which we could run the business through the people’. He went on to say:
‘Line management own it totally. It’s not a personnel system; it’s a line
management system for running the business.’
The director of personnel for Megastores also made the following
comments on performance strategies:
We set out to understand the differences between successful and less successful
performance within the organization and we call those our competency frame-
works. By developing these frameworks we have educated the whole of our
line management throughout the organization into how to think about their
people in a much wider sense. Our key HR strategy question is: ‘How do we
actually get the people to deliver what the business requires?’
The process of performance improvement could mean, as Mercia Systems’
marketing director put it, ‘going through a lot of effort to ensure that we have
the correct level of performance in what we do and underpinning this with
financial and commercial stability’.
Mercia Systems successfully used a functional analysis process, which, as
described by the personnel director, was carried out as shown in Figure 7.1.
At Welland Water, the head of personnel thought that:
100 l The practice of strategic HRM
Focus:
- whole work roles
- outcome approach
- top-down method
Do we require this function? No
Ye s
Competence identification and analysis
Job design
Evaluation
Grading and reward
Figure 7.1 Methodology of occupational analysis to meet the company’s
business needs