Creating measurable improvements anywhere requires a financial investment. But you can’t invest in everything all at once. It’s therefore critical to understand where you need to make improvements and what impact they are likely to have on the overall goals of the business. The only way to achieve that is through a common data layer. This is the key component that underpins HCM as a framework and allows you to genuinely measure the overall impact of improvements to each component.
Without a common data layer that allows you to draw a clear line between these components, you are shooting in the dark when making financial investment decisions. Is it better financially to use an external recruiter to hire five technical superintendents or to send five of your existing chief mates on training courses and transition them ashore? Can you afford to lose five chief mates from the fleet? What impact will that have on your recruitment in six months’ time?
The reason this approach is so effective is it can be applied at the individual level as well as the organisational level. Understanding the training, performance or retention needs of an individual member of the team allows you to make investment decisions that can have a long term impact on the organisation’s goals. Pulling a group of masters ashore for three months to improve the working relationship between ship and shore may appear expensive, but it could also drastically improve the performance of the vessel. For most ship managers, the answer to these questions is either unclear or seen as a “warm and fuzzy” nice to have. HCM aims to give decision makers the tools to draw a straight line between financial investments and their overall impact.
Financial decisions cannot be made using data alone. After all, HCM is about getting the most from people, and there will always be intangibles that need to be considered. The data alone may make it easy to justify switching to a country that offers cheaper crew.
But that doesn’t mean it’s the right decision for your organisation. That’s why the primary layer of HCM is an organisation’s culture and values. An organisation can go a long way by defining its culture and values. Culture is not only important for hiring and promoting the right people, but a culture that fosters learning and development will drive engaged and motivated employees. People do not always align their performance with a strategy to improve it. A culture that proactively targets specific problems with tailored learning can help to drive a more robust workforce and support organisational growth.
A culture that encourages people’s development beyond traditional training topics can also foster an inclusive and trusting environment, which is essential for a safe and efficient working environment. HCM plays a key role in shaping and sustaining the desired culture and values within an organisation.
For a more detailed understanding and exploration of the topics covered in this article, refer to our report, commissioned by Ocean Technologies Group. The Bottom Line: Why Human Capital Management is the future of HR and crewing. You can download the full report below.
