1. Key Human Resource Management Issues
Chapter Ten
Key Human Resource
Management Issues

2. Chapter learning objectives
10.1 Appreciate the importance of human resources to the conduct of major events
10.2 Appreciate the difference between leadership and management and understand the key issues associated with leading and managing people
10.3 Understand the key issues and principled associated with leading employees and volunteers

3. Chapter learning objectives
10.4 Understand the key issues and principles associated with motivating employees and volunteers
10.5 Understand the key issues and principles associated with training employees and volunteers
10.6 Apply human resource management principles to the integration of the efforts of employees and volunteers.
10.7 Manage diversity in the workplace

4. Units of Competence and Elements
SITXHRM502 Manage volunteers
1. Research, determine and define needs for volunteer involvement
2. Undertake volunteer recruitment
3. Maximise volunteer retention
4. Ensure a positive experience for volunteers
SITXHRM503 Monitor staff
Monitor staff performance and provide feedback
Recognise and resolve performance problems
Implement performance management systems

5. Units of Competence and Elements
BSBHRM604A Manage employee relations
Implement employee relations strategy and policies for own work area
Build and maintain a productive culture
Resolve employee relations problems
Manage diversity
SITXHRM402 Lead and manage people
Model high standards of performance and behaviour
Develop team commitment and cooperation
Manage team performance

6. Introduction and the importance of human resources
Success requires capable and motivated people.
Leadership, motivation and training of human resources is essential for events to run well.
The intangibility of events makes human resource management crucial.
Event managers need a product as standard and consistent as possible in order to deliver quality.
Performance will rely on staff training.
Short-term nature of events and reliance on volunteers changes the training dynamic.

7. Leading and managing employees and volunteers
Who is being led and managed?
Employees
Full-time or part-time
Hired under a contract outlining salary and benefits
Volunteers
Utilised on short-term or non-continuous basis for an event
Gives unpaid help such as time, service or skills
Motivations of volunteers are different to employees

8. Leading and managing employees and volunteers
Leadership and management defined
Leadership
Leadership is primarily concerned with developing and articulating a clear vision for the future
Leadership involves gaining acceptance of, and commitment to, a vision
Leadership also involves operationalising a vision through the design of broad plans and strategies
Hence, leaders are primarily involved with the provision of vision and strategy.

9. Leading and managing employees and volunteers
Management
Management is concerned with coping with complexity and the establishment of order and consistency through:
the development and implementation of detailed plans
the design of organisational structures, and
the monitoring of results and organisational outcomes against plans.
Organisational effectiveness requires both strong leadership and sound management.
Leaders provide the vision and strategy while managers implement the vision and strategy.

10. Leading and managing employees and volunteers
The path–goal theory of effective leadership
The leader’s job is to assist followers in attaining goals
In so doing leaders need to provide the necessary direction and support to ensure that their goals are compatible with organisational objectives.
The leader’s key role is:
To clarify the path for subordinates
To facilitate achievement of their work goals
To reduce any roadblocks or constraints
To reward employees for appropriate levels of performance
Leadership styles appropriate to work environment – dependant on the formality and complexity of the task structure; formal authority system and whether roles are clear or ambiguous; nature of the work group and whether it is friendly and supportive.
Leadership styles appropriate to the employees/volunteers – refers to their experience, perceived abilities and locus of control. Internal locus of control is where individuals feel in control of their destinies, where the opposite is true for external locus of control.

11. Leading and managing employees and volunteers
In assisting followers to achieve their goals it is necessary for leaders to adopt leadership behaviours that are appropriate to the situation.
Leaders need to adopt leadership styles that are consistent with the work environment and the nature of the subordinates.
Leadership styles include:
Directive
Achievement-orientated
Participative
Supportive

