PART TIME MHRDM (SEM-V)

PROJECT REPORT ON
ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE IN NON-GOVERNMENTAL
ORGANIZATION
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENT OF
DEGREE OF MASTERS OF HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT STUDIES
FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI
SUBMITTED BY
BHUSHAN DALVI
ROLL NO 342
SEMESTER V 2014-2017
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
PROF ULHAS DESHPANDE
N.L DALMIA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES AND
RESEARCH MIRA ROAD (E), MUMBAI -401 104
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE IN

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION in the academic year of
2014-2017, submitted by Bhushan Dalvi in partial fulfillment for the award of
Masters of Human Resource Development Management; University of Mumbai
is her original work and does not form any part of the projects undertaken
previously.
Also it is certified that the project represents the original work on the part of the
candidate.

Signature of Director of the Signature

College/Institution Project Guide

Prof.Dr.
Prof.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With immense please I am presenting ROLE OF HUMAN

RESOURCE IN NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION Project
report as part of the curriculum of Master of Management Studies. I wish to
thank all the people who gave us unending support.
I express my profound thanks to and Prof. Ulhas Deshpande, project
guide and all those who have indirectly guided and helped me in preparation of
this project.
I also like to extend my gratitude to all staff and our colleagues of
College of Management, who provided moral support, a conducive work
environment and the much-needed inspiration to conclude the project in time
and a special thanks to my friends who are integral part of the project in helping
me with the data.

Thanking You,
Bhushan Dalvi
 DECLARATION

I Bhushan Dalvi of N.L.Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and

Research of MHRDM(SEM.V),hereby declare that I have completed this
project on Study on ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE IN NON-
GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION in the academic year2014-
2017.Theinformationsubmittedistrueandoriginaltothebestofmy knowledge.

SignatureofStudent

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 Introduction

Human resource practices play a vital role as humans are the main resource to
use rest of resources. It is now being increasingly realized that the people
working in organization are human beings. Investment for increasing the
resource is important, and the more an organization invest in its human
resources, the greater return from the investment is likely to be. Human resource
practices focuses on the different aspect that can enhance the potential of an
individual not in just in the reference of an organization but in his/her personal
life. Training and developing, performance appraisal, potential appraisal, career
counseling, employee welfare, health and safety are few of them.

The role of human resource as an integrating factor in any of the industry or

sector and it matters most when it is related to the service sector like NGOs.
Further, owing to the changes in the business environment and the advances in
technology, communication and consumerism, planning of human resources has
become an incessant activity on the part of HR functionaries working in service
organization. Broadly, human resource practices are required not only to
maintain the people as resources, but also to enhance the capability of the
organization, through its competent people.

Human Resource Management is defined as a strategic and coherent approach

to the management of an organizations most valued assets the people
working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement
of its objectives. The overall purpose of human resource management is to
ensure that the organization is able to achieve success through people. As Ulrich
and Lake (1990) remark HRM systems can be the source of organizational
capabilities that allow firms to learn and capitalize on new opportunities.
 WHAT IS NGO?

INTRODUCTION
A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a not-for-profit organization that is
independent from states and international governmental organizations. They are
usually funded by donations but some avoid formal funding altogether and are
run primarily by volunteers. NGOs are highly diverse groups of organizations
engaged in a wide range of activities, and take different forms in different parts
of the world. Some may have charitable status, while others may be registered
for tax exemption based on recognition of social purposes. Others may be fronts
for political, religious, or other interests.

The number of NGOs in the world wide is estimated at 3.7 million. Russia has
277,000 NGOs. India is estimated to have had around 2 million NGOs in 2009,
just over one NGO per 600 Indians, and many times the number of primary
schools and primary health centres in India.

NGOs are difficult to define, and the term 'NGO' is not always used
consistently. In some countries the term NGO is applied to an organization that
in another country would be called an NPO (nonprofit organization), and vice-
versa. There are many different classifications of NGO in use. The most
common focus is on "orientation" and "level of operation". An NGO's
orientation refers to the type of activities it takes on. These activities might
include human rights, environmental, improving health, or development work.
An NGO's level of operation indicates the scale at which an organization works,
such as local, regional, national, or international.
The term "non-governmental organization" was first coined in 1945, when the
United Nations (UN) was created. The UN, itself an inter-governmental
organization, made it possible for certain approved specialized international non-

state agencies i.e., non-governmental organizations to be awarded

observer status at its assemblies and some of its meetings. Later the term
became used more widely. Today, according to the UN, any kind of private
organization that is independent from government control can be termed an
"NGO", provided it is not-for-profit, nonprevention, and not simply an
opposition political party.

One characteristic these diverse organizations share is that their non-profit

status means they are not hindered by short-term financial objectives.
Accordingly, they are able to devote themselves to issues which occur across
longer time horizons, such as climate change, malaria prevention, or a global
ban on landmines. Public surveys reveal that NGOs often enjoy a high degree of
public trust, which can make them a useful but not always sufficient proxy
for the concerns of society and stakeholders.
HISTORY

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the world's largest
group of humanitarian NGOs. Though voluntary associations of citizens have
existed throughout history, NGOs along the lines seen today, especially on the
international level, have developed in the past two centuries. One of the first
such organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, was founded
in 1863.

The phrase "non-governmental organization" came into use with the

establishment of the United Nations Organization in 1945 with provisions in
Article 71 of the United Nations Charter for a consultative role for organizations
that are neither governments nor member states see Consultative Status. The
definition of "international NGO" (INGO) is first given in resolution 288 (X) of
ECOSOC on February 27, 1950: it is defined as "any international organisation
that is not founded by an international treaty". The vital role of NGOs and other
"major groups" in sustainable development was recognized, leading to revised
arrangements for consultative relationship between the United Nations and non-
governmental organizations.

Globalization during the 20th century gave rise to the importance of NGOs.
Many problems could not be solved within a nation. International treaties and
international organizations such as the World Trade Organization were
perceived as being too centred on the interests of capitalist enterprises. In an
attempt to counterbalance this trend, NGOs have developed to emphasize
humanitarian issues, developmental aid and sustainable development. A
prominent example of this is the World Social Forum which is a rival
convention to the World Economic Forum held annually in January in Davos,
Switzerland. The fifth World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in January
2005 was attended by representatives from more than 1,000 NGOs.
EVOLUTIONARY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT NGOS
Three stages or generations of NGO evolution have been identified by Kortens
(1990) Three Generations of Voluntary Development Action. First, the typical
development NGO focuses on relief and welfare, and delivers relief services
directly to beneficiaries. Examples are the distribution of food, shelter or health
services. The NGO notices immediate needs and responds to them. NGOs in the
second generation are oriented towards small-scale, self-reliant local
development. At this evolutionary stage, NGOs build the capacities of local
communities to meet their needs through 'self reliant local action'. Korten calls
the third generation 'sustainable systems development'. At this stage, NGOs try
to advance changes in policies and institutions at a local, national and
international level; they move away from their operational service providing
role towards a catalytic role. The NGO is starting to develop from a relief NGO
to a development NGO.
TYPES OF NGOS

Apart from NGO` oftentimes alternative terms are used as for example
independent sector, volunteer sector, civic society, grassroots organizations,
transnational social movement organizations, private voluntary organizations,
self-help organizations and non-state actors (NSAs).

