Introduction

The report studies the effectiveness of the human resource management at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The not for profit organisation has been operating a human resource department lacking diversity in respect to the gender and race of the employees. Human resource is by far an essential component of the WWF (Schwarsenbach, 2011, p. 16) as well as other organisations in the charity business. Planning is essentially an important component of the organisation as it determines the right type and number of people that the organisation possesses. The task of planning, recruitment and selection of the employees at the WWF is a complex task that involves a lot of planning (WWF, 1990, p. 36). The process of hiring and sourcing the right balance in an organisation is a continuous one that involves regular adjustments in the employee mix (Bandt & Haines, 2002, p. 28). In addition, the WWF pools together people of different talent and the grouping of these people is essential in the organisation realising its overall goals and objectives (Breberina, 2009, p. 9). In the recent past, the organisation has faced challenges in its human resource management due to lack of diversity in terms of gender and race. This report aims to offer a solution to this problem by providing options that fit the organisation.

 

Literature Review

Recruitment and selection are concurrent processes of searching for workers and encouraging them to apply for the positions available in an organisation (Walker, 1980, p. 15). None of the two processes can claim to work in isolation or devoid of the other. According to Bhattacharyya, (2006, p. 42), recruitment and selection are important aspects of the organisation’s success. Any reputable organisation will agree with the fact that the processes achieve greater prospects for the company by assessing the potential and capabilities of prospects before they are inducted into the organisation. As thus, the processes of recruitment and selection are the key links between the available positions and the available workers seeking employment positions (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2003, p. 53).

In keeping up with the idea of improving the employee diversity, Marks and Spencer had 40% of their employees as women. To reflect this diversity, the company has been listed among the top 50 employer for women for a record 5 consecutive year (Bevan, 2005, p. 27). In addition, the company runs development events to diversify the gender within the organisation. Moreover, the company realizes the importance of early training and development. In this regard, it provides a mentorship program for female students in partnership with a local school (Thompson & Martin, 2010, p. 15). Further, the company provides opportunities for youth placements to build their skills for future employment.

Unlike profit seeking organisations, charitable organisations cannot measure the effectiveness of the human resource through the monetary gains (Pynes, 2008, p. 63). The positions in these organisations can be filled with people who are able and willing to take the available positions. Most charitable organisations provide accurate and realistic skill specifications for the particular positions advertised (Cunningham, 1999, p. 23). The job expectations for specific opportunities are essentially communicated through job descriptions. Oxfam for instance, attaches the job description in the call for vacancies (Deb, 2008, p. 37). The emphasis on the right candidates is because of the risk that charitable organisations undergo in fulfilling their duties. The approach in most charitable organisations is inclined towards selecting candidates that are best suited for the specific job (Nickson, 2008, p. 28). Moreover, performance appraisals are also a preferred way of boosting the performance of employees.

Most charitable organisations prefer internal recruitments that are based on the organisation’s recruitment policies (Cunningham, 1999, p. 63).  Save the Children for instance, gives preference to internal appraisals before they consider hiring externally. Many not for profit organisations have realized that recruitment success is achieved through incisive analysis of the potential of prospective employees must be done (Reddy, 2005, p. 58). The analysis of these potentials can only be achieved by targeting the job availed, the market conditions and processes of recruitment (Reilly, 1996, p. 81). The importance of the success of the recruitment process is envisaged in the link it bridges between the availability of the positions and the filling of these positions by people of reputable credentials. Essentially, failure in the recruitment process can lead to challenges and barriers for the organisation (Niehaus & Price, 1991, p. 25). Worse still are challenges occasioned by recruitment failures in the charitable organisations that largely depend on the mix of talent among its employees.

The success of the recruitment process is so important that its failure may result in the lack of labour in the not for profit organisations (Deb, 2006, p. 84). In addition, the inappropriate levels of staffing and the low utilisation of the skills of employees are bound to result when recruitment techniques are not applied successfully. Human resource Planning Society, (1978, p. 34) asserts that the process of improving the recruitment techniques can be advanced through compliance to management theories. MacMillan Cancer Support is known for using Munro-Frasers five-fold grading system (Randhawa, 2007, p. 76), psychological tests, Rodgers seven point plan (Lussier, 2015, p. 29) and personal interviews.

