Role and Key Practices of the HRD - Coursework Example

Introduction As the new Human Resource Development (HRD) Manager, the first primary task was laying out a strategic plan and to execute recommendations that will boost the company. The private nursing company had several challenges which needed to be analysed, but right before it was done, an email from the directors arrived, and it was given top priority as it was urgent. A report from the community care checking the gaps that were present in our industry that is home care nursing was introduced and recommendations required. From the report, there are many problems realized and most of them are caused by poor or no training of staff on care for dementia patients (Braithwaite, Makkai and Braithwaite, 2007). This paper will be an analysis of recommendations suggested countering the issues raised by the community care. The HRD roles and key issues regarding its practice and the methods that will be used to make the department better will be discussed plus the unethical issues in the HRD practice. Towards the end, recommendations will be suggested to make the practice better. Role and Key Practices of the HRD According to the research article, the human resource department has several roles under its bracket. It is the responsibility of the Human Resource department manager to ensure functions and duties are executed in an exemplary manner for better results (Carmody, Forster and Hayes, 2014). The home cares in the UK have a problem with the level of dementia care. The article points out roles such as recruitment, training and development and compliance. These are some of the major issues in the HRD because an organization that fails in any of the them will have problems. They are the back bone of organizations as much as employees are concerned. The output of an organization depends on the productivity of the employees. When home care organizations are advertising for the jobs, they either call for someone with prior training and experience or fresh people then train them (Dening and Milne, 2011). According to the community care, the HRD makes sure the staff is well equipped for the tasks they are assigned. 178 homes out of the 250 that were asked to improve the CQC, because they had gaps in training provision. A well-trained staff will have an easy time taking care of the dementia patients. From the testimonials given in the article, taking care of dementia patients is hard but when one is well equipped with up to date skills the task will be easier. Consequentially, the case of losing employees because work is hard, will be eliminated completely. If one is well trained, they will love their work and perform their duties exemplary. When the staff is not well trained, the degree of service delivery will be weak. On the new Mental Capacity Act and the dementia care statutes, there is a huge problem because most of the staff are inadequately trained (Doyle and Timonen, 2007). Dementia patients require specialist care; one of the staff who used to care for a dementia patient said that she had not received any training for a long time besides the standard basic training. According to Mandy, a night worker, better ways of offering specialist attention to dementia patients have been developed yet she had not received the training for more than five years. She is yearning for a refresher course that will enable her to acquire specialized skills. On the article, the key practices that are delivered by the HRD include training, staffing, and compliance. Training Workers are trained on how to take care of patients who are at home. There are many care home companies within the UK, and lately, they have had issues with their staff (Dening and Milne, 2011). Most of them do not meet the minimum requirements to work as caregivers. The employees should be trained on the work design; how they are going to discharge their duties responsibly. The only way the management can do that is by breaking down the design of the work and expectations of the company. The main problem is with the dementia patients who make up a high percentage of the patients treated at home. The trend is worrying because these patients require maximum and specialized care while they get inadequate services from care companies which have not trained their staff. However, it is the responsibility of the HRD to offer the necessary skills. Still on training, the workers should be evaluated regularly. Both regular and random evaluations are necessary because they show where there is need for a refresher course. Recruitment Recruitment is a key responsibility of the HRD, and in this article, it is mentioned as one of the reasons why the care homes are slowly hitting rock bottom. Due to lack of training, we have many care homes in the UK closing down. The main reason why the staff lack training is that they are few and cannot afford to work on shifts. Working in shifts as planned by the HR would enable the HRD to take over and give them more training and advanced lessons (Braithwaite, Makkai and Braithwaite, 2007). Understaffing is a huge problem affecting the sector; thus, staff cannot be taken to any refresher training. It is extremely difficult for the HRD to play its developmental role if the number of workers recruited is low. Compliance The HRD has a responsibility of ensuring compliance in the business. The released report showed that approximately 29% of the care homes had not received any training on liberty safeguards. Any decision about a person’s care should be made with their consent according to the Mental Capacity Act (Froggatt, Davies