Nongovernmental organizations are an heterogeneous group. A long list of

acronyms has developed around the term 'NGO'.

These include:
INGO stands for international NGO, such as CARE, Helvetas (Swiss Association

for International Cooperation), RESPECT Refugiados, International Alert, ADFA-

India ZOA Refugee Care, Medair and Mercy Corps;

BINGO is short for business-oriented international NGO;

RINGO is an abbreviation of religious international NGO such as Catholic

Relief Services or stands for Research and Independent Non-governmental

organization;
ENGO, short for environmental NGO, such as Global 2000;

GONGOs are government-operated NGOs, which may have been set up by

governments to look like NGOs in order to qualify for outside aid or

promote the interests of the government in question;
QUANGOs are quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations, such as the

W3C and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which is

actually not purely an NGO, since its membership is by nation, and each
nation is represented by what the ISO Council determines to be the 'most
broadly representative' standardization body of a nation. Now, such a
body might in fact be a nongovernmental organization--for example, the
 United States is represented in ISO by the American National Standards
Institute, which is independent of the federal government. However, other

countries can be represented by national governmental agencies--this is

the trend in Europe.

There are also numerous classifications of NGOs. The typology the World Bank
uses divides them into Operational and Advocacy:

The primary purpose of an operational NGO is the design and implementation

of development-related projects. One categorization that is frequently used is the
division into 'relief-oriented' or 'development-oriented' organizations; they can
also be classified according to whether they stress service delivery or
participation; or whether they are religious and secular; and whether they are
more public or private-oriented. Operational NGOs can be community-based,
national or international.

The primary purpose of an Advocacy NGO is to defend or promote a specific

cause. As opposed to operational project management, these organizations
typically try to raise awareness, acceptance and knowledge by lobbying, press
work and activist events.

USAID refers to NGOs as private voluntary organizations. However many

scholars have argued that this definition is highly problematic as many NGOs
are in fact state and corporate funded and managed projects with professional
staff.
PURPOSES

NGOs exist for a variety of purposes, usually to further the political or social
goals of their members or funders. Examples include improving the state of the
natural environment, encouraging the observance of human rights, improving
the welfare of the disadvantaged, or representing a corporate agenda. However,
there are a huge number of such organizations and their goals cover a broad
range of political and philosophical positions. This can also easily be applied to
private schools and athletic organizations.
AIM:

There are many problems which could not be solved effectively within a
country. NGO emphasize the core issue related to human cause related to
sustainable development, development aid and other humanitarian issues. It
helps to raise the cause of the people, in the world social forum. They invite
the donors from various parts of the world, or within the country and gives in
hands of the real needys in the form they are in need of. The aim of the NGO
may differ, but the motto is common, to benefit the underprivileged by any
reason.

Here, I want to mention about a NGO in Bangalore, which operates in a

different manner. Enable India, is a NGO which is operating for the benefit of
the physically challenged, visually impaired and hearing impaired people. They
are acting as a job consultancy for them. They train those people in their
institute and make them place in the perfect jobs . They train with special
softwares, according to their defect. The appreciable act , they are following
them even after they got jobs, assisting them , giving counseling and make them
to work comfort and continuously in jobs. There are lot of volunteers for that
organization. Ms. Vidhya is the former of that organization, who formed this.
There are some negatives about the NGOs amongst the people. Some
NGOs misuse the funds, but they are all myths. To make our nation, grow with
a sustainable development, we should come forward to help this NGOs . We
cant spend one lakh rupee towards the welfare of other people, but we can
spend a one thousand rupee. If 100 persons contribute 1000 rupees, which will
amounts to one lakh rupee. This unity makes the NGO a success.
METHODS

NGOs vary in their methods. Some act primarily as lobbyists, while others
conduct programs and activities primarily. For instance, such an NGO as
Oxfam, concerned with poverty alleviation, might provide needy people with
the equipment and skills they need to find food and clean drinking water.

Another example of a NGO is Amnesty International, the largest Human rights

organization in the world. It forms a global community of human rights
defenders with more than 1.8 million members, supporters and subscribers in
over 150 countries and territories.

Public Relations

Non-governmental organizations need healthy relationships with the public to

meet their goals. Foundations and charities use sophisticated public relations
campaigns to raise funds and employ standard lobbying techniques with
governments. Interest groups may be of political importance because of their
ability to influence social and political outcomes. At times NGOs seek to
mobilize public support.

Consulting

Many international NGOs have a consultative status with United Nations

agencies relevant to their area of work. As an example, the Third World
Network has a consultative status with the UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC). While in 1946, only 41 NGOs had consultative status with the
ECOSOC, by 2003 this number had risen to 2,350.
Project management

There is an increasing awareness that management techniques are crucial to

project success in non-governmental organisations. Generally, non-
governmental organisations, which are private, have a community or
environmental focus. They address varieties of issues such as religion,
emergency aid and humanitarian affairs. They mobilize public support and
voluntary contributions for aid, they often have strong links with community
groups in developing countries and they often work in areas where government
to government aid is not possible.
MANAGEMENT OF NGOS

Two management trends are particularly relevant to NGOs: diversity

management and participatory management. Diversity management deals with
different cultures in an organization. Intercultural problems are prevalent in
Northern NGOs that are engaged in developmental activities in the South.
Personnel coming from a rich country are faced with a completely different
approach of doing things in the target country. A participatory management
style is said to be typical of NGOs. It is intricately tied to the concept of a
learning organization: all people within the organization are perceived as
sources for knowledge and skills. To develop the organization, individuals have
to be able to contribute in the decision making process and they need to learn.

STAFFING

Not all people working for non-governmental organizations are volunteers. Paid
staff members typically receive lower pay than in the commercial private sector.
Employees are highly committed to the aims and principles of the organization.
The reasons why people volunteer are not necessarily purely altruistic, and can
provide immediate benefits for themselves as well as those they serve, including
skills, experience and contacts.

There is some dispute as to whether expatriates should be sent to developing

countries. Frequently this type of personnel is employed to satisfy a donor, who
wants to see the supported project managed by someone from an industrialized
country. However, the expertise these employees or volunteers may have can be
counterbalanced by a number of factors: the cost of foreigners is typically
higher, they have no grassroot connections in the country they are sent to and
local expertise is often undervalued.
The NGO-sector is an important employer in terms of numbers. For example,
by the end of 1995, CONCERN worldwide, an international Northern NGO
working against poverty, employed 174 expatriates and just over 5,000 national
staff working in ten developing countries in Africa and Asia, and in Haiti.

