Monday, 20 June 2016Overview
The National HR Conference (NHRC), the premier people event in South Asia, is just around the corner. This time they have picked an opportune theme entitled ‘HR Ecosystem for Competitiveness’. My intention is to explore the fascinating scenario of the HR Ecosystem and to have a glimpse through the ten Gs.
Figure 1: HR Ecosystem through ten Gs Source: Dharmasiri (2016)
Ecosystems in a nutshell
Ecosystems are so essential to nature. The typical biology textbooks call it a community of living organisms. They provide the basis for survival and sustainability. This article explores the nature and features of an ecosystem in relation to Human Resource Management (HRM). It also attempts to link the HR ecosystem for competitiveness, in four levels, namely ground, group, general and global. Expanding the seven-G framework of HRM in an institutional context to cover industrial to international perspectives, a novel ten-G approach is proposed.
HRM in focus
It is worthwhile recalling the way we defined HRM for Sri Lanka. Based on the brainstorming conducted as a team and feedback obtained from professionals and professors, the following definition emerged: “A strategic and integrated approach in acquisition, development and engagement of talent, using relevant tools, with proper policies, practices and processes in creating a conducive climate towards achieving organisational excellence and societal wellbeing (IPM, 2014).”
What we meant by strategic is working towards achieving the overall goals and specific objectives of the organisation. It is essentially aligning with broad organisational priorities. It highlights the strategic significance of HRM and the holistic role it should play.
Talent refers to three Cs going in line with Prof. Dave Ulrich (2009), namely, competence, commitment and contribution. We consciously included the term Conducive Climate in our HRM definition, meaning a supportive environment within an organisation. The end result of all HR endeavours, the way we see, is having twin aspects - Organizational Excellence and Societal Wellbeing.
HR Ecosystem through the ten Gs
It is indeed fascinating to see how HRM operates at various levels within an institution as well as outside an institution
I propose an HR ecosystem as a combination of ten Gs, namely, Goal, Get, Give, Grow, Glue, Glow, Guard, Grapple, Grip and Gratify. They are related mainly to four levels, from micro to macro. I would identify them as Ground, Group, General and Global. Let’s go through the details with examples.
Ground level
I propose this as the institutional or organisational context. It could be private or public. The first seven Gs are very much in existence here.
1. Goal: This occupies centre stage in setting the direction of the entire organisation. It revolves around the strategic intent, comprising vision, mission or aspiration whatever the terminology may be. Aligning the grooming of people with the goals of the organisation should be the right approach. There are numerous occasions where people are unclear about their top goals and priorities.
