STRATEGIC HUMAN

RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
(SHRM)
Paula Benevene
Università LUMSA, Roma
 STRATEGIC HUMAN
RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
In order for an organization to achieve its objectives, its members must
know, understand and share the values, objectives and mission of the
organization itself.

Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a planned model of

HRM activities aimed at making the organization achieve its objectives

The challenges to be faced are mainly two:

• The integration of people in the strategic objectives of the organization
(alignment);
• Effective and efficient management of employees.
 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT (SHRM)

• SHRM is such only if it enables the organization to achieve its objectives;

• SHRM implies the planning of human resource development activities aimed at

achieving the organization's objectives;

• SHRM implies alignment between corporate strategy and HR strategy;

When it is limited to the management of daily activities, it may not have any strategic
importance.
 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONTRACT
In the professional field there are:
Exchange relations,
Hierarchical relationships, and
Social and psychological relationships.

The legal employment contract has a technical-legal nature but does not
exhaust the relationship between the employee and the organization;

The psychological contract is a fundamental junction of the SHRM; it is

based on the mutual expectations between the organization and the
employee.
 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONTRACT

"It is the inner disposition to fulfill a technical-legal obligation or to

live the relationship with a spirit of collaboration, trust and a
strong commitment to the expectations, implicit and explicit,
formal and informal, which are at the basis of the relationship
between the employees and the organization; these expectations
must find a mutually satisfactory answers ”(Costa and Gianechini,
2009).
 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONTRACT
When the psychological contract is strong it is positively linked to:
 Organizational citizenship behaviors;
 Organizational commitment;
 Work engagement.

And it is negatively linked to:

 Counterproductive behavior in the workplace;
 Disruptive behavior  behaviors that interfere with the functioning
of the organization.
 THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE
WORKER
(COSTA E GIANECHINI, 2009)

 Protect the image of the company;

 Work in a team;
 Share the organization's goals;
 Offer adequate professional performance;
 Be reliable;
 Take responsibility;
 Respect colleagues;
 Do not help the competition;
 Be willing to improve.
 THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE
ORGANIZATION

 Provide training and development of professionalism;

 Offer career progression opportunities;
 Fair and proportionate remuneration;
 Ensure positive relationships with managers and positive
management of relationships in the workplace;
 Equity of treatment;
 Safety in the workplace;
 Acknowledgment of the results obtained.
 WORK ENGAGEMENT
Work engagement: the opposite of burnout, it is a positive state of
mind and satisfaction with one's work characterized by vigor,
dedication and immersion (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Rom &
Bakker, 2002).

More than a specific and momentary condition, it refers to a more

persistent cognitive-affective state, not focused exclusively on a
particular object, event or situation (Schaufeli et al., 2002).
 DIMENSIONS OF WORK
ENGAGEMENT
 Vigor refers to high levels of energy and ability to recover, willingness to
invest in one's work, not to tire easily and perseverance in the face of
difficulties;

 Dedication refers to a high involvement in one's work, combined with the

manifestation of a feeling of enthusiasm, pride, self-denial and devotion to
work;

 Absorption occurs when you are totally immersed and concentrated in

work, time passes quickly and you have difficulty to interrupt what you
are doing, due to the strong doses of effort and concentration experienced.
 BACKGROUND TO WORK
ENGAGEMENT
• Personal resources: self-efficacy and the ability to recover quickly
after a busy day (Sonnentag, 2003).
• Work resources: autonomy, variety of tasks, the possibility of receiving
adequate feedback on one's work and social support from colleagues and
superiors (Salanova, Agut and Peirò, 2005; Schaufeli and Bakker, 2004).
 CONSEQUENCES OF WORK
ENGAGEMENT
• Individual level: reduced levels of nervous tension and depression, fewer
psychosomatic disorders, lower absenteeism, greater socialisation and adaptation
to the organisation, increased motivation and satisfaction, higher performance and
commitment to tasks;
• Interpersonal level: better relationships with colleagues and clients; engaged
workers are more proactive, take initiative in their work and tend to strive for
excellence: this allows them to receive positive feedback from supervisors, as well
as from their clients/users;
• Organisational level: reduction of complaints resulting from job stress, increased
likelihood of retaining competent people within the organisation.
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES
OF LOW ENGAGEMENT?
 BURNOUT VERSUS WORK
ENGAGEMENT
Maslach and Leiter (1997) consider burnout and engagement as opposite
poles of the same continuum:
meaningful, important and challenging work becomes unpleasant,
unrewarding and meaningless;

energy turns into exhaustion, involvement into cynicism:

efficacy into ineffectiveness (Maslach et al., 2001).

