Human Resource Management in
Apparel Industry
The apparel industry is Sri
Lanka's largest provider of employment. Directly or indirectly, no other
industry matches the apparel industry. It contributes the most to the country's
exports. Business organizations are made up of people and function through
people. Textile industries are no exception to this. Hence, it is essential for
every organization to adopt the human resource management practices in the
administration.
What is Human Resource Management in Garment Industry.
Human resource management in
garment industry has been defined as the function in garment factory that facilitates
the most effective utilization of human resource to achieve the objectives of
both the garment factory and the employee.
So we can say that, there is
no doubt that the “Personnel” as the
principal resource of a labor intensive garment industry plays a crucial role
in any productivity improvement and development. Every success of the garment
factory is depending on efficient and effective man power, further the labor
compromises about 20-30% of the cost price of a garment. Therefore, the way people
are directed, motivated, or utilized will be decided on whether the organization
will be prosperous and survive or fail,. Functions of human resource management
in garment industry are given in a graph below for better understanding,
Graph 1: Functions of Human
Resource Management in Garment Industry
HRM Issues
High level of employee
turnover among operational level employees has been identified as a
contemporary management issue which can be seen common in apparel sector in Sri
Lanka resulting both intangible and tangible costs to the company.
In the current competitive
business world, employee turnover has been a major problem for many
organizations as it has directly influenced on the smooth flow of
organizational day-today operations. Turnover remains one of the most troubling
issues for apparel sector (Weerawansa et al. 2012).
Suggestions
How management relates to
employees and communicates with them is key. I believe you have to always tell
the truth even if it is the hard truth, and explain why certain things are not
possible. Ultimately, humanity, and the manner in which you treat people count.
It is important to make time to speak to everyone including the service staff.
In order to do that you have to manage your time.
References:
Weerawansa
et al. 2012, „Labor turnover in the White collar job categories of the Sri
Lanka‟s Ready-made Garments Industry: emerging trends and causal factors in the
post MFA period‟, Sri Lanka Economic Research Conference, pp. 159-162.