The process of recruitment is not a simple selection procedure. Rather, appointing the most appropriate employees require management decision making and wide planning for it to be successful. There is an increasing competition among the charitable organisations to hire the best talent in the market (Cole, 2004, p. 104). As thus, majority of these organisations strive to attract the most potential employees in a bid to creating innovations. In addition, the not for profit organisations attempt to hire employees who are best fit for the culture and ethics that are specific to not for profit environment. The management of the Cancer Research, UK, shortlists only candidates who are well equipped with the requisite requirements of the specific position within the organisations. In particular, team work is essential in any management position and is a fundamental requirement in most positions in the not for profit sphere (McBeath, 1992, p. 86).

Selection techniques include interviews, assessment and psychometric examinations. Approaches to human resource selection include interviews, group discussions, group tasks and role play among others (Burack, 1988, p. 52). Amnesty International leads in the utilization of psychometric examinations during the recruitment process. In his research on human resource policies and practices in organisations in Europe, Sims (2007, p. 38) identified recruitment and selection as essential practices. Essentially, the role of human resource is to control, develop, manage and achieve the employees’ commitment to the organisation. In fact, selection of employees has a positive effect on the performance of the organisation and is there an insightful pointer for executives in the organisation (Banfield, 2011, p. 69).

Selection and staffing is another factor in improving the diversity within charitable organisations and is an area of significant interest. The nature of the selection process is determined by the labour market and the strength of the organisation in the labour market (Stewart & Brown, 2011, p. 99). Christian Aid continually monitors the state of the labour market in connection with potential recruits (Baker & Doran, 2007, p. 73). In this regard, the image of the organisation should be projected in a way that reinforces applicants’ expectations (Armstrong, 2007, p. 104). Organisations have designed models about the kind of employees desired for recruitment and how they respond to calls for application (Aswathappa, 2005, p. 62). Further, most organisations desire to analyse how the applicants correspond to their models by using valid selection techniques. Competency- derived models strengthen organisations by generating the appropriate knowledge against which the applicants can be assessed (Collings & Wood, 2009, p. 118).

After the processes of recruitment and selection, the organisation has to induct the successful applicants into the organisation (Baker & Doran, 2007, p. 69). Normally, the process of induction culminates in the training of the new employees their assignment to specific positions in the organisation. It has been found out that charitable organisations are more likely to spend more time training the new employees in areas of communication and team-work (Arthur, 2004, p. 60). Perhaps this pattern is occasioned by the fact that there is positive connection between firm performance and the training accorded to the human capital (Pieper, 1990, p. 55). Organisations should therefore develop human resource policies and practices that are focused on training if they have to acquire a competitive edge of their competitors.

The process of recruitment does not end with the selection of the most suitable candidate but requires the sustenance and retaining of selected employees (Truss et al., 2012, p. 105). The task of talent management is of essence in organisations that depend on their talent bank to achieve success in areas of innovation. The question of whether people are born with talent or they develop them along the way is a challenge to the process of designing talent systems in organisations (Mabey et al., 1998, p. 27). The only solution to the challenge of having efficient talent management is through the adoption of techniques that are fully-executable. Implementation of these strategies is a bit challenging for the management and requires the employment of in-house management skills (Sims, 2002, p. 146).

Recommendations

Diversity is defined as any noticeable difference distinguishing one person from another. Researchers have organised diversity into four areas: internal (gender, ethnicity, and race), external (nationality, marital status, culture, and religion), organisational (department, position), personality (skills, abilities, traits). One of the main challenges in the human resource management at the organisation is the diversification of the human capital. In particular, the internal area of diversity is most affected including the gender and race of the employees. The diversification of human resource has the benefit of improving workers’ satisfaction by encouraging a feeling of inclusivity (Lengnick-Hall, 2003, p. 46). In achieving diversity at the organisation, the management needs to accept that diversity is valuable politically, socially and economically.

Internal Recruitment

One of the ways of attaining diversity is through leadership commitment. The management needs to stand up and bring along change to the effect of diversifying the human resource within the organisation. While managers can manage change, it is only leaders that can effectively create change through employee inspiration (Ivancevich, 1992, p. 18). Leaders can therefore infuse diversity into all the organisational processes and ensuring the integration of the concept into the core values of the organisation. Diversity needs to be recognised as an important goal and should be integrated in top level and senior management. Leaders in the organisation should thus put diversity as an organisational top priority as well as a personal responsibility.

