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OVERVIEW OF HRM IN BANGLADESH

The role of the Human Resource Manager is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. Organizations that do not put their emphasis on attracting and retaining talents may find themselves in dire consequences, as their competitors may be outplaying them in the strategic employment of their human resources.

In Bangladesh ‘the concept of HR’ is not very old. But within last 7 to 10 years it is widely practiced and now maximum large company keeps a department of Human Resource Management. As we move into the 'new economy', the focus on people and knowledge has steadily increased. Today, companies face new challenges in dealing with issues such as the scarcity of talent, the value of ideas/knowledge and the changing preferences of the labour market. Consequently, successful HR strategies are needed more than ever.

With the increase in competition, locally or globally, organizations must become more adaptable, resilient, agile, and customer-focused to succeed. And within this change in environment, the HR professional has to evolve to become a strategic partner, an employee sponsor or advocate, and a change mentor within the organization. In order to succeed, HR must be a business driven function with a thorough understanding of the organization’s big picture and be able to influence key decisions and policies. In general, the focus of today’s HR Manager is on strategic personnel retention and talents development. HR professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession planners to help motivate organization’s members and their loyalty. The HR manager will also promote and fight for value, ethics, beliefs, and spirituality with their organizations.

And to aid HR professionals, HR consulting firms are increasingly playing important roles in developing and shaping modern HR practices in the Corporate World of Bangladesh.

SCOPE & OBJECTIVE

In this report, we focused on a particular HR consulting firm called – E-Zone HRM Ltd. to analyze and understand how it is helping its clients, like other HR consulting firms, to embrace modern HR practices so that their business can maintain success in today’s competitive business arena.

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LIMITATIONS

While preparing this report we faced some problems such as:

o We did not get full cooperation from the HR consulting firms

o We could not talk directly with an HR consultant for their expensive charge

o We could not access all the required information from the HR consulting firms

o Internet searches did not produce much relevant information

BACKGROUND OF E-ZONE HRM LTD.

Organizational Leaders are constantly making decisions to help improve the performance of their companies. Often, that discussion leads to goals for the future.  That’s where and when HR consultants come in.

E-Zone HRM Ltd (a concern of E-Zone Group) is a human resource consulting firm that provides one-stop HR solutions to its clients. They specialize in delivering innovative and value added services that promote revenue growth and cost containment.

E-ZONE Executives are experts in leading, changing and developing high-performing organizations. Thay are able to leverage on the expertise of their executives to provide result-oriented consulting services to their clients

At E-Zone, they deliver consulting solutions that EMPOWER people and organizations to do the following:

Operate Efficiently

Hire and Retain the Right People

Drive Growth

Establish leadership in the market through learning

At E-Zone they take the long term view believing that success is based on exceeding their clients' expectations in both service and advice. Their success and reputation are based on the foundation of providing quality, timely and professional services. Their rapid growth and reputation are the result of their commitment to quality, speed and thoroughness in combination with superior screening and identification techniques.

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MISSION, VISION & CORE STRATEGIES

Mission

Their mission is to provide prompt and efficient services to their clients with excellence and dedication in all aspects of human resources management by creating a sustained and mutually beneficial relationship, and by forging international alliances with similar firms. They just help clients to find the RIGHT PATH through your goals.

VisionTo be an organization that:

a) enhances achievement of our national and international clients’ goals and objectives

b) acquires and maintains advanced level of  competencies in its fields of activity

c) provides opportunities for its people to achieve their career objectives

d) upholds high ethical standards in conducting its affairs

Core Strategies

a) Accomplish task in WIN-WIN situation

b) Work until customer satisfaction

c) Striving for quality

d) Always maintain deadline

e) Dedicate team for individual assigned task

f) Design/accomplish all HR tasks in line with recent market trends & company focused

g) Always keep us update on recent HR developments

h) Focusing on individual issue rather looking at holistically

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E-ZONE’S OBSERVATION REGARDING HR TRENDS & INFLUENCES

Human Resources may set strategies and develop policies, standards, systems, and processes that implement these strategies in a whole range of areas. The following are typical of a wide range of organizations:

Recruitment and selection (resourcing) Organizational design and development

Business transformation and change management

Performance, conduct and behavior management

Industrial and employee relations

Human resources (workforce) analysis and workforce personnel data management

Compensation, rewards, and benefits management

Training and development (learning management)

Implementation of such policies, processes or standards may be directly managed by the HR function itself, or the function may indirectly supervise the implementation of such activities by managers, other business functions or via third-party external partner organizations.

In organizations, it is important to determine both current and future organizational requirements for both core employees and the contingent workforce in terms of their skills/technical abilities, competencies, flexibility etc. The analysis requires consideration of the internal and external factors that can have an effect on the resourcing, development, motivation and retention of employees and other workers.

External factors are those largely out-with the control of the organization. These include issues such as economic climate and current and future labor market trends (e.g., skills, education level, government investment into industries etc.). On the other hand, internal influences are broadly controlled by the organization to predict, determine, and monitor—for example—the organizational culture, underpinned by management style, environmental climate, and the approach to ethical and corporate social responsibilities.

Major trends

To know the business environment an organization operates in, three major trends must be considered:

1. Demographics: The characteristics of a population/workforce, for example, age, gender or social class. This type of trend may have an effect in relation to pension offerings, insurance packages etc.

2. Diversity: The variation within the population/workplace. Changes in society now mean that a larger proportion of organizations are made up of "baby-boomers" or older employees in comparison to thirty years ago. Advocates of "workplace

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diversity" simply advocate an employee base that is a mirror reflection of the make-up of society insofar as race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

3. Skills and qualifications: As industries move from manual to a more managerial professions so does the need for more highly skilled graduates. If the market is "tight" (i.e., not enough staff for the jobs), employers must compete for employees by offering financial rewards, community investment, etc..

HR SERVICES PROVIDED BY E-ZONE

E-Zone HRM Ltd. provides an array of services to its clients through a panel of HR consultants who came from leading organizations. These services are a reflection of modern HR practices that they make clients implement. The services unfold as such:

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS

Change Management Change is the only constant in business. In order to effortlessly manage change, adequate preparation and effective strategy must be in place. E-Zone offers complete solution to effective change management as well as developing various HR documents. Their Change Management Consulting services are designed to help their clients successfully address the challenges and opportunities facing their companies. Their consulting relationship with their clients helps them to better create and implement their business strategies which enable them to increase sales, market share, and profitability

Climate Survey A leader’s most significant strength is his ability to create a positive work climate. In an outstanding organizational climate people are energized to produce their best, free of unnecessary distractions. Effective leaders use a repertoire of styles to create positive work climates in the areas they manage. The Climate Survey aims to investigate the existing work environment of an organization, such as systems, working people’s attitudes, feelings and behaviors etc. The Climate Survey is conducted with the employees of the organization. The Climate Survey tool is customized in consultation with the organization. After finalization of Tool, an orientation session is organized with the participants to provide them with an idea about the process of administering the instrument. The instruments will be administered with all the selected staff.

The Climate Survey captures the pulse of client’s organization, assess company values, identify competency levels, identify policy impact and guide leadership decisions to improve effectiveness and morale. They manage the survey process to ensure maximum participation, anonymity, confidentiality and data accuracy. They keep clients informed on a regular basis on their project status to ensure your success.

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Compensation Survey & Design Every employer needs a Compensation Strategy (Private, Public, Non-profit). They see this area as crucial for attracting & retention of desired staff members. They provide flexible, cost-effective compensation solutions for every employer, regardless of size.

They cover following areas while designing compensation & benefits

Compensation and benefits surveys Set competitive benchmark

Job evaluation

Compensation strategy, design and structuring

Design specific programs such as car schemes, loans, deferred benefits & insurance, etc.

