Human Resources management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Human Resources management - Essay Example This tough economic reality in today’s businesses is causing many HR professionals to re-examine existing HR policy and benefits structure in an effort to recognise cost reduction or enhance incentives-based HR programmes to muddle successfully through the economic turmoil. In difficult economic recessions, many business strategies look for â€Å"tangible, quantifiable problems and ignore softer issues such as employee engagement† (Nielsen, 2009, p.13). This would tend to suggest that cost reduction issues and changes to internal operational strategy are often the focus to combat negative outcomes stemming from tough economic conditions, somewhat obscuring less tangible needs such as creating a sense of belonging within the organisation, building job security, and ensuring that employees maintain a positive sense of self-identity related to the organisational environment. This paper highlights what steps are available to contemporary human resources professionals to gai n competitive edge and improve workplace relationships during periods of difficult economic growth and where slow recovery seems to be on the HR agenda. The effects on actions of key stakeholders will also be identified. A recent survey of 522 different HR managers identified that nearly all HR professionals believed their organisations had been negatively affected by the current financial environment (Khakti, 2009). At the strategic level, this creates considerable pressure by senior executive leadership to recognise areas of cost savings whilst also dealing with employee sentiment related to areas of job security. In order to meet these business pressures, nearly 81 percent of today’s HR managers have begun reviews of their bonus and benefits structures to identify a new methodology which meets with both employee satisfaction and organisation-wide cost reduction. Since â€Å"employees consistently rate benefits