Human Resource Management: Functions, Trends, and Strategies

Posted on Apr 3, 2025 in Other subjects

What is Human Resource Management (HRM)?

Human Resource Management (HRM) is the structured effort to manage employees effectively and align their objectives with the organization’s goals. It includes activities like job analysis, recruitment, selection, onboarding, training, performance evaluation, compensation, and employee engagement. Effective HRM ensures a balance between business objectives and employee satisfaction.

HR Functions and Roles

HR professionals play various roles, including:

• Functional Expert: Specializing in technical areas like hiring, training, and compensation.
• Employee Advocate: Protecting employee rights and ensuring fairness.
• Strategic Partner: Aligning HR with organizational strategies to achieve competitive advantages.
• Human Capital Developer: Focusing on the growth and skill development of employees.

Trends Influencing Human Resource Management

Important trends shaping human resource management:

1. Workforce Demographics: Increased diversity, with a growing number of women, minorities, and older workers.
2. Work Trends: The shift from manufacturing to service jobs, with a rise in freelancers and nontraditional workers.
3. Globalization: Expanding operations globally has intensified competition, pushing companies to enhance efficiency.
4. Technology: Automation, data analytics, and remote work are transforming HR practices.
5. Economic Imbalances: High unemployment in some sectors contrasts with talent shortages in others, leading to employee disengagement.

Strategic HR Frameworks

• Cost Leadership Strategy: Focused on minimizing costs and standardizing processes.
• Loyal Soldier Strategy: Prioritizes long-term, versatile employees and extensive training.
• Bargain Laborer Strategy: Targets short-term, low-cost workers with minimal training, common in hospitality industries.
• Differentiation Strategy: Centers on innovation, employing specialists for quality outputs.
• Committed Expert and Free Agent Strategies: Encourages either long-term specialists or short-term experts for specific tasks.

Career Opportunities in HR

HR offers diverse roles such as Recruitment Manager, Training and Development Specialist, Compensation Manager, Internal Communication Officer, and HR Analytics Technician. A background in psychology, business, economics, or sociology is often beneficial.

Why HRM Matters to All Managers

Regardless of their title, all managers engage in HR tasks like employee motivation, compensation, and retention. Effective HR management prevents issues like high turnover, discriminatory practices, and unsafe work environments. Even in small firms without dedicated HR teams, managers often serve as their own HR professionals.

Competencies for Modern HR Professionals

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) emphasizes critical competencies such as leadership, ethical practices, cultural awareness, communication, and decision-making. These skills ensure HR professionals contribute effectively to organizational success.

Examples of High-Performance HR Practices

Companies investing in clear goal-setting, employee training, and robust engagement strategies see substantial benefits, including improved productivity, reduced turnover, and enhanced financial returns.

Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

The Employee Value Proposition refers to what an organization offers to attract and retain employees. This encompasses financial rewards, such as salaries and benefits, as well as non-financial elements, including diversity, inclusion, work-life balance, and opportunities for personal and professional growth. A well-defined EVP helps organizations stand out as employers of choice by providing a clear message about the unique benefits of working there.

Employer Branding

Employer branding is the outward expression of an organization’s EVP. It reflects the attributes and qualities that make a company distinctive and appealing to current and prospective employees. This “employer promise” communicates the employment experience and ensures alignment between the organization’s culture and the expectations of its target audience. Companies must consistently deliver on their employer brand to build trust and maintain credibility.

Characteristics of a Strong EVP

To create an attractive employer brand, organizations must:

1. Understand what their ideal candidates value and tailor offerings to meet these needs.
2. Reflect their core values in the employer brand, ensuring these values are genuinely practiced within the organization.
3. Highlight factors that make the organization a “great place to work,” such as fairness, opportunities for development, leadership quality, and work-life balance.
4. Benchmark successful practices from top employers to enhance their brand further.
5. Present an honest and realistic image to build trust and authenticity.

Why EVP Matters

A strong EVP boosts employee attraction, engagement, retention, and performance. For instance, companies like Google attract thousands of applicants daily due to their well-constructed EVP, which emphasizes innovation, excellent work culture, and opportunities for growth. Effective employer branding ensures organizations can recruit top talent and foster long-term loyalty.

Realistic vs. Idealistic Messaging

Organizations use two types of communication during recruitment.

