OUTLINE OF THE REPORT

1. Executive summary
2. Introduction
3. Objectives of the study
4. Strategic Assessment inquiries /(concepts of HRD audit)
5. Methodologies of HRD Appraisal
6. Preparing for the HRD Assessment (Audit)
7. Data analysis techniques to be used
8. Expected deliverable
9. Instrument to be used: An overview
10. HRD Audit Failures/ matter that demand attention / HRD assessment failure points
11. References
12. List of abbreviations
13. Tentative outline of the final report
14. Time table
15.

1
Executive summary

HRD assessment (audit) is a comprehensive evaluation of the current HRD strategies, structure,
system, styles and skills in the context of short- and long term business plans of the corporation.
It provides inputs required to assess all aspects of HRD and assign the HRD scores of the
corporation on a number of dimensions. Its main objectives are to align the HR function
u(structure, systems, and processes) with business goals or to create a business-driven HR
function. Since it is comprehensive, it uses a variety of methods, including interview,
observation, secondary data analysis, workshops, etc. it has to be business driven and
comprehensive. There are numerous reasons why companies go for HRD appraisal (audit), the
main one being growth and diversification, promoting professionalism, improving HRD
strategies and enhancing the direct contribution of the HRD to business. It is expected that HRD
appraisal(audit) will have a tremendous impact on different areas of business, including strategic
planning , role clarity, streamlining practices, creation of better polices , enhance top
management styles, improved in HRD systems , focus on competences and TQM interventions.
The consulting team strongly believes that, to get the best out of the HRD appraisal process,
proper implementations and top management support are crucial factors.

2
Introduction

In to-days competitive world, “people” or employees can give a good degree of competitive
advantage to the company. To get the best out of Human Resource, there should be a good
alignment of the function, its strategies, structure, systems, and styles with business and its goals
(financial, customer etc. parameters). It should be aligned both with the short-term goals and
long term strategies. If it is not aligned, HR could become a big liability to corporations. Besides
this alignment, the skills and styles of HR staff, the line managers and the top management
should synergize with the HR goals and strategies. HRD Policies and strategies is an attempt to
assess these alignments and ensure the same.

Good Human Development (HD) requires the following:

 The top management of the organization recognizes the strategic advantage and the
critical value addition provided by people.
 The role of HRD is well carved out.
 Line managers understand, accept, and internalize their own role in development.
 A learning culture is created in the organization.
 Appropriate HRD systems are identified to suit the needs, requirements and strategies of
the corporation and implemented well.
 The systems are periodically reviewed and aligned and realigned with the business goals
of the organization.
 Support HR policies are formulated and implemented.
 The HRD function is handled by competent people.
 The styles, beliefs and values of the top management is aligned to promote a good
learning and competency building culture.
 HRD function and the implementation of HRD is periodically reviewed and renewed.

In line with the aforementioned HRD assessment principles, we will conduct a

comprehensive evaluation of the current human resource development strategies, structure,
systems, styles and skills in the context of the short and long- term business plans of the
corporation. We will endeavor to find out the future HRD needs of the corporation after
assessing the current HRD activities and inputs available.

3
HRD audit is a comprehensive evaluation of the existing human resource development strategies,
structure, systems, styles and skills in accordance with both short-term and long-term business
plans of the organization. In HRD Audit the skills, styles, systems, strategies, structure is studied
and analyzed using a variety of methodologies like interviews, questionnaires, available records,
workshops etc. This evaluation helps the organization have a clear understanding of the lacunae
and better align the HR processes with Business goals.

There is wide recognition that the human resource (HR) function can be a key factor in business
success and in improved organizational performance. Yet, in many organizations, the HR
function has either not performed up to expectations or has been unaware of its required role.
Hence, a thorough evaluation of the HR function is imperative both to rejuvenate it and to make
it more business-driven. HRD audit makes such an evaluation possible by examining the
adequacy and appropriateness of the existing HRD systems, structures, styles, culture and
competencies.

Methodology (Methodology of HRD Audit)

Our consulting team will visit the corporation and use a variety of methodologies to assess the
appropriateness and adequacy of the various HRD systems, strategies, structures, competencies,
culture, processes etc. The methodology to be used includes:

 Interviews;
 Questionnaires;
 Observation;
 Secondary data analysis; and
 Examination of documents and communications.