Design employee loan schemes Designing Organogram To build an organization to last and continue to grow, a dynamic and adoptive organization structure is necessary. E-Zone works with clients to develop and appropriate Organogram in line with current management practices. They study the existing Organogram in details, analyze job descriptions, key competencies, organizational goals and strategies before suggesting the Organogram. 

Developing Human Resources Documents HRM is an evolving discipline. They help organizations develop necessary documentation to ensure consistency and continuity in HRM system of the organization.  

Employee Handbook An important reason to create an employee handbook is to document the employer's expectations. Employees want to be successful; they are eager to know what is expected of them and how they can improve. A good handbook describes expected performance and resulting reward in addition to clarifying the employer's expectations regarding work hours, dress codes, and leaves, etc.

The process of creating a handbook also helps employers improve their leadership, first by thinking through and choosing which policies are useful and practical in their specific situation. When concrete policies are established, employers can better manage employees because objectives for each position have been examined, benefits have been considered and perhaps retooled, and personnel policies are in place before contentious issues arise.  

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Gratuity Rules, Regulations & Trust Deeds All organizations must have a Gratuity Scheme. Many find it convenient to set up separate Trust for managing Gratuity Scheme Fund. They help in developing such documents.

HR Audit Human Resources Audit is a process of examining policies, procedures, documentation, systems, and practices with respect to an organization’s HR functions. The purpose of the audit is to reveal the strengths and weaknesses in the organization’s HR system, and any issue needing resolution. Guiding HR function through compliance and employee relations issues can be challenging work. How does an organization know if it is on a solid foundation? With the E-Zone Human Resource Audit, management determines where they are, prioritize what they have to do, and know for certain that they have looked at the right issues. The Result? The organization’s comfort level and professional contribution will be enhanced, and management will be confident about moving forward. The organization will in turn have a fully charged motivated work force. 

Human Resource Policy Manual They help develop or revise HR Policy Manual that will meet organizational needs. With their experienced management panel and devoted individuals in the team, they help organizations to define their audience, provide checklists and sample policies to guide employees, and give client’s document a thorough technical review.

Organization Re-engineering They have worked for quite a large number of organizations in restructuring & designing phase from inception to set organizations. Their work includes:

Organization structure design (i.e. Organogram) Detailing of roles and responsibilities (i.e. Job description)

Review & assess manpower requirement

Definition of competencies

Job Evaluation

Based on market and current practice, benchmarking compensation levels, common compensation structure, benefits and policies.

Other Tailor Made Documents Setting up a Pension Scheme, putting together an appropriate Health Insurance Policy, etc. are evolving now a days. They help prepare such documents according to client needs, offering one-step solutions including statutory approvals, registration and legal vetting.

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Performance Appraisal System Their specialists help to design, develop and implement a customized performance appraisal system specific to the organization. They know from experience that the same program is not suitable for every organization. They provide a customized package that will be particularly suitable for a particular organization

Provident Fund (PF) Rules, Regulations & Trust Deeds Introduction of Contributory Provident Fund will soon be mandatory for every organization. They help clients develop PF Rules, Regulations and Trust Deeds. Based on client requests, they work to secure regulatory approvals and registration of trust deeds including legal vetting.

LEARNING SOLUTION

The mission of E-Zone Learning is to help companies maximize their potential through training and development of employees.

It is becoming more and more challenging to remain competitive in a global market. Highly skilled and well informed personnel are the key. Their Learning solutions cater to both large and small organizations. They ensure that their courses and training methods are relevant and of best quality.

Their Learning Solutions are tailor-made to the needs of the organization. The resource persons are highly skilled and competent facilitators with many years of experience in diverse fields. Their emphasis is on highly interactive programs, video presentations, with case studies and learning through discussions. They believe that knowledge management is the key to success for today’s enterprise.