• Idealistic messaging focuses only on positive aspects, often suitable for short-term roles.
• Realistic messaging highlights both advantages and challenges, which helps set accurate expectations and is particularly effective for fostering long-term employee relationships.

What Makes Organizations Attractive

Employees are drawn to organizations with strong leadership, a collaborative culture, flexible work environments, diversity, innovation, job security, and clear career growth opportunities. High-performing companies also integrate social responsibility and trust-building practices, which enhance their reputations as desirable employers.

The “Great Place to Work” Framework

According to the Great Place to Work Institute, an outstanding workplace is defined by trust in leadership, pride in one’s work, and camaraderie among colleagues. Companies on their “best workplaces” list excel in employee engagement, management practices, and fostering a sense of belonging among workers.

Workforce Planning

Workforce planning is the process of identifying the positions a company needs to fill and how to fill them. It aligns the current workforce with future organizational goals, addressing gaps in skills or headcount. Workforce planning includes forecasting personnel needs based on factors like turnover, productivity changes, and financial resources. Tools such as trend analysis, ratio analysis, and scatter plots help predict staffing requirements. Additionally, the internal and external supply of candidates must be considered. For instance, Four Seasons Hotels exemplifies effective planning by transferring employees globally, maintaining motivation and high morale to deliver superior customer service.

Job Analysis

Job analysis determines the tasks of a role and the skills required to perform them. It produces two critical documents:

• Job Descriptions: These list responsibilities, working conditions, and reporting relationships, guiding recruitment, performance evaluation, and compensation.
• Job Specifications: These detail the qualifications, skills, and traits necessary for a role, ensuring effective hiring and training.

Methods to collect job analysis information include interviews (individual and group), structured questionnaires, direct observation, and participant logs. Each method has advantages, such as obtaining detailed insights, but may also face challenges like distorted information.

Job Design

Job design focuses on grouping tasks to enhance productivity and job satisfaction. Four approaches include:

1. Mechanistic: Simplifies tasks, reduces autonomy, and emphasizes efficiency.
2. Motivational: Enhances job satisfaction through skill variety, task identity, autonomy, and feedback.
3. Perceptual: Simplifies mental demands, reducing errors and enhancing safety.
4. Biological: Reduces physical strain by incorporating ergonomics, minimizing injury, and improving worker comfort. Effective job design fosters integration and differentiation, balancing individual roles with collaborative efforts.

Competency-Based HRM

Competency-based HR focuses on the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed for job success. Unlike traditional job analysis, it emphasizes broader characteristics, such as leadership, emotional maturity, and adaptability. Competency models support recruitment, development, and performance management by aligning employee abilities with organizational goals. They serve as frameworks for driving change and ensuring consistency across HR practices.

Applications and Importance of Competencies

Competencies are vital for learning and development, performance management, selection, and recruitment. They are divided into two types:

• Behavioral Competencies: Soft skills like teamwork, communication, and leadership.
• Technical Competencies: Hard skills related to specific job functions, such as technical expertise and role-specific knowledge.

Competency frameworks organize these into clear, measurable attributes, helping organizations define expectations and improve outcomes.

Examples and Best Practices

Effective job descriptions, updated regularly, act as resources for recruitment and training. Competency statements provide detailed, actionable insights into desired behaviors and skills. For example, a leadership competency might outline levels of proficiency, from encouraging team participation to resolving complex conflicts. High-performing organizations use competency models to integrate HR functions like succession planning and talent management.

Recruiting and Selection Process

1. Decide what positions to fill, through workforce/personnel planning and forecasting.
2. Build a pool of candidates for these jobs, by recruiting internal or external candidates.
3. Have candidates complete application forms and perhaps undergo initial screening interviews.
4. Use selection tools like tests, background investigations, and physical exams to screen candidates.
5. Decide who to make an offer to, by having the supervisor and perhaps others interview the candidates.

What is Workforce Planning?

It is the process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill, and how to fill them. Its aim is to identify and address the gaps between the employer’s workforce today, and its projected workforce needs. Workforce planning embraces all future positions, from maintenance worker to CEO.

Basic Tools for Projecting Personnel Needs

• Trend analysis
• Ratio analysis
• The scatter plot

Trend Analysis Tool for Workforce Planning

Trend analysis looks at past employment patterns to predict future staffing needs. By studying changes in team sizes over time (e.g., sales or admin roles), it gives a rough idea of future demands. However, factors like retirements, productivity, and new skill needs also affect workforce planning.

