Maritime professionals, at sea and ashore, who are poorly trained, unmotivated and likely to leave can be an enormous liability. Whether through action or inaction, they are less likely to run a safe, well-maintained ship or to have the same goals as the business. The same is true ashore, where the shortage of technical talent is most acutely felt. Organisations with high staff turnover struggle to replace suitably experienced personnel. In time, a revolving door of people coming and going creates risks that are both hard to define and hard to control.
Conversely, a well trained, highly motivated and loyal crew will be a genuine asset. They will buy into the long-term vision of the company and want it to succeed. Despite the increasing focus on technology onboard a ship, people are ultimately the ones that are relied on to ensure the safe, efficient, and compliant running of a ship. People are more than just a cost, they’re an investment. Many of the challenges the industry faces today have a human dimension. We rely on people to get things done properly. But when we don’t invest in them, the risk of them making mistakes, feeling dissatisfied in their role, leaving their employer or even leaving the industry altogether increases.
Human resource management (HRM) has been around since the early to mid-20th century and is a traditional concept that focuses on the administrative aspect of management and operational approach to people. It uses metrics, including time to hire and turnover rates, as well as addressing basic needs, such as payroll and pension.
Human Capital Management (HCM) is a new concept that has evolved from HRM. It is a strategic approach to attracting, developing, managing and retaining maritime professionals at sea and ashore. The overall purpose of HCM is to elevate the value of the individual and their collective contribution to the overall vision, mission and goals for the business and take a long-term view towards the development of people that marries a data-driven approach with the culture and values of an organisation.
The goals for each of those components need to be driven by the overall goals of the business. But each of those components is interdependent. Have you ever considered how your ability to onboard new staff impacts their length of service? What about how the quality of your training impacts the performance of an individual seafarer? How good are you at retaining longstanding staff and what does that do to your recruitment costs?
All of these components impact each other. But it’s incredibly common for organisations to lack measures on how training impacts retention, or how the performance of existing staff impacts recruitment.
For a more detailed understanding and exploration of the topics covered in this article, refer to our latest 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.