TRAINING STATUS

Business Communication Upcoming

Situational Leadership April 9th, 2011

Strategic Thinking Upcoming

Managing Change Upcoming

Figure 1: Training Announcements

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Date:

E-Zone Limited Planners Tower (10th Floor)13/A Sonargaon Road Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh

NOMINATION AND CONFIRMATION FORMFor

Workshop on Managing Change

Dear Sir:

We confirm that the following Executives of our organization will participate in your workshop on

Managing Change on Saturday, May 15, 2010 at BRAC Center Inn, conference room (1st floor), BRAC, 75 Mohakhali C/A, Dhaka - 1212

Sl No Name of the Executive Designation Contact phone # 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.We also enclose requisite fees for BDT ………………………… @ BDT ……… per participant vide cross cheque no……………………………………..dated…………………………………… drawn on …………………………………………………………Bank…...……………………………………………………………… Branch, Dhaka favoring E-Zone Ltd.

Thanking you

Sincerely yours,

Company Name:

Contact Person:

Person’s Phone Number:

Encl.: a/a

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Figure 2: Training Registration Form (Prototype)

RECRUITMENT SOLUTION

Effective recruitment is more than just selection. The identification, attraction and assessment of talented staff is a significant and strategic issue for an organization currently facing all companies. They offer a professional and comprehensive service which stems from their understanding of:

■The role

■The industry sector

■ How best to attract candidates

■The priorities, limits and deadlines of our clients

■ The employment market in general

■ Staff retention.

E-ZONE is experienced in recruiting across all business functions, including general management, finance & accounts, Human Resources, Supply Chain, Procurement & Logistics, Sales & Marketing, Engineering. They have been effectively matching the right candidate with the right employer since inception in 2004. Following is a list of their core recruiting services:

Top-level Career Placement Service Executive-level Recruiting Services

Mid-level Recruiting Service

Entry-Level Recruiting Service

Candidates are sourced from their internal database of over 50,000 CVs as well as through their extensive business network. The candidate will then be fully interviewed and briefed before clients even see their CVs.

At E-Zone, they take the long term view believing that success is based on exceeding their clients' expectations in both service and advice. Their aim is to streamline the recruitment process for clients providing them with suitable candidates to choose from.

OUTSOURCING SOLUTION

E-Zone offers a range of outsourcing services to clients, including:

Payroll Management Services Employee Outsourcing Services

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Document Processing Services

Packaged Tailor-made Services

Assist in Securing Regulatory Approvals

OTHER SOLUTIONS Provide design & Printing services Provide Event Management Services

Any other assignment pertinent to human resource management services that the principal may need from time to time.

CLIENTS

E-Zone HRM has built a fairly large client base across a wide spectrum of organizations. They have worked for over 120 organizations.  Over 80% of their clients are repeat clients.

Name of the Company Work Area

Telecommunication Industry

Warid Telecom Recruitment Pacific Telecom Bangladesh Ltd. Training, Recruitment Orasinvest Bangladesh Limited Recruitment Ericsson AB Recruitment, Contractual Staff

Management Sony Ericsson International, Singapore Recruitment TM International (BD) Limited Recruitment Sheba Phone Recruitment Worldtel Recruitment Asian Tower Recruitment Nokia Networks Recruitment Civitech (Consultant of Orascom) Recruitment ORG Telecom Recruitment UTStarcom Recruitment

Banks

Standard Chartered Bank Recruitment Commercial Bank of Ceylon Recruitment Bank Al-Falah Recruitment Premier Bank Training, Recruitment One Bank Recruitment National Bank Recruitment

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Jamuna Bank Recruitment Pharmaceuticals Industry

Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals Recruitment

Novartis Bangladesh Ltd. Recruitment, Contractual Staff Management

GlaxoSmithKline Recruitment, Contractual Staff Management

Square Pharmaceuticals Recruitment The ACME Laboratories Recruitment Incepta Pharmaceuticals Recruitment Bayer Crop Science Recruitment Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Recruitment ACI Godrej Agrovet Private Limited Recruitment

