Techniques in Addressing Issues Common to HR

 According to me, as well as many researches, the most important technique in addressing issues common to HR is communication. You need to build a communication plan that includes all stakeholders and communicate all needed info in a timely manner. This will eliminate many problems before they pop up. Well communicated staff will not be burned out in first two months; well communicated parent will not blow up to your face; well communicated students will know the expectations from them and will not act up. In the case of having any angry stakeholder talking to you, be careful not to lose your temper. If you do so, you lost the first round. Be a good listener instead. That will make you win/win most of the time.

Next thing that you need to pay attention is the relations with the Board and Management Company. Those two are the ones who plays major role on your employment, status, salary, and bonuses. You better have a list of things to do and do them on time. If you will not be able to do it on time, say it ahead when the task is given to you. Making up later will never do the same effect as it is done on time or telling it before it was past due. 

One of the most important items is the discrimination issues. You should never discriminate any stakeholder according to their race, color, national origin, creed or ancestry, political belief, sex, disability, handicap, religion, age, height, weight, or marital status. This applies to hiring/firing process, student enrollment, parent relations and/or board relations.

Most of the time, parents of children with disabilities or who need special education, are reluctant to cooperation. They feel and act, as they are always right. Even though you may be doing many things towards their children’s education, if you do not go by the paper, themselves or their lawyers will give you a hard time. Therefore, it is really important to hire someone who knows his/her job to oversee this process. Make sure you have a scheduled regular meetings to follow that person up.

If somehow, your staff applies for being unionized, you need to cooperate with them instead of getting upset and/or losing your temper. You may get a legal counsel and training before you start dealing with the union. Union representatives usually will be more prepared than you will since this is their job and they do this all the time. Therefore, you better find someone who has been in this kind of process in any charter school and go over the process and contract with him/her. You will hear many things like; I wish I could redo this contract since it ties my hands like …. You will need to specify each little thing during this contract preparation. Otherwise, you may not ask anyone to do any work other than covering the classes.

Lastly, since it is really difficult to let any union member staff go, you will need to keep all paperwork very neat and organized. There are many rules and procedures to follow up if you need to fire any unionized employee. You may need to spend a lot of many for that purpose and even may not be able to get rid of that employee. Please spend some time to learn what those paperwork requirements are.

Major Elements of the HR Program

One of the major elements of the HR program is compensation and rewards. To be able to provide compensation and give rewards there should be some kind of evaluation. That protocol of those evaluations is summarized below.  

Annual Process: All teachers should be observed and/or evaluated by different people numerous times. These observations/evaluations should include walkthroughs, scheduled and unscheduled formal evaluations, and following up professional developments.

Clear and Rigorous Expectations: Observations and evaluations should be based on clear standards of instructional excellence that prioritize student learning.

Multiple Measures: Evaluations should consider multiple measures of performance, primarily the teacher’s impact on student academic growth.

o   Formal Evaluations

o   On Demand Evaluations

o   Students Performances

Multiple Ratings: Evaluations have different levels to describe differences in teacher effectiveness.

o   Exemplary

o   Effective

o   Satisfactory

o   Below Average

o   Needs Improvement

Regular Feedback: Evaluations should encourage frequent observations and constructive critical feedback. School administrators and central office personnel should do frequent observations and formal evaluations to give critical feedback and help teachers develop their skills.

Significance: Evaluation data should be a major factor in key employment decisions and compensation for teachers.