The consulting team starts with a detailed reading of Terms of Reference (TOR) for Procuring
Consultancy Service on Human Resource Development Policies and strategies. For achieving
smooth start up, we will arrange a briefing session by the CEO and the Chief of HR who may set
an agenda and focal areas of this consultancy work beyond the one stated in the TOR if there is
any. The interview with the top management will be held to finding out details of the future plans

4
of the corporation and uses it as a base for outlining the competency requirements of the
organization. The current competencies, structures, HRD systems etc. will be assessed in terms
of their capability to prepare the corporation for the future. Suggestions will be made to improve
for achieving the future business goals and plans. The HRD assessment is contextual and at the
same time will use the available knowledge of the potential of the HRD systems in helping the
corporation achieve its goals.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of the study is to develop international standard HRD policies, five-year
HRD strategic plan document that enables the corporation to have a trained, skilled and
developed work force capable of supporting the corporation to attain its vision. Detailed
objectives include:

 Undertake a full-scale review of existing HRD Policies, Procedures, strategies and

practices to identify strengths and weaknesses compared to international best practices.

 Undertake an assessment of current HRD practices of international construction

companies and compare and contrast with the corporation’s HRD practices to locate
where the corporation’s HRD practices stand relative to internationally recognized
construction companies,

 Asses and identify the gaps in knowledge, skill and attitude of employees of the
corporation,

 Develop corporate Human resource development policies and procedures documents,

 Develop a five year corporate Human resource development strategic plan,

 Develop a five year detailed corporate Human resource development action plans,

 Develop a detailed succession planning,

 Develop a five year corporate Human resource development implementation strategies,

budget plan and monitoring and evaluation guidelines,

5
  Asses the current employee performance appraisal and incentive mechanisms, devise
appropriate result based performance management systems and incentive mechanisms
suitable for the corporation and assist in the implementation of the systems.

 Build capacity of HRM personnel in undertaking a training need analysis, in planning

training and development, in putting the plan in to action and in monitoring and
evaluation of the results of the HRD program

STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT INQUIRES

Assessment of the existing HRD status starts with an understanding of the future business plans
and corporate strategies. While HRD appraisal can be done even in organizations that lack well
formulated future plans and strategies, it is most effective as a tool when the organization already
has such long-term plans. We will start with an attempt to answer the following questions:

1. Where does the corporation want to be ten years from now, five years from now, three years
from now and one year from now? (Answers to this question ensure business linkages part
of the HRD).

Answer to this question can be identified by meticulous review of long-term plan documents of
the corporation. To further enrich the depth of understanding in this issue, an interview and focus
group discussion with the top-level management will be held. On the basis of the answers to
these questions the consulting team will finalize the subsequent audit strategies and
methodology. The consulting team will exert a more attention to identify the nature of core
competencies the corporation needs to develop in order to achieve its long-term five to ten year
plans. The consulting team will also attempt to identify skills required to be developed by the
company at various levels (example, workmen level, supervisors level, junior management level,
middle management level, top management level, etc.) and with respect to various functions
(finance, production, marketing, etc.). Listing all these core competencies and skills for the
future is the starting point of HRD appraisal (audit). The HRD audit normally attempts to assess
the existing skills and the competency gaps in order to achieve the long-term business goals and
short term results of the corporation. The competencies may deal with technical aspects,
managerial aspects, and people related or conceptual. They may cover knowledge base, attitudes,
values and skills.

6
2. What is the current skill base of HRD staff in the corporation in relation to various roles and
role requirements?
-----number by category, qualification of the different man power…?

This will be assessed through an examination of the qualifications of HRD staff, job
descriptions, training programs attended, etc. Besides this, interviews will be used as a
complement strategy to identify the skill gap in the corporation. Training needs and performance
appraisal forms will be investigated to gain further insights. Departmental heads and other
employees will be approached to get insights into the competency and other skill requirements.

3. What are the HRD sub-systems available today to help the corporation build its competency
base for the present, immediate future as well as for long term goals?

The consulting team will investigate to identify various HRD sub-systems that are available to
ensure the availability, utilization and development of skills and other competencies in the
corporation. All the HRD tools existing in the corporation will be sorted out and studied in detail.

4. What is the current level of effectiveness of these systems in developing people and ensuring
that human competencies are available in adequate levels in the corporation?

Assessing the effectiveness of each system makes this. For example, the effectiveness of
performance appraisal system will be assessed by discussing with employees, individually and
in-groups, about the efficacy of the system. The consulting team will examine the appraisal
forms, look at the linkages between appraisal and training, conduct questionnaire surveys to
assess the extent to which coaching and other components of other appraisals are being utilized
and also conduct workshops if necessary to assess the effectiveness of these systems. Similarly,
in relation to induction training, the consulting team will meet those who have been through the
induction training recently or those who are in the process of being inducted into the company
and take their views to improve the induction training methodology etc.