The management should also consider broader recruitment efforts through proactive outreach efforts especially when engaging a new audience (Laurent, 1986, p. 97). The mangers should embark on an agenda of getting word out to as many people as possible and not limiting the advertisements to the usual channels. The available positions should be advertised in a wide variety of places and especially those that target the kind of diversity required in the organisation. In this respect, the advertisements should focus on women groups that are considered inferior in a bid to encouraging more of the women to apply. Advertisement efforts should thus extend beyond simple and standard online and sector specific job boards.

The offices in the UK should also build a relationship with the cultural groups and organisations that work in diverse communities. The local immigrant serving agencies should be contacted to provide recommendations on people that are qualified for particular employment opportunities. The importance of this trend is that it raises the organisation’s profile (Harel & Tsafrir, 1999, p. 194) among diverse communities living in the UK. Moreover, the organisation could take advantage of the immigrant programs such as post graduate work permits to pool employees from immigration sub groups in the UK.

Another possibility is the promotion of the organisation as a viable place of work. This is particularly helpful in influencing the perceptions of the target group about the organisation. Any potential employee wants to feel that they will be treated well in their new positions of work (Huselid, 1995, p. 653). Influencing these perceptions positively therefore widens the labour market for a specific organisation. Most immigrants will come from countries where the not for profit sector is not well established and therefore not consider such organisations as desirable to work in. The organisation’s management should thus partner with other not for profit organisations to increase the profile of the sector. This can be done through attendance to networking events and job exhibitions thus increasing our organisation’s presence in the community. Moreover, the organisations could target the volunteer base as a way of building networks with the less experienced people who form the bulk of the potential employees. These volunteers should then be made aware of available opportunities for them to apply.

Selection Methods

Moreover, the organisation should work towards reducing bias in the recruitment and selection process. This situation can be achieved through the separation of essential from non essential qualifications thereby ensuring all people that are qualified are given a chance to apply. In addition, the management should focus on what needs to be done and not how it is done. This procedure helps in diversifying the abilities and skills of the various employees while still achieving the same end goal of productivity.  Further, the human resource department should dissuade from using sector specific and HR jargon in the application postings. Rather, the language should be simple to accommodate a vast majority of the people.

The management should focus on specifying the need and not just how it is achieved to encourage more people to apply for available job. For instance, the driving license could be a factor in dissuading female applicants from applying for a specific job. Further, it might also push immigrants away simply because they do not possess the driving license of their countries of residence. The management should thus ask for the ability to travel and provide one’s own transportation rather than requiring one to have a driving license which is limiting. In addition, the bias against people living far from the work location can be removed by requiring that applicants be able to report to work at a specific time rather than live in a specific location. Having the workers working from remote locations is also efficient in improving diversity as people who have families can work from home (Schneider, 1988, p. 239). Mothers who must breastfeed, for instance, can work from home provided they accomplish the daily tasks in time.

The preference for ability rather than past experience is also a way of diversifying the applicants. This trend can help the human resource department to hire applicants with transferrable skills rather than just focusing on those that have worked in similar settings before. The focus should be on people that have the potential to do the available job and not just those that have developed the potential already. Past achievements in volunteer experiences can be used to measure the ability of the candidates. Where experience is a must, the management should ask for related experience even in areas that are not directly similar to the advertised positions. People with experience in other sectors and from different countries can then be given a chance to apply for these positions thereby diversifying the pool from which to choose the successful applicants.

External Recruitment

The organisation should avoid focusing on a specific credential when sourcing for new employees and instead concentrate on the skills and qualities needed to effectively perform the work. The inclusion of a specific credential should only be done when required in law (Becker & Gerhart, 1996, p. 792) for instance the requirement to be registered as a nurse. In addition, the requirement for a specific credential should be limited to instances where it is the only way of obtaining the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the job. This pattern improves the number of people that apply for a specific job and thereby increasing the diversity in the applications. The result is that the people selected within the organisation reflect diversity in all the aspects of diversity.

The interview process may be a hindrance to diversification when bias is portrayed in the selection process. To avoid such instances of bias, the management should devise ways of ensuring that the interviewing process is fair and inclusive (Dyer, 1986, p. 74). However, the task of removing bias is not a quick fix but it requires the revision of the hiring practices and the unearthing of systematic barriers. One of the best ways of removing bias and personal interest is the outsourcing of the human resource department or at least the process of recruitment and selection of employees. We could contract the services of renowned international human resource consultants to help in the process of hiring employees. The benefit of such an approach is that it ensures there is no form of bias articulated by the human resource managers in selecting potential employees. Moreover, best practices at the international stage maintain a confidential human resource consultant to ensure that applicants do not know the people leading the hiring process (United States, 1993, p. 163). This trend can dissuade recruitment and selection of workers based on their friendship with the managers. Moreover, outsourcing ensures that only the best candidates are considered for interviews and job placements.