Ratio Analysis Tool for Workforce Planning

Ratio analysis predicts staffing needs by examining the historical relationship between a key business factor (e.g., sales volume) and the required workforce size. For example, if one salesperson generates $500,000 in sales, six additional salespeople would be needed to achieve $3 million in extra sales. Changes in productivity can affect this ratio, altering workforce requirements.

What is Job Analysis?

The procedure for determining the duties and skill requirements of a job and the kind of person who should be hired for it.

What is a Job Description?

A list of a job’s duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working conditions, and supervisory responsibilities — one product of a job analysis.

What are the Job Specifications?

A list of a job’s “human requirements”, that is, the requisite education, skills, personality, and so on—another product of a job analysis.

Applications of Job Analysis Information

What other human resources processes does it contribute to?

• Job analysis is important because it helps clarify what is expected of workers.
• Knowing what tasks need to be completed helps managers select people with appropriate knowledge and skills.
• Understanding job tasks also provides important information for planning training programs.
• Being able to compare the tasks of different workers helps guide decisions about pay.
• Careful job analysis helps ensure that human resource practices comply with legal guidelines.
• Good job analysis is often seen as a first step to appropriately recruiting, hiring, training, and compensating workers.

Methods for Job Analysis

• Interviews: Individual or group interviews with employees or supervisors provide detailed insights into job responsibilities. However, information distortion is a potential drawback, as employees may exaggerate certain aspects.
• Structured Questionnaires: These allow for the collection of standardized data from a large number of employees, making it efficient but sometimes costly to design and test.
• Direct Observation: This method is ideal for jobs involving observable physical tasks, such as assembly line work, though it is less effective for roles requiring significant mental activity.
• Participant Logs: Employees keep daily records of their activities, providing highly detailed data but requiring significant time and effort.

Job Design

Focuses on grouping tasks and responsibilities in ways that improve productivity, job satisfaction, and organizational efficiency. It plays a critical role in shaping employee experiences and outcomes by balancing differentiation (specialized tasks) and integration (coordination between roles).

Four Primary Approaches to Job Design

• Mechanistic Approach: Rooted in scientific management, this approach simplifies tasks, minimizes worker autonomy, and focuses on efficiency. Tasks are repetitive, and automation is common, as seen in factory settings.
• Motivational Approach: This strategy enhances job satisfaction by emphasizing skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. For instance, providing restaurant staff with immediate feedback through customer comments or tips increases their sense of accomplishment.
• Perceptual Approach: This method simplifies mental demands to reduce errors and ensure safety. Clear instructions and user-friendly tools are essential components.
• Biological Approach: Focused on ergonomics, this approach aims to minimize physical strain and injury. For example, car manufacturing plants design workstations to reduce repetitive motions and increase comfort.

Competency-Based HR Management

Competency-based HR management shifts the focus from job duties to the knowledge, skills, and behaviors employees need to excel. It emphasizes creating competency models that outline key traits for success, such as leadership, emotional maturity, adaptability, and problem-solving skills.

What is a Competency?

A competency is an underlying characteristic, such as a skill or behavior, that enables effective performance in a job. Competencies are categorized as:

• Behavioral Competencies: These are soft skills like teamwork, communication, and leadership. They define expectations for how employees should behave to achieve results.
• Technical Competencies: These are hard skills related to specific roles or industries, such as programming expertise or financial analysis.

Competency Models

Competency models serve as unifying frameworks for HR practices, including recruitment, training, performance management, and career development. For example, leadership competency might include observable behaviors such as inspiring team members or resolving conflicts. These models are particularly effective in aligning employee capabilities with organizational goals.

Applications of Job Analysis and Competencies

Job analysis and competencies are essential for:

• Recruitment and Selection: They help identify the best candidates by defining the qualifications and skills required.
• Training and Development: Understanding job requirements enables tailored training programs to address skill gaps.
• Performance Management: Clear job expectations and competency frameworks provide a basis for evaluating employee performance.
• Compensation: Job analysis ensures fair and competitive pay structures based on job complexity and requirements.