FUNDING

Large NGOs may have annual budgets in the millions of dollars. For instance,
the budget of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) was over
$540 million dollars in 1999. Human Rights Watch spent and received US$21.7
million in 2003. Funding such large budgets demands significant fundraising
efforts on the part of most NGOs. Major sources of NGO funding include
membership dues, the sale of goods and services, grants from international
institutions or national governments, and private donations. Several EU-grants
provide funds accessible to NGOs.

Even though the term 'non-governmental organization' implies independence of

governments, some NGOs depend heavily on governments for their funding. A
quarter of the US$162 million income in 1998 of the famine-relief organization
Oxfam was donated by the British government and the EU. The Christian relief
and development organization World Vision US collected US$55 million worth
of goods in 1998 from the American government. Nobel Prize winner Mdecins
Sans Frontires (MSF) (known in English as 'Doctors Without Borders') gets 46
percent of its income from government sources.
MONITORING AND CONTROLLING NGOS

In March 2000 report on United Nations Reform priorities, U.N. Secretary

General Kofi Annan wrote in favor of international humanitarian intervention,
arguing that the international community has a 'right to protect' citizens of the
world against ethnic cleansing, genocide and crimes against humanity. On the
heels of the report, the Canadian government launched the Responsibility to
Protect R2P project, outlining the issue of humanitarian intervention. While the
R2P doctrine has wide applications, among the more controversial has been the
Canadian government's use of R2P to justify its intervention and support of the
coup in Haiti.

Years after R2P, the World Federalist Movement, an organization that supports
"the creation of democratic global structures accountable to the citizens of the
world and call for the division of international authority among separate
agencies" has launched Responsibility to Protect - Engaging Civil Society
R2PCS. The project, which is a collaboration of the WFM and Canadian
government, aims to bring NGOs into lockstep with the principles outlined
under the original R2P project.

NGO Monitor is a conservative pro-Israel site that aims to promote "critical

debate and accountability of human rights NGOs in the Arab-Israeli conflict."
The organization has successfully conducted campaigns against Oxfam and the
Ford Foundation - leading to formal apologies and changes in practice - on the
grounds that these organizations are too anti-Israeli.

NGOWatch is a project of the American Enterprise Institute that monitors

NGOs. The project is primarily a negative analysis of NGOs that are generally
considered to be on the progressive side of the political spectrum.
Indian NGOs is a portal of over 20,000 NGOs who work with the corporate
sector in India. This portal offers insights into how the corporate sector is using
NGOs to benefit their program. In recent years, many large corporations have
beefed up their Corporate Social Responsibility departments in an attempt to
preempt NGO campaigns against certain corporate practices. As the logic goes,
if corporations work with NGOs, NGOs will not work against corporations.
TOP NGOs IN INDIA:

1. SAMMAAN FOUNDATION (established January 25, 2007): Originally

established to link the poor to the mainstream through education, training and
financial support, the current project of this NGO involves the rickshaw pullers
to help them earn a better livelihood. This NGO also has notable contribution in
areas like children education, health services and welfare of women.

2. GOONJ: A recipient of the NGO of the Year award in 2007 at the India
NGO Awards, this NGO aims at solving the clothing problems of the
downtrodden. Goonj also provides relief during Rahat floods in West Bengal,
Assam and Bihar.

3. AKSHAYA TRUST: The sole aim of this NGO is to restore human dignity.
Operating in Madurai, this NGO offers rehabilitation, healthy food and care to
the street destitute.

4. SMILE FOUNDATION: The main aim of this NGO is the rehabilitation of

the underprivileged by providing them education and healthcare services,
thereby converting them into productive assets. It is run by a group of corporate
professionals.

5. UDAAN WELFARE FOUNDATION: The main aim of this NGO is to help

the destitute, the main area of stress being women, children and senior citizens
and also environmental welfare. One of their main projects is a cancer
chemotherapy center.
6. PRATHAM: The main aim of this NGO is to provide education to the
children living in the huge slums of Mumbai and even providing education to
those people who are unable to go to school. Their projects have increased
enrollment of children in schools thus promising them a better tomorrow.

7. LEPRA Society: This NGO aims at prevention and control of diseases like
AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis in poor communities.

8. DEEPALAYA: This NGO aims at providing education to the children living

in the slums of Delhi. Their projects also include providing healthcare,
education, vocational training to the downtrodden and the physically disabled.
They have contributed towards significant rural development in Haryana and
Uttarakhand.

9. UDAY FOUNDATION: A New Delhi-based NGO, the Uday Foundation

provides support to the parents and families of children suffering from
congenital disorders and other syndromes. Their projects also include research
to open new horizons of healthcare technologies. They also have health projects
for common people. Their special stress is in the area of protecting child rights.

10. HELPAGE INDIA: Established in 1978, the sole aim of this NGO is to
provide resources to the elderly people of our country. Their objective is to
make aware the senior citizens of their rights and protect the rights of the senior
citizens of our country so that they can also play a key role in our society. They
also work with the government (both local and national) to implement policies
that will be beneficial to the senior citizens of our country.
A famous Indian NGO, Chintan was the first in India to receive the US
Innovation Award for Empowerment of Women and Girls, for its outstanding
contribution in this field. The award was received by Chintans founder Bharati
Chaturvedi from the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. A further aid of
USD 5,00,000 was announced by the US Secretary of State to facilitate
Chintans endeavor to continue its noble efforts. The Award is funded by the
Rockefeller Foundation through the Secretarys International fund for Women
and Girls.

India was estimated to have had around 3.3 million operational NGOs in 2009.
The figure has no doubt increased in 2013. The best part about Indian NGOs is
that they dont blow their own trumpets and do their work seriously and
sincerely. They contribute more than their fair shares for the upliftment of the
society and enrichment of the lives of hapless and downtrodden people of India.
Without their contribution, it would have come as no surprise if the picture of
India was as grim as those of sub-Saharan countries.
CRITICISM

In general, there is an overall positive view of NGOs across various

literature sources in the North. However Southern scholars often take a more
critical position. Some direct complaints target operational problems,
inconsistencies, misuses of funds (some high-profile), dogmatic commitments
to certain assumption about economic policy etc. Some have argued that power
relations between NGOs and their 'target countries' are often highly racialised.
Conceptually, there is a slowly growing body of work looking at the underside
of the 'Aid Industry'. Although most complaint literature is against multilateral
or bilateral agencies, there are occasional criticisms of NGO operational
strategies and inadvertent adverse impacts. For example it is often argued that in
poorer countries Northern funded and managed NGOs tend to substitute
themselves for popular movements in fora like the World Social Forum with
negative consequences for the development of local civil society. Critics like
Issa Shivji and James Petras have argued that NGOs are often part of
contemporary imperialism. In many Southern countries, e.g. South Africa,
relations between popular movements of the poor and some NGOs have become
very strained.