 BURNOUT VERSUS WORK
ENGAGEMENT
BURNOUT Dimensions WORK
ENGAGEMENT
Overload of work Workload Sustainable workload

Lack of control Control Capacity/possibility to

choose and control

Insufficient Recognition Recognition, rewards,

recognition, lack of incentives
incentives
Isolation Social integration Feeling of social
integration
Lack of fairness Fairness Fairness, justice
Conflict of values Values Significance of the
work
 ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMITMENT
It is the link between a worker and his own organization that makes him less
likely to voluntarily abandon the latter (Meyer and Allen, 1990).

It is a psychological state that binds the employee to the organization

(Meyer & Allen, 1997, p.23).

It has three dimensions:

• Affective commitment;
• Normative commitment;
• Continuance commitment
 ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMITMENT
 Affective commitment is the emotional attachment, identification and
personal involvement that you feel for the organization you work for; as a
result, the workers continue to remain with this organization because it is
their will;
 Normative commitment is the feeling of moral obligation, of
responsibility, which leads workers to remain in their organization because
they feel it is their duty;
 Continuance commitment is linked to the perception of the costs and
difficulties that one would experience after leaving one's organization, and
leads people to stay and work for it because they feel compelled to do so.
 ORGANIZATIONAL CITIZENSHIP

Organ (1988) defines organizational citizenship behaviors as those

individual, discretionary behaviors, not directly or explicitly recognized
by the formal recognition system, which overall favor the effective
functioning of the organization.

Two dimensions are distinguished in the construct:

o altruism refers to behaviors carried out in favor of specific people in the
organization;
o compliance, on the other hand, refers to conducts favorable to the
organization in general (for example, arriving on time).
 APPROACHES TO SHRM

• "Best fit" approach: alignment between corporate strategy and HR

strategy. Limits: does not take into account personal motivations.
• "Best practice" approach: adoption of practices that have shown in
other contexts to make the organization work well. Limits: models
external to the organization; managers do not always have full
freedom to import and reproduce these models.
• "Best-process" approach: implementing integrated and routinized
practices and processes in the organization, aimed at creating a
sustainable competitive advantage. Limits: reduced emphasis on the
plan that defines organizational objectives.
 LINK BETWEEN
THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF HR (SHRM)
TO THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF THE
ORGANIZATION

• Direct connection: of an administrative nature (very limited);

• One-way connection: the strategic planning team draws up the plan
and then notifies the HR manager;
• Two-way link: strategic management and HR are interdependent; the
team informs the HR manager of the choices made and the manager
analyzes the implications on HR communicates them to the team,
who finalizes the plan, which is communicated to the HR responsible
which in turn then takes care of its implementation;
• Integrated connection: the HR manager participates in the strategic
planning team; he is involved in both the design and its
implementation.
 APPROACHES TO SHRM

• SHRM is related to knowledge management and knowledge

creation;

• The SHRM must concern the individual, group and organizational

level;

• It is not enough to correct the mistakes of the past.

 HUMAN RESOURCE
DEVELOPMENT

• Assessment of training or learning needs;

• HRD plan drafting;
• allocation of a budget;
• drafting of a specific program;
• assignment of tasks;
• running the program;
• evaluation of training efficiency;
• feedback on the results  identification of appropriate actions and possible re-alignment,
in relation to the tactical and strategic objectives of the organization.
 THE SHRM PLAN

• MISSION: the starting point

• ANALYSIS OF THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: competition analysis; analysis of

laws, norms and rules; analysis of technological developments; market trend analysis;
economic trend analysis;
• ANALYSIS OF INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL : analysis of resources and analysis of
management systems;
• STRATEGY: identification of appropriate actions and possible re-alignment, in relation to
the tactical and strategic objectives of the organization.
 CRITICAL FACTORS

