KASBIT Business Journal, 6:65-73(2013) http://ideas.repec.org/s/ksb/journl.

html

Human Resource Consultancy and Organizational Growth: Exploring the Relationship

A.K.M. Mominul Haque Talukder

ABSTRACT

This study gives an insight about the Human Resource (HR) Management practices by HR
consultancy firms. The study strives to find out how the HR consultancy firms are
implementing HR practices and how much they follow HR policies to deal clients for daily
operations. A survey was done with 100 employees from 12 leading HR consultancy firms in
Bangladesh to learn the significance of strategic human resource management (SHRM)
required for organizational growth. The result suggests that HR consultancy firms consider
several dimensions while designing their SHRM planning needed for organizational growth.
The consultancy firms also acknowledge that to insure increased level of organizational
growth, the urgency of human resource development, proper HR policies, strategic recruitment
and training programs are significant.

JEL. Classification: E24, J24, O15.

Keywords: HR consultancy, Organizational growth, Strategic Human Resource Management

1. INTRODUCTION

Human Resource (HR) consultancy firms are committed to advancing the human resource
profession to ensure that HR is an essential and effective partner in developing and executing
organizational strategy. HR professionals who have the business acumen to contribute to
business strategy at the highest organizational levels are leading the shift in the HR profession
from administrators to strategic advisors. Those HR professionals who understand the
language of business, who speak in financial terms and who express the value of their work in
relation to its impact on the bottom line make HR a compelling component in strategy
discussions. The concept of HR consultancy firm is relatively new but growing industry in
Bangladesh. One of the factors behind this has been a shift towards using consultants to
provide specific skills that clients do not have in house. The supply of eligible candidates is
increasing in a far more speed than what the market is demanding. HR consultancy firms in
Bangladesh have already created the faith that they are efficient enough to find the right job for
the right person. Despite of having own HR department, most of the local as well as multi-
national companies now outsource part of their functions to these consultancy firms. HR
consultants facilitate the multinational companies to hire personnel as per the mentioned job
descriptions. It is always difficult and sensitive to develop the human asset as competitive
advantage so that the organization can make profit. Till date few studies have been conducted
to determine the likely effect of factors causing organizational growth in context HR
consultancy firms in Bangladesh. Hence, the present study will attribute to prevailing
literatures and subsequently will assist academics, researchers and practitioners to concentrate
on the factors influencing firms’ growth and development by HR consultancy firms.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

The need of having proper HR policies aligned with strategic goal and objective of the
organization is linked with organizational growth. The implementation of effective HR
practices has been shown to play an important role in building and maintaining the

Human Resource Consultancy and Organizational… 65 A.K.M.M.H. Talukder

KASBIT Business Journal, 6:65-73(2013) http://ideas.repec.org/s/ksb/journl.html
commitment of employees towards the organization (Allen et al. 2003). Few organizations
effectively measure how well their different inputs affect organizational growth. In particular,
no measures may be in place for quantifying the contribution people make to organizational
outcomes or, more importantly for estimating how changes in policies and practices, systems,
or processes will affect that contribution. Organizational growth is based upon the strategic
human resource management which need to review the HR policies time to time. The human
resources practitioner must ensure that the HR Strategy is integrated with broader
organizational objectives. The challenge is to infuse a strategic approach to sustainable
development throughout the organization. Although there can be number of factors triggering
the growth of organization, the present study deemed only six independent variables: HR
development, HR policies, HR outsourcing, training, recruitment, & strategic human resource
management and one dependent variable i.e., organizational growth to determine what extent
independent factors account for dependent variable. In the following sections literature review,
method, findings, discussion, conclusion and implications have been illustrated.

McLagan (1989) postulated a much larger scope for HRD by defining it as “the integrated use
of training and development, organization development, and career development to improve
individual, group, and organizational effectiveness.” Watkins (1991) supported this expansive
understanding of the field by defining HRD as a field that fosters the long-term, work-related
learning capacity at individual, group, and organizational levels, including, but not limited to,
organization development, career development, and training and development—the same areas
as identified by McLagan (1989). Donovan and Marsick (2000) pointed to the increasing
application and incorporation of other fields of study into the common understanding of HRD,
including organizational leadership, organizational values, workforce development at the
societal level, and labor economics.

