Success in Human Resource Management

In the business world success is not necessarily measured in terms of money, but in assets. One of the most important assets a company has is their human capital. The recruitment, management, retainment, and development of human capital all falls under the responsibility of a human resource manager. To be successful in Human Resource management, the mastery of workplace culture development, an understanding of the hierarchy of needs, workers personalities, leadership skills, and conflict management are the most important tools you can utilize being a project manager.

To approach human resource management as a whole, you must constantly ask yourself these five questions: What do my workers need to be successful; How can we make the workplace a more enriching environment not only for the workers, but for the team as a whole; Is there more to learn about ourselves to help better enrich our lives; How can we better deal with each other’s differences in a positive way; How to inspire others the best way possible? These five questions help focus on the essence of human resource management and how as leaders, we can better focus resources on developing the teams that we have to accomplish the goals set forth. Having a clear understanding of yourself as an individual, a leader, and as a team member can help improve your skills as a human resource manager and overall as efficient and effective project manager.

One of the first things that a manager should ask themselves is “What do my workers need to be successful?”. In 1934, a psychologist name Maslow stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs, and by consequence, some of these needs take precedence over others . The original hierarchy of needs respectively consist of physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. These needs can be further categorized into three respective groups: basic needs, psychological needs, and self-fulfillment needs.

These needs are organized in a pyramid schematic to emphasize that in order to move up the pyramid, you must satisfy the lower tiers before the individual can ultimately reach higher needs . The basic needs on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is composed of physiological needs and safety needs. Physiological needs can be considered the need for physical things such as food, water, and shelter. Safety needs consist of the need for security and assurance of protection and care. Physiological needs are composed of belongingness and love needs and esteem needs. Belongingness and Love needs are the desire for emotional, romantic, or platonic relationships with the people around them. Esteem needs consist of the feeling of being valued and accomplishment. Self- Fulfillment consist of self-actualization, which is achieving one’s fullest potential.

In addition to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, another theory developed by Clayton P. Alderfer focuses on how to motivate workers in the workplace. Alderfer’s theory of Motivation (also known as ERG theory) focuses on the motivations of people verses the needs of people. Alderfer created this theory as a result of seeing some of the limitations he saw with Maslow’s work . The motivations are organized in a pyramid similar to the hierarchy of needs but are divided into three categories of motivations: Existence, Relatedness, and Growth. These theories are organized from basic human needs, to specific needs, and finally to abstract needs.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs should be seen as guide on how to motivate you staff, using this understanding of needs as a tool to further enrich the lives of your staff. Understanding the science behind what motivates your staff and how you can get the most out of your team is not only beneficial to yourself and the company, but for the individual as well. While the manager is taking the time to discover what motivates the worker, new interest and new motivations may arise, helping the individual reach self-fulfillment.

Realistically, managers main focus will be fulfilling their team members physiological needs and, eventually helping them reach their fullest potential. The main reason that managers may not invest as many resources on the first two levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is because fulfilling the needs for food, shelter, and safety is already addressed. Workers deserve safe work places, accessible cafeterias and break-rooms, and enriching offices. These are obvious needs that have a black-and -white solution. The psychological needs such as the feeling of belonging and the feeling of accomplishment requires more time and more effort to determine how to fulfill those needs. There are a few ways you can find out more about your employees, and one way is investing in personality testing.

While personality testing can help employees learn more about themselves and their personal motivations and needs, these categories of tests can also aid helping employees and employers better understand how they prefer to communicate, aiding in a more efficient and enjoyable workplace . There is a multitude of personality test that can be used in the workplace to further understand the dynamic of the workplace. A few of the most popular personality test include the Myer-Briggs type indicator, the Enneagram, and True Colors to name a few.

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