SESSION 2017-18

A
PROJECT REPORT
ON

A STUDY ON ROLE OF HRM IN

NGO’S

For the partial Fulfillment for the Degree of

Master of Business Administration

submitted to submitted by
mrs. neha dubey AISHWARYA RANODIA
mba iv sem.
PREFACE
 Preparing a project of this nature is an arduous task and I was
fortunate enough to get support from a large number o persons. I
wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to all those who
generously helped in successful completion of this report by sharing
their invaluable time and knowledge.

It is my proud and previledge to express my deep regards to

Respected HOD Dr. Neeraj Topkhane, Head of Department of
Business Management , SVNU, SAGAR for allowing me to undertake
this project.

I feel extremely exhilarated to have completed this project under

the able and inspiring guidance of Mrs. Neha Dubey She rendered
me all possible help me guidance while reviewing the manuscript in
finalising the report.

I also extend my deep regards to my teachers , family members ,

friends and all those whose encouragement has infused courage in me
to complete to work successfully.

AISHWARYA RANODIA
MBA IV SEM.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 Preparing a project of this nature is an arduous task and I was fortunate
enough to get support from a large number o persons. I wish to express my deep
sense of gratitude to all those who generously helped in successful completion
of this report by sharing their invaluable time and knowledge.

It is my proud and previledge to express my deep regards to Respected ,

Head of Department DR. NEERAJ TOPKHANE, Department of Business

Management , SVNU, SAGAR for allowing me to undertake this project.

I feel extremely exhilarated to have completed this project under the able
and inspiring guidance of He rendered me all possible help me guidance while
reviewing the manuscript in finalising the report.

I also extend my deep regards to my teachers , family members , friends

and all those whose encouragement has infused courage in me to complete to
work successfully.

AISHWARYA RANODIA
MBA IV SEM.

DELCLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

 Date :

I declare that the project report titled " A STUDY ON ROLE OF

HRM IN NGO’S. " on Market Segmentation is nay own work conducted

under the supervision of MRS. NEHA DUBEY. To the best of my knowledge

the report does not contain any work , which has been submitted for the award

of any degree , anywhere.

AISHWARYA RANODIA
MBA IV SEM.

CERTIFICATE
 The project report " A STUDY ON ROLE OF HRM IN

NGO’S . " been prepared by AISHWARYA RANODIA MBA IV

SEM. of MRS. NEHA DUBEY for the partial fulfillment of the

Degree of MBA

Signature of the Signature of the Signature of the

Supervisor Head of the Department Examiner

INDEX
WHAT IS NGO?
 Introduction
  WHAT IS NGO?
 HISTORY
 EVOLUTIONARY STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT NGOS
 TYPES OF NGOS
 PURPOSES
 AIM:
 METHODS
 MANAGEMENT OF NGOS
 MONITORING AND CONTROLLING NGOS
 TOP NGOs IN INDIA:
 CRITICISM
 WHAT IS HUMAN RESOURCE (HR)?
 OBJECTIVES
 IMPORTANCE
 THE CHANGING ROLE OF HR

 HR PROFESSIONALS

 ROLE OF HR IN NGO
 Importance of HR in NGO
 Human Resource Information System for NGO Employees

 Recommendations
 CONCLUSION

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 NGO’s. 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 organization’s 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 Korten’s (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 needy’s 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 NGO’s amongst the people. Some NGO’s misuse the
funds, but they are all myths. To make our nation, grow with a sustainable development, we
should come forward to help this NGO’s . We can’t 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 Médecins Sans Frontières (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 Chintan’s 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 Chintan’s endeavor to continue its noble efforts. The Award is funded by the
Rockefeller Foundation “through the Secretary’s 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 don’t 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.
 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.
 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 one’s 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 organization’s 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.
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 organization’s 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 one’s 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 organization’s 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
 organization’s need to please donors. Employees eventually lacked motivation to
work towards fulfilling the organization’s 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 organization’s 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 organization’s 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 organization’s 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 organization’s 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 organization’s 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 organization’s 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.