In many developing countries with dysfunctional economies, entry into the aid-
industry is the most profitable professional career path for young college-
graduates. As NGOs provide services in the community for free or at subsidized
rates (such as training), the private-sector is unable to evolve and compete
effectively as sustainable levels. Once an NGO begins offering products or
services for a fee (handicrafts, evaluations, digging wells, counseling, etc.), they
will over time inevitably compete with private-sector providers of these same
services. But with their donation-funding support or access to voluntary labor,
they have a significant competitive advantage. Co-option (by political or other
forces), mission-drift, changing core services based on an ever changing
funding landscape, transparency, accountability, moving beyond a charismatic
founding leader, and donor-driven rather than self-defined strategies are some
additional areas for concern. New NGOs occasionally receive 'do-gooder'
complaints of engaging in action to help, without understanding the full
complexity and interplay of issues, resulting in doing more harm than good. But
again, in general, NGOs are viewed as a beneficial complementary source
filling gaps in society not provided by the public or for-profit sectors. NGOs
have also played a crucial role in upholding International Law, especially
United Nations treaties. Their work continues to be the leading factor in social
and political change.
 WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE (HR)?

Human Resource (HR) is a relatively new approach to managing people in any

organisation. People are considered the key resource in this approach. it is
concerned with the people dimension in management of an organisation. Since
an organisation is a body of people, their acquisition, development of skills,
motivation for higher levels of attainments, as well as ensuring maintenance of
their level of commitment are all significant activities. These activities fall in
the domain of HRM.

Human Resource Management is a process, which consists of four main

activities, namely, acquisition, development, motivation, as well as maintenance
of human resources.

Scott, Clothier and Spriegel have defined Human Resource Management as that
branch of management which is responsible on a staff basis for concentrating on
those aspects of operations which are primarily concerned with the relationship
of management to employees and employees to employees and with the
development of the individual and the group.

Human Resource Management is responsible for maintaining good human

relations in the organisation. It is also concerned with development of
individuals and achieving integration of goals of the organisation and those of
the individuals.

Northcott considers human resource management as an extension of general

management, that of prompting and 2 stimulating every employee to make his
fullest contribution to the purpose of a business. Human resource management
is not something that could be separated from the basic managerial function. It
is a major component of the broader managerial function.
French Wendell, defines Human resource management as the recruitment,
selection, development, utilisation, compensation and motivation of human
resources by the organisation.

According to Edwin B. Flippo, Human resource management is the planning,

organising, directing and controlling of the procurement, development,
resources to the end that individual and societal objectives are accomplished.
This definition reveals that human resource (HR) management is that aspect of
management, which deals with the planning, organising, directing and
controlling the personnel functions of the enterprise.
OBJECTIVES

According to Scott, Clothier and Spriegal, The objectives of Human Resource

Management, in an organisation, is to obtain maximum individual development,
desirable working relationships between employers and employees and
employees and employees, and to affect the moulding of human resources as
contrasted with physical resources. The basic objective of human resource
management is to contribute to the realisation of the organisational goals.
However, the specific objectives of human resource management are as follows
:
(i) To ensure effective utilisation of human resources, all other organisational
resources will be efficiently utilised by the human resources.
(ii) To establish and maintain an adequate organisational structure of
relationship among all the members of an organisation by dividing of
organisation tasks into functions, positions and jobs, and by defining clearly the
responsibility, accountability, authority for each job and its relation with other
jobs in the organisation.
(iii) To generate maximum development of human resources within the
organisation by offering opportunities for advancement to employees through
training and education.
(iv) To ensure respect for human beings by providing various services and
welfare facilities to the personnel.
(v) To ensure reconciliation of individual/group goals with those of the
organisation in such a manner that the personnel feel a sense of commitment
and loyalty towards it.
(vi) To identify and satisfy the needs of individuals by offering various
monetary and non-monetary rewards.
In order to achieve the above objectives, human resource management
undertakes the following activities:
(i) Human Resource Planning, i.e., determining the number and kinds of
personnel required to fill various positions in the organization.
(ii) Recruitment, selection and placement of personnel, i.e., employment
function.
(iii) Training and development of employees for their efficient performance and
growth.
(iv) Appraisal of performance of employees and taking corrective steps such as
transfer from one job to another.
(v) Motivation of workforce by providing financial incentives and avenues of
promotion.
(vi) Remuneration of employees. The employees must be given sufficient wages
and fringe benefits to achieve higher standard of living and to motivate them to
show higher productivity.
(vii) Social security and welfare of employees.
IMPORTANCE

Human Resource Management has a place of great importance. According to

Peter F. Drucker, The proper or improper use of the different factors of
production depend on the wishes of the human resources. Hence, besides other
resources human resources need more development. Human resources can
increase cooperation but it needs proper and efficient management to guide it.
Importance of personnel management is in reality the importance of labour
functions of personnel department which are indispensable to the management
activity itself. Because of the following reasons human resource management
holds a place of importance.

1. It helps management in the preparation adoption and continuing evolution

of personnel programmes and policies.

2. It supplies skilled workers through scientific selection process.

3. It ensures maximum benefit out of the expenditure on training and

development and appreciates the human assets.

4. It prepares workers according to the changing needs of industry and

environment.

5. It motivates workers and upgrades them so as to enable them to

accomplish the organisation goals.

6. Through innovation and experimentation in the fields of personnel, it

helps in reducing casts and helps in increasing productivity.
7. It contributes a lot in restoring the industrial harmony and healthy
employer-employee relations.

8. It establishes mechanism for the administration of personnel services that

are delegated to the personnel department.

Thus, the role of human resource management is very important in an

organisation and it should not be undermined especially in large scale
enterprises. It is the key to the whole organisation and related to all other
activities of the management i.e., marketing, production, finance etc.
Human Resource Management is concerned with the managing people as an
organizational resources rather than as factors of production. It involves a
system to be followed in business firm to recruit, select, hire, train and
develop human assets. It is concerned with the people dimension of an
organization. The attainment of organizational objectives depends, to a great
extent, on the way in which people are recruited, developed and utilized by
the management. Therefore, proper coordination of human efforts and
effective utilisation of human and others material resources is necessary.
 THE CHANGING ROLE OF HR

What is the role of HR in the company? This basic question must be addressed
first by the businesses to assure their success in the competitive climate of the
business world. It is common to all organizations to have HR (Human
Resource) Department. HR includes the talent management and organization
design. According to HR professors, HR is a one-stop shop for all employee
issues. HR looks for resolutions of the problem regarding employees. HR units
are formed to operate as the employment heart. HR is involved in making plans
for the organizations for the future. HR performs significant administrative
function like selection, evaluation, and payroll processes. As time pass by all
the activities of HR professionals has become more significant and more
complex. The degree of their workload has gone through tracking innumerable
data points on each employee, from personal histories, data, skills, capabilities,
experiences to payroll records.

