Human Resources



Finding qualified staff
Railway reform efforts often include investments in new technology. Most modern equipment requires employees with higher education to accommodate the new organization structures and functions, and new skills—computer and electrical, hydraulics, mechanics, operational; and business skills such as marketing, management, market research, and pricing, among others needed to operate a modern business enterprise.

Implementing railway reforms and restructuring requires new organizational structures, which should be accompanied by job descriptions that specify responsibilities, outputs, and the required skills and educational levels. Often, during restructuring, external recruitment will be necessary to fill many new jobs that require new skills in marketing, market research, and management. However, before looking outside, internal recruitment may turn up staff capable of satisfying the new job requirements, or willing to undergo training to develop the necessary skills.

Incentive structures
New commercially oriented organizational structures require matching remuneration systems. A complete human resources management program for designing and implementing railway reforms includes right-sizing, benchmarking, buyouts, retraining, and developing new pay structures.

New pay structures usually include incentive pay schemes, which should be designed to elicit desired behaviors or skills. Effective pay incentives are large enough to be meaningful but should not represent more than 15 percent of overall compensation for any one employee. Higher incentive levels tend to be counterproductive because employees can develop tunnel vision about the incentive-driven behavior, which can erode or eradicate most of the other skills needed to effectively fulfill the position.

    
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