals' own opinion and grievances (if any).
One thing that bothers me is that the Company do not involve me in its training and development program. It is the responsibility of the Managers/Head of every Team/Department. So, I have no role in Training and Development and I don't know how to involve myself in it as I am not aware of the Technical (Engineering) aspects that different Departments in my Company are indulged in.
I would like to seek your guidance in performing the survey that you have mentioned in the 3rd point.
Please reply soon as within few days, I will have to discuss all this with my Directors in our performance review.
From India, New Delhi
One thing that bothers me is that the Company do not involve me in its training and development program. It is the responsibility of the Managers/Head of every Team/Department. So, I have no role in Training and Development and I don't know how to involve myself in it as I am not aware of the Technical (Engineering) aspects that different Departments in my Company are indulged in.
I would like to seek your guidance in performing the survey that you have mentioned in the 3rd point.
Please reply soon as within few days, I will have to discuss all this with my Directors in our performance review.
From India, New Delhi
Hello S. Sarkar,
To add to the excellent inputs given by Shantanu/GroupHR, I think you do have a GREAT opportunity to LEARN.
If you see many threads in CiteHR, many HR professionals face the opposite situations--where they aren't given any freedom to implement new ideas.
Now coming to your query about 'how can you get involved in the Training function'.
Pl note that any Training in any Company is handled by the technical/functional staff/team, since essentially it's THEY who know the subject. The role of the Training dept [or the person from HR handling Training] is limited to focus on the process--fine-tune it and/or incorporate improvements. You haven't mentioned the number of Depts the Company has--but since it's a Manufacturing Company, Production, QA/QC & Marketing would surely exist as the major ones where most of the employees would be on the rolls. You can devise ways to STANDARDIZE & ASSIMILATE the Training sessions of the various departments--meaning the Trainees for Production would be given an exposure to the OTHER functions, so that they would be able to better appreciate their work vis-a-vis the BROADER scope of the Organization & it's goals.
Another area that you CAN contribute would be keep track of the general trends in the technology(ies) that your company uses in it's daily operations [NOT VERY TOUGH even for a Non-technical person, since it only needs some semblance of enthusiasm & flair for GK] & arrange external lectures for the senior staff--to enhance & broaden their vision of the industry they operate in. Quite often, the existing employees themselves can take it up on themselves to take such special sessions. There surely would be at least some who keep abreast of the latest technical developments--all he/she needs to have is the nature of 'sharing'.
Many times, such inputs help to bring-about small [BUT crucial] enhancements & changes in the processes itself--leading to better products/output from the production lines.
Hope this helps.
All the Best.
Rgds,
TS
From India, Hyderabad
To add to the excellent inputs given by Shantanu/GroupHR, I think you do have a GREAT opportunity to LEARN.
If you see many threads in CiteHR, many HR professionals face the opposite situations--where they aren't given any freedom to implement new ideas.
Now coming to your query about 'how can you get involved in the Training function'.
Pl note that any Training in any Company is handled by the technical/functional staff/team, since essentially it's THEY who know the subject. The role of the Training dept [or the person from HR handling Training] is limited to focus on the process--fine-tune it and/or incorporate improvements. You haven't mentioned the number of Depts the Company has--but since it's a Manufacturing Company, Production, QA/QC & Marketing would surely exist as the major ones where most of the employees would be on the rolls. You can devise ways to STANDARDIZE & ASSIMILATE the Training sessions of the various departments--meaning the Trainees for Production would be given an exposure to the OTHER functions, so that they would be able to better appreciate their work vis-a-vis the BROADER scope of the Organization & it's goals.
Another area that you CAN contribute would be keep track of the general trends in the technology(ies) that your company uses in it's daily operations [NOT VERY TOUGH even for a Non-technical person, since it only needs some semblance of enthusiasm & flair for GK] & arrange external lectures for the senior staff--to enhance & broaden their vision of the industry they operate in. Quite often, the existing employees themselves can take it up on themselves to take such special sessions. There surely would be at least some who keep abreast of the latest technical developments--all he/she needs to have is the nature of 'sharing'.
Many times, such inputs help to bring-about small [BUT crucial] enhancements & changes in the processes itself--leading to better products/output from the production lines.
Hope this helps.
All the Best.
Rgds,
TS
From India, Hyderabad
Well, it is all upto you to how to utilize your time, instead of sitting idle better if you check the process and analyse it and see if there any scope of improvement in that, if yes then prepare a document mentioning all the issues and how to fix or improve them and work towards improving the things after getting approval from management.
From India, Lucknow
From India, Lucknow
Dear Mr. Sateesh,
Thank you for your suggestions. Our Company is not a Manufacturing and Production Company. It is an IT based Engineering Consultancy. Our work is mostly based Mechanical and Software Engineering and all the Engineers work on Computers only.
We don't need QA/QC Department. Their are mainly 3 Engineering Departments (CFD, CAE and Software) and 3 support departments (Admin/HR, Accounts/Purchases, Sales).
From India, New Delhi
Thank you for your suggestions. Our Company is not a Manufacturing and Production Company. It is an IT based Engineering Consultancy. Our work is mostly based Mechanical and Software Engineering and all the Engineers work on Computers only.
We don't need QA/QC Department. Their are mainly 3 Engineering Departments (CFD, CAE and Software) and 3 support departments (Admin/HR, Accounts/Purchases, Sales).
From India, New Delhi
Hello S. Sarkar,
Since you mentioned yours is an Engineering Company, I had assumed you were into Manufacturing.
However, the points I mentioned about the opportunities for enhancing the Training potential for you to become 'inclusive' in such activities STILL REMAINS THE SAME--except that the focal areas & modalities change a bit, given that the general technology knowledge levels are higher.