Human Resources policies establish guidelines for action on people-related business issues and
HR programs (Mello 2006). People-related business issues are those that affect the immediate
and future success of the business and involve people. Flowing from the strategic business
needs they may include the need to hire skilled workers, the need to improve worker
productivity, or the need to reduce health care costs. Other business issues include the need to
develop a top cadre of international managers, the need to have an adaptable and skilled
workforce under changing environmental conditions, and the need to reduce excessive
turnover of younger, talented individuals who are blocked by the limited number of traditional
promotion opportunities.

Outsourcing is promoted as one of the most powerful trends in human resources management.
The rationale for outsourcing HR functions includes financial savings, an increased ability to
focus on strategic issues, access to technology and specialized expertise, and an ability to
demand measurable and improved service levels (Belcourt 2006). The form of HR delivery has
become much more popular in the last 10 years. PricewaterhouseCoopers survey (2002)
reported that over 70% of organizations outsourced at least one aspect of their HR work
compared with a little less than 50% two years earlier, and this is likely to have grown
consistently since then (Marchington and Wilkinson 2008). Charles et al. (1999) identified five
competitive forces that are driving more companies to outsource some or all of their HR
activities: downsizing, rapid growth or decline, globalization, increased competition, and
restructuring. The global imperatives for outsourcing accelerates as firms evolve from sellers
of products and services abroad to setting up operations in foreign countries and staffing those
operations with host country or third party nationals. Strategically, outsourcing provides HR
departments with a tool of producing competitive advantage for the firm.

Human Resource Consultancy and Organizational… 66 A.K.M.M.H. Talukder

KASBIT Business Journal, 6:65-73(2013) http://ideas.repec.org/s/ksb/journl.html
Training has long been a fundamental concern in organizational contexts. As the nature of
work changes, employees are increasingly required to develop a wide, mutable set of skills that
are essential to the success of their organizations. Yet few workers possess the cultural
competence, interpersonal skills and technological proficiency required for these changing
work demands (Salas and Stagl 2009). Training is focused on producing permanent cognitive
and behavioral changes, and on developing critical competencies for job performance.
Organizations make increasingly large investments in training because it serves as a powerful
tool for producing the targeted cognitive, behavioral and affective learning outcomes essential
for their survival. Effective training can yield higher productivity, improved work quality,
increased motivation and commitment, higher morale and teamwork, and fewer errors,
culminating in a strong competitive advantage. Training and employee development are vital
contributors to organizational success and will continue to be so in the foreseeable future.

Hiring competent people is of paramount importance and this is dependent on effective

recruitment and selection procedures, which aim to select the ‘right’ individuals and reject the
‘wrong’ ones. The importance of this should not be underestimated because a poor requirement
decision can cost an employer an amount equal to 30 per cent of the employee’s first-year
earnings (Hacker 1997). These costs can include: lower productivity; potential loss of clients;
training costs; advertising costs; recruitment fees and redundancy packages (Smith and Graves
2002). Recruitment and selection involves making predictions about future behavior so that
decisions can be made about who will be most suitable for a particular job. Predictions must
always be couched in terms of probabilities because the future is unpredictable (Bach 2005). In
addition, employee selection is a procedure of matching organizational requirements with the
skills and qualifications of people. Selection process helps an organization to effectively select
the right people for the organization.

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is concerned with the relationship between an
organization’s strategic management and the management of its human resources (Boxall
1996). Gerhart (2005) suggested that SHRM moves closer to the individual level by
emphasizing HR’s impact on employee relations and attitudes. Effective organizations are
increasingly realizing that of the varied factors that contribute to performance, the human
element is clearly the most critical (Mello 2006). Managers at all levels in organizations are
becoming increasingly aware that a critical source of competitive advantage often comes not
from having the most ingenious product design or service, the best marketing strategy, state-
of-the art technology, or the most savvy financial management but from having the appropriate
systems for attracting, motivating, and managing the organizations’ human resources. The HR
strategy will need to show that careful planning of the people issues will make it substantially
easier for the organization to achieve its wider strategic and operational goals. There is no
single approach to developing a Human Resources Strategy. The specific approach will vary
from one organization to another.

