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The coalition government’s ‘big society’ initiative may have been met with much mirth and scepticism by the national press, but in print at least it seems to have found a natural home.  The process of devolving powers back to those on the front line and away from centralised hubs of red tape and bureaucracy fits nicely into lean manufacturing practice, so it’s no surprise that more and more responsibilities in print companies are being handed back to line managers.

There is one area, however, that most large printers would think twice before devolving: human resources (HR) management. In the corridors of print firms large enough to have a dedicated HR department, there is a myth that only through a team of specialists can the pitfalls of employment law be avoided. Hence, line managers, seeing premonitions of prison bars, refer even the smallest matter to the people at the end of the phone rather than trying to deal with the problem themselves. The argument of many in the know is that this situation is the opposite of what should be occurring and that, with a little outside help, HR management should be the first duty devolved, not the last.

One such proponent of this view is NWN Media managing director David Faulkner. When he joined the Welsh magazine printer two years ago and began to look at how the business should be changed, the presence of an all-powerful HR department and the lack of control afforded to his line managers became one of his first targets for fixing.

HR supporting role
The plan was to downscale the HR department so that it became an administration unit that supported line managers in HR matters rather than taking control of HR issues itself. Obviously, this downscaling generated a cost saving and Faulkner doesn’t pretend that some of the motivation wasn’t cost related. He reiterates, however, that giving power back to staff was the main driver of the initiative.

"It had become a frustration that so much of the power for these duties had shifted to the HR department and away from the managers in the first place," he explains. "HR had too much say in the day-to-day running of the company."

Obviously, you can’t simply tell your managers they will be responsible for everything from hiring new staff to dealing with an accusation of workplace bullying and expect it all to go swimmingly. Training is key to the transition, as is additional support. This is where Faulkner turned to the BPIF and its regional HR advisor Linda Harrison.

Harrison is a big believer in a devolved HR system where knowledge of HR issues is spread throughout a company, arguing that line managers are the best positioned to deal with the majority of what will come across a HR department’s desk.

"With the line manager, you have someone who is seeing problems develop as they happen and they can respond to it quickly at an early stage," she explains. "If you have to go through a process of notifying a department, it takes time and time can be very damaging in these matters."

For NWN, Harrison conducted a week of seminars that took the team through all matters of HR responsibility, identifying gaps in their knowledge and filling them, while advising on how best to deal with situations such as bullying in the workplace. She also provided reference material for day-to-day tasks and the BPIF remain at the end of the telephone if advice is needed on some of the more complex issues.

One such issue is redundancy. Harrison says the way in which NWN managers have approached this has been a great example of how devolution to managers should work.

"They come to us with their analysis of the situation and a proposition on how they feel they should be going forward, we provide the validation or advice on whether this is the best option," she reveals. "It is not about handholding, it is having the security of that last step validation that everything is lawfully okay and any communication is fit for purpose before action is taken. The managers are taking the lead."

HR is clearly a big responsibility for managers to take on, made more difficult by the fact employment law continues to evolve. To cope with the latter, real-time updates from the BPIF ensure managers are always informed with up-to-date information and Faulkner says there have been no issues as a result.

While technical issues can be resolved this way, the challenge of dealing with emotionally sensitive HR matters – such as someone coming to work with emotional baggage and taking it out on the first person they come across – is harder to tackle. Harrison says  this is something managers tend to fear, but she explains that a shift in management style from an accusatory, blame approach to a more consolatory, listening approach can mean the emotional side of things are "the most rewarding" part of HR duties.

Better managers
It is aspects like the latter that Harrison and Faulkner cite as evidence that devolving HR responsibilities back to managers makes these managers better at their jobs. The skills and closer working relationships with staff required to take on a HR role makes, they say, a better manager.

But rewarding as HR duties may be, these managers are already busy people and so the prospect of even more duties to perform may not be welcomed with much enthusiasm. An added factor is that these duties are unlikely to come with increased pay, as is the case at NWN Media. However, Faulkner says it is the nature of all industries at the moment that people are expected to do more for their money and that the staff understand that and have been very positive about the initiative.