For eg, you mentioned that CFD is one Department. You didn't mention which CFD Tool you use. If you are using Ansys, you could suggest some exposure-level training in other tools like CFX or Fluent. It may not be useful immediately @ the working-level, but once the techies get a feel of OTHER S/W tools, the general vision of working changes for the better. This could also be applied to the domains where one can use CFD--basically exposing them the different domains [instead of the other CFD tools]--even though your Company may not be having projects in those domains currently.
Same goes for the CAE & S/W Divisions.
However, pl note one PITFALL in exposing the techies to such Training sessions in your sector [Engg Consultancy/Services]--which is unlike a Manufacturing set-up. Such sessions are likely to enhance their job opportunities too. So, UNLESS such steps are matched with other good HR practices, you COULD invite trouble. But, if the general working culture & HR practices are good, such steps will surely enhance the overall & long-term performance capabilities of your technical employees.
All the best.
Rgds,
TS
From India, Hyderabad
Since you mentioned yours is an Engineering Company, I had assumed you were into Manufacturing.
However, the points I mentioned about the opportunities for enhancing the Training potential for you to become 'inclusive' in such activities STILL REMAINS THE SAME--except that the focal areas & modalities change a bit, given that the general technology knowledge levels are higher.
For eg, you mentioned that CFD is one Department. You didn't mention which CFD Tool you use. If you are using Ansys, you could suggest some exposure-level training in other tools like CFX or Fluent. It may not be useful immediately @ the working-level, but once the techies get a feel of OTHER S/W tools, the general vision of working changes for the better. This could also be applied to the domains where one can use CFD--basically exposing them the different domains [instead of the other CFD tools]--even though your Company may not be having projects in those domains currently.
Same goes for the CAE & S/W Divisions.
However, pl note one PITFALL in exposing the techies to such Training sessions in your sector [Engg Consultancy/Services]--which is unlike a Manufacturing set-up. Such sessions are likely to enhance their job opportunities too. So, UNLESS such steps are matched with other good HR practices, you COULD invite trouble. But, if the general working culture & HR practices are good, such steps will surely enhance the overall & long-term performance capabilities of your technical employees.
All the best.
Rgds,
TS
From India, Hyderabad
Dear Mr. Sateesh,
Your assumption (as exhibited in the last paragraph) is absolutely correct. Our CFD Team uses tools like AutoCAD/Draftsight, Gambit, Fluent, Workbench, CFX, OpenFOAM etc. We give training on software tools on need basis. But HR Deptt. is not involved in this field (neither identifying training need, nor co ordination for training). Our Technical Teams do this on their own without giving the HR Personnel any information about the training programme.
From India, New Delhi
Your assumption (as exhibited in the last paragraph) is absolutely correct. Our CFD Team uses tools like AutoCAD/Draftsight, Gambit, Fluent, Workbench, CFX, OpenFOAM etc. We give training on software tools on need basis. But HR Deptt. is not involved in this field (neither identifying training need, nor co ordination for training). Our Technical Teams do this on their own without giving the HR Personnel any information about the training programme.
From India, New Delhi
Dear Sarkar,
Greetings!!!
TS has tremendous insight and his advice is pretty good, more often than not, so listen to him.
1. As far "Employee Engagement" is concerned, in simple words, it means looking for such factors which keep your employees motivated and productive. As you grow, you will start feeling the pinch of disconnect between employees and company. Employee Engagement survey gives you, your win factors and also point towards your loose factors. You can take preemptive actions, because if you are working in an area which requires specific skill set, losing your employees can really take you back. I will add a generic format of survey, although many are already available on citehr.
2. In the Training domain, you can again do a lot. You may not be the technical guy but you can do "TNA ( Training Need Analysis)". Forward that to the technical department, arrange for training, engage external vendors ( need basis) and once training is complete, you can take feedback. Post that, you can look for marked improvement in performance, if any. Then compare the effectiveness of training w.r.t. training cost and improvement performance. Then, you can prepare MIS for the top management to ascertain, if the training was worth it. In brief, you can streamline the whole training process.
PS: Sometimes technical guys do not want to engage HR guy because they are hand in gloves with external vendors. Find that out and convince your management that training is part of your KR. Your problem seems to be of transition. You are mostly doing HR operation and you need to move towards HRD, is it that ?
From India, Delhi
Greetings!!!
TS has tremendous insight and his advice is pretty good, more often than not, so listen to him.
1. As far "Employee Engagement" is concerned, in simple words, it means looking for such factors which keep your employees motivated and productive. As you grow, you will start feeling the pinch of disconnect between employees and company. Employee Engagement survey gives you, your win factors and also point towards your loose factors. You can take preemptive actions, because if you are working in an area which requires specific skill set, losing your employees can really take you back. I will add a generic format of survey, although many are already available on citehr.
2. In the Training domain, you can again do a lot. You may not be the technical guy but you can do "TNA ( Training Need Analysis)". Forward that to the technical department, arrange for training, engage external vendors ( need basis) and once training is complete, you can take feedback. Post that, you can look for marked improvement in performance, if any. Then compare the effectiveness of training w.r.t. training cost and improvement performance. Then, you can prepare MIS for the top management to ascertain, if the training was worth it. In brief, you can streamline the whole training process.
PS: Sometimes technical guys do not want to engage HR guy because they are hand in gloves with external vendors. Find that out and convince your management that training is part of your KR. Your problem seems to be of transition. You are mostly doing HR operation and you need to move towards HRD, is it that ?
From India, Delhi
Job profile of HR -Admin. Dept.doc
Front Office Job Profile.xls