So from the above detailed discussions following hypothesis can be deducted:

H1: Human Resource Development program will be positively related with organizational
growth.
H2: Implementing HR Policies appropriately will be positively related with organizational
growth.
H3: HR outsourcing will be positively related with organizational growth.
H4: Implementing training programs will be positively related with organizational growth.
H5: Strategic recruitment system will be positively related with organizational growth.

Human Resource Consultancy and Organizational… 67 A.K.M.M.H. Talukder

KASBIT Business Journal, 6:65-73(2013) http://ideas.repec.org/s/ksb/journl.html
H6: Strategic human resource management practices will be positively related with
organizational growth.

3. CONCEPTUAL MODEL

For the growth of any organization the first necessity is to have an efficient pool of human
resources who can make the organization grow with their ideas, effort, thinking and dedication.
It is highly needed that the organization has proper human resource development program as it
is the people who run the organization and without developing them properly an organization
can never grow. A model (Figure 1) is derived from a review of the literature by integrating
theory and research in congruent to human resource development, HR policies, recruitment,
training, HR outsourcing and strategic human resource management and their relationship with
organizational growth in this study. The used questionnaire also stemmed from the same
literature review. The concepts of human capital and strategic human resource management
(SHRM) have become popular among organizations in terms of their philosophy and
techniques (Jackson and Schuler, 2000).

Training

HR SHRM
Development ORGANIZATIONAL
GROWTH HR
HR Policy
Outsourcing

Recruitment

Figure 1: Hypothesized model of the study

4. METHOD

Participants were employees from 12 leading HR consultancy firms of Bangladesh and asked
to fill out self-administered structured questionnaire. The effective sample size consisted of
100 employees. The questionnaire was designed with six independent variables such as human
resource development, HR policies, recruitment, training, HR outsourcing and strategic human
resource management and one dependent variable as organizational growth. In each variable
there were five items and the questions of each section were in the form of statements that
were direct, simple and concise mostly.

Participants choose the appropriate option from 7 likert scale as per their agreement level.
Scale rating provided was: 1=‘Highly Disagree’, 2=‘Moderately Disagree’, 3=‘Neutral’,

Human Resource Consultancy and Organizational… 68 A.K.M.M.H. Talukder

KASBIT Business Journal, 6:65-73(2013) http://ideas.repec.org/s/ksb/journl.html
4=‘Moderately Agree’, 5=‘Highly Agree’. Questionnaires were distributed at the management
levels of those employed through emailing. Out of the 100 participants, Intern was 5%, HR
Trainee 5%, Junior HR Associate 56%, HR Associate 28%, and Senior HR Associate 6%. Of
them, 15 were female (15%) and 85 were male (85%). Of them, 6% have job experience of
more than 2 years, 12% have less than 1 year and 82% have 1 to 2 years tenure. Descriptive
statistics of some demographic variables of the participants for instance position mean was
3.25 & standard deviation 0.85 respectively; tenure mean was 1.94 & standard deviation 0.42
respectively and gender mean was 1.15 & standard deviation 0.4 respectively. Data gained
were analyzed with SPSS. Alpha value was calculated to know the reliability and to test
hypothesis, Pearson Correlation and linear regression were used.

5. FINDINGS

Table 1 represents alpha ranges from .82 to .84, which was required to know the internal
consistency of items among variables. Table 2 is the summary of the regression statistics.

Hypothesis 1 and 2 predicts that firms designing effective human resource development
positively related with organizational growth. The study finds a very strong correlation
between organizational growth with human resource development (r=.92**, p<.01) and HR
policies (r=.93**, p<.01).

Hypothesis 3 and 4 predicts that there is positive correlation of organizational growth with HR
outsourcing (r=.58**, p<.01) and training (r=.75**, p<.01).

Hypothesis 5 and 6 predicts that there is a positive correlation of organizational growth with
recruitment (r=.82**, p<.01) and strategic HRM (r=.61, <.01).

Table 2 indicates that the organizational growth shows the strong relationship with
independent factors (Adj. R2 .94) which is strongly fitted model (F 281.14).

