Human Resource Management and Institution Building and HIV / AIDS in the Workplace
SIPU Internationals support to the Eastern Cape Province started through other projects already in 1999.
The projects have been based on a modern approach to Human Resource Management (HRM) where HRM is regarded as processes supporting the achievement of the organisations goals. In the public sector this means to support good performance in order to achieve good results in terms of services to the citizens and support to political decision-makers.
The project focused on HRM and Human Resource Development (HRD) in terms of policies, strategies and training programmes as well as institution building, organisational development and financial management. The main cooperating partners receiving the support were the Office of the Premier as the central policy making machinery as well as the line departments. The Office of the Premier is the office that gives direct support to the politically elected Premier, to ensure that the provincial policies are implemented in accordance with his priorities and the directions he was given by the Provincial legislature.
The support included assistance regarding HRM/D strategies and programmes, HRM handbooks, institution building in various parts of the administration, team building, management development, equity planning, public service ethical standards, good governance, revision of staff supernumeraries, personnel records development, performance agreements, staff planning and draft policies in all areas so defined by the central Department of Public Service Administration. Within the overall results-oriented approach to HRM the project also included elements of direct analysis of the performance management system in Eastern Cape Province and support to the implementation of this system in some line departments.
The project also included a separate component geared towards support to a provincial HIV/AIDS action programme and support to its implementation.
The programme encompassed a gender equity component where assistance was given to Employment Equity and the development of Networks for Women Managers. A number of workshops for managers on gender equity were conducted and a training programme for women managers developed and partly implemented.
Outputs and results: Design and implementation of a Match to match system. The support included support to strike a functional balance between
different provincial resources.- OD facilitation. The support focused on analysis of various provincial organisations, recommendations of changes
and training of provincial OD staff. Project resources were also provided for coaching of managers.
– HRM development and Training. This was the main bulk of the programme and included all parts of HRM such as: Development of provincial
strategies based on national prescripts, HR strategies to support organisational objectives, Recruitment, Selection, Advancement, Job analysis, Job
specification and design, Job descriptions, HR planning, Career planning, Human Resources development and Retrenchment of staff. The support
involved development of strategies for all these areas, documentation of procedures and handbooks. This was matched by training programmes for
provincial HR staff.- Strategic planning. The focus was on development of provincial formats for service delivery planning on departmental level
and direct support to selected provincial departments in developing such plans.
– Operational planning. Based on strategic plans, different plans were developed to make the plans operational, such as need of human and
financial resources as well as systems development. It included substantial capacity building
A number of workshops for managers on gender equity were conducted and a training programme for women managers developed and partly
implemented.
– Institutional HIV I Aids strategies and plans for all provincial departments. The focus was on HIV I Aids in the workplace, how an organisation
should manage the effects of HI VI Aids in terms of the capacity of the institutions to deliver results as well as impact on service provision. The
province now has an overall strategy endorsed by the legislature, matching plans in all provincial departments, capacitated departmental focal
points, various strategies for prevention, counselling and information, revised HR strategies for areas such as HR planning. Massive training was
done to support strategy development