Strategic Recruiting Choices

Organizations make strategic decisions regarding the scope of their recruiting efforts based on the nature of the positions to be filled. These choices are categorized into two approaches: broad scope and targeted scope. A broad scope recruiting strategy is ideal for roles requiring general, widely available skills. It targets a large pool of candidates and is effective for entry-level positions or jobs where on-the-job training is common, such as roles at fast-food chains. Conversely, a targeted scope strategy focuses on finding candidates with highly specialized skills or expertise. This approach is commonly used for technical or professional roles like university professors, where specific qualifications are critical.

Broad scope recruiting is appropriate when many people possess the necessary attributes for success or when the characteristics of a successful employee are unclear. However, it is not suitable for jobs requiring rare or specialized skills, such as software engineers or high-level consultants. In contrast, targeted scope recruiting is recommended when only a small group of people are qualified for the role. This approach is unnecessary when the position can be filled by individuals with commonly available skills.

Internal vs. External Recruiting Sources

When considering internal candidates for recruitment, organizations benefit from employees who are already familiar with the company’s culture and processes, often leading to faster onboarding and reduced costs. Promotions from within can also boost employee morale and retention. However, over-reliance on internal recruiting may limit the introduction of fresh ideas and perspectives and can cause internal competition or conflict.

External recruiting, on the other hand, brings in new perspectives and skills, potentially revitalizing the organization. External hires can introduce innovative practices and have a wider pool of experiences. However, external recruitment can be costly and time-consuming, with higher risks of cultural misalignment and turnover if the fit is not ideal.

Sources of External Candidates

External recruiting sources include a variety of channels, such as advertising in media, digital and social media, company websites, and job boards. Specialized options include executive recruiters for high-level roles, employment agencies, and outsourcing providers. Additional sources like employee referrals, college recruiting, internships, professional associations, and job fairs offer organizations opportunities to target specific talent pools. Employee referrals, in particular, are valuable as current employees tend to provide accurate and realistic recommendations about candidates, motivated by their own reputations. However, organizations must address morale issues before implementing referral programs to ensure employee support.

Evaluating Recruiting Effectiveness

Assessing the effectiveness of recruiting sources is essential to ensure efficient use of resources and identify successful hiring strategies. Organizations can measure success using several criteria:

• Cost Measures: Track recruiting expenses, such as advertising costs, agency fees, and recruiter salaries.
• Time Measures: Evaluate the time taken to fill positions, such as the average duration of the recruitment process.
• Quantity Measures: Analyze the number of applicants, inquiries, and job acceptances generated by different recruitment methods.
• Quality Measures: Assess the qualifications of applicants, along with the turnover and performance of hires.
• Ratios: Metrics such as cost per hire, cost per applicant, and the proportion of interviewees who receive job offers provide insights into the efficiency of recruitment methods.

Sources of Job Applicants

Organizations have multiple channels to source job applicants, depending on their recruitment strategy and job requirements. Networking is a key avenue, relying on personal and professional connections for referrals, which are often pre-screened and trusted. Job boards and online platforms, such as LinkedIn and Indeed, provide a global reach for advertising positions. College career centers are useful for recruiting interns or entry-level candidates directly from academic institutions, while professional organizations and conferences allow companies to connect with highly skilled individuals in specific industries. Other methods include recruitment agencies for hard-to-fill roles and internal promotions, which advance existing employees familiar with the company culture.

Recruitment and Selection Process

The recruitment and selection process consists of several critical steps:

• Job Analysis: Defining the role’s responsibilities and the qualifications required.
• Sourcing: Identifying the most effective channels to attract candidates, such as job postings or referrals.
• Screening: Reviewing resumes and applications to filter qualified candidates.
• Selection: Evaluating candidates through interviews, tests, and assessments to determine their fit.
• Decision-Making: Comparing shortlisted candidates to select the best match for the role.
• Onboarding: Integrating the chosen candidate into the organization through orientation and training programs.

Strategic Selection Choices

Strategic selection involves two dimensions: the horizontal dimension, which distinguishes between hiring generalists and specialists, and the vertical dimension, which determines whether employees are chosen for long-term or short-term roles. A long-term approach is ideal for positions requiring deep integration with company culture and practices, such as managerial roles or research scientists. In contrast, a short-term approach is suitable for temporary or project-based roles requiring immediate expertise, such as consultants or contractors.