Table 1. Descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlations and Reliabilities among variables

Variables Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1. Organizational Growth 3.71 .60 (.83)
2. Human Resource Development 3.74 .59 .92 (.82)
3. HR Policy 3.70 .57 .93 .88 (.84)
4. Human Resource Outsourcing 3.68 .58 .58 .54 .50 (.80)
5. Training 3.66 .53 .75 .75 .61 .53 (.84)
6. Recruitment 3.74 .56 .82 .72 .69 .54 .74 (.83)
7. Strategic HRM 3.64 .60 .61 .60 .53 .78 .46 .59 (.84)
N=100, **p<.01, *p<.05; all items measured in 5 point scale

Human Resource Consultancy and Organizational… 69 A.K.M.M.H. Talukder

KASBIT Business Journal, 6:65-73(2013) http://ideas.repec.org/s/ksb/journl.html

Table 2. Regression results affecting organizational growth in the study

Unstandardized
Variables Coefficients Standardized Coefficients
β Std. Error Β t Sig.
Human Resource Development .214 .061 .214 3.497 .001
HR Policy Implementation .517 .054 .506 9.661 .000
HR Outsourcing 8.999E-03 .040 .009 .223 .824
Training .115 .048 .103 2.423 .017
Recruitment .209 .043 .199 4.839 .000
Strategic HRM 5.820E-02 .041 .059 1.434 .155
F 281.14
R .95
R2 .94
Adjusted R2 .94
Dependent: Organizational Growth

6. DISCUSSION

The result displays that to ensure organizational growth, human resource development is
necessary. The literature suggests that employees enhance their commitment towards the
organization when the organization meets their expectations. The positive results of having
appropriate HR policies is supported by several studies in the literature concerning the nature
of the relationship between business strategy, human resource management and firm
performance (Kelliher and Perret, 2001). This can be justified by the study of Hansson (2007)
mentioned that issues of HRM practices at front line management in the organization required
concrete set of training programs. The research finds moderately significant relationship with
HR outsourcing and organizational growth. Specifically, the relationship between the degree of
outsourcing and the perceived benefits generated was moderated by reliance on idiosyncratic
HR practices, uncertainty, firm size, and cost pressures. The result shows that training is
positively related with organizational growth.

This can be justified by the study of Kintana, Alonso and Olaverri (2006) that the training has
positive effects on employees’ productivity. Literatures of HRM implies that if people are
considered and managed as valuable strategic resources, the firm can achieve competitive
advantage and as a consequence demonstrate superior performance (Pfeffer 1998). Selection
plays a critical role in implementing firm strategy and is designed to employ people with
desired skills and behaviors needed to improve performance (Werbel and DeMarie 2005). The
findings represent a moderate relationship between SHRM and organizational growth. There is
a close relationship between human resources management and firm’s strategy which in turn
refers to the business environment and organizational development (Grundy 1997). It is widely
accepted that a company's human resource management practices should be matching to the
strategy of the whole company.

7. CONCLUSION AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Considering the results together shows that the twelve leading HR consultancy firms follow
similar HR policies and executes their business in almost similarly as the findings of the
present study has been revealed. The employees believe that HR consultancy firms should
practice proper human resource development plans required for organizational growth. There
is need to focus on the human resource development program for innovation and creation of
Human Resource Consultancy and Organizational… 70 A.K.M.M.H. Talukder
KASBIT Business Journal, 6:65-73(2013) http://ideas.repec.org/s/ksb/journl.html
ideas for the benefit of organizational business. According to the study, to ensure
organizational growth the HR policies should be reshuffled, properly communicated and
employees also believe that these firms should follow HR policies that align with their long
term strategic goal of growth and success.

HR outsourcing is becoming one of the major businesses of these consultancy firms and they
believe that it is beneficial for the organization if properly merged with the overall objectives
of the firm. The study also identifies that many firms do not practice SHRM that might ensure
desired growth of the organization. In accordance to this organizations agreed on strategic
recruitment policies and training programs which comes on priority for systematic
organizational growth. The firms could also follow timely recruitment process that would help
them to learn and grow. The study strongly commends more rooms to spare for further
research. Though the study was confined to 12 consultancy firms and the sample size was
small (N=100), to have comprehensive idea sample size could have been bigger. Future
research may also consider multiple stakeholders to increase data reliability pertaining to
enormous quest of HR consultancy in Bangladesh.

REFERENCES

Allen, D. G., L. M. Shore, and R. W. Griffeth 2003. The role of perceived organizational
support and supportive human resource practices in the turnover process. Journal of
Management, 29(1):99-118.

