Human Resource Manager in Development

My first year of college I was attending Lewis and Clark College in Portland. During that time, I was especially close with two friends, Mark and Chris, who I had met through class. Mark was always looking for work and often he did a good job at finding miscellaneous jobs that paid well. One three-day weekend Mark asked me and Chris if we were interested in making some money in our spare time, as we had a longer weekend. Both me and Chris were interested and took Mark up on his offer. Mark explained to us that the work would be through an independent contractor that he knew, and he had previously paid him quite well in past jobs. However, Mark explained that the pay and jobs were always different, and we probably wouldn’t know what we were doing and how much we were getting paid until we arrived.

Saturday morning me, Mark, and Chris showed up ready to work at a drop pin that the contractor had provided. The contractor explained that we would be tearing up a sidewalk. However, he wasn’t able to get a jackhammer until the next day so we could start today with the sledgehammers and pickaxes he had. The contractor said he would have a better idea about the pay by the end of the day. At this point we trusted Mark that the pay would be well, especially considering the difficulty of the job without a jackhammer. So, we went to work on the sidewalk. It was not until the next day that we found out about pay, the contractor said that we would each be getting paid $180 for the two days of work. We had been there for about 7 and a half hours the previous day and were expected to do about the same this day. Chris thought this was absurd, he did not believe that this was adequate compensation for the work we were doing. Therefore, the whole second day his effort was reduced. I agreed that the compensation was lacking, but I had already committed so I was determined to finish the job.

This situation exemplifies some of the key disadvantages of job-based pay. Where pay structure and job evaluation can be subjective and how it does not encourage high performance. This situation was also frustrating for me and Mark at some point because it felt as if a free rider effect was taking place because Chris had checked out the second day, while me and Mark continued to work hard for the same amount of pay.

When I first transferred to OSU in the spring of 2023 I took a flute class that I loved and found extremely beneficial. There were a lot of aspects to this course that created an effective learning environment. The instructor tied in a lot of meaning to why playing the flute could be beneficial to one’s life. He made material fun and digestible in a progressive manner, allowing us to start small and work our way up, practicing each little part. There was constant feedback which helped to gain consistency and confidence in my playing. This class was extremely engaging and effective. I feel like I just about became an expert at the flute by the time I was done with the class. There was a lot of hands-on learning that took place, I was able to make adjustments on the spot as feedback came in. Additionally, I was able to take this class with friends which created a sort of collaborative work environment as we were able to encourage each other and help each other out.

In contrast, I also took a sociology class that same term that felt a lot less effective. It’s not that the content wasn’t interesting, it’s just everything felt so dense and rushed. The instructor mainly used PowerPoint presentations, that they read off, and then would assign a lot of reading assignments. There wasn’t any direct application going on with the material we were learning. The information wasn’t necessarily put into a digestible manner either It was just kind of thrown at us. Additionally, assignments and tests took a long time to be graded so it was hard to get feedback on things we might need to improve on as we were going through the class. 

When looking at the article The Making of a UPS Driver and their approach to training we can identify why my flute class was considerably more beneficial when compared to my sociology class. My flute class shared similarities to UPS’s hands-on earning method, where active practice and feedback was emphasized. 

Sources: 

Swift, M. (n.d.). W6 Lecture 1 – Developing Training Programs. HRM. MGMT. 

Hira, N. (2007). The Making of a UPS Driver. CNN

Thinking back on an interview process I went through for a local Drywall in my hometown, I found that the process had significant shortcomings in terms of structure and effectiveness. It appeared as if they were asking very personal and specific questions that were quite answer based, in the sense that one question’s answer would lead to another related question, which in return wouldn’t provide very reliable information. The inconsistency within the questions would make it hard to assess candidates fairly and objectively. In contrast, having more structured interviews, like the ones referenced in the google article, would help to enhance the reliability and reduce bias. 

Additionally, there could have been issues pertaining to validity within my interview process. At the time I was in high school and I had no prior work experience, so I remember them asking me about how my grades were or what my GPA was. While I have no way of knowing how much that played into me getting hired it still hints toward a lack in the validity of their methods. This is highlighted within the google article as they emphasize the point that metrics like GPA can often be an ineffective measure for job performance. Rather it would be better if they implemented more measures to help gauge problem solving ability or adaptability. 

Overall, from my experience the interview process wasn’t very efficient, therefore this reduced its utility. They weren’t able to gain very good comparable information on candidates. They were potentially gauging job performance on methods with low validity. Therefore, the time spent during the interview process wasn’t proportional to the value it provided in assessing candidates. 

Sources 

Swift, M. (n.d.). W5 Lecture 2 – Interview Selection. HRM. MGMT. 

Friedman, T. (2014). How to Get a Job at Google. The New York Times. 

I found that there were several challenges to developing and maintaining job descriptions within the reading. However, there were three that stood out to me, the first being failing to keep job descriptions up to date. Then, issues regarding what the job truly entails due to an employee manager disconnect. Finally, legality and compliance risks can be difficult to navigate through. 

