Human Resource Development

Topic: HRD for Workers

SHIVAM SAXENA
PGDM 2
 INTRODUCTION

 Industrial relations has become one of the most delicate and complex problems
of the modern day industrial society. It is very difficult to imagine industrial
processes and production without the cooperation between the labour and the
management.
 Thus it calls for the mental revolution on the part of both the workers and the
management to have faith in each other and act in a complimentary manner
rather than in a competitive manner towards each other.
 HRD for Workers; Need of the Hour

HRD for the workers is a process by which the workers are helped in a continuous and
planned way to:
 Develop occupational capabilities
 Develop intellectual, psychology, social, and cultural aspects
 Develop higher level of achievement, motivation and self management skills
 Develop confidence, initiative and entrepreneurship

The goals of HRD for workers :

 They treat Men at the centre of any development initiative by the organisation
 Development of collective personality of workers
 Participation in management decisions and also decision affecting their day to day
working
 Self –reliance as the expression of workers owns faith in their ability
 Reasons for Slow Implementation of HRD

There are several reasons for such trend:

 An assumption that the development of managerial resources itself
should result in workers’ development through management techniques
and style.
 Lack of integration between existing HRD and IR in many
organizations
 Prevailing IR climate in the organisation
Rationale Of HRD For Workers

 Any developmental effort directed on particular groups of employees would be

inadequate and their impact in the organizational growth and Development will
be marginal unless the developmental efforts are directed to cover all sections
of employees
 Even the most developed managers would find it difficult to achieve corporate
objectives in the company stagnant alienated and demotivated workforce
 If competent and qualified managers could alone run the organization, workers
would not have been needed at all but this is not the case , in an organisation
workers constitute 70-80% of the work force
 Several Developments For Workers

 Emerging Public Sector-HRD in public sector is the heterogeneous composition

of workforce in so far as their education exposure and work attitudes are
concerned
 The ‘population mix’-The workers category comprise workmen from category
like physically handicapped and different religious minority groups .So this calls
for the more integrated effort to create cohesion in the workforce
 Changing Profile of Working Class-The modern worker is more articulate and
knowledgeable. He has a potential to better apply his knowledge and skills .
 Technological Change-The technological changes are forcing organizations' to
adopt new environment. Recent spurt in computerization calls for training,
restraining and job shifting for workers
 HRD Mechanisms for Workers

 HRD mechanisms refer to the methods or instruments available for organisation to develop competence of
the employees.
 The mechanisms for HRD have to be different for workers than for managerial staff because of:
 the job requirements of workers
 existing level of knowledge and competence of the workers
 number of target groups to be covered is different in case of workers
 The traditional mechanism of HRD for managerial staff like performance appraisal, potential appraisal
etc. cannot be replicated for workers who at a particular stage of their development may have limited
utility for these mechanisms.
HRD Mechanisms for Workers

Training
Counseling
Workers Participation in
Management
Employee Welfare

Quality of Work Life

Quality Circles

Grievance Mechanism
i) Training: It is a process that involves acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes in order to increase
effectiveness of employees in doing particular jobs. For overall development and growth of workers,
the direction of training efforts need to be focussed on :
 Technical training to create competence by enhancing job skills
 Behavioural training to develop inter – personal skills, collaborative skills, team building skills,
problem solving skills, self management skills
 Induction training and on- the - job training
Initiatives taken for training of workers :
In 1957, government formulated a scheme of workers education with the objective of developing
effective trade unions through better trained officials and more enlightened workers
The National commission on labour had proposed to improve the scheme as its entire focus has been
to develop trade union leadership rather than development of individual in all aspects.

ii) Counseling : It is an important mechanism to provide guidance to workers and help them to learn
from their own mistakes. Timely counselling can help avoid conflicting situations and help workers in
both their personal and professional life.
iii) Workers participation in management: It can be established by setting various joint forums
consisting of representatives of union and management such as works committee, joint management
council. These forums provide opportunities for communication, goal setting, problem solving which
will help in workers development.
However, not much has been initiated or achieved in this direction. The overall industrial relations
environment and inter – union rivalry pose a problem for scheme of workers participation in
management.