5. Does the HRD structure exist in the corporation adequate enough to manage the HRD in the
corporation?

7
In the next stage, the consulting team will examine whether the HRD structure at present can
handle the pressing and future HRD needs of the corporation. This examination will assess the
existing skill base of the HRD staff of the corporation, their professional preparation, their
attitudes, their values, their developmental needs, the line manager’s perceptions regarding them,
etc. In addition to examining the full time staff, the HRD structure will be also assessed in terms
of use of task forces and other mechanisms.

6. Are the top management and senior manager styles of managing people in tune with the
learning culture? In line with the existing culture and does it for see the future trends?

At this stage an investigation will be made to examine the leadership styles, human relations’
skills, etc. of senior managers. The extents to which their styles facilitate the creation of a
learning environment will be investigated.
7. Does the corporation uses a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) that offers the
advantage for the corporation to keep track of all employees and information about them?

In this regard, the consulting team scrutinize whether the existing HRIS, if there is any, is
enabling the company to track attendance and paid time off [PTO] use, pay raises and history,
pay grades and positions held, performance development plans, training received, disciplinary
action received, personal employee information, management and key employee succession
plans, high potential employee identification, and applicant tracking, interviewing, and selection.

Furthermore, the consulting team will investigate whether the modules in Human Resource
Management Systems are comprehensive enough to cover the whole aspects of managing
people. Specifically, we will assess whether it includes; payroll module, time and attendance
module, benefits & administration module, HR management module, talent\management
systems, training module, and employee self-service module.

8. Does the HRD of the corporation strategically aligned with Other Systems

The HRD assessment will also examines the linkages between HRD and other systems like total
quality management, personnel policies, strategic planning etc. Suggestions will be made on the

8
basis of evaluation on the above questions about the future HRD strategies required by the
company, the structure the company needs to have for developing new competencies and the
systems that need to be strengthened, the styles and culture that has compatibility with HRD
processes in the company particularly the styles of the top management, etc.

9. Does HRD takes in to consideration the business goal of the corporation (is it Business
driven?)

HRD assessment (audit) always keeps the business goals on focus. At the same time, it attempts
to bring in professionalism in HRD. In keeping the business focus at the center, HRD assessment
(audit) attempts to evaluate HRD objectives, strategy, structure, system, staff, skills and styles
and their appropriateness. By doing so, it will give feedback about the HRD department, its
structure, competency levels, leadership, processes, influence of the HRD on the other systems
etc.

METHODOLOGY OF HRD APPRAISAL (AUDIT)

In order to arrive at answers to the above types of strategic inquires the consulting team will use
a number of methods. These are described in some detail below.

1) Individual Interviews: The consulting team will start the internal situational assessment
by interviewing the top level management and senior managers individually. Such
individual interviews are a must for capturing their thinking about the future plans and
opportunities available for the corporation beyond what is stated in the official document
of the corporation. Also by virtue of occupying strategic positions the top management
provides a perspective required for a good HRD assessment (audit). Thus our HRD
appraisal will begin with individual interviews of top management. Individual interviews
also are essential when sensitive matters and sensitive information has to be obtained.
Such information is available particularly about the styles and culture through individual
interviews. Union leaders, departmental heads, some strategic clients and informal
leaders are all interviewed individually. In addition since the Ethiopian Construction
Works Corporation a huge entity manned by thousands of employees an attempt will be

9
 made to enlarge the coverage and randomly selected representative sample of employees
from different levels and different functions could be interviewed.
2) Group Interviews: Normally for the assessment of companies having thousands of
employees like Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation, it is not feasible to meet
everyone individually. The consulting team prioritizes group discussions and interviews
as the best options for collecting information about the effectiveness of existing systems.
Group interviews will be conducted normally for groups of four to eight individuals. It is
preferable to have employees drawn from same or similar levels. This is the best
approach to avoid inhibition on the part of junior employees to freely express their views
in the presence of their seniors. However, it is quite common to give cross functional
representation of employees in the same group. Because our target corporation is large,
we will relay on group interviews for each function separately to keep the levels
homogenous. In the individual and group interviews for HRD appraisal normally the
following open ended questions are asked:

 What do you see as the future growth opportunities and business directions of the
corporation?
 What skills and competencies does the corporation have which you are proud of?
 What skills and competencies do you need to run the corporation or to perform your role
more effectively at present?
 What are the strengths of your HRD function?
 What are the areas where your HRD function can do better?
 What is good about your HRD sub-systems like performance appraisal, career planning,
job rotation, training, quality circles, induction training, recruitment policies,
performance counseling, worker development programmes, HRD departments, etc.?
 What is weak about them? What can be improved?
 What changes do you suggest to strengthen HRD in your company?
 What do you think are the ways in which line managers can perform more development
roles, etc?
3) Workshop: In some cases the individual and group interviews might be substituted by large-
scale workshops. In the workshop a large number of participants ranging from 30 to about

10
300 could be gathered in a room and could be asked to do the HRD assessment (audit).
Normally, in the workshop the participants will work in small groups either around various
subsystems of HRD, such as performance appraisal, or around different dimensions of HRD;
do an analysis of organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats(SWOT );
and make a presentation. The workshops will be used focusing specifically on individual
HRD systems like performance appraisal. The HRD assessment (audit) if conducted through
participatory methods in itself may initiate the change process. Even if it does not, it is a
potential diagnostic tool and can provide a lot of information to the consulting team and the
top management on human processes and help us to plan further interventions.

4) Questionnaire Method. A questionnaire is a powerful tool for an HRD assessment (audit).

In this method, comprehensive questionnaires will be developed for assessing various
aspects of HRD, including its subsystems, their execution, and impact. Such
questionnaires should be administered to company executives at the outset of an HRD
audit. The questionnaire will be administered individually or collectively to groups. One
approach that the consulting team intends to employ is to select respondents at random,
call them to a room, explain the audit objectives, and administer the questionnaire. This
approach ensures many respondents complete the questionnaire. The questionnaires will
be designed to assess various HRD dimensions—including the competencies of the HRD
staff, line manager styles, and approaches used in the implementation of various HRD
systems.
5) Observation. The consulting team will physically visit the workplace—including targets
like assembling of construction equipment, machineries, manufacturing spare parts and
maintenance service for construction equipment and machinery provided for. Besides,
learning centers or classrooms, discussion rooms, the recreation and eating facilities, and
other places created by the corporation to promote work-life balance will be visited.
Since the corporation engages in domestic and overseas construction works as a
contractor in construction, upgrading and maintenance of roads, bridges, works relating
to dams, irrigations, hydropower generations, water supply systems, sewerage systems,
drainage, deep water wells, reclamations, river diversifications, construction of bridges,
airfields, rail ways, ports and other civil works, the consulting team will visit these as

11
 well. These visits will offer the consulting team with the opportunities to observe how
congenial and supportive the climate of the corporation is. Such first-hand observation by
the consulting team will be worthwhile because employees are not likely to give their
best if they live or work under bad conditions.

6. Analysis of Secondary Data: Analysis of secondary data can give lot of insights into the HRD
assets and liabilities of the corporation. Analysis of age profiles of the employees, analysis of the
training attended, analysis of the minutes of the meetings held etc., will help in determining the
assets and liabilities. Such an analysis will also pay attention to the costs incurred by the
company in terms of maintaining the HRD infrastructure.

10. Analysis of Reports, Records, Manuals and other Published Literature: Published literature of
the corporation including annual reports, marked hand-outs, training calendar, personnel
manual, and various circulars issued from time to time will be scrutinized to assess the
strengths and weaknesses of HRD.

PREPARING FOR THE HRD ASSESSMENT

As the corporation promised in the TOR under provision of supports and inputs, we are confident
that the corporation will extend all the necessary supports to us. All diagnoses are painful,
particularly if improvement is necessary. If improvement is warranted, then key priorities must
be identified and implemented. That requires more work. Hence, undertaking a comprehensive
assessment (audit) will require courage from both the HR department and top management. We
are confident that the corporation will keep its promise to support us in briefing about current
practices and in floating and collecting primary data gathering tools that may be necessary for
the study. As preparation for the comprehensive assessment of the existing condition in the
corporation, the consulting team must become familiar with the current (existing) HRD system.
We will do that by undertaking a thorough examination of various relevant documents. Exhibit
1.1 delineates a list of documents that should be made available to the consulting team as initial
input source for the HRD assessment.