It’s important to keep job descriptions updated because neglecting to do so can lead to outdated information that doesn’t truly reflect the presented role. Therefore, in order to overcome this challenge it would be beneficial to establish a policy where job descriptions are updated and reviewed annually. The reading Definitive Guide to Recruiting in Good Times and Bad emphasizes the importance of keeping job descriptions up to date as they believe it is crucial in recruiting the right candidates for company needs (See Appendix for direct quote). 

Oftentimes HR managers might have not worked the job they are creating the description for therefore, this can lead to a disconnect between what they believe the roles of the job are and the reality of the job roles. In order to combat this challenge HR managers might want to include insight from employees and other day-by-day managers in order to get a more accurate picture of the roles of the job. The article Jobs Worth Doing: Update Descriptions emphasizes this point as it acknowledges the need and the want for these employees and managers to participate in the development of these descriptions (See Appendix for direct quote). 

Job descriptions that are written poorly or outdated can lead to legal risks, this is especially true when it comes to complying with labor laws such as The Fair Labor Standards Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Therefore, to ensure the legality of job descriptions HR should make an attempt to audit job descriptions or at least use a template to assist with the matter. The article Jobs Worth Doing: Update Descriptions emphasizes this point as they elaborate on the type of issues you might encounter if these descriptions are inadequately out together (See Appendix for direct quote). 

Sources 

Fernández-Aráoz, C., Groysberg, B., & Nohria, N. (2009). The Definitive Guide to Recruiting in Good Times and Bad. In Harvard business review (Vol. 87, Number 5). Harvard Business Review.

Kathryn Tyler. (2013). Job worth doing: Update descriptions. SHRM.

Appendix 

Infrequent updates 

“What specific capabilities will this job require over the next few years? Will the focus be on growth or on engineering a turnaround? Does it require someone who is fundamentally an entrepreneur, a manager, or a leader?” (Fernandez-Araoz, 2009). 

Employee Manager Disconnect 

“‘Employees can vouch for what they actually do and should have input into their descriptions,’ McCarthy agrees. ‘However, the manager must also be a part of this process to ensure that the responsibilities and requirements are aligned with actual activities.’” (Tyler, 2013). 

Legality Issues 

“With the compliance environment and legal implications, the stakes are a lot higher for job descriptions to be crystal clear with essential responsibilities. If you have a measure of performance that doesn’t appear on the job description and you have a case brought against you… there could be punishment.” (Tyler, 2013).

It’s no surprise that there would be similarities between companies within the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For as they established themselves among this list for a reason. However, it’s interesting to see that there can be common themes in HR practice among vastly different fields of work. I chose to look into four different companies among this list, Kimpton Hotels and restaurants, Capital One, KPMG LLP, and Accenture. Analyzing comments by employees and additional information provided by the website I found that these companies chose to structure their businesses around empowering their employees and embracing their individualism as a strength (see Appendix for employee comments). Focusing more on what your employees can do instead of their weaknesses allows each individual to maximize their potential and productivity for the company. 

I’d like to be a manager that other employees enjoy conversing with, a manager who is very open minded and embraces the strengths of the employees that I work with. I think it would be very beneficial to be a manager who can determine opportune times for employee empowerment and employee guidance. In the article How Google Sold Its Engineers on Management by David A. Gavin, they emphasized or at least showcased one of the key things Google managers do, which was being able to empower the team and not micromanage. I found this point quite compelling because not only does it increase effectiveness and efficiency within the business but it makes you more enjoyable to work with.

After reading the first chapter of First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, I felt that the most challenging part of a manager’s job is battling the contradictory or being able to identify and pursue the silver lining within managing or influencing the employees you oversee. In the second to last paragraph of this chapter the authors outline the struggle of these apparent contradictions that arise when you are in pursuit of “5’s” to all the presented questions throughout the chapter. 

References 

Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2001). First, break
all the rules: What the world’s greatest managers do differently. Simon
& Schuster.

Fortune 100 best companies to work for® 2020. Great
Place To Work®. (2020).
https://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces/100-best/2020

Gavin, D. A. (2013, December). Review of How Google sold
its engineers on management. Harvard Business Review, 74–82.

Appendix 

What employees are saying about their companies 

Kimpton Hotels and restaurants 

“A great, inclusive and diverse culture. Always seeking ways to improve and develop new efficient ways of doing things. No such thing as a bad idea here. Hard work is noticed and praised. I can be myself and am encouraged to be myself.”

Capital one 

“I love that the company allows individuals to be exactly that: individuals. We are free to express ourselves in unique ways and are not expected to conform to any specific standard.”

KPMG LLP

“It is a diverse company that allows thoughts and ideas to be shared by everyone. Every voice is heard and given appropriate consideration when tackling issues as a team.”

Accenture 

“We are setting a public example for how corporations should embrace diversity, very inclusive of all races, genders/sexual preferences, and disability. All of us are encouraged to give back to the community.”