People Management: Challenges, Skills, and HR Support at Aston Martin

This report delves into the critical aspects of people management within organizations, focusing on Aston Martin as a case study. It identifies contemporary issues faced by line management, such as lack of communication, improper support, reduced employee performance, and poor teamwork. The report emphasizes the essential knowledge, skills, and behaviors required for effective people managers, including market trend awareness, understanding employee needs, communication proficiency, decision-making capabilities, motivational skills, and problem-solving abilities. Furthermore, it examines the role of HR processes, such as human resource planning, recruitment, employee relations, and benefits and compensation, in underpinning and supporting management efforts to plan for effective performance management. The report concludes that a strong focus on people management and strategic HR practices is crucial for achieving business goals and fostering a productive work environment.

Individual research

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
1. Contemporary issues faced by the line management while managing people........................1
2. Knowledge, skills and behaviours required to be an effective people manager......................2
3. HR process underpinning and supporting management while planning for effective
performance management............................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
People management could be defined as the process and practices that are performed by
the entities while planning to manage the human capital of the organisation. Some of the key
aspects that are focused by the companies while managing people includes talent optimisation,
retention and acquisition. In order to assure highly engaged staff members in the business it is
very important for the managers to make sure that they are able to provide appropriate training to
all of them (Alziari, 2017). Main aim of present report is to understand importance of people
management for the businesses so that all the desired goals could be accomplished. The
organisation which is selected for this report is Aston Martin which is one of the largest
automotive sector company and operating business all around the world. This report will cover
various topics such as contemporary issues faced by line management, knowledge, skills and
behaviour required to become an effective manager. Apart from this, support of HR processes to
manage the people at workplace effectively is also covered in this assignment.
MAIN BODY
1. Contemporary issues faced by the line management while managing people
Managing people could be defined as the process of managing the staff members who are
working within the organisation and supporting execution of all the operational activities in
systematic manner. It is very important for all the managers to make sure that they are able to
manage the employees so that the desired level of success could be acquired. In Aston Martin the
line management is highly focused with management of people within the enterprise. While
trying to manage them different types of issues are faced by the managers. Some of them are
discussed below:
Lack of communication: It is one of the major issue which is faced by line management
while trying to manage people within the organisation. In Aston Martin the managers are not
able to interact with the staff properly because of communication gap. It is very important for the
managers to deal with this issue so that the employees could be motivated to work effectively
and retained for long run in future. If the situation remains the same then it may create
difficulties in future to retain talent and attain growth for business (Baruch and Gregoriou, 2017).
Improper support: It is also a challenge which is faced by the line managers when they
manage the staff members in Aston Martin. The employees of the organisation are not supportive
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because they think that the managers are exploiting them and trying to fulfil the organisational
goals. Due to this mind set, their support to the line management gets decreased and it is
resulting in decreased productivity of business. It is very important for the managers to deal with
this issue as it can help to assure effective execution of all the operations.
Reduced performance and engagement of staff in their work: In Aston Martin the
line managers are focused with management of all the people working within the company. One
of the main contemporary issue which is faced by them is decreased performance and
engagement level of employees in their jobs. This challenge creates difficulties for the managers
to manage the employees and motivate them to get engaged in their jobs. If this issue will not be
resolved, then it may enhance staff turnover for the organisation that may lead the business
towards huge losses and decreased productivity (Hoffman and Tadelis, 2018).
Poor team work: For effective execution of all the operational activities teamwork is
one of the main element which is required for all the businesses. In Aston Martin the managers
are facing the issue of poor team work while planning to manage the staff within the
organisation. Due to this challenge the entity is not able to reach all its long term objectives
successfully. It is very important to deal with this problem as it is required for proper execution
of all the business operations.
All the above described issues are faced by Aston Martin’s line management while trying
to manage people effectively at workplace. In order to deal with all of them it is very important
for the managers to formulate effective strategies and try to accomplish all the goals and
objectives (Jyoti, 2019).
2. Knowledge, skills and behaviours required to be an effective people manager
For all the managers it is very important to acquire knowledge, skills and behaviour so that
they can manage the people effectively within the organisation. If they will not be able to acquire
the required capabilities, then it may lead the business towards failure because due to this the
management will not be able to manage people effectively. As Aston Martin is one of the largest
entities that are operating business at global level so it is very important for the managers of it to
be focused with acquisition of specific skills, knowledge and behaviours (Knies and Leisink,
2018). List of all of them is as follows:
Information of market trends: For a people manager it is one of the major knowledge
which can help to manage the employees properly at workplace. If the management will not have
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any details about the market trends, then it can affect their ability of decision making for
improving staff engagement. If the managers at Aston Martin will not be able to develop this
knowledge, then it can affect their work to manage employees within the organisation because
they will not be aware of market situations.
Details of requirements of staff: It is very important for all the people managers to
make sure that they are able to have detailed information of requirements of employees as it can
help to find ways to motivate them. If the managers of Aston Martin will not have any
information regarding the requirements of employees, then it can affect their ability of managers
to formulate decisions. By interacting with all the employees on regular basis the managers will
be able to gather information of needs of staff which can help to manage the people at workplace
(Knies, Leisink and Van De Schoot, 2020).
Proper communication: It could be defined as the skill which is required by an
individual to interact with others. For the people’s manager of Aston martin this skill will also be
required because with the help of it, it will be very easy to communicate with other in systematic