Exhibit1.1. Check-list of Required Documents

12
1. Personnel Manual
2. Manpower planning guidelines
3. Recruitment policies
4. Promotion policies
5. Performance appraisal manuals
6. TQM manuals
7. Quality circles, shop-floor committees etc. guidelines
8. Suggestion schemes and other guidelines
9. Training policy guidelines
10. Succession planning and career planning guidelines and methods
11. OD interventions if any taken by the corporation
12. Activities of the HRD department - annual reports etc.
13. Training calendar and reports of training activities
14. Diagnostic and evaluation studies
15. Reward systems - policies and guidelines
16. Communication systems and reports
17. In-house Newsletters and other mechanisms
18. Delegation manuals or guidelines
19. Job-rotation and transfer policies and practices
20. Organizational structure of HRD department
21. Small group activities, shop-floor committees and details
22. Exit Interview guidelines and data
23. Documents dealing with facilities offered to employees
24. Worker education and training programs
25. Welfare schemes and facilities
26. Residential colony facilities(special living places owned by the organization )- guidelines
27. Climate surveys, culture studies
28. Previous HRD audit reports
29. Other studies undertaken by Summer trainees and students
30. Age profiles grade-wise and department-wise for assessing retirements etc.
31. Attrition rates, department or unit-wise and exit interview data

13
 32. Any other documents having implication for HRD strategies
33. Organizational structure charts

DELIVERABLE

Up on completing the HRD assessment, our consulting team will offer the following deliverable;
1. Clearly identified knowledge, skill and attitude gaps of the corporation,
2. Clearly identified HRD status of the corporation relative to internationally recognized
construction companies,
3. An Assessment on the current performance appraisal and incentive mechanisms,
4. Five year HRD strategic plan document with detailed action plan
5. Implementation guidelines and budget requirement plan,
6. Monitoring and evaluation strategies and guidelines,
7. HRD policies and procedures,
8. Detail Succession planning,
9. Capacity building trainings on the concept of HRD to managers, on training need analysis
to relevant personnel, on how to plan and implement training and development tasks,
10. Result based performance management and incentive mechanisms,
11. Assistance on the implementation and evaluation of the HRD policies, guidelines and the
HRD strategic plan

 Establishing a transparent and effective organizational systems and processes such as

potential and performance appraisal, career planning, training, job rotation and
mentoring.
 Formulation of clear-cut policies on promotion, employee communication, and reward
and recognition.
 Would help to draw the stakeholders’ attention to issues like developing trust,
collaboration, teamwork, and quality orientation.
 The corporation would achieve more role clarity and direction to the employees in terms
of their work leading to higher level of role efficacy.
 align or realign HR with business goals;

14
  make HR business driven, or make HR drive business;
 take stock of things and to improve HRD for expanding, diversifying, and entering into a
fast growth phase;
 promote more professionalism among the employees and the company by switching over
to professional management;
 understand the reasons for lower employee productivity or turnover, employee attrition,
and to improve their strategies;
 comprehensively review and improve the effectiveness of various HR systems like
manpower planning and recruitment, performance appraisal, training and development,
career and succession planning, etc.;
 reorient the HR function and systems after organizational changes such as growth,
diversification, change in leadership, etc., and
 Create a high return on investments on HR.

DATA ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES TO BE USED/ ANALYZING DATA

Data analysis techniques fall into two broad classes: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative
techniques generally are easier to use because they do not rely on numerical data. That fact also
makes them more open to subjective biases but also easier to understand and interpret.
Quantitative techniques, on the other hand, can provide more accurate readings of the
organizational problem.

15
Qualitative Tools

Of the several methods for summarizing diagnostic data in qualitative terms, two of the most
important are content analysis and force-field analysis.

Content Analysis

A popular technique for assessing qualitative data, especially interview data, is content analysis,
which attempts to summarize comments into meaningful categories. When done well, a content
analysis can reduce hundreds of interview comments into a few themes that effectively
summarize the issues or attitudes of a group of respondents. The process of content analysis can
be quite formal, and specialized references describe this technique in detail. In general, however,
the process can be broken down into three major steps. First, responses to a particular question
are read to gain familiarity with the range of comments made and to determine whether some
answers are occurring over and over again. Second, based on this sampling of comments, themes
are generated that capture recurring comments. Themes consolidate different responses that say
essentially the same thing. Third, the respondents’ answers to a question are then placed into one
of the categories. The categories with the most responses represent those themes that are most
often mentioned.

NVivo is a qualitative data analysis (QDA) computer software package which the consulting
team will use to handle effectively the qualitative part of the data analysis. It has been designed
for qualitative researchers working with very rich text-based and/or multimedia information,
where deep levels of analysis on small or large volumes of data are required. We prioritize Nvivo
among the qualitative data analysis software because of a number reasons in which a brief
account is given as follows. NVivo is intended to help users organize and analyze non-numerical
or unstructured data. The software allows users to classify, sort and arrange information;
examine relationships in the data; and combine analysis with linking, shaping, searching and
modeling. The researcher or analyst can test theories, identify trends and cross-examine
information in a multitude of ways using its search engine and query functions. They can make
observations in the software and build a body of evidence to support their case or project.