Employee Inductions

Training and development is another way of ensuring diversity in an organisation (Cascio, 1994, p. 94). Our organisation is best suited to achieve diversity by embracing training and apprenticeship of minority groups. The process of training is the only way that people can be given a fair chance to compete on the same platform. Training programs for women should be initiated in the organisation to bring them to par with the skills that men possess. For a long time, women were considered inferior and their penetration in the job market was limited. The effect of this limitation was the lack of gender diversity not just within our organisation but in most charitable organisations in the world. Research has shown that apprenticeship training is a sure way of preparing people for jobs held by higher ranking officials in any organisation. The management should thus incorporate the practice of training the subordinates in a bid to remove bias against particular aspects of the society.

The irregularity in the pay structure between men and women is a cause of low diversity in most organisations (Edenborough, 2007, p. 48). While this organisation has implemented equal pay for the employees regardless of their gender, there is still a gender income inequality that dissuades women from applying for positions in organisations. It is important that the management incorporates the pay structure of specific jobs when advertising for opportunities within the organisation. This can help in motivating people of different genders and races to apply for the jobs and thereby improving the diversity within the organisation.

Conclusion

The diversification of the human resource has gained prominence particularly in not for profit organisations. The sensitivity of the issue is so large that these organisations cannot risk the public outcry that would follow a lack of the same. While the organisation has put across measures to improve its diversity, it still needs to do much more to ensure its success. Indeed, the benefits of having a diverse labour force are immense and wide for the concerned organisation. Implementation of the recommended measure can go a long way in ensuring that we achieve human resource diversity in the many aspects that it seeks to gain. In particular, emphasis on gender and racial diversity is given preference as it provides the biggest challenge.

 

Reflective Statement

Human resource management has changed over time and is subject to continue changing in the foreseeable future. In this respect, it is important that people understand the dynamics involved, particularly in the process of planning. This fact motivated me to undertake this assignment and extensively the course ion human resource management. The assignment involved a study of the human resource capital at the WWF and the challenges faced in diversifying the work force. In addition, recommendations for the solution of these challenges were sought with an emphasis on diversification along gender and racial aspects.

In undertaking this assignment, I have achieved a better insight into the processes of recruitment and selection. Moreover, the connection between the theoretical course work and the actual application of the same in real life situations was important in understanding the dynamics of human resource planning. Particularly, the importance of the hiring process in the organisational performance of entities was better understood through this assignment. The functioning of the WWF human resource department and the changes that have happened over the years provided an important insight in broadening the understanding of the human capital.

The diversity of the human capital was also studied in the assignment and helped in understanding the value of having people of different aspects in an organisation. The political and socioeconomic value of an organisation’s diversity was analysed through the report on the WWF. The influence that this diversity has on the organisation’s image and profile was astounding. Further, I learned that the perceptions of the applicants about an organisation have a large implication on the number of people that consider applying for positions within that organisation. In particular, people consider how they will be treated if they were to work for the organisation.

In the process of completing the assignment, I faced challenges especially in researching for the assignment. There were many conflicting facts from the internet that seemed to be right and true at face value. This challenge was overwhelming considering that the WWF is a large organisation with a positive reputation. However, I embarked on overcoming the challenge by questioning facts and only using facts that had empirical evidence. Further, I also relied on published papers and books in sourcing for information about the organisation to avoid drawing inferences from false and nonfactual premises. The use of critical thinking and analysis of the facts was important in achieving the validity of the information provided.

The assignment further expounded my understanding of the human resource experience and how I’d like to be involved in the same. In particular, the concepts learned during the course of the assignment were important in shaping the personal understanding of the field of human resource. Through this assignment, I have discovered that I possess great research skills that I never knew I had prior to the assignment. Moreover, I have discovered that my talents would be in better using managing charitable organisations that rely so much on individual talents of the employees. In this respect, I plan to volunteer my skills in the not for profit sector after completing my coursework.

 

 

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