BS Human Resources

Recruitment- involves getting the right number of people with the right qualifications and characteristics. There are three stage of recruitment:

• Identify the vacancy that needs filling.
• Create a job description and person specification.
• Advertise the post to attract candidates.

Stage 1

Reasons why a vacancy might occur:

• Growth in demand=need more staff.
• New branches (expanding abroad).
• Seasonal Demand.
• Promotion of other staff.
• Retirement of exisiting staff.

Stage 2Job Description- outlines the job that needs to be filled and details of the job itself.

• Role, duties, responsibilties.
• Hours and Pay.
• Length of contract and Annual leave
• Job Title and Location.
• Maternity pay entitlement.
• Pensions/medical insurance.
• Position in the company.

Person Specification- outlines the ideal candidate for the job.

• Qualifications and Experience.
• Personal Characteristics:
• responsible and organisational
• independance and team player.
• leadership and people skills
• working under pressure.

Stage 3

Internal Recruitment:

Methods- email, noticeboards, staff meetings, staff intranet, verbal notification.

• already know business = less training needed.
• Know the candidate = less risky.
• Motivating to other staff.
• Cheaper = no advertising needed.
• Quicker process.

• Creates vacancies lower down.
• No new skills brought in.
• Less choice.
• No experience at that level of job = less productivity and training needed.
• Conflict with workers who are not chosen.

Stage 3

External Recruitment:

Methods- job websites. Recruitment agencies. Newspaper (local/national). Specialist magazines.

• New skills.
• No vacancy created.
• Wider range of candidates to choose from.
• More chance of experience at that level = less training.
• No internal conflict. 

• Time consuming
• Expensive to advertise.
• Demotivating to internal staff.
• Cost of Training.

Selection- refers to the process of choosing the most suitable person for the job from those who have applied. There are three stages of selection:

• Review applications and draw up a shortlist
• Make the selection using appropriate methods.
• Satisfy any conditions and sign contracts, inform those unsuccessful.

Stage 1

• The Human Resources function will review applicants in line with the job desciption and person specification.
• At this stage the PS is the most useful as it allows HR to assess which applicants meet the essential aspects and which that do not.
• Allows the HR to reject some applicants at this stage and to create a shortlist.

A shortlist is needed as it is time consuming and expensive to interview candidates. They have to pay for HR staff, venue, travel expenses and refreshments.

Stage 2

Selction Methods- the shortlist of candidates are invited to the next round of selection.

Interviews- telephone/face to face. Opportunity to test on CV. Assesses abililty in an interview. Expensive and time-consuming. Might not find the best person for the job.

Tests- Numeracy tests. Computer Skills. Problem solving. Logical thinking.

Assessment Centres- range of different activities, and often take place over entire day. Expensive and time consuming. Far more likely to find the best candidate for the job.

Presentations- given info before/at the interview and asked to present individually/in a group.

Practical demonstrations- Used in jobs where you already know how to do the job or are unskilled. Roleplay is often used especially in retail jobs.

Stage 3

Satisfy conditions and signing contacts.

• The business decides who they want to appoint for the position.
• References are usually requested.
• Candidate is offered the job and contracts are signed.
• Unsuccessful applicants informed and feedback on performance given.

Difference between large and small businesses:

• Larger businesses have a larger selection process and are more likely to use assessment centres, have a range of selection methods and detailed JD and PS. Their budgets are higher and specialist departments to manage interviews.
• Smaller business may be less formal and rely on face to face interviews or a trial. Owners and managers may not have enough time to take away from day to day running of the business.

Organisation Chart: A diagram that shows how a business is organised or structured internally. Shows the different positions and who is in charge of who. Route through communication taken. Shows the pathway to promotion.

Hierarchy: refers to the number of levels of power/authority within an organisation.

Chain of command: the route through which communication flows through the hierarchy.

Delegation: where a manager passes on the authority to compete a job. Authority can be passed on but responsibilty still lies with the manager.

Authority: involves having the right to complete a job, which can be delegated.

Responsibilty: lies with the person who's job it is. Allowed to pass on authority but not responsibilty

Span of Control: refers to the number of people you have direct authority over. Wide SOC is authority over large number of people. Narrow SOC is authority over small number of people.

Delayering: refers to remaining levels of hierarchy from an organisation. Makes the organisation fallter/wider. The main reason why this is done is to reduce cost. Usually middlemanagement is cut as top management needs to make big decisions and bottom management produces the product.

Centralisation: when decisions are made by senior management at the top of the hierarchy. The people have experience and expertise required. Senior managers are able to take a broad view of what the business needs. Clear chain of caommand=less conflict. Quick decision making. Allows workers to concentrate on their individual work.

