Human Resource Management Practices At 3M Are Discussed In An Essay.

1.Explain the purpose and functions of HRM with specific reference to Human Resource Management Practices at 3M. Explain and assess how these functions assist 3M in their HR planning and resourcing, to eventually help them achieve their core organizational objectives. 

2.Explain different approaches to recruitment & selection, as well as employee engagement practiced at 3M, and state the observed strengths and weaknesses of such approaches. 

3.Analyse the importance of employees’ relations in 3M organization, as well as identify the key elements of employment legislation in the organization; discuss their influence and impact on HRM decision making in 3M.

4.Illustrate at least two, or more specific examples of HRM practices followed by 3M, and provide a rationale of their application in the organization’s work environment. 

The 15 percent program at 3M

3M is one of the most renowned multinational companies in the world today with an annual turnover that amounts to billions of dollars. Optical films, adhesives, cellophane tapes, regular tapes etc are some of the products that the company is known to manufacture. What distinguishes 3M from related companies in the global market is the special emphasis that it lays on the production of innovative goods. It encourages its employees to come up with amazing innovations by letting them using a certain portion of their paid time in office to think and ponder over their projects and come up with great ideas. This essay analyzes the human management practices that are deployed by 3M to foster creativity among its employees, and which ultimately bring out the best in what they have to offer.

1.Understanding the Purpose and Functions of Human Resource Management with Special Reference to Human Resource Management Practices at 3M

3M is a multinational company that makes as much as twenty billion dollars annually in sales and which specializes in the manufacture of products like adhesives and optical films. It is well known for its 15 percent program, a human resource management practice that awards employees of the company fifteen percent of their paid time to brainstorm on innovative ideas (Cooper 2013). Employees get to spend fifteen minutes that they would otherwise have spent working for the company, to be creative, put their thinking caps on and let their thoughts run wild a little bit (Edge and Shore 2013). This 15 percent program which was launched in as early as 1948 has fostered creative and innovative thinking among employees in the office space, resulting in the birth of products like the Post It Note, as invented by Art Fry in the year 1974. In fact Art Fry has attributed his ability to come up with such an invention due to the fifteen percent paid time that he was given when working at 3M, to think as creatively as possible about his work. He realized during his thinking break at work that if adhesive was applied to the back of a paper piece it would result in the creation of the perfect book mark. The 15 percent program at 3M is undoubtedly one of the best human resource management practices to implement for companies as it encourages people at work to ponder on ideas that can eventually materialize into sound business ventures (Alfes et al. 2013). 3M is a company that learnt the hard way, that if one does not innovate, then doing good business and surviving competition can prove to be a difficult affair (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). The owners of 3M first started a mining business which failed, and then bought a sandpaper factory which they struggled with for many years. In the courses of their struggle the factory owners realized that only the birth of new creative ideas could help them beat their rivals as was made evident by inventions like making cellophane tape and regular tape, in this period of struggle (Nicholson 2013).

The 15 percent program at 3M is implemented in an organized and systematic way. Employees are given fifteen percent of their paid time in office to think about new thoughts pertaining to their professional projects and activities, during which they usually end up pursuing things that they had earlier discovered while doing their work but did not have sufficient time to follow through (Herrera 2015). The execution of the program does of course depend on a number of factors, such as the ability of managers to keep a close watch over their projects. It is also a human resource management practice that is extended to each and every employee working at 3M and not just those involved in scientific work. Employees involved in marketing and sales are also allowed to participate in the 15 percent program given that it is hard to tell where the next great innovative idea could come from (Kehoe and Wright 2013). Failures are also accepted if not embraced and this human resource management practice has inspired a number of other companies too like Google and Hewlett Packard for example (Albrecht et al. 2015).  Google is known to award twenty percent paid time to employees to think creatively about the projects they are working on (Bratton and Gold 2017).

The whole purpose of a human resource management practice like the 15 percent program of 3M is to come up with innovative ideas that will make for good business (Marchington et al. 2016). Through its successful implementation of the 15 percent program, 3M has managed to get its employees to hit upon innovations like optical films which are capable of reflecting light, getting painters tape to stick easily to wall edges for protecting against paint bleed and clear bandages, all of which have managed to make their way into the market and do well in the market. The 15 percent program has also assisted the 3M Company with its recruitment activities. Specialized workers at the company are people who are highly prized by the top level management and every effort is made to fight for them as much as possible (Storey 2014). The human resource management practice of 15 percent paid time will definitely help other companies who implement this too (Jackson et al. 2014). Companies who offer salaries that are approximately similar to each other can end up tipping the scales rather easily through the execution of paid time programs (Jackson et al. 2014).

2.The approach to the selection and recruitment of employees at 3M is one that lays special emphasis on creativity and innovative thinking. 3M encourages the hiring of employees who are able to and are willing to more importantly, to think out of the box, and beyond boundaries to arrive at ideas and thoughts that can result in developing products and services which can do really well in the market (Amin et al. 2014). That client satisfaction is something that is hard to retain is a known fact. It is therefore essential for any and every company to come up with new ways and means to manufacture products and services that are novel in nature and which are therefore sure to catch the attention of customers when launched in the market (Zaharie and Osoian 2013). Thus, 3M is always in the lookout for specialized workers at the time of recruitment. This is not a company that believes in recruiting only employees who have a great CV and who have technically everything that they are supposed to have in order to be recruited by a top company. 3M aims at recruiting those who can think long and hard to come up with great ideas eventually. If specialized workers are ultimately taken into the company, the management goes out of its way to make sure that these workers feel valued when they are working at 3M (Dustin et al. 2014). The specialized employees are provided with the type of work environment where they can really stimulate their intellect so as to ultimately hit upon new thoughts and suggestions that can help the company to make great advances in the manufacture of its products. They are given the scope to express their thoughts and views as much as possible and no attempt is made on the part of the management to suppress their thinking in any way. If specialist workers do end up experiencing difficulties while doing their job, the management fights for them as hard as possible so that they are retained by the company for over a long period of time.