• Consider HR as resources and not as costs;

• Management convinced of the relevance of HR;
• Coordination between organizational management and HR management;
• Training seen as an end in itself;
• HRD is an important element in the intention to stay and work in the same
workplace;
• Often only workers higher on the hierarchical ladder receive training;
• In critical times, the training budget is the first to be cut;
• Confusion between training and learning.
 TRAINING TO LEARNING

• Learning is linked to experience;

• Learning can be direct or indirect;
• Maturity is not learning;
• Learning does not necessarily correspond to a desirable change;
• The change can take place through planned training interventions or in an
informal way (e.g. on-the-job, tutoring, mentoring, coaching, training
courses, etc.);
• It is a process that changes behavior in a stable way;
• Individual learning takes place in a social context, takes place within a
system of company rules, practices and standards.
 THE EXPERIENTIAL
LEARNING CYCLE OF KOLB
ET AL.,1974

• Concrete experience (but also case studies, projects, presentation of a

problem, etc.);

• Observation and reflection;

• Theorizing and conceptualization;

• Verification and experimentation.

 THE EXPERIENTIAL
LEARNING CYCLE OF KOLB
ET AL.,1974

• According to Kolb, learning is a circular process;

• A multitude of different activities are possible and each of us has a
preferred learning style;
• Learning through experience is more solid but takes more time than
traditional courses;
• Delicacy of the transfer from individual learning to organizational
levels;
• It is necessary to provide adequate times for reflection and for the
application of what has been learned.
 POSSIBLE OBSTACLES TO
LEARNING

• A subject may not have the tools to analyze a new or different

experience;

• An individual may not have the ability to analyze the situation;

• Simulated experiences may seem fictitious, artificial, irrelevant;

• Lack of time to reflect on the experience made.

 4 INDIVIDUAL LEARNING
STYLES
(HONEY E MUMFORD, 1992)

• Active: They engage in problem solving, brainstorm, accept

challenges and get bored when it comes to consolidating learning and
results;
• Thoughtful: They ponder situations before acting, are cautious,
gather information before reaching conclusions and acting;
• Theorists: they create rational schemes, they favor a logical approach
to problems;
• Pragmatic: they implement ideas, techniques and tools to see if they
work, experiment through application, impatient in the face of
theoretical discussions, are practical and operational.
 IS THE ANSWER TO THE PROBLEMS
TRAINING OR LEARNING?
• Performance problems can arise from aspects relating to organizational processes,
communication, HR management, leadership, team management, organizational
flexibility, organizational culture; In these cases, the training or learning is not
successful;

• The gap between necessary skills and the capacity actually possessed by individuals
can be bridged by training or learning;

• The gap between real and desired returns may not depend on the lack of training.
 ORGANIZATIONAL
PERFORMANCE
Factors affecting organizational performance are:

•Company structure;

•Corporate culture;

•Reward and recognition systems, incentives;

•Job design;

•Group processes;

•Politics and power.

 THE ASSESSMENT AND DETECTION
OF
TRAINING AND LEARNING NEEDS
Can be evaluated by:
•Interviews;
•Observation;
•Self evaluation;
•Assessment center;
•Psychometric tests;
•360 degree feedback;
•Competence-based learning is particularly widespread because it is
considered one of the most effective approaches.
 JOB TRAINING ANALYSIS -
JTA
The analysis of training needs can be developed through:
• Comprehensive analysis: detailed analysis of every aspect of the
job; very long and expensive even if very exhaustive. Analysis of key
tasks: analysis of the aspects considered crucial for the quality of
work
• Problem-centered analysis: analysis of the difficulties and
criticalities encountered
• Competence-based analysis: identification of the skills necessary
for the professional roles present in the organization
 SUCCESS OF SHRM

Important variables that contribute to the success of SHRM are:

•Organizational structure;

•Task design (definition of tasks, roles, responsibilities, workloads);

•Employee education and training;

•Rewards, incentives, career advancement system;

•Informative system