Over the past years, the changes to human resource management have
gone rapidly. Most HR functions transformed faster. A study conducted
by(1995) notes that the traditional HR function represents an industrial
enterprise model. Playing a reactive and often subordinate role, HR (still
referred to by many as "personnel") limited itself to three sets of
responsibilities: a) administering personnel compliance functions; b) processing
personnel transactions; and c) sponsoring community and employee welfare
projects. According to (1998) HR has become a strategic partner of many
organizations in transforming the function from a low-level expense center to a
more visible and responsive investment center. (1997), & (1995) and
(1994) explain that one key dimension of this transformation is globalization,
incorporating the perspectives, customs, and laws of other countries into
effective HR policies.
 Nowadays HR is playing a strategic role in the organizations. HR has risen
from its mere operational importance and has become partner of the business to
meet strategic goals. HR is now playing a role in giving a strategic drive for the
development of the organization. With the help of HR activities business plans
for every unit in the company has become synchronized. In addition, HR
competency development has become the means to achieve organizations
strategic plans. The transformation does not only happen on management
functions but also to the functions of the personnel. Today HR business-oriented
personnel who specialize in strategic HR are being criticized because they have
lost touch with the traditional operational side of HR.
HR PROFESSIONALS

HR professionals are mainly concern with developing spontaneous theories and

models for improving HR practices. They are creating models that will fit with
the required organizational requirements. In some research, it has been proven
that HR professionals make every effort to create balance with the contradicting
forces within the organization. HR personnel are doing this effort without
thinking many business changes. Before the traditional role of Human Resource
professional as being the administrative arm of the organization was to
systematize and make policies. The role of the HR professional in serving
executive objectives has been well executed. However, it has become a major
roadblock for some organization. Despite that views this role is occasionally
maintain.

The Traditional Role

The traditional role of HR professionals was confined on the context of

operational responsibilities. Their activities involve only the following:

Staffing/resourcing/hiring

This category involves the responsibility of getting the right people for
the appropriate role or position in the company.

Evaluating/rewarding

The task of HR professional is to set a system of that will evaluate the

performance and will ensure adequate returns and rewards.
 Motivating/mentoring/ counseling

The task of HR professional is to make sure that the employees are

happy with their roles in the working environment, reducing disagreements
or conflicts among the employees.

Developing/maintaining culture

It is also their responsibility to develop the unique character, values, ethics

and principles organization.

Managing/controlling

With their administrative capacity, they must ensure that policies,

processes and standards of the company are appropriately implemented.

The New Role

The role of the HR manager is transforming and answering the changes that
occur in his organization. In order for the organizations to succeed in
business environment they are now becoming adaptable, elastic, quickly
respond to changes and has become customer-centered. (2001) explains that
the HR professional must balance the roles of being a change agent, an
administrative expert, a strategic partner, and an employee champion.
 ROLE OF HR IN NGO

If Non Governmental Organizations can play better role in the corporate social
responsibility, the question here is who can play better role in linking industry
with community. The answer here is Human Resource Management Department
of the industry. The HR managers should take lead in its effort to make a
linkage between community and the industry. To develop better rapport with the
people, HR managers have to make use of their Strategic Relationship
Management Skills. They should interact with the community by establishing
better linkage with the Non Governmental Organizations working there in the
locality.

The HR managers can initially conduct Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with the
community and community leaders with the help of Non Governmental
Organizations and need evaluation and need prioritization is to be conducted.

Non-government organizations (NGOs) have become significant players in

development policy over the last two decades. The evolving relationship among
NGOs, developing states and donors are a critical aspect of international
development assistance and the wider development policy debate. NGOs vary
in their missions, internal management, scope of engagement, source of
funding, relations with developing sates and targeted areas of operations.

NGOs are the vanguard of civil society. They have increasingly been seen as the
vehicles of the new polices agenda of economic liberalization and political
channelling resource through northern and indigenous NGOs support grassroots
organizations, social change, political empowerment and sustainable
development. Developing states have ceded space to NGOs to deliver services,
perform contract development work and promote institutional capacity building.

The role of NGOs in the contemporary world is elaborately described in the

present study along with the management challenges and other issues faced by
NGOs, social activity, policy-makers and all concerned.

Capacity-building for NGOs is an ongoing process. As we move ahead to bring

about social change, we also end up facing new and unexpected challenges.
However, constant training and exposure to new ideas can lead organizations to
address these challenges and improve their organizational growth.

FUNDSFORNGOS.ORG has compiled resourceful information about

managing human resources in NGOs so that they are able to achieve
improvement in leadership, management and governance.

Organizational development is a critical aspect of fundraising. If the systems of

your organization are set right, you not only perform better, but you also have
the prospect of attracting donors to support and empower you.

The Human Resource Management for NGOs here aims to make small and
medium-sized NGOs understand and assess organizational behavior and
functioning; manage organizations through planning, implementing and
monitoring activities strategically; improve the performance of their staff; build
effective management systems, policies and plans and improve long-term
sustainability and resource mobilization.
Importance of HR in NGO

The importance of Human Resources (HR) in a non-governmental organisation

(NGO) as a means of ensuring sustainable growth for an organisation cannot be
overemphasised, as it is the fundamental strength upon which people, strategies,
processes and operations are based. Effective employee management should be
on top of the list of priorities for progressive improvement of an organisation. A
NGO must strive to attract, develop and retain qualified and enthusiastic
employees as they are the key to the success of ones business.

Human resource management is the management of the people who work in an

organization. They can be managers, employees, project officers, field workers,
coordinators. Since the organization is run by these people, they are considered
to be a resource a human resource. Like we use funds to manage a project,
we also need to use these human resources or the people to manage the
organization.

It is not enough just to have a dedicated team for an organization. It is

fundamentally believed that unless the team is not properly managed, motivated
and performed, the organization will not achieve its goal and objectives.
The process of managing, motivating and making the staff perform involves
setting up of systems, including building plans and policies. These systems fall
under human resource management.

Here is an interesting introductory video from the Society for Human Resource
Management that explains how important it is to develop human resources to
achieve progress.
Human Resource Information System for NGO Employees

The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is a database that records and
maintains information about all employees in an organization. This system is
useful in job recruitment, developing terms of reference, and monitoring,
assessing and coordinating work with each of the employee. This system also
ensures transparency of the organization in employing people.

We are familiar with MIS or Management Information System to implement

projects and deliver results. The Human Management Information System is
similar to it in the sense that it is used to manage the staff and achieve results
for the growth of the organization.