Harrison adds that the HR duties are not as onerous as some believe. She explains that much of the monitoring aspects of HR duties – such as watching out for poor performance or bad attitudes – should already be carried out my managers as part of staff review programmes.

So the mythology surrounding the dark art of HR is just that, a myth. The reality, as NWN and the BPIF have shown, is that, after proper training and with the right support, giving managers the responsibility to take back control of staff matters is not just a cost-cutting exercise, but a move that will bring benefits to staff, managers and the company as a whole in the long term.

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COMMENT
By adopting best practices in the HR department, a firm can employ the best people, develop its capabilities and use, maintain and reward staff contributions in line with both the job and organisational requirements.

Effective HR can make an enormous difference to company’s performance if it is embraced by managers who have the skills and understanding to engage and motivate employees. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, research shows that where effective HR practices are not in place, levels of employee commitment can be up to 90% lower.

Given the precarious state of the economy, the severe spending cuts promised by the government and the wide-ranging changes to policy which are inevitable, it has never been a more important time to ensure HR practitioners keep abreast of the latest employment legislation in anticipation of supervisors having to assume more HR responsibilities.

The Equality Act introduced in October 2010 may soon change with the new Prime Minister signalling he would like to remove positive action in recruitment and mandatory pay clauses, but would like to extend the request for flexible working for parents. We will see a phasing out of the Default Retirement Age and consideration given to repealing the laws which grant agency workers the same rights as full-time employees after 12 weeks in a job.

Now is the time to ensure your HR practices are as effective as possible. NWN Media has already taken positive steps in this direction with the aid of the BPIF HR team to deliver a number of workshops to help devolve HR responsibility to line managers.

Alison Hoare is the BPIF’s personnel officer

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TOP TIPS PEOPLE MANAGEMENT SKILLS
The title ‘manager’ is so often given to those with responsibility for staff, but without the crucial training needed to carry out the role effectively.

The result is often a lack of confidence among managers when managing staff. Not knowing how to handle situations confidently and positively can cause conflicts to arise between manager and employee. And if the manager immediately launches into disciplinary action, rather than addressing what might be a simple communications problem, the outcome can be damaging for all concerned.

The inevitable knock-on is that performance and goodwill suffer, and the profitability of the business is significantly impaired. 

The manager’s job is to provide all the tools and guidance necessary for staff to produce the highest possible levels of performance and achievement. It is important therefore that they make employees fully aware of exactly what is required of them, how their contribution fits into the company plans and, importantly, what success will look like.

Equally of course, they should be very clear on what the consequences are likely to be if, despite all the support and guidance provided, an employee’s performance falls to an unacceptably low level. This way, both manager and staff member are clear on what the expectations are and there should be no surprises in addressing the problem if things start to go wrong.

The way to ensure all managers are able to deal confidently and effectively with managing their human resources is to follow the ‘plan, do, review, revise’ principle of performance management.

Setting ‘specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound’ (Smart) objectives is a fundamental requirement of good management. Without a clear starting point and regular reviews, you are building in misunderstanding and licence for poor performance as you cannot accurately measure achievement. It is a simple technique and does not require in depth knowledge of employment law. What is required, however, is its adoption company-wide.

The starting point is to have a clearly published and accessible set of robust employment policies and procedures. These provide a clear picture of the company’s expectations in terms of attendance, performance and behaviour, and also of the consequences of failing to comply with the company rules and the procedures in place.  

Linda Harrison is BPIF regional HR adviser (North)

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DIARY

FEBRUARY
Sales workshop
Location London
Date 23 February
More information www.britishprint.com   

MARCH
Heidelberg Lean Champion Passport
Location: Brentford
Date: 15 March
More information: www.britishprint.com

BPIF Finance & Investment
Location Coventry
Date 22 March
More information www.britishprint.com

JUNE
BPIF Excellence Awards
Location London
Date 15 June
More www.bpifexcellenceawards.com