16
NVivo accommodates a wide range of research methods, including network and organizational
analysis, action or evidence-based research, discourse analysis, grounded theory, conversation
analysis, ethnography, literature reviews, phenomenology, mixed methods research and the
Framework methodology. NVivo supports data formats such as audio files, videos, digital
photos, Word, PDF, spreadsheets, rich text, plain text and web and social media data. Users can
interchange data with applications like Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, IBM SPSS Statistics,
EndNote, Microsoft OneNote, SurveyMonkey and Evernote; and order transcripts from within
NVivo projects, using TranscribeMe.

Force-Field Analysis

A second method for analyzing qualitative data in OD derives from Kurt Lewin’s three-step
model of change called force-field analysis. This method organizes information pertaining to
organizational change into two major categories: forces for change and forces for maintaining
the status quo or resisting change. Using data collected through interviews, observations, or
unobtrusive measures, the first step in conducting a force-field analysis is to develop a list of all
the forces promoting change and all those resisting it. Then, based either on the consulting
team’s personal belief or perhaps on input from several organization members, the most
powerful positive and negative forces are determined. One can either rank the order or rate the
strength of the different forces. In this particular consultancy service, our consulting team will
collect data via interviews, questionnaires, observation and unobtrusive measures. The analysis
used a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques to get a better input to fine-tune the
HRD strategies and polices of the corporation.

Quantitative Tools

Methods for analyzing quantitative data range from simple descriptive statistics of items or
scales from standard instruments to more sophisticated, multivariate analysis of the underlying
instrument properties and relationships among measured variables. The most common
quantitative tools are means, standard deviations, and frequency distributions; scattergrams and
correlation coefficients; and difference tests. These measures are routinely produced by most
statistical computer software packages. For this particular diagnostic analysis, our consulting
team will use EpiData software for data entry and documentation. Statistical techniques using

17
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 and SEM with PLS path modeling
using Smart-PLS3 version-3.2.7 will be employed to analyze the main data in order to get a clear
picture of the existing situation of the organization in line with the various dimensions outlined
in the survey instrument.

INSTRUMENTS TO BE USED: AN OVERVIEW

1- HRD Assessment (Audit) Questionnaire

 This is a comprehensive questionnaire, which has questions evaluating the following

dimensions:

A. Career System: 
A1 Manpower Planning & Recruitment
A2 Potential Appraisals & Promotions
A3 Career Planning and Development
B. Work Planning:
B1 Role Analysis (Goal Setting)
B2 Contextual Analysis
B3 Performance Appraisal
C. Development System: 
C1 Training and Learning
C2 Performance Coaching/Counseling
C3 Others like job rotation, mentoring
C4 Staff (Worker) Development
D. Self-Renewal System:
D1 Role Efficacy
D2 Organization Development
D3 Action Oriented Research
E. Culture Systems:
E1 HRD Climate
E2 Values
E3 Quality Orientation

18
 E4 Reward and Recognition
E5  Information
E5- Communication
E6 Empowerment

 F. HRD Function

 2- Map Your HRD Practices Profile

 This questionnaire has activities that could be undertaken by the HRD department in the
corporation. This questionnaire intends to assess the degree to which these activities are
performed as well as the effectiveness. Those organizations with good HRD Practices seem to
perform a large number of activities. It is hypothesized that performing all the activities very
well would be a characteristic of a World Class Organization. When all these activities are
performed, it is obvious that the organization is in sound health.

 This questionnaire is to be administered to the entire HRD stall as well as a representative staff
of other managers.

 3. HRD Climate Survey

 An optional level of "Development Climate" is essential for facilitating HRD. Such a climate is
characterized as consisting of the following tendencies on the part of the organization:

 - A tendency at all levels and specially the top management to treat people as the most important
resource.
- A perception that developing the competencies in the employee is the job of every
manager/supervisor.
- Faith in the capability of people to change and acquire new competencies at any stage of life.
- A tendency to be open in communications.
- A tendency to encourage risk-taking.
- A tendency to help employees recognize their strengths and weaknesses.
- A general climate of trust.
- A tendency on the part of employees to be generally helpful to each other and collaborate.
- Team spirit.

19
- A tendency to discourage favoritism and biases.
- Supportive personnel policies.
- Development-oriented appraisals, training, rewards, job- rotation, career planning and potential
appraisal.

