Creating an Effective Human Resource Management Program

Every employee deserves the guarantee of health, security and safety. A Human Resources Management (HRM) program ensures positive welfare for workers so that they get the most out of their careers, which will, in turn, increase productivity and benefit the business.

Pegine Echevarria, a member of the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) National Workplace Diversity Expertise Panel and motivational speaker on leadership and diversity, says that although HR and FM might be two different functions, they both share the same goal of wanting the company to be successful.

Dr. Jane Goldner, founder and CEO of business consulting firm The Goldner Group and author of Driven to Success: A 10-Point Checkup for Achieving High Performance in Business, says that it’s especially important in this economy to remind all departments that they work for same company and share the same goals. Goldner considers it a “joint responsibility” of FM and HR to help everyone excel at their jobs.

Making the connection
To develop a mutually beneficial relationship, Tony Rankin, facility manager at Children’s Memorial Research Center in Chicago, says that a facility manager and HR should have routine meetings to discuss new developments, issues or concerns because what is needed now might be different from what was needed six months ago. As a facilities manager, explore all the ways an HRM plan can benefit you, especially in the following areas:

Hiring and recruiting
“It is important that HR and FMs synergize to recruit facility departmental human talent,” says Rankin. This objective includes creating advertisements that attract the ideal candidates who meet requirements of both the HRM and FM. Together they define the required general and specific competencies of each FM employee’s job description, according to Rankin. Echevarria says this is critical because FM employees perform such tasks as operating machinery, which can be physically demanding and potentially dangerous if not all qualifications are met. Together the facilities manager and HR have a major safety responsibility.

Outline policies
Rankin believes that HR and the facilities manager should collaborate on written safety policies or procedures that employees are expected to follow, which is usually included in the employee handbook. It’s important that the facilities manager ensures that building safety matters or procedures addressing workplace hazards are included in the employee manual or other safety standard operating procedure. This includes everyday functions, such as removing barriers and entering and exiting procedures, in addition to emergency measures, which should also be outlined in training sessions conducted by both the facility manager and HR.

Safety drills and training
Routine drills are vital to the safety of the employees. Rankin says its imperative that facilities managers facilitate essential mock drills for fires, tornadoes, bomb threats, power outages, etc. at least annually, and the HRM can assist with employee training for these procedures. Without the FM & HRM relationship, important information can easily fall through the cracks.

“HR generally has more communication with employees,” he says. “If you want to get the message out there, they’re the resource to assist in that effort.”

Goldner says that if proper training is given to employees on a consistent basis, crises have the best chance to be averted. “It becomes a proactive model instead of a reactive model,” says Goldner.

Maintenance
Every employee can help with a building’s upkeep, and Echevarria says that it is usually up to the facility manager to tell HR to notify employees of any maintenance responsibilities, such as keeping a kitchen clean.

“The best organizations have processes in place to do the specific tasks,” she says.
Rankin says the proper sanitation maintenance of a building will prevent cross-contamination and avoid having sick building syndrome (SBS). “HR can be instrumental in the dissemination of information to employees regarding standard practices to reduce the spread of germs,” he says. These general safety practices include frequent hand washing, using good body mechanics when lifting and bending and wearing essential personal protective equipment for safety.

Intermediary
Most importantly, HR can serve FMs by acting as a mediator in the manager-employee relationship. This is especially important in personal matters that must be dealt with delicately, says Echevarria. For example, a facilities manager might ask an employee to lift a heavy object but the employee can’t because of a disability. It is up to the employee to disclose any physical limitations to HR, and it is HR’s responsibility to inform the facility manager of the employee’s capabilities, while keeping personal information confidential.

Being resourceful
Echevarria emphasizes that the facility manager/HR relationship is symbiotic; the facility manager should reach out to HR to learn the best ways to communicate to the employees, and HR should reach out to the facility manager to understand the expectations of any employee, as well as notifying other employees of any facility issues. By acting as resources to each other, a facility manager and HR can help the company thrive.