Personnel Management – the Easily Forgotten Basics by Roger Milne

In business and government organizations Human Resources (HR) usually falls to the bottom of the priority list well after Health and Safety, Contract Progress, Finance and the like.

This is a mistake; as without competent and motivated staff, effectively, there is no company or organization. Attention to HR matters can pay off in terms of avoiding industrial problems, increasing productivity, building team spirit, problem resolving and new innovative ideas being put forward. There are many facets and sides to HR but the key one, the “human” element of HR, is being aware of what makes someone work at their best.

A staff member, no matter his or her grade or position, will perform to unexpectedly high levels if made to feel that they are an integral and important member of the team and noticed as such. Accomplishing this goal is actually quite easy. This recognition is best when seen to come from as many levels of staff, peers, supervisors and senior management as practical. For example, there is nothing worse than a supervisor or senior management encountering employees and all conversation ceasing. A small gesture, with usually a meaningful and positive effect, might include “good morning and how are you doing?”. This immediately strengthens the bridge between staff and those to whom they report up the ladder.

Another impact point is simply remembering names. I was taken by the CEO of company I joined in Zambia, as a new member of staff, to meet all the people in the head office from his deputy to the tea lady. Before entering each office he checked with the head of HR accompanying us, that he had remembered correctly the name and pronunciation of the person in the office, so when entering he was confident and greeted them with familiarity. The smile on their faces was proof of such a simple tactic being highly effective.

An employee’s good work or ideas should also be recognized; as such a simple “Wow – well done” goes a long way. Similarly if work is not up to expectation a “Well this was not what I was expecting. Let me go through it with you and explain. I am sure you can get a better result” is also effective.

Having worked in my career with 11 companies I look back at which ones were the best performers. Those did not necessarily pay the highest salary or have the top benefits. Instead, the common denominator was that they all had senior staff treating employees respectfully, encouraging and listening to them – but not always agreeing with their viewpoint – and supported them at work. Simple communication is inexpensive and yet it can make a major (positive) impact in employee’s attitudes and output. The work place should be a happy one, even when there exists constructive differences of opinion and cases of poor performance.

Author: Roger Milne, BSc in Civil Engineering
Skilled and self-motivated Civil Engineer with 30+ years’ Experience in Construction on Major International Projects and over 25 years in developing African countries predominantly on Water and Waste Water Projects as Project and Contracts Manager