Generalist vs. Specialist Selection

A generalist approach works best for roles requiring versatility and adaptability, such as package delivery personnel or utility workers, where technical skills can be developed on the job. On the other hand, a specialist approach is necessary for roles requiring deep expertise, such as software developers or pharmaceutical sales representatives. Specialists bring advanced knowledge but may lack cross-functional flexibility, making them unsuitable for roles that demand multitasking.

Fit and Selection Methods

The job-based fit approach focuses on matching a candidate’s technical skills and qualifications to the job’s specific requirements, making it ideal for task-oriented or technical roles. Conversely, the organization-based fit approach emphasizes cultural alignment, ensuring that candidates share the company’s values and integrate well into its environment. This is particularly useful for long-term, developmental roles.

The achievement approach evaluates candidates based on their past accomplishments and demonstrated skills, making it suitable for positions requiring immediate results. In contrast, the potential approach focuses on candidates’ future capabilities, assessing traits like adaptability and learning agility, which is better suited for roles with growth opportunities.

Selection Methods

A variety of methods are used to evaluate candidates:

• Interviews: These can be structured (consistent questions), unstructured (open-ended), behavioral (focused on past experiences), or stress-based (designed to assess how candidates handle pressure).
• Assessment Centers: Candidates participate in simulations like group discussions, in-basket tasks, and presentations to evaluate competencies like leadership and teamwork.
• Selection Tests: These include aptitude tests for specific skills, intelligence tests for cognitive abilities, and personality assessments based on the Five-Factor Model (OCEAN), which evaluates openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Common Mistakes and Best Practices in Interviews

Job seekers often make mistakes during interviews, such as dressing inappropriately, arriving late, or failing to research the company. They may also provide vague answers or speak negatively about past employers. To succeed, candidates should thoroughly prepare by researching the company, practicing answers to common questions, and maintaining professionalism throughout the process. Effective communication, active engagement, and a follow-up thank-you note demonstrate interest and gratitude.

Assessment Centers and Simulation Exercises

Assessment centers provide a comprehensive evaluation by simulating real-life work scenarios. Common exercises include:

• In-Basket Tasks: Candidates prioritize and respond to emails and memos to demonstrate decision-making skills.
• Leaderless Group Discussions: Teams solve problems collaboratively, revealing interpersonal and leadership abilities.
• Individual Presentations: Candidates deliver presentations to showcase analytical and communication skills.

Distinction Between Learning and Training

Learning and training are related but distinct concepts. Learning is an individual process of acquiring new knowledge, skills, or attitudes. It can be self-managed or experiential, promoting personal growth over time. In contrast, training is an organizational process designed to impart specific knowledge or skills required for employees to perform job tasks effectively. While learning focuses on individual development, training is job-centric and aims to improve performance in the workplace.

The Training Process: The ADDIE Model

The training process follows the ADDIE model, which includes five key steps:

• Analyze: Identify training needs by assessing job descriptions, competency gaps, and performance issues.
• Design: Develop a detailed plan that outlines training objectives, methods, and required resources.
• Develop: Create training materials such as videos, guides, or online modules tailored to the objectives.
• Implement: Deliver the training using techniques like on-the-job learning, classroom sessions, or e-learning.
• Evaluate: Measure the training’s effectiveness by analyzing participant feedback, knowledge retention, behavior changes, and organizational outcomes.

Learning Organizations

A learning organization, as defined by Senge (1990), is one where individuals and teams continuously enhance their capabilities to achieve desired results. Such organizations emphasize open-minded thinking, collective aspiration, and collaboration, fostering innovation and adaptability in dynamic environments.

The Competency Model in Talent Development

The Competency Model plays a critical role in talent development by identifying the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required for success in specific roles. It contributes by guiding employees to meet performance standards, designing tailored training programs to address competency gaps, preparing employees for leadership through succession planning, and providing stretch assignments that challenge individuals to develop new skills.

The Talent Management Equation

The Talent Management Equation, expressed as Talent Management = People × Environment, highlights the interplay between employees’ abilities and organizational context. The “people” factor includes potential, current skills, and self-control, while the “environment” encompasses resources, management style, collaboration, and IT systems.

Orientation vs. Onboarding

Orientation is a short-term process that introduces new hires to the organization by providing essential information about policies, benefits, and logistics. Onboarding, however, is a comprehensive, longer-term process focused on integrating employees into the company culture, fostering relationships, and equipping them with tools and knowledge to succeed in their roles. Together, these processes enhance retention, improve performance, and promote socialization.