Bach, S. 2005. Managing Human Resource: Personnel Management in Transition. Oxford:

Blackwell.

Belcourt, M. 2006. Outsourcing - The Benefits and the Risks, Human Resource Management
Review, 16(2):269-279.

Boxall, P. F. (1996). The Strategic HRM debate and the Resource-based view of the Firm.
Human Resource Management Journal, 6(3):59–75.

Charles, R. G., A. Y. Stuart, and A. G. David 1999. Human Resource Management

Outsourcing: The Make or Buy Decision. Academy of Management Executive,
13(3):85-96.

Donovan, L. L., and V. J. Marsick 2000. Trends in literature: A Comparative Analysis of 1998
HRD Research. In K. P. Kuchinke (Ed.), 2000 conference proceedings of the
Academy of Human Resource Development (section 40-2). Baton Rouge, LA: AHRD.
Gerhart, B. 2005. Human Resources and Business Performance: Findings, Unanswered
Questions, and An Alternative Approach. Management Review, 16(2):174–185.

Grundy, T. 1997. Human Resource Management - A Strategic Approach, Long Range

Planning, 30(4):507-517.

Hacker, C. 1997. The Cost of Poor Hiring Decisions and How to Avoid them, HR Focus,
74(10):13-14.

Human Resource Consultancy and Organizational… 71 A.K.M.M.H. Talukder

KASBIT Business Journal, 6:65-73(2013) http://ideas.repec.org/s/ksb/journl.html
Hansson, B. 2007. Company based determinants of Training and Impact of Training on
Company Performance: Results from an International HRM Survey. Personnel
Review, 36(2):311-331.

Jackson, S. E. and R. S. Schuler 2000. Managing Human Resources: A Partnership

Perspective. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College.

Kelliher, C. and G. Perrett 2001. Business strategy and approaches to HRM: A case study of
new developments in the United Kingdom restaurant industry, Personnel Review,
30(4):421-437.

Kintana, M. L., Alonso, A. U., and C. Olaverri 2006. High Performance Work Systems and
Firms Operational Performance. International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 17(1):70-85.

McLagan, P. A. 1989. Models for HRD practice: The models. Alexandria, VA: American
Society for Training and Development.

Mello, J. A. 2006. Strategic Human Resource Management. Thomson, South-Western.

Pfeffer, J. 1998. The Human Equation: Building Profits By Putting People First. Boston, MA:
Harward Business School Press.

Salas, E., and K. C. Stagl. 2009. Design Training Systematically and Follow the Science of
Training, in E. Locke (ed.), Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior:
Indispensible Knowledge for Evidence-Based Management, 2nd edn (Chichester:
John Wiley & Sons), 59–84.

Marchington, M. and A.Wilkinson 2008. Human Resource Management at Work, Chartered

Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), London.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2002 Sustainability Survey Report.

Smith, M., and C. Graves 2002. Re-engineering recruitment to the accounting profession,
Managerial Auditing Journal, 17(3):117-121

Watkins, K. E. 1991. Many voices: Defining Human Resource Development from different
Disciplines. Adult Education Quarterly. 41(4):241-255.

Werbel, J. D., and S. M. DeMarie 2005. Aligning Strategic Human Resource Management and
Person–Environment fit. Human Resource Management Review, 15:247–262.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Author(s) would like to thank the editors and anonymous referees for their comments and
insight in improving the draft copy of this article. Author(s) further would like to declare that
this manuscript is original and has not previously been published, and that it is not currently on
offer to another publisher; and also transfer copyrights to the publisher of this journal.

Human Resource Consultancy and Organizational… 72 A.K.M.M.H. Talukder

KASBIT Business Journal, 6:65-73(2013) http://ideas.repec.org/s/ksb/journl.html

DECLARATION

The material presented by the author(s) do(es) not necessarily represent the viewpoint of
editors and the management of Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari Institute of Technology (KASBIT)
as well as the author’s institute.

ABOUT AUTHOR(S)

1. Senior Lecturer, School of Business, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. E-mail:
momin@northsouth.edu

Received: 15-09-2013; Revised: 24-10-2013; Accepted: 30-12-2013; Published: 31-12-2013

Human Resource Consultancy and Organizational… 73 A.K.M.M.H. Talukder