Roles of Line Managers & Staff Specialists
Complexity of the information age and the demands for efficient and effective services require a better quality in how public services are resourced and delivered in today’s world. Human resources of a lot of companies are reshaping and reevaluating their existing and outdated practices and organizational structure upon arrival of new public service management practices.
With changes in emphasis, the public sector is now examining its internal structure and reviewing the roles and responsibilities of employees and managers in order to deliver the top quality service demanded by stakeholders. The HR function is increasingly seen as one of the key functions in the development and implementation of strategic responses to increasing competitive pressure. Such strategic responses involve the effective communication of the importance of HR across the organization and a reconsideration of the role of line managers and staff specialists in HR delivery.
Line managers and staff specialists take responsibility for ensuring that the work is done. A Staff specialist is in a position to support line management and responsible for making sure all the supports are in place so the line staff are hired, trained, equipped and supported while they carry out the actual operations.
A staff specialist can prescribe certain procedures in his specialist area. For example, he can develop and implement recruiting policies and procedures that are used across the organization.
A staff specialist has the right to veto any proposal within his specialization. A staff specialist has the right, the authority, to participate in the discussions, if not the decision-making, pertaining to his specialty. The staff specialist is informed within certain areas of activity.
Among many organizations, line managers are provided with an opportunity to engage with day-to-day people management decision-making, while staff specialists can work on achieving closer alignment of an organizations systems and processes with corporate objectives, while remaining sensitive to external environmental changes.
Line managers are increasingly assigned to new responsibilities and held accountable not only for budgeting and allocating of resources, but most importantly for people management issues. Some of the HR duties to be performed by line managers include active participation in the design of training activities; HR budgeting; delivering HRD (Human Resource Development) activities as trainers; creating a positive working environment and provision of coaching and mentoring initiatives. It is agreed that line managers’ involvement in coaching, guidance and communication positively influences organizational performance.
Delegating HR responsibilities to line managers offers a number of benefits to organizations. It provides greater freedom to staff specialists to engage with strategic issues and add real value. In so doing, it enables staff specialists to forge closer relationships with line managers and promotes a partnership model towards managing employees. Experts also agree that moving HR responsibilities closer to employees through devolvement to line managers may lead to speedier resolution of conflicts and greater levels of employee retention
References:
What is the difference between line and the staff management? Retrieved from http://constancewoloschuk.suite101.com/whats-the-difference-between-line-and-staff-management-a293793
McGuire, D., Stoner, L. & Mylona, S. (2008): “The Role of Line Managers as Human Resource Agents in Fostering Organisational Change in Public Services”, Journal of Change Management, Vol. 8, No. 1, p. 73–84.
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