 Organizations differ in the extent to which they have these tendencies. Some organizations may
have only a few of these tendencies and a few others may have most of these. The 38-item HRD
climate survey is an instrument that is widely being used to survey the HRD climate. These 38
items assess OCTAPAC (Openness, Confrontation, Trust, Autonomy, Proaction, Authenticity
and Collaboration) culture and implementation of HRD mechanisms.

 4. TVRLS Manual on HRD Audit

 TVRLS has completed detailed manuals for assessing the HRD Systems and Competencies. The
manuals are very comprehensive and have 775 points. The point assigned for assessment of
various systems is as follows:

 - Culture (100)
- HRD strategies (50)
- HRD Styles (45)
- Career System -Manpower Planning (50)
- Recruitment and selection (50)
- Potential Appraisal (40)
- Career planning and Development (40)
- Promotion system (50)
- Job Rotation (50)
- Training (100)
- Performance Management (100)
- Organizational Development /OD (100)

20
 5. The Supervisory and Leadership Beliefs Questionnaire

 One of the most important tasks of a manager is to manage human resources. Effective
management of human resources requires understanding the capabilities of subordinates,
assigning them appropriate tasks, helping them to acquire new capabilities, maintaining their
motivation level, and structuring the work so that people can derive some satisfaction from doing
it. As one goes up the managerial ladder, he or she is required to spend an increasing amount of
time interacting with people. These interactions may be on the shop floor, in group meetings, in
dyadic transactions, through telephone conversations, or in formal or informal gatherings. Many
managers spend more than 50 per cent of their time interacting with their subordinates.

 The effectiveness of the manager depends on both the content of the interaction and the
manager's style. The manager's technical competence, functional knowledge, skills, and
information are very important in determining his or her effectiveness in managing subordinates.
A capable manager is able to influence a subordinate by providing technical guidance and clear
directions when needed. However, if the manager is not sensitive to the emotional needs of
subordinates and does not use the appropriate styles of supervision and leadership, there is a
great danger of crippling the growth of the subordinates. For example, an authoritarian manager
may arouse strong negative reactions by continually dictating terms to capable subordinates but
may do extremely well with subordinates who are dependent and who are just beginning to learn
their roles. Similarly, a democratic manager may be liked by capable subordinates but seen as
incompetent by dependent subordinates. It is necessary, therefore, for managers to interact
differently with different people

 6. TVRLS - HRD - locus of control (LOC) Inventory

 A good number of HRD managers in recent times have failed to make a mark as they lacked
self-confidence and lost faith in their own ability to make things happen. The term locus of
control indicators the point of influence as perceived by the respondent. Researches have shown
in the past that effective managers and leaders tend to believe in their own capacity to influence
the environment and make things happen. The managers who believe that they can have a
significant impact on their own environment and have faith in their own capability to make
things happen are called as Internals. Those who believe that events that happen to them or to

21
others in their organization are influenced factors beyond their control are called as Externals. It
has been found that internals have tendency to work hard, work more and work with confidence.
It has been found that it is internals who can make things happen. Externals on the other hand are
less likely to put in as much hard work and dynamism.

 HRD success depends to a large extent on the attitudes of the HRD Manager. If he is external
and thinks that he cannot do much to create a learning culture or to make HRD succeed in the
organization and believes that it is the top management, unions, line managers and powerful
others that make things happen, he is less likely to succeed.

 The TVRLS-HRD-LOC inventory measures the extent to which the HRD Manager or HRD
Staff member is internally oriented or externally oriented. A good degree of internality is
indicative of the dynamism needed to make HRD succeed.

 7. HRD Knowledge test

 The test is a test to measure HRD Knowledge and Attitudes - K&A. Knowledge forms the basis
of skills. Skills are easy to acquire and become meaningful if they are based on an understanding
of their appropriateness. This test measures the extent to which the candidate has professional
knowledge in HRD. What is given below is a sample set of items and one version of the test the
author has developed and used in HRD audit programmes. The scoring key is not given here as it
is a knowledge test and it needs continuous modification for an appropriate assessment.

 8. HRD Profile Questionnaire

The HRD profile questionnaire is used to assess the professional preparation & expertise
required by the HR manager.

22
WRITING THE ASSESSMENT REPORT

 The HRD audit report is meant for practitioners and is not a research report. Its main objective is
to highlight areas that need improvement and that need to be acted upon. Its purpose also is to
help the top management and the HRD staff to recognize the strength of the company and retain
the same. It is likely to be read widely by the line managers and the top management. Since the
line managers and top management are not accustomed to read long research reports extra care
should be taken to make the HRD audit report short and precise.