12. Leading and managing employees and volunteers
The four principles of leadership
Provide clear direction
Set clear targets
Provide clear instructions about work methods, etc.
Clarify roles and responsibilities
Develop time schedules, etc. for specific tasks
Provide appropriate rewards and recognition
Provide clear direction – setting targets, giving instructions, clarifying roles, creating scheduled task lists, giving rewards and incentives for finishing on time and to a certain standard. This may be done through the creation of manuals, training sessions, etc.
Empower employees to achieve – setting goals that impacts on quality and success, demonstrating and expecting high standards for all tasks, displaying faith and trust in employees and volunteers.
Encourage participation and involvement – holding regular meetings, discussing work methods with employees and volunteers, seeking ideas and opinions, group decision-making.
Demonstrate empathy and provide support – finding ways to make the job more stimulating, being personally supportive and helpful, providing resources, providing encouragement to increase self-esteem.
 Discussion – Have students think about a job they have had. Brainstorm examples where each of the four principles of leadership have been present. How did this make the student feel? What about the absence of these principles?

13. Leading and managing employees and volunteers
2. Empower employees to achieve
Set specific, measurable and challenging goals that impact on all aspects of event success
Set and demonstrate high standards in all aspects of the tasks to be completed
Display faith in the ability of employees and volunteers to effectively carry out tasks and achieve goals.

14. Leading and managing employees and volunteers
3. Encourage participation and involvement
Hold regular meetings to discuss progress
Discuss work methods and approaches with subordinates
Seek ideas and opinions amongst subordinates
Adopt a group decision making approach
particularly when decisions impact directly on the work of subordinates.

15. Leading and managing employees and volunteers
4. Demonstrate empathy and provide support
Find ways to make the job more stimulating and interesting
Act in a supportive and helpful manner
Provide appropriate resources and organisational support
Provide encouragement and increasing the subordinate’s self-esteem.
All people have different needs. The challenge is to know what skills to apply to each situation.

16. Motivating employees and volunteers
What motivates one staff member will mean nothing to another.
The forces that account for the level, direction and persistence of effort put in by an individual.
Motivational differences between employees and volunteers
Employees
usually extrinsic, such as a salary
Volunteers
usually intrinsic, such as social involvement, meeting someone famous or feeling useful.

17. Motivating employees and volunteers
The eight principles of motivation
Recognise individual differences
All people have different motivations
Extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation
Understand the needs of employees and volunteers
Get to know staff and their needs
You can then motivate more effectively
All event staff will have varying needs and expectations
The more rewards on hand, the more likely managers are to satisfy needs
Recognise individual differences – Extrinsic (money and benefits) and Intrinsic (interest, fulfilment, autonomy, challenge, responsibility, achievement). Volunteers are more concerned with intrinsic motivation. Managers need different approaches to facilitate different motivations.

18. Motivating employees and volunteers
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
We are motivated to satisfy our needs
Basic needs must be satisfied before moving to others
Alderger’s ERG Theory
Simplifies Maslow’s hierarchy into three steps
Frustration–regression pattern applies
Maslow – Lower level needs (Physiological and safety) are extrinsic and can be satisfied with money and a safe environment. Upper level needs (Social, Esteem and Self-actualisation) come from intrinsic motivators such as empowerment. Maslow said that the level a person is on needs to be identified, then motivators put into place to get them to move to the next level.
Alderger’s ERG – Condensed to growth (self-actualisation and esteem), relatedness (social) and existence (safety and physiological) needs. Frustration–regression occurs when a higher need can’t be met, and a person ‘regresses’ to a lower level.

19. Motivating employees and volunteers
Demonstrate trust and delegate tasks
Delegation makes people feel valued
McGregor’s theory X and theory Y
Theory X – lazy, avoid responsibility
Theory Y – committed, seek responsibility
Manager’s belief will direct motivations used
Be aware of equity considerations
Perceived equity is important to motivation
Applies to financial and non-financial means
Adams’ equity theory
Based on relative and absolute terms
Demonstrate trust and delegate tasks – lack of delegation can be perceived by staff as lack of faith in their abilities.
McGregor’s theory X and theory Y – based on manager’s perceptions of staff and has two assumptions. Belief in Theory X means managers think people need to be coerced to achieve goals, have no ambition and seek direction at all times. Belief in Theory Y means managers think people will have self-direction, be innovative and like to work. Theory Y assumptions would apply to volunteers. How managers perceive people will lead how they motivate them, so managers should always question their assumptions before applying any motivational forces.
Be aware of equity considerations – if staff or volunteers believe they are not being treated the same as others, they will react in a negative manner.
Adam’s equity theory – if two groups get different pay rises with no clear reason, and inequity will be perceived in absolute terms. In relative terms there may be no inequity as others may have not had a pay rise the last time.