Although this kind of information system is also used for carrying out job
analysis and career development of an employee is larger organizations, here is
a simple format which NGOs can use to record and store data related to their
employees.

It is better to use a Microsoft Excel sheet to fill in the information, save the file
in the computer and take a printout and file it at a safe place. The document
should be easily accessible for others to see.
Staff Recruitment Policy for NGOs

Staff recruitment is the process of hiring staff to carry out various activities in
an organization. In NGOs, staff recruitment is mostly determined by the
availability of ongoing projects and how they have been budgeted.
Nevertheless, staff recruitment is essential because many donors seek to know
what policies grantees have adopted in terms of hiring personnel for projects
funded by them.

Recruitment can be done internally (through referrals or inventories) or

externally (through open job advertisements or employment agencies). In both
cases, it is necessary to specify that a policy is in place to manage these
processes.
How to write a standard employment contract for NGO

Once the recruitment of staff is finalized, an appointment letter needs to be

issued, which comprises of the information about the final selection. On
acceptance of the letter, the new employee will be signing an
employment contract with organization.

The employment contract comprises of the following:

1. Duration of the employment: whether it is for a fixed date or not.

2. Termination of agreement: how to terminate the agreement from either side.

3. Duties of the employee: based on the job description given

4. Hours of work: number of hours to be given by the employee to work with

the organization like for example, 40 hours per week.

5. Compensation, Benefits and Taxes

6. Evaluation
A Simple Format for NGOs to write Job Descriptions for their
Staff

Writing job descriptions for staff is a necessary part of a well-managed human

resource management system. However, often NGOs ignore to define the role
of their staffs even after they join theorganization for work. Maintaining job
descriptions not only reflects the effectiveness of the organizations human
resource policy, they also lay out clarification for the staff and also mitigate any
conflicts in the future. Below is some basic information about what job
description is and how it can be developed.

A job description usually comprises of the following information of an

individual staff about to be recruited or about to join the organization for work:

Title of the Job

Location or Base
Date of Joining
Name of the Supervisor
Qualifications
Tasks or Assignments
In some cases, these are also referred to as Terms of reference and they go
into further details of defining the objectives, scope and deliverables of the staff
position in addition to the above mentioned points. As we can understand here,
a job description is useful in the following manner:

It clearly outlines the role and responsibilities of each staff working in the
organization and how the person is contributing to the overall vision of the
work.
 It helps in recruiting the most suitable candidate for the expected job work
and it can be used for job advertising purposes as well.
A clear record of tasks listed in the job description also enables the
organization to provide better orientation for newly recruited staff.
Job descriptions are also useful for accounting and financial management
systems
A job description plays an important role for the organization in monitoring
and evaluating the performance of the staff.
Using the Annual Performance Plan for NGO Employees in
Performance Management System

The Annual Performance Plan is developed jointly by the NGO supervisor and
the employee together after discussing and planning the objectives, activities
and results to be undertaken by the employee. The Performance Plan for the
year specifically outlines the targets to be achieved by the employee over the
year and these targets will be used as benchmarks during the annual evaluation
and appraisal.

Below is a sample format of an Annual Performance Plan:

Name of the Employee:

Position held:

Name of the Supervisor:

Performance Period (Start Date and End Date):

Set Targets for the Results to be achieved Activities

employee by the employee

Eg. Improve the capacity of
the field workers
Eg. Mobilization
of fundingresources for
theorganization
. .
. .
Better delivery of services to
communities
Availability of increased
funding for the organization
.
.
Providingtraining and exposure
visits to field workers
Researching donors, finding
funding opportunities,
writingproposalsetc.

In addition to the Annual Performance Plan, the employee has to develop a

work plan on monthly basis in consultation with the supervisor and based upon
the Annual Performance Plan.
A monthly work plan consists of:

Activities Months
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug
Eg. Conducting a
baseline survey

Eg. Organize
ahealthcamp

Eg. Writing proposals

.
.

.
Challenges

The following are the human resource problems identified within the local
NGOs;

Recruitment and Retention of Competent Staff

Many of the sampled local NGOs work with a project orientation focus
which means there is low priority for investing in nurturing human
resource capacities and staff retention measures due to their short term
nature of the projects. Some organizations are not able to have the right
employees at the right time and place. When they recruit the staff they
face the challenge of retaining them to the end of the project phase as
staff leave before the termination of the project. This dynamism
experienced in project-oriented organizations is a great challenge as staff
turnovers are often high and erratic and this destabilizes programming
and eventually the performance of the organization. Some of the
geographical areas where the NGOs operate are inaccessible or remote
and it becomes difficult to attract staff to work in these sites and they are
forced to rely on temporary staff or unqualified staff to fill the positions.

Inadequate Human Resource Policies or Procedures

Some of the local NGOs sampled do not have in place HR guidelines that
support staff management. Where they exist they are not utilized and are
instead used as tools to get donor funds. Much of the staffing
management issues are done in an adhoc manner and it is never clear
what the employee is expected to do at a given time. In some
organizations the policies that exist are not aligned with government
 labour policies. For example the government has a policy that a nursing
mother will be given three months leave with pay but in some
organizations they gave either one month or the policy was not included
at all. Some NGOs did not have contracts, job descriptions or letter of
appointments for the staff. It is therefore difficult to get records of when
staff were employed, what they are entitled to, length of contract and
what their responsibilities were. In some organizations because they did
not have contracts some of them went without pay during some months,
were never given leave breaks from work, were deducted some of their
pay for some unexplained expenses by management.

Lack of Capacity to Manage a Diversity of Work Force

A challenge facing local NGOs is how to manage diverse groups that

exist in the workforce to ensure they are committed to the organizations
mission. Many face challenges in the motivation of people of diverse age
and gender and many of the organization still use outdated methods to
manage the staff. For example there is rise in the recruitment of younger
better educated staff and this has contributed to tensions between the
older experienced staff. Therefore there was lack of delegation of work
in a clear and systematic way due to conflicting approaches to work and
suspicion among the two groups. Sometimes the lack of educated and
skilled labour force within a location affected recruitment as some
organizations had to hire part time staff or work with volunteers yet the
organizations did not have relevant policies to engage with the groups
effectively. In other instances it was a challenge especially where they
had those who were employed /appointed by the community and those
who used the formal system of recruitment.
 Mismatching of Employee Qualifications with Jobs or Positions

In some organization a staff was placed in a position that they did not have
the required competency or the skills to perform the tasks adequately. For
example a staff trained in procurement was recruited as an accountant or an
engineer as a program coordinator in a health project. In other scenarios
those holding management positions did not have the relevant skills or
knowledge to support the other staff they supervised. These scenarios
resulted to poor performance in the organizations as the staff was not able to
undertake their duties effectively. Local NGOs need to understand that they
cannot succeed if employees perceive they are underutilized or are utilized at
the wrong time or in the wrong position.