 It is useful to prepare it in bullet form highlighting the strengths and weaknesses. A model
outline of the report is given below.

MODEL OUTLINE OF FINAL REPORT

Introduction
Executive Summary

 Methodology
Context of HRD Audit
Organizational Framework
Organizational Structure: HRD

 Mission and Objectives,

Strengths: Employee Perception
Weaknesses: Employee Perception
Employee Suggestions and Idea’s

 Performance appraisal
Employee Policies and Procedures
Communication
Training & Development
Recruitment and Induction
Management Information System

23
Reward Management
Welfare facilities and employee benefits

 Organizational Culture
Top Management Styles

 HRD SCORE CARD

 HRD Score Card for organization

HRD Audit - Statistical Data
Audit Scores - Summary
Benchmarking Scores

Tables And Appendices

REFERENCES

Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage learning.

Rothwell, W.J. and Sullivan, R.L. eds., 2005. Practicing organization development: A guide for
consultants (Vol. 27). John Wiley & Sons.

McConnell, J.H., 2003. How to identify your organization's training needs: A practical guide to needs
analysis. PublicAffairs.

McConnell, J., 2003. How to design, implement, and interpret an employee survey. Amacom.

https://www.shrm.org/Pages/Custom404.aspx?
requestUrl=https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/tools-and-
samples/toolkits/Pages/benchmarkinghumancapitalmetrics.a

Greiner, L.E. and Poulfelt, F. eds., 2010. Management consulting today and tomorrow: perspectives and
advice from 27 leading world experts. Routledge.

Baaij, M.G., 2018. An introduction to management consultancy.

Newton, R., 2010. The Management Consultant: Mastering the art of consultancy. Pearson Education.

24
David, F.R. and David, F.R., 2019. Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts
and cases. Pearson.

Senge, P.M., 2014. The fifth discipline field book: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization.
Crown Business.

Marquardt, M.J., 2011. Building the learning organization. Boston: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

Rao, T.V., 2004. Performance Management and Appraisal Systems: HR tools for global competitiveness.
SAGE Publications India

Dwivedi, R.S., 2004. Performance Management and Appraisal Systems: HR Tools for Global
Competitiveness.

Rao, T.V., 2015. Effective people. Random House India.

Rao, T.V., 2016. Performance management: toward organizational excellence. SAGE Publications India.

Smith, S., JD, Mazin, R.(2004) The HR Answer Book. An Indispensable Guide for Managers and Human
Resources Professionals.

Holbeche, L., 2009. Aligning human resources and business strategy. Routledge.

Ulrich, D., Brockbank, W., Younger, J. and Ulrich, M., 2012. HR from the outside in: Six competencies for
the future of human resources. McGraw Hill Professional.

Storey, J., Ulrich, D. and Wright, P.M., 2019. Strategic Human Resource Management: A Research
Overview. Routledge.

Ulrich, D. and Yeung, A., 2019. Agility: the new response to dynamic change. Strategic HR Review.

25
LIST OF ACRONYMS

DHS Demographic and Health Survey HIS Health information system HMN Health Metrics Network HR
Human resources HRH Human resources for health HRIS Human resources information system M&E
Monitoring and evaluation PMP Performance monitoring plan SARA Service Availability and Readiness
Assessment USAID United States Agency for International Development WHO World Health
Organization

26
Methodology

In audit to evaluate the HRD structure, system, culture, competency & other aspects, the
following multiple methods will be used:

 Interviews: Individual interviews with the top management will be conducted to capture the top
management's thinking on the future plans and opportunities available for the company.
Interviews with other levels of Managers and Staff will be conducted to collect information
about the effectiveness of the existing HRD systems, culture, skills, styles, etc.

 Group Discussions and workshops:  Since Ethiopian Construction Works Corporations is a

very large organization; diagnostic workshops will be conducted for a participative diagnosis and
evaluation of various aspects of HRD. 

Observation:  Our consultancy team will also observe various aspects of the organization in
order to evaluate the work place and work atmosphere and assess the extent to which a congenial
and supportive climate exists in the organization. Observations are mainly made with respect to
physical facilities and living conditions, meetings, discussions and other transactions,
celebrations and other events related to organizational life and culture, training and other HRD
related facilities including the classrooms, library, training center etc.

Analysis of records and documents: A scrutiny of the annual report, performance appraisal
forms, training documents, employees' records, files maintained by the HR department, in-house
journals and periodicals will be carried out to assess various strengths and weakness of HRD.

27
Questionnaires: a number of questionnaires will be used to extract information about HRD
systems, processes, styles and competencies.

28