Decentralisation: when decisions are made lower down the hierarchy by employees. This allows senior managers to concentrate on more serious issues. Quicker decision making. People close to the job often are in the best position to solve issues. Delegation= job satisfaction, empowerment, lower labour turnover. Motivation= productivity, higher profit margins.

Matrix Structure: where you take employees from each department to work on a project- this may be one day a week. This can be quicker as you get the immdiate input of all departments at once, however, it can cause conflict between two line managers.

Organisation Structure: the way firsm organise their employees in order to reach a common goal. A popular way of organising employees is to place them into departments.

Tall/Narrow Structure:

• many levels of hierarchy/ long chain of command/ narrow span of control.
• Advantages- promotion possibilities motivates employees. Closer supervision of staff is possible. Clear chain of command. Communication can flow easier up and down the hierarchy.
• Disadvantages- communication can be distorted as it goes through many levels. Many layers of management is expensive. Lack of delegation results in demotivation of employees.

Wide/Flat Structure:

• Fewer levels of hierarchy/ shorter chain of command/ wide span of control.
• Advantages- short chain of command results in quicker communication. Fewer levels of management is cheaper. Delegation occurs, motivating and prepares for promotion.
• Disadvantages- fewer promotion opportunities. Less support from management. Lack of clear chain of command= possible conflict and communication problems. Possible mistakes with delegation without training.

Training: the process where an individual learns a new skill or improves an existing skill in order to perform their job better.

Benefits of Training:

• Better quality product/customer service = customer satisfaction = repeat custom.
• Increased productivity = higher profit margins.
• Lower labour turnover = lower R+S costs.  
• Less wasteage = cheaper and no damge to reputation.
• Improves motivation and job satisfaction.

Consequences of NOT Training:

• Poor quality products = damage to reputation = lack of repeat custom = wasteage costs.
• Poor customer service = lack of repeat custom = poor external image.
• Lack of motivation = poor relationship with hierarchy.
• Lower productivity = increases average cost
• Higher labour turnover = further R+S costs

Induction- training provided to new employees intending to familiarise them with the job, and working environement and to prevent them from leaving. Legal requirement.

Activities that happen:

• Tour of the building = fire exit, canteen , toilets etc.
• Health+Safety and equipment training.
• Meeting colleagues and line managers.
• Learn about company policies: holiday requests, sick leave call etc.
• Learn about company product range.
• Provide security passes and computer log ons.

Benefit is that it will ensure employees follow all the rules and so no risk of incurring fine or legal consequence.

Ensures that the employee is settled in well and doesn't feel out of place, and doesn't leave the job which reduces R+S costs.

On the job training: the training that takes place within the workplace and specific to the job you do

Advantages

• Cheaper, no need to pay for external trainer.
• The training is 100% specific to the job employed to do.
• Contributes to productivity without the training costs.
• Can be motivating to mentors.

Disadvantages:

• Mistakes can be made, results in wasteage costs and may damage reputation.
• Damages the productivity to the mentor.
• Training is not done by an external specialist, may not be as effective.
• There is a possibilty of picking up bad habits from the mentor.

Off the job training: training that takes place away from the direct workplace, and normally conducted by external specialist.

Advantages:

• No damage to productivity of the mentor.
• No possibilty of making mistakes on the job.
• Specialist training is professional and more effective.
• Fully focuses on the training aspect.
• People respond better to training session when it is off the job.

Disadvantages:

• Expensive: cost of specialist/ cost of venue/ travel expenses/ cost of refreshments.
• Cost of replacement in normal job.
• Loss of productivity = increases average cost = lower profit margins.

Staff Appraisal: where an employee meets with their line manager ofter once a year in order to discuss their progress against certain objectives set at the start of the year. It works best when employee is involved with the objectives.

If you perform well, will be praised and may recieve bonus/promotion.

If you perform poorly, may be set for further training, disciplined or sacked.

Benefits:

• Setting objectives can be motivating for employee.
• Identifies the good performers for promotion or a reward.
• Identifies poor performers for discipline of redundancy.
• Identifies training needs.
• Brings a team spirit.

Staff appraisal can be very useful: only if the appraisee and the appraiser take it seriously.

Motivation: the desire to complete a job to the best of your ability.

Extrinsic Motivation: Motivation that is influenced by other people- reward or threat of punishment.

Intrinsic Motivation: Motivation that comes from within the employee.

Benefits of motivated workers:

• Better Quality Products = customer satisfaction = repeat custom = possible higher prices.
• Higher productivity = reduces average cost = higher profit margins.
• Better customer service.
• Job satisfaction = lower labour turnover = lower R+S costs.
• Overall morale increase.
• Better external reputation.