Inadequate HR Management Skills among Supervisors

The size of many of the local organizations is small. In an organization of

3-10 organizations many do not have a HR unit or a HR manager and this
may not be a practical idea due also to the cost implications. The HR
function is therefore in these NGOs is handled by either a project
manager or another staff who may not have the necessary HR skills and
this creates conflicts in management. This lack of HR skills affects the
day-to-day management of the organization and has in some instances led
to conflicts over responsibilities between management and staff over who
should implement what activities.
 Organization Program Strategies Affect Staffing

Many local NGOs are entering into alliances and partnerships with either
National or international organizations, business or government, and
these engagements require them to recruit or restructure their human
resources to exploit the new opportunities. This means staff appointments
are sometimes project based, contractual and for specified periods. In
some organizations there exist 2-3 projects supported by different donors
who may unfortunately implement different salary schemes and work
practices and this creates conflicts within the organization and creates
management challenges. Where organizations are in partnership with a
donor agency and the donor does not provide funds to hire additional staff
then the existing staff are sometimes required to take up multiple roles
without having the necessary skills required. This causes an increase in
workload, stress, dissatisfaction among staff and eventually causes
underperformance of the entire organization.

Inability to Offer and Provide Competitive Employee Incentives and

Benefits

This issue is most challenging in NGOs because offering competitive

benefits to employees has high cost implications and local NGOs do not
have the financial resources to do so. The salaries or incentives provided
are dependent on the donor funds received or the income generated
through an enterprise activity undertaken by the organization. This
sometimes impacts heavily on the staff morale and performance within
these organizations.
 Inadequate Performance Management Systems

Managers and employees are required to develop performance targets and

output that define individual tasks. However many staff and management
acknowledged that this process does not exist in their organizations.
There were no tools or mechanisms to support staff appraisals and hence
it meant that it was not easy to track staff performance. Yet some of the
reasons management would give for firing a staff would be due to poor
performance but with further inquiry how that was determined there is no
documented evidence of the poor performance. Managers who did not
set work targets and this de-motivated staff. Many staff feel frustrated
about the lack of constructive feedback on their performance often
because it is unclear what is expected of them. Many local NGOs have
not embraced a performance culture within their organizations. This
results in low or poor performance in terms of achievements of the
planned organizational mandates.

Inadequate Career Development Opportunities

Another challenge facing staff in local NGOs is the lack of career

enhancement opportunities. This would involve continuously working
towards creating new job opportunities and supporting staff to develop
within the organization to keep up the morale. In the past organizations
equipped employees to fulfill organizational requirements through
training and developmental interventions. However the scope and cost of
training and development has risen with the reality of trained employees
quitting before making significant contribution to the organization after
the training and therefore many organizations do not plan for this. In
situation where training opportunities were available o the relevant staff
 was not given opportunity to attend and instead another staff is sent for
training or the supervisors attend the trainings yet they are not directly
involved in project implementation activities. In project-oriented
organizations there is no certainty of growing in ones career as the
funding duration is normally short term and funds or opportunities to
support development of human resources capacity are normally few or
not available.

Difficulties in Maintaining Balance between Employee and

Organization

Needs Another challenge facing organizations is the alignment of

employee expectations with the organizations strategic focus. Local
NGOs constantly face the difficult task of trying to balance between
employee concerns and organizational strategic and financial goals.
Employees perceived that their concerns and needs were not being
addressed by the organizations and were overshadowed by the
organizations need to please donors. Employees eventually lacked
motivation to work towards fulfilling the organizations objectives or
core mission. There is also limited investment in people who have been
around for long periods in the organisation to counter the sense of
dissatisfaction and distancing from the vision.

Lack Induction and Coaching Mechanisms for New Employees

Many local NGOs made the assumption that the staff they recruited had
the skills required to perform their duties. Yet many fail to realize that the
staff recruited need to understand the organization mandates and projects
for them to work effectively. Many young people joining local NGOs felt
 that there is not enough mentoring or clear career direction, while at the
same time there is a pressure to learn and deliver on the project outcomes.
Staff in some of the local NGOs felt their supervisors did not give them
clear guidance about the day to day tasks required to perform their roles
and this scenerio was made worse where there were no job descriptions.
This resulted in supervisors setting unrealistic demands on the staff or the
staff ended up not undertaking the tasks as required.

Presence of Leadership Gaps/Crisis

Many of the local NGOs face leadership crisis. Once a management

position falls vacant, many of the organizations were seen to have
difficulties in getting a replacement and there are instances when this
position remains vacant for over a period of 6 months to one year. There
are also challenges faced when the founder members hold management
positions within the organizations and they do not give opportunity or
build the leadership capacity of other managers or staff within the
organization. Many local NGOs focus more on building their technical
skills and knowledge but fail in planning for development of leadership
or management structures. This aspect often is often not seen as a priority
but many suffer the consequences of serious leadership vacuum in the
organization.

Inadequate or Clear Structures for Rewarding Performance

Many staff felt the organizations did not reward or recognize staff for
good or exemplary performance and sanctions against poor performers
was something that many of the organizations failed to address or
ignored. Some staff felt that as long as the staff was linked or perceived
to be loyal to management poorly performing staff would remain in
service for long without any action being taken. This caused tensions
among those who felt they worked extra hard to contribute to
achievement of organization objectives yet they were not recognized for
their efforts. It was noted that the criteria for allocation of benefits was
not clear and was mostly associated with loyalty to management rather
than performance.
Recommendations

Based on the listed challenges in managing human resources. Local NGOs in

the development sector need to adopt a strategic focus in human resource
management and replace the traditional forms. HRM in small organizations is
often ad hoc, and often a reflection of the backgrounds of founders and
entrepreneurs.

I see there is a need for local NGOs to borrow and contextualize best and
promising HRM practices used by the business sector to improve organizational
HR management. This will address the issues that arise as a result of having
adhoc HRM practices that are influenced by the founders of the local NGO or
are not contextualized to fit the context in which an organization operates.

The following are posible solutions that would be relevant if adopted and
implemented to address the current challenges that local NGOs have in
managing human resources. There is evidence that the earlier small
organizations adopt HRM approaches and the extent to which they invest in the
practices and people, have long-term impacts on organizational growth and
survival.

Develop Relevant (Context Based) Human Resource Guidelines or

Policies

Many of the local organization either lacked HR policies or a manual to

guide management of employee or had policies that were not aligned to
the organizations context or government policies. Where a manual
existed it was not approved by management and therefore the guidelines
were not implemented. The organizations need to develop detailed HR
 polices that reflect the existing organizational environment and then go
beyond developing the policies to institutionalize them.