Importance of Employee Relations and Employment Legislation

 As far as employee engagement is concerned, employees are given complete freedom when doing their work. Once a project is complete, those in supervisorial positions offer their feedback and suggestions on the work that has been done. Failure if any is accepted and at times even embraced by the company (Enkel and Bader 2014). The company accepts the truth that while certain innovative ideas may just fail when put into practice, there are others that can end up doing really well and acquire high market value when these are allowed to materialize (Steiber and Alange 2013).

The biggest strength associated with paid thinking time at 3M is that it encourages employees to do their best for the company. Creative and intelligent thinking is fostered and employees are given the time and freedom to come up with suggestions, ideas and innovations that may work well for the company (Hattangadi 2015). Risks can be limited if internal ideas are allowed to spin off into companies that may later be bought back. On the downside though, some creative or innovative ideas can languish for several years to come before these find manifestation. The possibility also exists for internal groups to end up pursuing external ideas, which in turn can prove to be harmful in terms of productivity.

3.3M is a company that encourages healthy employee relations through the element of creative competitiveness. Employees do not just want to come up with the best innovations when working at 3M but they want to be able to impress their peers as well. Employees at 3M are encouraged to interact with one another and provide each other with suggestions and feedback in order to improve upon each other’s work. When it comes to identifying the key elements of employee legislation at 3M, what really stands out is the fact that workers are given the freedom to spend a certain portion of their office hours on creative thinking. This is allowed by the company in spite of knowing the fact that some of the ideas that employees come up with can take several years to reach fruition or may even fail when put to the test. The key word here is freedom. It is fully legal for employees to spend fifteen percent of their paid office hours on thinking as creatively as they can. Nothing is imposed on them, no guidelines or caveats along the lines of which they ought to direct their creative thinking. They can contemplate as much as they want to in these fifteen minutes without anyone telling them what to do. This in fact is one of the most attractive features of working at 3M. There are several other companies who have tried to implement the 15 percent program for employees but have not been very successful. This is largely due to the fact that the imposition of such a program entails huge expenditure on the part of the company. 3M is willing to make the investment that is needed in order to keep the 15 percent program a reality for its employees for as long as possible.

Examples of HRM Practices followed by 3M

4.Two examples of the practice of human resource management at 3M are the implementation of the 15 percent program and the recruitment of creative and specialized employees. The 15 percent program is one that allows employees at 3M to devote fifteen percent of their paid time in the office to think on ideas and projects that they do not have time to ponder on when doing their work. They are allocated a certain part of the day therefore to think as creatively as they would like to, to rack their brains and come up with ideas and suggestions that may at some point prove beneficial for the company to put into action. While this requires a considerable amount of monetary investment on the part of 3M, the company believes that only by encouraging and fostering creative thinking among its employees can it end up producing products and services that are likely to do very well in the market. The company understands that the best ideas take a long time to come and in a creative environment only. When individuals are allowed to think as freely as possible they are able to come up with thoughts and ideas which they would otherwise not pay much attention to and which they might not even think of very seriously unless given the permission to ponder on such thoughts. Similarly, the 3M Company at the time of recruitment pays special attention to the recruitment of skilled workers rather than the average Joe. Instead of looking for employees who have a lot of bookish knowledge, the company looks for employees who are able to think on their feet, who are able to answer difficult questions after contemplating on those questions and who are creative in their overall thinking and outlook. It is the firm belief of the 3M Company that by recruiting and valuing creative employees can it end up producing the type of things that can compete well with whatever is produced by rival companies. After recruiting skilled and specialized employees the company goes out of its way to make sure that these employees feel valued by the company. They are given the space to think as much as they want to, use new technology to do their work and seek feedback from other employees as well as members of the top level management when they come up with new ideas for production. The interactive atmosphere at the company and the engagement that is encouraged and facilitated between workers ultimately goes a long way in helping the 3M Company to produce goods that are unique in nature and which are likely to incur huge sales when they make their way into the market. Apart from making specialized workers feel valued, the 3M Company’s top level management also undertakes efforts to fight for specialized workers who might be experiencing difficulties while working at the company. Employee difficulties and issues are addressed by the management as soon as these arise so that specialized workers do not find an incentive to leave the company and go somewhere else.

The human resource management practices of giving employees paid time to think creatively and come up with new ideas and the efforts made by the company to recruit and retain specialized workers, has helped the 3M Company to become a renowned multinational company earning billions of dollars annually. By facilitating creative and innovative thinking, the company is able to produce quality goods and services for the most part, with a few inevitable failures here and there. While giving employees paid time to think creatively does require a lot of investment, companies should take the cue from 3M and support the growth of new ideas and specialized work in order to be able to compete well enough in the present day business environment. Innovative thinking and working will result in a considerable rise in the standards of products and services launched by any company in the market.

Conclusion

Thus, 3M is a company that certainly stands out in the international market today because of the fantastic approach that it takes to encourage innovation among its employees. Indeed this is a company that leaves no stone unturned in terms of investment and employee engagement to get its employees to bring out their creative best at work, ultimately resulting in the manufacture of interesting products that have high market value.

References

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