Corporate Training Fields and Techniques

Corporate training is applied across various areas, such as large-scale change initiatives (e.g., IT implementation), standard training for new hires, customized leadership programs, and on-demand sessions for specific needs like conflict resolution or customer service. Training techniques include on-the-job training, coaching, job rotation, special assignments, apprenticeships, computer-based training, and gaming simulations. These methods ensure that employees acquire the necessary skills effectively.

Kirkpatrick’s Model for Training Evaluation

Kirkpatrick’s model evaluates training effectiveness through four levels:

• Reaction: Measures participants’ satisfaction with the training.
• Learning: Assesses knowledge or skill acquisition through tests or observations.
• Behavior: Evaluates how participants apply what they learned on the job.
• Results: Analyzes organizational outcomes, such as productivity or employee retention improvements.

The Learning Curve and Kolb’s Learning Cycle

The learning curve illustrates the time required for individuals to achieve proficiency in a new task, often featuring plateaus of stagnation before further improvement. Kolb’s Learning Cycle describes four stages of experiential learning:

• Concrete Experience: Hands-on involvement.
• Reflective Observation: Analyzing the experience.
• Abstract Conceptualization: Formulating theories based on observations.
• Active Experimentation: Testing new concepts, which leads to new experiences.

Learning Styles: Kolb and Honey & Mumford

Kolb’s learning styles categorize individuals into accommodators (trial-and-error learners), divergers (reflective thinkers), convergers (practical experimenters), and assimilators (theoretical modelers). Honey and Mumford propose a similar framework, identifying activists (action-driven learners), reflectors (analytical observers), theorists (logical modelers), and pragmatists (practical testers). Understanding these styles helps tailor training to individual preferences.

Protean Career

A Protean career is a self-directed career path emphasizing adaptability, lifelong learning, and psychological success. Employees take responsibility for their own growth by seeking learning opportunities, while organizations support development by providing accessible resources and tools.

Mentorship and Career Development

A mentor is an experienced professional who supports a less experienced individual in their professional growth. Mentorship fosters confidence, skill-building, and guidance for mentees, while mentors gain fulfillment and develop leadership abilities. Career development is a shared responsibility between employees, managers, and organizations. Employees must plan their career paths, managers provide coaching and support, and organizations create opportunities for skill development and growth.

Performance Management and Appraisal

Performance management is an ongoing process aligning individual and organizational goals through regular feedback and development opportunities. In contrast, performance appraisal is a periodic evaluation of employee performance against set standards. The appraisal process includes setting work standards, assessing performance, and providing feedback to correct deficiencies or reinforce strengths. Tools like management by objectives (MBO) align individual goals with organizational objectives, promoting measurable results and continuous feedback.

Challenges in Appraisals

Performance appraisals face challenges like unclear standards, bias (halo effect, central tendency, similarity error), and leniency or strictness. To minimize these issues, organizations use tools like behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS), which define performance levels with clear behavioral examples, reducing subjective bias. Best practices for appraisals include using job-based criteria, standardized procedures, and multiple raters to ensure fairness and accuracy.

Employee Development Strategies

Organizations adopt different strategies for employee development based on their focus:

• Cost-Oriented Companies: Focus on affordable methods like job training and job enrichment to equip employees efficiently.
• Differentiation-Oriented Companies: Invest heavily in advanced development initiatives like formal education, mentoring programs, and feedback systems to gain a competitive edge through top talent.

High-potential employees are developed through methods like internal training programs, cross-functional experiences, mentoring, job rotations, and global assignments.

Performance Management Elements and SMART Goals

Effective performance management includes six key elements: direction sharing, goal alignment, ongoing performance monitoring, continuous feedback, coaching, and recognition. Goals should follow the SMART criteria—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, an objective like “Increase customer satisfaction by 10% in six months through improved training” meets SMART standards. Another framework, Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), focuses on setting measurable goals linked to clear outcomes.

Key Differences Between Manager and Expert Careers

A managerial career involves greater responsibility for people and budgets, often moving up the organizational hierarchy. In contrast, an expert career focuses on deepening knowledge within a specific field without the need for people management. Experts serve as internal consultants, providing specialized insights for top-level decision-making.