20. Motivating employees and volunteers
Provide training and development opportunities
Increases expectancy of task completion
Training is an important intrinsic motivator and investment
Vroom’s expectancy theory
Questioning whether to exert more effort
Answer depends on what is in it for them
Create a motivating work environment
Vibrant, energising and productive
Job design – job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment
Job enrichment – skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback
Vroom’s expectancy theory – three areas measured on scale 0 to 1, or -1 to 1
Effort–performance relationship – Expectancy (Can I do it?) Employees need to believe they can do the task. If they do not feel they can do it the score will be close to or equal to 0.
Performance–reward relationship – Instrumentality (Will I be rewarded?) Employees need to feel that they will be rewarded for reaching a certain level of performance, if so the score will be close to or equal to 1.
Rewards–personal goals relationship – Valence (Do I value the reward) Employees need to feel that the reward is something they value. The score can go from -1 (when the reward is something they absolutely do not value) to 1 (something they value a lot).
Motivation = expectancy x instrumentality x valence.
If any factor is 0 or close to 0, the overall motivation will be low.
Training and development is the most obvious way to increase skills and raise expectancy, therefore raising the overall motivation to do things.
Job rotation – moving from one task to another. Decreases boredom, increases skills.
Job enlargement – increasing tasks variety and number within a job role. Job has more diversity and increases skills.
Job enrichment – provides more responsibility with higher skills and knowledge requirements. Have more control and say in planning and execution.
Skill variety – decreases boredom and makes jobs more meaningful. May combine tasks into larger 'chunks' of work. May mean more contact with customers.
Task identity – visible outcomes from performing tasks, can see an end result, so more in touch with the whole product instead of one small part of it. Can combine smaller tasks into one task for greater meaning.
Task significance – want to know that their contribution has impacted on people. At events this may mean watching people enjoy the fruits of their labour. If people feel that their task is important, they will be more motivated.
Autonomy – extent of freedom, independence and ability to make decisions. This can create great motivation as staff feel empowered.
Feedback – if employees get no feedback they can feel isolated as they are not sure if their performance is adequate. Feedback should be immediate and comprehensive for the best outcome, and straight to the person doing the task. Open up communication channels and reach out to clients. Job enrichment leads to high intrinsic motivation, high work performance, high job satisfaction and low absenteeism and turnover.

21. Motivating employees and volunteers
Build teamwork and team spirit
Teams result in motivated and inspired workplaces
Stages of team development
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
Forming – Team is created and members get to know one another. Individuals don’t see themselves as part of a group. Goals, abilities and skills are still vague.
Storming – may compete for informal influence. Conflict may arise as members assert individuality against group constraints. Individual motivations may not be consistent with the group or the event.
Norming – settling down. Relationships are built and the group is more cohesive. Group structure and behaviour is defined and developed and individuals relate more to the group.
Performing – happens once the group is fully functioning. The group can focus on the task at hand as there is no more infighting and rivalry.
Adjourning – For temporary groups (i.e.: volunteers) the group finishes at the end of the task, or event. Response of members can vary depending on achievements and camaraderie.

22. Motivating employees and volunteers
Manage performance effectively
Performance management helps to focus motivation
Set SMART goals which are monitored
Performance appraisal process
establish goals
gain feedback
provision of rewards, training, resources, improvement
focus on outcomes and keep it balanced
finish on a positive note
SMART – Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-oriented
Performance can be motivating if the following is considered:
- Only one part of the performance management process – not the be-all-and-end-all
Focus on the employee's performance rather than personality
Recognise strengths as well as weaknesses
Be outcome focused
Recognise achievements as well as mistakes
Encourage participation throughout the appraisal
Focus on the future rather than the past – future goals, training needed/wanted, resources needed.

