HR managers urged to be innovative

Human resource (HR) managers have been asked to adopt innovative strategies to properly harness the human resource potential of the country rather than holding on to traditional approaches that do not reflect current needs.

They have also been urged to use data-based appraisal mechanisms to assess the performance of employees.The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CDH Financial Holdings, Mr Emmanuel Adu-Sarkodee, made the call at this year’s annual general meeting (AGM) of the Institute of Human Resource Management Practitioners (IHRMP) in Accra yesterday.The AGM was held on the theme: “Data Analysis: the New Frontier for HR in Ghana.” It brought together members from all parts of the country.Appropriate technologyMr Adu-Sarkodee observed that current global dynamics required HR managers to use the appropriate technology to generate people-centred data collection and processing tools that would help to evaluate the efficiency of employees.“HR managers are faced with the challenge of recruiting the right calibre of human resource that will transform their organisations. The traditional way of relying on the curriculum vitae and paper qualification does not always ensure that people with the right talents, skills and attitude are recruited”, he said. He added that given the important role human capital played in the growth of an organisation and the country at large, the onus lay on HR managers to use appropriate strategies to build the capacity of employees to better position them to deliver quality service.Effective use of dataMr Adu-Sarkodee said effective data collection on employees helped to improve customer relations, reduced cost, and ensured increase in productivity.“No matter how much money you put into your business ventures, without properly managing the human resource through efficient data analysis, you cannot achieve the desired results”, he said.IHRMP initiativeThe President of IHRMP, Mr John Wilson, said the institute had focused its operations on four thematic areas: expansion drive, visibility, capability and organisational culture, with the view to making a paradigm shift from the “business as usual” approach to duty.He said the IHRMP had fostered collaboration with the civil service to start a certification course in HR to create an opportunity for more people to update their skills.He urged HR practitioners to take advantage of such courses and workshops to improve their skills.