and Meyer, 2009). If decisions or any action applied to a client without their word into the arrangement, it is easy to deprive them of their liberty. The staff that lacks sufficient training are likely to find themselves with this problem. Home-cares are not only institutions that help the aged and those who need more attention at home but also a business. The article seeks to give reasons why some of these problems are present in the industry, and one of them is financial pressures (Carmody, Forster and Hayes, 2014). The expenses incurred on training are used elsewhere to ensure there are enough dividends at the end of the day. Councils have cut the budget for residential care workers' training. This erosion of monies from the councils has adversely affected the business. Employee Development For any organization that would like to be growth oriented and dynamic, development of human resources is critical. There is unlimited potential in human resource unlike other resources. However, the potential can only be unleashed if a climate that can continuously identify, nurture and surface the human capabilities is created. The HRD has a responsibility of ensuring the employees are developed and motivated. HRM is entrusted with recruiting, and on top of that, it should retain the top talent. The HRD takes over after recruitment to ensure the employees are trained on the current issues. The HRD also motivates people who are ready to respond to the needs of the business and shape the challenges of the future (In Cherubini, 2015). Such individuals can have their way in a competitive market to create a competitive advantage for the business. The HRD uses various strategies to ensure its goals of keeping employees up to the task are met. The HRD as a system has several subsystems that cater for the needs of every employee depending on their level of engagement or position. Every employee at any level needs to be kept on check, that is where HRD comes in. it devises ways and strategies of bringing development for employees in all departments, both the management and subordinate. Establish Individual Development Plans One of the ways that the HRD is using to develop employees is establishing and understanding the individual development plans. A development plan is necessary where the HR sits with the employees at different levels to capture their goals and career interests (Woods, Keady, and Seddon, 2008). The conversation will enlighten not only the HRD but also the individual to know the activities that they should engage in their career. The development plan should be a roadmap for the employee to gauge their development process through checking their measurable goals within a specific timeline. Remove Development Barriers from the System The HRD should struggle to eliminate any barriers present in the system. Most of the organizations have rigid structures that pose a challenge to the dynamic growth and cross-functional development (Froggatt, Davies and Meyer, 2009). The HRD is expected to break down the rigid structures and design a system that is flexible to facilitate learning and development. The HRD can link up with other professional networks to promote the growth of the employees. Through programs such as coaching, workshops and training courses, the employees will feel confident and arguably stable to give professional output. The above strategies can be implemented to any member of staff regardless of the post. For the leaders, they need workshops and various pieces of training to deal with new management issues. For the subordinate, they require refresher courses to ensure they remain relevant in the market. Care homes in the UK are slowing businesses which need immediate measures to be saved (Reddall, 2009). The HRD can contribute effectively by putting in place all the available measures to develop their employees. According to the article, the employees require much training to deal with their patients. The dementia patients, for instance, need special attention and care which can only be given by trained personnel. The HRD can develop the care homes through making sure it manages the employees properly (Reddall, 2009). The business will fall if the HRD will keep ignoring their primary obligations such as training employees. Ethical Issues for HRD Practice Inadequate Training One of the ethical practices in the HRD in the UK as seen in the article is employee responsibility. The department has failed to give power to the employees because of insufficient training. Most of them are feeling inadequate thus leaving the job altogether. Those in practice are having troubles dispensing their services. The MCA principles are not followed because the staff is not trained on the same (Nolan, 2007). Employees showed less awareness on the act meaning they did not regard it in their practice. The HRD should define the responsibilities of their staff through giving them maximum training and attending workshops (Carmody, Forster and Hayes, 2014). Andrea Sutcliffe affirmed the findings in the article and further relates them with the Care Quality Commission annual report which mentioned that the employees deprived the patients of their liberty. The patient has a right to make a decision that is directly concerned with them, but in this case, the employees dictate things (Neal-Boylan, 2011). It is the responsibility of the employee to ensure the patient enjoys liberty and freedom, despite the kind of problem they have. Under-staffing Issues Apart from employing underqualified staff, the HRD does not have enough staff. The refresher courses or workshops are efficient when employees are working on a shift basis. The department sends some of the employees to the seminar on a day they are not working (Dening and Milne, 2011). According to the articles, because the employees are few, and they are all working, the training programs cannot run because they cannot leave their clients unattended. Conclusion According to the article, care homes in the UK would do well if they safeguarded the required rules and regulations as well as the set standards. 