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Human Capital Management
OPTIMISING
HUMAN
Capital with Dr Jerry Gule, Chief Executive, Institute of People Management
With artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning and other forces of 4IR eliminating operational inefficiency, it’s important that organisations challenge their people and extract the most from talent.
G
iven the current economic climate and amount of competition for scarce resources, executives are at pains to make every rand, pula, dollar or pound they spend on human resources count. Where your investment doesn’t seem to yield a corresponding return (targeted performance level), your talent management strategy and policy should address this.
The Equal Pay Principle
Legislation insists that people hired to do the same work be paid the same. That’s fair, in line with international human rights policies and our very own Constitution. Labour laws, however, allow employers to vary pay to people occupying the same position, provided the discrimination is fair and governed by a transparent policy. Where the organisation provides all employees in a specific job the same opportunity and tools to perform, yet get varying performance from individuals, it is fair that higher performance be rewarded accordingly. Fair discrimination – Social Redress
Yes, it may sound like a contradiction in words. But if you come from a historically imbalanced society you will be familiar with national transformation programs and laws launched to eradicate the imbalance emanating from historic unfair practices or skewed PEOPLE DYNAMICS | January - February 2020
opportunities previously granted to certain groups to the exclusion of others. The Affirmative Action plans flowing from the Employment
Equity Act as well as the Skills Development Act, for example, were introduced to address old, unfair employment laws and policies. Furthermore, these Acts were introduced to address skills upliftment and access to opportunities for previously excluded groups. In the application of these pieces of legislation in the workplace, the human resource executive might prioritise previously disadvantaged groups for (certain) new jobs or advancement opportunities, in which fair discrimination would apply. The key is to remain absolutely transparent when applying redress measures to make sure that there is no one left behind with regards the company’s strategy for change or transformation. Fair discrimination – Performance Rewards
Where you have high contributors and high performers in a job, results are likely to reflect accordingly. Where people, for whatever reason, contribute or perform less than others, (or less than minimum targets), it is fair that higher performers are rewarded according to their contribution to the bottom line, however this should be with fair discrimination principles being applied.