manner. If the managers will be able to interact with all the employees, then it will be very easy
to manage them in systematic manner.
Decision making: It could be described as the capability which helps the managers to
take effective decisions. This skill is also required to be acquired by the managers responsible for
managing people at workplace in Aston Martin. With the help of this skill they will be able to
formulate effective decisions which can facilitate the attainment of all the goals. Acquisition of
this skills can result in formulation of efficient strategies that can result in improved employee
engagement. If the managers will not be able to acquire it then it may affect their ability to
formulate effective decisions for betterment of staff that can create challenges in proper
management of employees (Liao and Ai Lin Teo, 2018).
Motivating nature: It is one of the major behaviours which should be acquired by a
people’s manager. If the management will be able to motivate the employees, then it can enhance
their engagement level in the tasks that are assigned to them. It is also required by the managers
of Aston Martin so that they can motivate the employees to perform all their jobs properly and
remain engaged in the jobs that are allocated to them. If the managers will not have motivating
behaviour, then it can affect the productivity of staff.
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Problem solving: For a people manager it is very important to be good in problem
solving as this behaviour can help to find ways to deal with all the negative situations in
systematic manner. This behaviour is also required to be improved by the managers in Aston
Martin so that they can manage the employees properly. If this behaviour will not be developed
by them then it can affect the attainment of all the desired goals and objectives of the
organisation (Martin and Siebert, 2016).
All the above described knowledge, skills and behaviours are required by the people’s
manager in all the entities as with the help of them an individual will be able to respond to all the
issues that could be faced because of improper management of staff at workplace. If the
managers will not acquire all these capabilities, then it may result in unmanaged staff.
3. HR process underpinning and supporting management while planning for effective
performance management
HR Processes could be defined as different types of procedures that are undertaken by the
managers while trying to manage the performance of staff systematically. For all the line
managers it is very important to make sure that they are able to deal with all the issues that are
taking place because of improper management of staff. In order to respond to all such types of
challenges it is very important for the entities to use different HR processes as it can help to plan
effective performance management. In Aston Martin the managers are paying attention towards
different HJR processes. All of them are discussed below:
Human resource planning: It is a type of continuous process which is focused by the
managers for the purpose of assuring the proper management of all the staff members. It is
focused by the HR of Aston Martin while planning for effective performance management. By
using it the managers assure placement of right individuals at right place at right time. It
facilitates the enterprise to improve productivity because the jobs that are assigned to staff are
based upon their interest (Mascarenhas, 2019).
Recruitment: This HR process is focused with attraction, interview, identification,
selection and hiring of talent within the organisation so that individuals can contribute in
development of business. In Aston Martin it is also focused by the managers so that they can
recruit talented staff members who can help the enterprise to meet its goals. It can help to
manage the performance effectively because skilled staff can help the enterprise to perform
systematically.
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Employee relations: It could be defined as the HR process which is focused by the
entities for establishing good relations with the staff members. It facilitates the management of
Aston Martin to address and interact with the employees and reduce the possibility of conflicts
and improve the level of self-morale. It is very important for all the entities as it results in proper
and effective performance management because with the help of it productivity of staff could be
improved.
Benefits and compensation: For all the entities it is very important to make sure that
they are providing appropriate compensation and benefits to the staff according to their efforts in
operations. Aston Martin’s managers are assuring that they offer appropriate benefits to the
employees so that they can work productively. With the help of this HR process the managers
will be able to plan effective performance management because when the staff will be benefitted
properly then it can help to enhance their motivation towards work (Wellington, 2017).
CONCLUSION
From the above project report it has been concluded that people management is required
to be focused by all the entities as it can help to attain all the business goals easily. There are
various types of issues that are faced by line management while managing people. These are lack
of communication, improper support, reduced performance and engagement of staff in their work
poor team work etc. There are various types of skills, knowledge and behaviour that are required
by people manager. These are information of market trends, details of requirements of staff,
proper communication, decision making, motivating nature and problem solving. Some of the
key HR processes that are supporting proper performance management are human resource
planning, recruitment, employee relations and benefits and compensation.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals:
Alziari, L., 2017. A chief HR officer’s perspective on talent management. Journal of
Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance.
Baruch, Y. and Gregoriou, A., 2017. The impact of people management: Employees’ satisfaction
role in predicting financial performance. In Academy of Management
Proceedings (Vol. 2017, No. 1. p. 10557). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of
Management.
Hoffman, M. and Tadelis, S., 2018. People management skills, employee attrition, and manager
rewards: An empirical analysis (No. w24360). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Jyoti, K., 2019. Green HRM–People Management Commitment to Environmental Sustainability.
In Proceedings of 10th International Conference on Digital Strategies for
Organizational Success.
Knies, E. and Leisink, P., 2018. People management in the public sector. In HRM in mission
driven organizations (pp. 15-46). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Knies, E., Leisink, P. and Van De Schoot, R., 2020. People management: developing and testing
a measurement scale. The International Journal of Human Resource Management.
31(6). pp.705-737.
Liao, L. and Ai Lin Teo, E., 2018. Organizational change perspective on people management in
BIM implementation in building projects. Journal of management in engineering.
34(3). p.04018008.
Martin, G. and Siebert, S., 2016. Managing people and organizations in changing contexts.
Routledge.
Mascarenhas, B. G., 2019. Employer Branding, Employee Value Proposition, and Employee
Experience: New Approaches for People Management in Organizations. In Strategic
Employee Communication (pp. 97-103). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Wellington, P., 2017. Effective People Management: Your Guide to Boosting Performance,
Managing Conflict and Becoming a Great Leader in Your Start Up. Kogan Page
Publishers.
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