Development of HRM Plan Linked to Organization Strategic Focus

Human resource planning is important for management of human

resources in local NGOs. This process will ensure the NGOs have the
human resource capacity required to achieve their organizations goals
and deliver results effectively in the present and in the future. Most of
the local NGOs have financial and strategic plans that guide achievement
of the organizations mission. However development of human resource
plans is not a common organizational practice. A human resource plan
will enable the organization identify and match staff with the relevant
positions planned for within the organization and avoid uphazard
recruitment of staff which is more often donor driven and not
organization focused. This will also address the issue of having many
conflicting staffing structures due to having different donor supported
projects and ensures alignment in the management of employees within
different donor projects Local NGOs although they have few staff should
develop a HR plan to guide HR decisions that are focused and centred on
the organizations vision and not necessarily on the donor.

Develop Mechanisms That Support Identification, Development and

Utilization of Staff Capacity

Local NGOs need to develop structures and create opportunities that will
fully utilize the potential of their employees. People are undervalued, not
adequately trained, underutilized and poorly motivated in many
organizations and consequently perform well below their true capability.
 Many employees feel they are wasted and not given the opportunity to
develop their capacity or use the knowledge they have gained in similar
previous positions. Local NGOs need to use different approaches in job
design/redesign and placement so that they can adequately utilize their
existing staff capacity. Organizations need to employ talent management
processes that involve instituting initiatives to utilize and develop
capacity of personnel. The local NGOs can develop simple human
resource information database which they can use to record and store data
related to their employees. This will help in tracking the skills available
that are not utilized and those that are lacking and need to be developed.

Conduct Mentorship on HR Management for Board Members and

Project Managers

There is need for HR competency among project managers and board

members within local NGOs. Many local NGO management level staff
do not have skills in managing people. This leads to conflicts,
underperformance and underutilization of employees. Local NGOs
should invest in providing basic HR skills to their management staff and
this can be done by budgeting for training sessions or exploring ways to
ensure that the competencies exist within the organization. The board
members also need to be aware of the basics that are required to have an
effective HR management structure. This is because many of these local
NGOs are small and do not have a human resource department. This is a
role that board members need to take up especially where the
organization is still growing. Leaders provide an environment in which
people can give their best hence creativity and innovations emerge. Local
NGO leaders will need to proactively manage their human resource
operations so as to sustain high staff performance over time.
 Develop and Implement Staff Performance Management System

Organizational success comes from employees total commitment to the

organizational mission, goals, objectives, and values. It is the task of the
management to induce and encourage that commitment. Many
organization face the challenge of having unmotivated employees whose
poor performance affects the growth and survival of the organization.
Introduction of performance based incentives (monetary or non monetary
forms), within local NGOs will go a long way to boost employee
motivation
.
Develop Management/Leadership Succession Plans

Planning for future management and leadership needs is linked to

strategic focus of the organization. This is because of the dynamics of an
aging workforce that is approaching retirement and transition of
management to other organizations. This involves identifying employees
within an organization who have the capacity to take up key strategic
positions that may fall vacant or may be created in the future. Some
components of planning include: replacement planning, identify high-
Potential employee, assessment of employee input and development of
programs to build specific competency requirements. Organizations that
target on leadership succession and development are more flexible in the
event of an unforeseen leadership change, because they will have the staff
capacity to fill leadership vacancies. Organizations must further consider
ways to fill the gap by identifying as many options as possible to reduce
the risk of strategic failure through integration of leadership development
into the organizations overall strategic plan.
 Developing a HR Risk Management Plan

Human resource engagement and management poses risks to local NGOs.

It is therefore important for an organization to identify the HR risk factors
and develop mechanisms to minimize the sources of risks to avoid costly
lawsuits brought on by federal and state organs or employees. Some
NGOs are sometimes caught unawares on some legal contractual
obligations as they develop contracts for employees and other risks that
occur as a result of engaging staff in an organization.

Outsourcing HR Functions

Local NGOs that are small and lack the adequate funds to have a HR unit
and find the different HR functions intensive and complex to manage
from within can consider outsourcing. Some key HR functions that can
be outsourced may include; development of organizational policies and
practices, career development, staff counseling, recruitment and selection.
This is especially important for local NGOs whose size is not too large to
warrant having an internal HR team.

Undertake Annual Organizational Knowledge Matrix Exercise

This involves identification of key competencies for jobs required in the

organization and assessing what is available or lacking among the staff.
This exercise will assist the local NGO management identify the
competencies and skills that exist and the ones lacking. This will also
encourage peer to peer learning among organizational individuals and
help to avoid relying on one person who has all the skills. This exercise
is useful because organization strategies and approaches to project
 implementation change and evolve overtime. This will reduce instability
in program implementation when staff transition as competencies will be
periodically monitored and developed within the organization.

Conducting Periodic Organizational HR Assessments

A periodic HR assessment will measure the effectiveness of an

organizations HR management practices and ensure legal compliance.
This will help improve, established HR documentation practices, identify
strengths and weaknesses in staff appraisals and other HR practices. An
audit will improve HR practices within the organization especially where
they may not have an HR unit or manager. Organizations can set aside a
budget to support this exercise just as they set aside money to conduct
financial audits. Those who are being supported with institutional or
capacity development should be proactive to negotiate for funds to
undertake such an assessment. Local NGOs need to regularly assess their
organization HR management practices and regulations to protect the
organization and its employee's best interests.

Develop Strong Internal Organization Culture

The aim is to provide employees with a conducive working environment.

A strong organizational culture can be a great foundation for motivation
and commitment among the employees. Where a strong and cohesive
organization culture exists, core values are widely shared and employees
identify themselves with their organization. This can help minimize staff
turnover that occur due to dissatisfaction among staff with organizations
management practices.
 CONCLUSION

The market environment for competant and skilled personnel is becoming

increasingly competitive and costly. The constant pressure for change has
forced some local NGOs to realize that events within and externally affect their
performance and survival. Local NGOs need to be aware that competent
employees together with effective HR systems and practices are factors
essential for securing sustainable competitive advantage in their market space or
niche. This requires local NGOs to be proactive in continuously seeking to
improve their human resource management practices. Adoption of
organizational development process can support local NGOs develop strategies
that introduce planned and systematic HR management practices.
Organizational systems, processes and activities are integrated and synergized
through a strong organizational culture. A crucial task for local NGO leadership
is to evaluate the extent to which organizational culture ensures the strategic
integration and adoption of human resource practices to make sure employee
potential is harnessed and developed for the benefit of both the individual and
organization. Donor agencies and governments are an important part in the local
NGOs lifecycle as many organizations receive support from the two institutions
to undertake development at community level. There is need for donor and
government agencies to become more sensitive and pro-active in understanding
the human resource challenges of partner implementing organisations and offer
more support to build capacity in HR management in addition to providing
funds and registration of the organizations.
Thank you!