23. Motivating employees and volunteers
Goal-setting theory
Setting ambitious and challenging goals is a key to success
Goals need to be specific and measurable
Specific and difficult goals
Focus attention on achievement
Helps avoid distractions
Energise
Create satisfaction
Feedback reinforces impact of goal-setting, particularly self-generated feedback.
Specific goals – increase effort and performance.
Difficult goals – generate higher levels of performance than easy goals.
Impact of goal setting – is enhanced by feedback.
 Review: Have students come up with 3 goals for the course they are studying. Ensure that they are SMART and ambitious. What sort of things will help students to realise these goals?

24. Training employees and volunteers
Providing subordinates with additional skills, knowledge and expertise has multiple motivational benefits:
Firstly, it increases a subordinate’s expectancy that they can successfully complete a task
Secondly, the process of training , learning and developing new knowledge and new skills is, in itself, an important intrinsic motivator.

25. Training employees and volunteers
Induction
Provides basic organisational and job information
Allows staff to ease into role more effectively.
Training
Acquisition of skills, knowledge and expertise required
On the job, job rotation, ‘classroom’ training.
Development
Long-term development of expertise.
Education
Long-term development of knowledge base.
Induction – generally includes information about organisational aims and objectives, structures, systems and processes, reporting relationships, key staff, roles and responsibilities, performance expectations, rules and regulations, safety requirements.
Training – usually short term.
On-the-job training – expertise developed through carrying out tasks at work. Also called experiential learning – learning by doing or experiencing. Can be very effective and allows for role modelling.
Job rotation training – periodic movement through a range of job roles to increase skills.
‘Classroom’ training – attendance at workshops and tutorials to supplement on the job training with theory.
Development – Combined with careers planning. Aimed at employees in order to facilitate career advancement.
Education – May or may not be supported by the organisation for employees. Volunteers will educate themselves at their own expense.

26. Training employees and volunteers
The four principles of training
Put the initiative for training on trainees
Adults are self-directed – want to control their learning
Motivated to learn by intrinsic needs e.g.: achievement
Goal orientated – pursue their own learning goals
Link training to practical outcomes
Make content relevant to trainees’ interests and needs
Adults seek out information with a practical application

27. Training employees and volunteers
Recognise and take advantage of the experience and expertise of trainees
Adults bring life experiences that can teach others
Treat adult learners with dignity and respect in light of experience
Make learning experiential and problem-based
People learn best by doing
Most effective programs combine on the job learning with some theoretical approaches.

28. Integrating the efforts of employees and volunteers
Providing direction, support and motivation.
Recognising needs, interests and expectations.
Adopting appropriate leadership styles.
Delegating and creating jobs that are satisfying.
Facilitating dynamic teams.
Setting SMART and challenging goals.
Managing performance to provide feedback and direction.
Training and developing in a manner that recognises adult learning principles.

29. Managing workplace diversity
The work environments of most organisations are now characterised by high levels of diversity in terms of:
Culture
Gender
Age
Other demographic and individual differences
While these differences can represent a challenge they also represent a major opportunity.
A diverse workforce is generally more creative, more innovative and more capable of solving complex problems.

30. Managing workplace diversity
Organisations can harness the potential benefits of workplace diversity by:
developing recruitment strategies that emphasise the value of a diverse workforce
maintaining an organisational culture that values diversity, cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity, and fosters a sense of inclusiveness
investing in cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural communication training
encouraging open communication and teamwork

31. Chapter summary
Event managers are more aware of the value of motivated, trained and capable staff and volunteers.
Organisational effectiveness requires both strong leadership and sound management.
Leaders provide the vision and strategy while managers implement the vision and strategy.
Leadership means empowering staff and providing them with direction and support.
Motivation is achieved through understanding of needs and interests of staff and volunteers.

32. Chapter summary
Motivation is enhanced through a vibrant work environment, achieved through learning and development.
The effective management of workplace diversity has the potential to significantly enhance organisational performance.