HR: Fresh graduates offer higher advantage to firms

CEBU, Philippines - Companies perceive higher advantage and asset with the gusto and interest projected by the young generation in the workplace compared to the matured ones, human resource practitioners said. People Management Association of the Philippines President Jonah Lafuente said that the youth, particularly the fresh graduates, contribute a lot of inputs and dynamics in the organization due to their enthusiasm at work rather than the experienced ones who already have their own biases.

She added that fresh graduates usually get comfortable and stay in the company for an average span of one to five years wherein the latter acquires the return of investment from the former’s working performance.

“They have new ideas and they know the skills and traits. We see their potential as leaders. There is the fear that the enthusiasm might die but if the person is worth keeping, we’ll move mountains to keep you,” she said.

She further pointed out that the human resource profession has strategically evolved to managing people with heart and reason.

Aside from its major functions in recruitment and placement, people and organization, performance management and separation and termination, she noted that the HR department is also responsible in ensuring the learning curve, productivity and efficiency of the people.

“We do beyond that even to the extent of placing the right people to the right position. It’s not just we hire. The moment we hire that person, we make sure he fits in the organization or else he would become the headache of HR. It’s very easy to recruit but very stressful to terminate,” Lafuente stated.

PMAP Vice President and Regional Conference 2012 Director Christopher Camba, on the other hand, emphasized the key roles of the human resource personnel in the company.

“We recruit them (employees). We get them excited to work and provide opportunities to develop them. We acknowledge that they have dreams and aspirations and we support them where they want to be,” he explained.

Although he admitted that the possibility of young recruits to hop from one company to another is relatively high, he noted that the HR department exerts effort to have a strong and creative retention program to keep their zeal.

Meanwhile, PMAP will hold its 12th Regional Conference on July 26-27 at Sta. Maria Ballroom, Radisson Blu Hotel with the theme “HR’s New Frontier: Boardroom Partner”.

Camba said that the conference is designed to provide an avenue of learning from those who are on board and those who are aspiring to be in such field. 

He added that the organization aims to advance the HR profession of the locality and the region while establishing more relationships in the business sector by providing the latter with the necessary human capital.

He further noted that the annual conference will gather HR leaders and professional in the region who will convene to shape up the future of the HR profession with the latest updates.

“Gone are the days when organizations are only driven by marketing, financing and sales. HR should be the forefront but at the end of the day, HR is here to support the organization and contribute to achieve the business goals,” he said.

In the same event, AmazingCEBU Corporation which is the official partner and diamond sponsor of PMAP will also launch its AmazingCARD and their web portal, www.amazingcebu.com.

PMAP is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization with over 1800 member companies and individual management executives engaged and interested in human resource management and industrial relations work nationwide.

In Cebu, it has over 183 member-companies of HR managers, practitioners and consultants. (FREEMAN)