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Believe it or not, there was a time when there was no such thing as: Human Resources.
And that may be hard to imagine, in a world where we are constantly focused on recruiting, hiring and finding ways to better engage employees. But the first HR department (or something that at least resembled one) didn’t actually come into existence until the early 20th century.
Thus, most believe that the first actual human resources department was not created until 1901, and that was by The National Cash Register Company (NCR) after several employee strikes and lockouts. Although referred to as “personnel” at the time, the role of this new department, as established by NCR leader John H. Patterson, was largely focused on compliance, record keeping, workplace safety, payroll management and handling employee complaints, as well as training for supervisors in relation to new workplace laws and practices.
The evolution of personnel administration
Although the trend of managing “personnel” did not take off immediately, it slowly grew as more and more companies realized they needed to do more to manage their employees. In the 1910s, for example, Tata Steel and the Ford Motor Company introduced an unheard of labor practice, namely: the 8-hour workday.
By the 1920s, Personnel Administration emerged as a clearly defined field in the United States and was primarily concerned with the technical aspects of hiring, evaluating, training and paying employees. Personnel was considered a “staff” function in most organizations, and it did not really focus on how different employment practices affected an organization’s overall performance.
Unions also grew robustly during this period, and the Human Resources Department helped resolve both wage-related issues and other differences between union on the one hand and management on the other.
Two men also stood out in the first half of the 20th century for their contributions to workplace management.
And lo and behold, the “Father of Scientific Management
One was Frederick Taylor, known as the father of scientific management. He played a major role in the development of the human resources department in the early 1900s.
In his book, Shop Management, Taylor advocated the “scientific” selection and training of employees. He is also credited as one of the first to make a business case for better management of employees. Key principles of scientific management include:
- Using the scientific method to determine the most efficient course of action
- Matching workers to a task for which they are suited
- Proactively monitor performance and provide feedback
- Assignment of scheduling tasks to managers so that employees focus on the task at hand
These principles probably sound familiar to anyone in Human Resources today.
Taylor even advised business owners and managers on how to better manage and lead their people, with better results as a goal. You could say he focused on employee engagement long before anyone had put their finger on what that really was.
Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs,” a precursor to engagement
The other major contribution to the 20th-century development of human resources and personnel management was made by Abraham Maslow.
He developed his famous “Hierarchy of Needs,” which helped managers understand how to better motivate, recruit and retain employees.
According to Maslow, all people have needs that must be met.
Maslow then used the well-known pyramid to describe and categorize those needs.
The theory is that the needs at the bottom of the pyramid must be met before the needs at the next level can be addressed.
- Level 1: Psychological Needs (bottom of the pyramid) – People need air, food, water, sleep and other basics to survive. So, how does this relate to employee engagement? Employees need a comfortable work environment.
- Level 2: Safety Needs – People need to feel that not only they, but also their families, property and other personal resources are safe. In the workplace, if employees are concerned about their personal safety (such as being sick or injured at work) or their professional safety (such as losing their job), morale will suffer.
- Level 3: The need to love and belong – Having a strong sense of belonging is key to building an engaged culture. Employees who have good friends at work are more likely to be engaged than those who don’t. And companies with a proven culture of social activities have higher levels of employee engagement than those that do not.
- Level 4: The Need for Recognition – This is an employee’s belief that not only are they doing a good job, but that their contributions are being recognized. People want to feel like they are getting results, and if employees believe they are – and believe (thanks to employee recognition) that others they work with believe in them – they will be more engaged and more productive.
- Level 5: Need for self-actualization (top of the pyramid) – Self-actualization is the belief that a person can maximize their potential at work. Employees want to be the best at what they do, and the job of a good manager is to help them realize that. With self-actualization, employees feel confident and empowered – in other words, they experience control of both their job and their future.
It is easy to see how much of Maslow’s theory guides us in workplace management today. And especially in the development of a strong workplace culture and employee engagement. Indeed, many believe that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is not only built on some of Frederic Taylor’s work, but is also a precursor to our 21st century employee engagement today. Feedback Smiley is proud to play a role in the ongoing development of smart employee engagement. Not only do we embrace the historical underpinnings of Human Resources, but we have the tools and experience to help you stay connected to a high-performing and engaged employee team and understand the Employee Experience.
Contact us soon. As the official representation of HappyOrNot in Benelux, we can let you know immediately how the HappyOrNot service can be of great optimizing value within your organization as well.