Cycle of Excellence in Human Resource Management (Research Paper Sample)

Cycle of Excellence in Human Resource Management
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Cycle of Excellence in Human Resource Management
Introduction
Organizations yearn to get the best out of its human resources and also be part of their overall growth. One way to achieve that is to match employee tasks with their skills and create fun at the workplace. Hallowell (2011) recommends a five-step strategy through which an organization can spark peak performance among employees. He calls it the “Cycle of Excellence”. The cycle of excellence involves the steps an organization can use to recognize all employees in order to make them feel valued for the role they play in enabling the organization to achieve its short-term and long-term goals. It is, therefore, vital to have an analysis of each step so as to identify the most and the least important step in the cycle. An alternative cycle of excellence could also be used in place of Hallowell’s depending on the nature of the organization and the goals to be achieved.
Hallowell’s Cycle of Excellence
The five steps are executed in strategic succession with the aim of motivating employees to give their best at work while also deriving fun from their job. They include:
Step 1: Select- This step involves assigning employees the right jobs for them so that they can perform them with enthusiasm. Hallowell calls the enthusiasm “lighting up”. To be able to achieve this step a manager must match an employee’s skills with their individual task so that it adds value to organization while also intrinsically adding value to his or her career.
Step 2: Connect- The manager identifies the potent factors that cause a disconnection between employees in the organization and those that cause incongruence with its mission. Examples of negative factors that disconnect employees from each other and from the organization’s mission are a sense of insecurity, fear, gossip, and toxic worry. Efforts to introduce positive forces that aim to connect employees with other and create the needed congruence with the organization’s mission follow the removal of negative forces. Modern life always conspires to disconnect people and employees are more likely to fall victim of negative forces. To achieve this step, a manager
Step 3: Play- Play is a very important step that catalyzes peak performance by employees. Involves imaginative engagement in which employees participate in generating new ideas through creative thoughts. This steps aims to boost the morale of employees, change their perception about the workload, and reduce anxiety.
Step 4: Grapple and Grow- Whenever managers note that their employee’s enthusiasm is waning, they often associate that with a drop in commitment. Hallowell observes that waning enthusiasm among employees is not due to a drop in commitment but working on tasks they do not want or they cannot do well. In order to grapple and grow, employees must first implement steps one, two, and three. Grappling and growing involves exposing employees to a number of skills though challenging the right person and the right time. The aim of “grapple and grow” is to create a mastery of handling tasks in employees and create a sense of accomplishment in them.
Step 5: Shine- All employees should be recognized for their efforts in the organizations and not just the most prominent ones. Thus, managers must have forums where individual employees are rewarded and praised for the works they do for the organization. Employees who know that their work will be recognized and rewarded are likely to grow towards peak performance.
The most important step is step two (connect) because it aims to achieve the most primary aim in the cycle of excellence. When employees are disconnected from each other and from the company’s mission they produce substandard work. An addition to reconfiguring the work environment with employees and the mission of the organization, it paves way for subsequent steps that basically aim to further improve peak performance.
A Critique of Hallowell’s Cycle of Excellence
The five steps in Hallowell’s cycle of excellence provide a natural framework of human resource performance improve for any type of organization or project. The execution of each step paves way for the other, meaning that they are intertwined and should not be implemented in isolation of each other. The first step aims to align employees with the tasks they handle in the organization. The second step creates the right conditions for employees to operate. Hallowell is cognizant of the realities of working in an organization. Even in situations where an employee works in a position that fits their skills and competencies, they are still vulnerable to potent forces that can cause a disconnection from other employees and organization’s mission. The third step allows employees to identify with the corporate aspirations of the organization by taking part in its innovative processes. Through play, an employee further understands their work and is likely to keep perfecting their skills because they are constantly involved in the change process. The fourth step is simply a gesture of approval and confidence in the skills and ability of the employee to deal with complex tasks. By exposing them to new skills through continuous challenges, employers will have shown that they intend to use an employee’s skills into the future and the organization is interested in growing their career. The last step sums up the whole cycle by indicating to an employee that their services and skills are recognized and appreciated. The last step vitally creates a sense of mutuality between the organization and its employees.
An Alternative Cycle of Excellence
Other than Hallowell’s cycle of excellence, organization...