·         Formal Evaluations - 20%

·         On Demand Evaluations - 30%

·         Students’ Performances - 50%

o   Individual  Test Data – 30%

§  State Assessment Data

§  NWEA

§  CS Interim

§  EXPLORE/PLAN/ACT

o   School Test Data – 10%

o   Other Student Learning Measures –10%

§  Student Grades

§  Individual Goals

§  Competitions/Fairs

§  Music Performances

§  Sport Achievements

§  Extracurricular Activities

Role of Line Manager v. Staff Specialist

Line managers and supervisors are responsible for promoting and enforcing a work environment of dignity. They are expected to communicate clearly and periodically to their stakeholders. A line manager must be prepared to act before a problem arises, or any inappropriate behavior is shown. When staff members report inappropriate behavior, line managers should use their judgment to help find positive, non-confrontational ways to convey that the behavior is undesirable. Line managers are obliged to set the tone for a workplace of inclusion and dignity. They should set a good example by avoiding even the appearance of improper conduct and by treating all staff fairly, with dignity and respect; review their own actions regarding staff employment and career decisions to ensure that they are free of bias and discrimination, both real and perceived; be aware of what is happening in the work unit – watch for hostility or inappropriate exchanges between staff, or changes in behavior such as anxiety, depression, increased absence or reduced efficiency; learn how to deal with inappropriate workplace behaviors by becoming informed about avenues of assistance and complaint procedures, and by consulting with experts in conflict resolution and respectful workplace behaviors; let others know when their behavior is offensive and make sure that offensive pictures, posters, screen-savers, etc., are not displayed in the work area; act promptly, fairly and thoroughly when a problem situation arises or is suspected, and ensure that there is no reprisal when incidents are reported. Line managers who observe or are presented with a case of inappropriate behavior, or who experience such behaviors themselves, should seek advice/assistance. Line managers should always seek advice when the issue is regarded as a serious level of harassment or discrimination.

On the other hand, Staff Specialists do the followings:

Assists supervisors in interpretation and uniform application of company policies and procedures. Coordinates various human resource programs, i.e. recruiting, employment, placement, orientation, affirmative action, EEO, shop salary administration, benefits and career development. Counsels employees regarding a wide variety of job-related issues. Oversees records and documentation processes in accordance with legal and company requirements.

Working with HR Manager, coordinates company training programs. Reviews and recommends programs.

HR Functions and Position

Human Resources position is one of the most important positions at schools. It is because success comes with the right people. If HR person will find the right people for needed positions, then he/she needs to be qualified to do that job. Some of the functions that they hold is: HR strategy, organization and position management, staff acquisition, performance management, compensation management, benefits management, human resources development, employee relations, labor relations, and separation management.

Theories and Concepts in HR Management

I believe; one of the major components of the performance is a motivation. I always share the formula of K*A*M*=P with my colleagues. People need to have knowledge, application skills and motivation to be successful. In the book, work motivation is defined as “variations in the intensity, quality, direction, and duration of work-related behavior”.  Variations in the quality of work produced by employees may arise from either motivational or knowledge differences.

The biggest motivation is the intrinsic one – being a self-leader. Self-leaders motivate themselves with the responsibility, achievement, advancement, and the growth. These are primary factors of satisfaction for them. I do not believe that I can rely only on this since there are too many people who do not own self-leadership skills.

Another way of keeping teachers motivated is setting goals and following the results in a consistent manner. Some people are motivated by achieving their goals. While determining the goals, teachers should be careful to clearly define an attainable goal in an expected timeline.

Additionally, I believe, selecting the right employee, giving them the needed training, and keeping two-way communication open all the time have a major impact on keeping your staff motivated.     

Finally, while trying all possible ways of keeping staff motivated, we need to make sure that some hygiene factors - company policy and administration, supervision, relations with supervisor, work conditions, salary, relationship with peers, status, and security- do not create unhappiness and dissatisfaction in the workplace. 

During this course I was able to learn following theories and concepts about Motivation. 

Expectancy theory – people are motivated by the opportunity to earn incentives. Expectancy theory shows that it has a place if correct guidelines are followed. To motivate teachers; (1) select incentives that are valued by teachers, (2) be sure that teachers understand the connection between work outcomes and incentives, (3)  Select work outcomes that are attainable, (4) incentives are not effective when used to reward behavior that is expected or required of all employees.

Equity theory – people expect a balance between effort expended and rewards received and lose motivation when that balance is missing. If no objective and valid way of measuring performance exists, managers are vulnerable to charges of unfairly rewarding favorites. To avoid the charge, appoint a committee of teachers to set standards for deciding which individuals shall receive rewards. Equity theory resembles to Hygiene where some job related factors do not satisfy employee, it will cause unhappiness or dissatisfaction.  The correlation between employee satisfaction and worker productivity is low, and the direction of the relationship is not clear.

Goal-setting theory – people are motivated to achieve identified goals. Goal setting is a form of self-leadership. Organizations use a variety of external control mechanisms for influencing employee behavior, including evaluation, rules, policies, and supervisory oversight. In recent years, however organizations have begun to place more emphasis on internal controls. By working to achieve commitment by employees to the organizational mission and goals, these organizations hope that the need for external mechanisms of control will diminish.