International NGOs

DFID Survey of Health Insurance & Deferred Benefits

Save The Children, USA Recruitment SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility - SEDF

Recruitment, Developing File Management System, Training

Marie Stopes Recruitment, Training INGO Forum: Vision 2020 Recruitment, Contractual Staff

Management Sales & Marketing

ISIS Foods Bangladesh Limited Recruitment Bata Shoe Co. BD Ltd. Recruitment Nestle Bangladesh Limited Recruitment Coca Cola SABCO Recruitment Tetrapak Asian Emerging Markets Recruitment Berger Paints Bangladesh Ltd. Contractual Staff Management Reckitt Benckiser Recruitment Rahim Afrooz Recruitment 3M Bangladesh Liasion Office Recruitment Quantum Market Research Bangladesh Limited Recruitment Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council Recruitment Everest Dairy & Food Products Ltd. Recruitment Baraka Ltd. (Servo Oil) Recruitment Dhaka-Shanghai Ceramics Ltd. HR Policy Development, Recruitment

Shipping & Logistics

MAERSK Bangladesh Ltd. Recruitment Freight Systems Limited Recruitment Aramex (BD) Ltd. Recruitment

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Expolanka Group Recruitment Wings Air Cargo Limited Recruitment Everbest Shipping Agency Recruitment

Engineering Institutions

KMC Oiltools Ltd Recruitment ATE Technologies BD Pvt. Ltd Recruitment ABB Bangladesh Ltd. Recruitment, Contractual Staff

Management HeidelbergCement Group Recruitment Vidyut Bangladesh Pvt. Ltd Recruitment Meghna Engineering Works Recruitment Bangladesh Steel Re-rolling Mills Ltd. - BSRM Recruitment Aranee Technologies Recruitment Olympia Complex Recruitment Siddique & Company Recruitment

Garment & Textile Industry

Paxar Bangladesh Ltd. Recruitment, Training IKEA Asia Pacific PTE Ltd. Recruitment Coats Bangladesh Ltd. Recruitment, Contractual Staff

Management Avery Dennison Recruitment Epyllion Group HR Policy Development, Recruitment Northern Corporation HR Policy Development, Recruitment Comfort Wear Int. Ltd (Danish Joint Venture) HR Policy Development, Recruitment Cotton Group Recruitment Cosmopolitan Industries Ltd. Recruitment Dynasty Group Recruitment Opex Sinha Group Recruitment IDS Group Recruitment Epic Design Recruitment Greenland Garments Recruitment Urmi Group Recruitment Siatex Recruitment

Real Estate

Amin Mohammad Foundation Recruitment Rangs Properties Limited Recruitment Rancon Engineering Ltd. Recruitment Building Technologies & Ideas Ltd. (BTI) Recruitment

Media & Entertainment Industry

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CSB TV Recruitment Bangla Vision Recruitment ETV Recruitment RTV HR Policy Development, Recruitment

Financial Institutions

United Leasing Company Recruitment Pragati Insurance Limited Event Management IDLC Recruitment Bangladesh Finance & Investment Corporation (BFIC)

Recruitment, Preparation of Annual Report

AL-WASL Risk Management Bangladesh Ltd. Recruitment GSP Finance Company (BD) Limited. Recruitment

CONCLUSION

The role of the HR professionals in Bangladesh must parallel the needs of the changing organization. Successful organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change directions, and customer-centered. Within this environment, the HR professional must learn how to manage effectively through planning, organizing, leading and controlling the human resource and be knowledgeable of emerging trends in training and employee development.

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REFERENCES

1. E-Zone HRM LTD.

8652455, 8651161

Address:Planners Tower, 10th Floor, 13/A, Sonargaon RoadDhaka

Website: www.ezonehrm.com

2. A. M. S. Imtiaz Bhuiyan “HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSION IS VERY CHALLENGING IN BANGLADESH”.