32% of the care homes need improvement because they have breached the social care act 2008. The act has a list of the regulated activities to protect the patients from inappropriate treatment. The business should operate by the statutes and meet the minimum requirements of the relevant bodies. The HRD is basically concerned with the development of employees in the business. Employees should be trained regularly to ensure they are equipped for the tasks. The roles and practices of HRD have been tabled in this paper and in connection to the article, some of the responsibilities are not handled right such as identifying areas where the employees need more training. From the above discussion, there are several recommendations to the HRD, to make it better. Recommendations to Improve the Quality of Care Provided Various measures can be used to enhance the services provided by the care homes. The quality of care being provided can be affected positively by training the personnel. Taking care of the sick especially medical care requires proper training. Employees should be hired on merit and the training they receive. When trained personnel is employed, the quality of care is high thus improving the standards of the business (Dening and Milne, 2011). Care Homes employees should not only rely on the basic training they received initially because new issues are sprouting up daily. Workshops are held for every personnel to attend and sharpen their skills. The new acts are being developed daily. Therefore, there is a need for staff to attend workshops and be enlightened on them (Nolan, 2007). The liberty rules, for instance, are only followed by a fraction of the care homes. The HRD need to be focused on its dispensation of duties and carrying out its responsibilities. The department needs to be more alert on the report and progress of their staff and patients. The management should come up with an IT system that will monitor the progress of the employees, registering the training needs and recognizing their levels of skills and knowledge. The system can give information on what needs to be done to elevate the skills of the employees and to motivate them (Froggatt, Davies and Meyer, 2009). Any complaints from the client or the family should be directly forwarded to the department. With such a system, the HRD will know what needs to be improved and changed for the sake of the business (Neal-Boylan, 2011). The business should be conducted under a code of conduct, spelled out during the hiring process. Every employee will, therefore, act under the law thus improving the standards of the care home. Since the problems are getting more complicated according to the article, the employees should receive more training and their behaviour monitored by the system. The care homes should have more employees organized by the HR manager to work on shifts. The business should seek to improve and expand while getting more employees. By attempting to get more clients amid the financial constraints that are caused by the local authorities. Once the business has acquired more employees, the HRD can go ahead to plan and organize regular workshops for their people. So as to expand the business, some things will need to be changed (Froggatt, Davies and Meyer, 2009). Once the quality of service offered is good, there will be many testimonials from the clients who have enjoyed the services. Quality service is one of the key elements required towards expanding the care home. Another way of growing the business is through advertisements. The care home sector in the UK is competitive but to be on the upper hand, advertisements can be the key towards success (Nolan, 2007). Some of the care homes are based in a single state or district, but once it is advertised, the care home will be expected to reach as many people as possible from any country. References Befeler, M. (2014). Care homes are murder. Braithwaite, J., Makkai, T., & Braithwaite, V. A. (2007). Regulating aged care. Ritualism and the new pyramid. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Carmody, S., Forster, S. and Hayes, N. (2014). Nursing older people. 1st ed. Oxford: Radcliffe Pub. Dening, T. and Milne, A. (2011). Mental health and care homes. 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Doyle, M. and Timonen, V. (2007). Home care for aging populations. 1st ed. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Froggatt, K., Davies, S., and Meyer, J. (2009). Understanding care homes. 1st ed. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. In Cherubini, A. (2015). Clinical trials in older adults. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Neal-Boylan, L. (2011). Clinical case studies in home health care. 1st ed. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. Nolan, M. (2007). User participation research in health and social care. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill International (UK) Ltd. Reddall, C. (2009). Palliative care for care homes. 1st ed. Oxford: Radcliffe Pub. Woods, R., Keady, J. and Seddon, D. (2008). Involving families in care homes. 1st ed. London: Jessica Kingsley. Read More