Human resource development (HRD)

Human resource development generally refers to an organizational framework or to organizational systems developed to help workers improve their personal and work-related knowledge and skills. Human resource development includes such measures as employee mentoring, training and career development, performance management and development, coaching, key employee identification, tuition assistance, and many other areas of organizational development related to employees and their betterment in the workplace.

The focal point of the human resource development field is developing, within an organizational philosophy of best practices, a superior workforce so that both the institution and its employees can achieve the organizational goals. Human resource development can take place in myriad settings: training sessions, a classroom setting, college courses, goal-oriented coaching, or other formally planned activities. Human resource development can also be informal; for example, an employee mentored by a peer or supervisor. Healthy organizations today always invest in some form of human resource development.

Background

The historic underpinnings of human resource development are tied to the history of education and training. Scholars have traced its historical trajectory across the progress of human history. In Western civilization, human resource development evolves from the survival learning of ancient societies, the education shaped by the classical Greeks and Romans, monastery education and apprenticeships during the Medieval period, the development of an efficient system of warfare and military strategy in the beginning of the modern era, the scientific and technical education born in the Enlightenment, and the scientific management systems of the industrial era. In its later stages, human resource development is rooted in the need to train modern workers, managers, and technicians and adapt scientific management techniques to human capabilities.

The term human resources was coined in the twentieth century. However, humans have developed selection processes in order to hire workers since before documented history. The earliest recorded civilizations considered the passing down of necessary knowledge to be of crucial importance. Human resource development, then, has always relied on education and ways to hire the best workers. For example, scholars have discovered hiring screening systems dating back to 1115 B.C.E. in Asia. The ancient Greeks and Babylonians created the apprenticeship system, which served to train entry-level workers in a specific trade. Apprenticeships continued well into the Middle Ages and even, in more evolved forms, to date. Ancient Greeks, however, tended to look down upon daily toil, and their economies were largely reliant on slave labor.

In the late eighteenth century, many global economies shifted from agriculture based to manufacturing. Inventors and skilled mechanics developed new mechanisms to increase and relatively standardize production. Mechanization, however, led to injuries—often grievous. The monotony typical of mechanized and factory work, which was compensated with low wages, caused resentment and unhappiness among workers, which did not bode well for more efficient production. Some employers understood that worker satisfaction had a strong correlation with higher and better productivity; this gave way to an incipient move to improve training and salary.

Overview

The term human resource development was coined in the late 1960s. The field has evolved significantly since World War II, but its background remains intrinsically woven with education and training.

Emphasis on training, however, really expanded in the latter part of the nineteenth century, when concern grew among some industrialized nations that, compared with other industrial nations—such as Germany—their labor force was slower, lacking in standards, and less competitive. Competitiveness, born of the desire to constantly improve as well as to outdo competitors, became a theme that would continually preoccupy employers and lead human resource development initiatives during the twentieth century. World War I brought about huge changes in the workforce. The need to produce munitions and military technologies while most workers were at war drove the discovery of new ways to increase productivity and competiveness. After the war, governments and businesses soon realized that workers would no longer contribute to the economy if they felt unsatisfied and mistreated. A new model for dealing with workers became necessary.

The period after World War II was an era of full employment, and a general consensus existed that employers should bear the burden for training their employees. At the time, training still involved apprenticeships regulated by industrial agreements between employers and unions. Dissatisfaction among workers had increased since post–World War I. Organizational expert Elton Mayo studied the effect of better working conditions in the workplace. He found that under improved conditions, employees worked better. Moreover, they now worked as a team and produced more. Mayo promoted better human relations between workers and supervisors, a philosophy he named the human relations movement. By the 1960s, researchers had discovered that better working conditions did not mean workers would labor harder. Managers and researchers found that every worker has unique needs. In other words, to produce more, workers require more personalized incentives. Organizations then began treating employees as resources in need of encouragement and cultivation.

During the last decades of the twentieth century, the focus evolved to bringing the goals of organization and individual employees closer. Managers made efforts to make work meaningful, striving to optimize employee skills to create a more valuable, skilled workforce. This effort prevailed in the twenty-first century, with human resources departments emphasizing skill development and training for employees.

To improve working life of the company’s employers, human resource development experts recommend a variety of tools and techniques. These include assessments, surveys, training, strategic plans for hiring, determining the gaps that exist between an employee’s ability to do the work and what the organization requires, dealing with under-productive employees, identifying and forecasting human capital needs, and coaching, among others.

Human resource development has a wide variety of international forms. It has been developed in many countries around the world, in each nation differently. A well considered and managed human resources development plan will achieve measurable positive outcomes for any organization.

Bibliography

Gilley, Jerry, and Anny Maycunich. Organizational Learning, Performance and Change: An Introduction to Strategic Resource Development. Basic Books, 2000.

Kirchharr, Ted. Employee Development: Big Business Results on a Small Business Budget. Landrum Human Resources, 2011.

Lussier, Robert N., and John R. Hendon. Human Resource Management: Functions, Applications, Skill Development. 4th ed., SAGE Publications, 2021.

Mayo, Elton. The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization. Routledge, 2003.

Mitchell, Barbara, and Cornelia Gamlem. The Big Book of HR. 10th Anniversary ed., Career Press, 2022.

Swanson, Richard A. Foundations of Human Resource Development. 3rd ed., Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2022.

Tarique, Ibraiz. Seven Trends in Corporate Training and Development: Strategies to Align Goals with Employee Needs. FT Press, 2014.

Wilson, John P. International Human Resource Development: Learning, Education and Training for Individuals and Organizations. 3rd ed., Kogan Page, 2012.