We need to constantly and consistently invest in people, says Marvin Cuschieri, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Human Resources Development.
Since the setting up of FHRD, how has the human resources profession in Malta developed?
The FHRD was set up in the early 1990s in order to raise the profile of the HR profession, which had been gaining traction rather silently and invisibly up to that point. The results of more than 20 years’ worth of change have been wide-ranging: HR managers and personnel have implemented selection and recruitment techniques and high-level people management in various industries.
These changes have ensured that the HR profession in Malta develops and advances in the same fashion as the employees it fosters. We live on an island where resources are very limited and therefore, the logical reaction is to constantly and consistently invest in people.
Marvin Cuschieri, Chief Executive Officer, FHRD.What courses do you currently offer and with what aims?
Locally, we offer our home-grown courses accredited at NCFHE Level 3, 4 and 5, which are tailor-made to HR professionals’ needs and provide a platform for immersion into issues that directly affect their work. The training programmes are designed to sharpen the participants’ portfolio of skills and present them with challenging scenarios in order to jumpstart their HR spirit.
In addition, we serve the HR function on an international level through our formal partnership with the School of Management and the Centre for Labour Market Studies at the University of Leicester in the UK. We are the agent for various HR, management and business courses at certificate, diploma, Bachelor, Master’s and Doctorate level. The aim of this agreement is to complement the HR practice in Malta with the necessary academic knowledge and research skills needed to elevate its practitioners’ expertise. The HR labour market is a competitive one and professionals within the industry are increasingly expected to be appropriately qualified.
What is the essence of good HR management?
HR management entails a high degree of specialised knowledge and experience that can be put to use in any given organisation. The responsibilities of a sound HR management team consist of the attraction, selection, instruction, appraisal and incentivisation of staff, as well as the supervision of organisational leadership and the formation of a unifying business culture – all this while adhering to employment rules and regulations. A good HR management team will perform to a high standard in all these responsibilities, and renovate and innovate where necessary.
You support both the local public and private sectors – what similarities and differences do both sectors have in HR function?
FHRD’s members and clients hail from both the local public and private sectors as we support the value of HR across all organisational environments. The two distinct sectors present a different context and approach to HR. Public organisations invest heavily in training and continuous development and sponsor their employees to engage in further studies and specialisation. The main focus of the private sector, on the other hand, is on the short-term delivery of training, as this formula suits their needs better, while maximising efficiency levels. Due to the cyclical economic outlook affecting private organisations, the HR function tends to be more resourceful, adopting new practices and measures quickly.
Both sectors provide their respective challenges. However, at their core lies a central commitment to executing the HR function as relevantly as possible – this is the mission that FHRD is proud to support.
How important is continuous development to both employer and employee?
In today’s globalised world, continuous development benefits both the organisation and employee. Recent EU statistics on lifelong learning indicate that more people are opting to stay in or re-enter education. This ensures that skills mismatching is kept to a minimum.
The subject of skills mismatch is unfortunately becoming more pertinent in Malta and it is one of the major contributors to the unemployment rate in Malta. Recent data shows that up to seven out of 10 jobs available in Malta require skills not available locally. The boon for employers is measurable through the diversification of their employees’ capabilities, which ultimately always amounts to better performance, higher efficiency and greater satisfaction.
The mindset of a successful business enterprise emphasises continuous development of staff as a permanent culture and not a temporary strategy, and it is therefore an essential aspect of any organisation.
How do you assist in conflict resolution at the workplace?
FHRD offers mediation services to the business community, whereby highly qualified mediators apply their structured yet flexible mediation methods to the conflict at hand. Conflict resolution is a tricky term that needs to be dissected before it can be treated. FHRD, along with its body of trained professionals, targets the source of the conflict by understanding what it has done to the affected organisation, and more importantly, what it can do. This key awareness of both the present and future climates is part of how mediation effectively resolves the conflict.
In conjunction with Prospect Business Consulting Limited, a UK-based boutique consultancy, we are also organising a seminar tackling conflict management on May 21, 2014. This session will shed light on the various ways of approaching conflict, and we invite interactive discussions from our participants to encourage a challenge-accepting, problem-solving attitude.
FHRD also organises the Malta People Awards – who do these awards recognise?
The Malta People Awards is one of the highlights of the FHRD’s year. The annual event celebrates outstanding HR achievements locally.
This year, the format of the awards will be revamped, but the stalwarts of good HR practice remain the main categories for contention: employee engagement, learning and development, performance and reward, excellence in diversity, and the separate prize of outstanding HR initiative award.
Past ceremonies have recognised people and organisations from a broad spectrum of industries, with their common feature being that they are all about people, which incidentally, happens to be our mantra.