There are 4 new HR standards available from ISO and Document Center Inc. They typify the new direction of standardization — from “hard” engineering to “soft” management standards. Many professional disciplines are generating standards to help codify best practices and increase professionalism. Human Resources is one such area.
If you are in HR, you probably are aware of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management. Along with their certification program, SHRM is the TAG (technical advisory group) for ISO standardization activities. In fact, ANSI (the American National Standards Institute) and SHRM were behind the establishment of ISO committee TC 260 for HR standards. So the documents I will review today have been written largely thanks to efforts here in the U.S. Let’s take a look at the 4 new HR standards one at a time below:
ISO 30400, Human resource management – Vocabulary
It’s a truism: When an area starts being standardized, the first publication issued is a vocabulary standard! This helps all further standardization remain clear, with the use of terminology that everyone understands. If HR is your field, you’ll want this 20-page standard to promote the use of consistent and widely-accepted language within your organization.
ISO 30405, Human resource management – Guidelines on recruitment
Face it. Hiring is one of the most challenging processes within any organization. This new 26-page HR standard gives you a foundation for creating and maintaining a valid recruitment program. The standards describes processes and procedures you’ll use to set relevent criteria for attracting and maintaining the right people for your jobs. It is also has guidelines for measurement and analyses used to validate your recruitment process.
ISO 30408, Human resource management – Guidelines on human governance
You’ve done your hiring. Now what? You’ll want your employees to live up to ethical and work-life standards. This is governance: the rules, systems and processes that define the behaviour we expect from our workforce. The ISO 30408 has been developed to provide you with guidelines on how to define the relationships, roles, and responsibilities within your company. The 20-page document covers the full gamit of your organization, from the top board member down to the organizational workforce. Report examples are provided.
ISO 30409, Human resource management – Workforce planning
This final new release is a 34-page document covering workforce planning, the guideline for defining your current and future needs. As they say, people are any organization’s greatest resource. This means that assessing your needs for today and tomorrow can help you hire and nurture the workforce you require. This is an extensive standard. It reviews the value of such planning, the structure you’ll use, and the components you need to consider in setting up your system. Further, risk management issues are discussed, as well as implementation issues. Annex A covers workforce planning in small organizations. A 7-item bibliography completes this standard.
Now to get your copies of these 4 new HR standards. Search for and order ISO publications at the Document Center Inc. webstore, www.document-center.com. Here are direct links to the order pages for the 4 standards I’ve reviewed: ISO 30400, ISO 30405, ISO 30408, and ISO 30409. If you would like additional information, please contact our staff by phone (650-591-7600) or email (info@document-center.com). We’ve been working with standards since 1982. Make us your Standards Experts!