iv) Employee welfare: Employee welfare programmes creates a sense of belongingness and
adequacy that benefits the organisation in the long run. Unless adequate welfare programmes for
workers exist in the form of educational subsidies, health and medical benefits , housing facilities ,the
quality of their work life is likely to suffer.
E.g. Tata Iron and Steel Company have initiated labour welfare in the form of eight hour working day,
free medical aid, leave with pay, provident fund scheme, profit sharing benefit etc.
v) Quality of Work Life: It relates to the physical working environment such as heating and
air conditions, ventilation, lighting, safety and other motivational factors such as flexibility in
working hours, autonomy and discretion in performance of jobs and the very nature of work
etc.
vi) Quality Circles : It is an activity wherein a small group of employees on voluntary basis
meet periodically to discuss work related problems on a day to day basis. Quality circle is an
important HRD mechanism for involvement of workers at the grass root level.
Organisations like Bharat Electronics, BHEL, HMT, etc. have experimented with quality
circles in recent years with success.

vii) Grievance Mechanism: The most common mechanism to deal with workers grievances
in organisation is through trade unions. Absence of timely disposal of grievances create a
sense of frustration and conflict in the organisation which necessitate a quick system of
grievance redressal. It requires initiative in developing skills in first line supervisors and others
in handling day to day grievances.
E.g. TISCO has elaborate grievance redressal machinery.
OPERATIONALIZING HRD FOR WORKERS THROUGH
DEVELOPMENTAL PLANS

Various areas of focus for workers development . These would envelop the
following initiatives:
1.Workers Improvement and Skill Development: Most of the organisations
are paying a lot of importance to developing the skills of the workers which
are directly related to his work helps him in improved and higher productivity
over a period of time.
2) Organizational Understanding: To increase the commitment and
citizenship behaviour amongst the workers it is important that they be made to
understand- the organisation’s mission, vision, objectives, goal, polices,
procedure and practices, the working , functioning the products and services
being offered.
3) Personal Growth and Development: Organisations are giving importance
to the personal growth and development of workers apart from giving them
work related trainings from time to time.
The organisations have started feeling that counseling and mentoring the
workers on their personal matters pays them long term dividends in the form
of reduced worker turnover and absenteeism.
4) Family and Social Responsibilities: The organisation laying emphasis on
providing the basic primary and secondary education to their children apart
from imparting them some vocational training and guidance to help them earn
a living in the long run, this way the workers are free from stress and burden of
providing their children with the growth and developmental opportunities.
5) Values and Attitude Development: Inculcating the right kind of values and
positive amongst the worker and their families can go a long way in building
up a better society. Because an honest workforce with good ethics and values
is the most valuable assets for any organisation. This can be done by showing
them inspirational movies and videos from time to time.
Training

 Meaning
A planned process to modify attitude ,knowledge or skills through learning experiences to
achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. Its purpose, in the work
situation ,is to develop the abilities of the individual and to satisfy the current and future needs
of the organization .

 Need of training
1.Dynamic environment
2.Expansion of global economy
3.To be more competitive
4.Meeting the skill needs
Training Benefits for Workers

 Gain important skills

 Increases productivity
 Higher wages and faster wage growth
 Increase in satisfaction level
 Reduce or minimize boredom.
 Fewer mistakes
 Reduction in accident rate
 Improvement in quality of products
 Improvement of morale and reduction in grievances
 Improvement of efficiency and productivity
 Personal growth.
 Studies show that training is more likely to deliver benefits to members
when unions not only secure recognition from the employers but also play
an active role in decisions about what is provided
 Union members participate significantly more than their non-unionized
counterparts
1.in all courses (32% vs. 25%)
2.Job related courses (24% vs. 18%)
3.Employer sponsored training (27% vs. 20%)
Education

 Need of Education
1.Effective tool in trade union organizing, strengthening and unity
2.To understand the duties and rights
3.To understand what is wrong and what is right.
4.To understand others. If people can understand each other, they will be united.
 Benefits of Education to Workers
1.Lower risk of unemployment
2.Higher income
3.Understand the duties and rights
Unions Role in Workers’ Education

 Organize education programs

 Unionized workers are more highly educated than non-unionized workers
(25% vs. 20%)
 Union members are more likely than non-unionized workers to posses
professional or trade licenses or certificates (49% vs. 27%)
 Unionized workers more likely to participate in education programs and
are more likely to be supported by their employers in these activities
THANK YOU