the role of human resource development (hrd) in an Organization Case Study
Key Learning Outcomes
By the end of the case, students should be able to:
- Understand the concept of human resource development, what it is, and its role in an organization's success
- Understand the importance of human resource development to the growth and success of a company
- Discuss human resource development functions and their role in achieving an organization's strategic goals and objectives
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Human resource development is all about introducing, eliminating, modifying, directing, and guiding processes in order to equip individuals and teams with the skills, knowledge, and competencies required to take on current and future job tasks required for the growth and success of the organization (Armstrong and Taylor 2017). Human resource development contributes greatly to the wellbeing of the organization as it builds better relationships, a stronger workforce, and boosts productivity and profitability.
It plays a major role in an organization’s achievement of high-quality services and efficiency in productivity. HRD plays a major role in preparing employees for future posts, it enables them to upskill, develop new attitudes, and prepares them for leadership positions. It helps a company to identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees, this in turn creates effective company succession planning strategies. In fact, Torrington et al (2017) stipulated that companies that fail to invest in HRD initiatives undermine the international expansion efforts.
As the work landscape continues to become distressing and unsettling with several economic challenges and high-profile layoffs, career-oriented employees are in search of greater opportunities to develop and sharpen their skills, making companies with HRD plans a major attraction to the best employees. According to a 2019 study, 86% of US employees are willing to leave their jobs or positions for a company that offers development opportunities (Lorman 2022).
As the labor market continues to tighten, attracting and retaining talent has become a major goal of major companies. According to Armstrong and Taylor (2017), investing in employees through HRD plans boosts employee retention, saving financial and time resources and giving companies a competitive edge. Boosting and improving employees play a major role in increasing their loyalty and job satisfaction. As such, they’re more likely to remain with the company. In fact, a study by SHRM found that 86% of employees believed career development was important to their overall job satisfaction (Lorman 2022). Considering that job satisfaction reduces turnover, absenteeism, and burnout, investing in employees through HRD increases productivity among employees and increases profitability.