HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: FINDING AND KEEPING THE BEST EMPLOYEES Bus101

 Human resource management as a strategic contributor to organizational success  The five steps in human resource planning.  Recruit new employees  Issues that make recruitment challenging.  The five steps in selecting employees  Various types of employee training and development methods.  The six steps in appraising employee performance  Objectives of employee compensation programs.  Ways in which employees can move through a company.  Effects of legislation on human resource management Bus101

 Human Resource Management: The process of determining human resource needs and then recruiting, selecting, developing, motivating, evaluating, compensating, and scheduling employees to achieve organizational goals. Bus101

 Job analysis: A study of what is done by employees who hold various job titles.  Job description: A summary of the objectives of a job, the type of work to be done, the responsibilities and duties, the working conditions, and the relationship of the job to other functions.  Job specifications: A written summary of the minimum qualifications required of workers to do a particular job. Bus101

Five steps are involved in the human resources planning process: 1. Preparing a human resources inventory of the organization’s employees 2. Preparing a job analysis 3. Assessing future human resources demand 4. Assessing future human resources supply 5. Establishing a strategic plan Bus101

 Recruitment: The set of activities used to obtain a sufficient number of the right people at the right time. Recruiting has become somewhat difficult because:  Some organizations have policies that demand promotions from within  There are legal guidelines that surround hiring  Employers have to hire people who fit in well with the culture of the organization  Sometimes people with the necessary skills are not available Bus101

 Selection: The process of gathering information and deciding who should be hired, under legal guidelines, for the best interests of the individual and the organization.  A typical selection process involves five steps: 1. Obtaining complete application forms 2. Conducting initial and follow-up interviews 3. Giving employment tests 4. Confirming background information 5. Establishing trial periods Bus101

 Contingent workers: Workers who do not have regular, full-time employment.  Employers hire contingent workers because of a varying need for employees  Contingent workers receive few benefits and tend to earn less than permanent workers Bus101

 Training and development: All attempts to improve productivity by increasing an employee’s ability to perform. Training focuses on short-term skills, whereas development focuses on long-term abilities.  Employee orientation: The activity that introduces new employees to the organization; to fellow employees; to their immediate supervisors; and to the policies, practices, values, and objectives of the firm.  On-the-job training: Training in which the employee immediately begins his or her tasks and learns by doing, or watches others for awhile and then imitates them, all right at the workplace. Bus101

 Apprentice programs: Training programs involving a period during which a learner works alongside an experienced employee to master the skills and procedures of a craft.  Off-the-job training: Training that occurs away from the workplace and consists of internal or external programs to develop any of a variety of skills or to foster personal development.  Online training: Training programs in which employees “attend” classes via the Internet. Bus101

 Vestibule training: Training done in schools where employees are taught on equipment similar to that used on the job.  Job simulation: The use of equipment that duplicates job conditions and tasks so that trainees can learn skills before attempting to do them on the job. Bus101

 Management development: The process of training and educating employees to become good managers and then monitoring the progress of their managerial skills over time. Most management training programs include the following:  On-the-job coaching  Understudy positions  Job rotation  Off-the-job courses and training Bus101

 Progressive managers are likely to empower employees to make decisions on their own.  Empowering consists of giving employees authority and responsibility.  Enabling: Giving workers the education and tools they need to make decisions. Bus101

 Networking: The process of establishing and maintaining contacts with key managers in one’s own organization and other organizations and using those contacts to weave strong relationships that serve as informal development systems.  Mentor: An experienced employee who supervises, coaches, and guides lower-level employees by introducing them to the right people and generally being their organizational sponsor. Bus101

 Performance appraisal: An evaluation in which the performance level of employees is measured against established standards to make decisions about promotions, compensation, additional training, or firing.  You can look at the performance appraisal process in six steps: 1. Establishing performance standards 2. Communicating standards 3. Evaluating performance 4. Discussing results 5. Taking corrective action 6. Using the results to make decisions Bus101

 A carefully managed compensation and benefits program can accomplish:  Attracting the kinds of people needed by the organization  Providing employees with the incentive to work efficiently and productively  Keeping valued employees from leaving  Maintaining a competitive position in the marketplace  Providing employees with some sense of financial security Bus101

 Pay equity: Equal pay for work of equal value. Bus101

 Fringe benefits: Benefits such as sick-leave pay, vacation pay, pension plans, and health plans that represent additional compensation to employees beyond base wages.  Cafeteria-style benefits (flexible benefits plan): Benefit plans that allow employees to choose which benefits they want up to a certain dollar amount. Bus101

 Flextime plan: Work schedule that gives employees some freedom to choose when to work, as long as they work the required number of hours.  Compressed workweek: Work schedule that allows an employee to work a full number of hours per week but in fewer days. Bus101

 Job sharing: An arrangement whereby two part- time employees share one full-time job. The benefits of job sharing include:  Employment opportunities for those who work part time  High level of enthusiasm and productivity  Reduced absenteeism and tardiness  Ability to schedule people into peak demand periods  Retention of experienced employees who might have left otherwise Bus101

 Employees may shift around a company many times by:  Being promoted or reassigned  Being terminated  Retiring  Going to another job  Turnover rate: A measure of the percentage of employees that leave a firm each year. Bus101

 There are hundreds of laws and regulations (federal and provincial) which apply to HR  There are also laws that protect the disabled and older employees  Example: UPEI mandatory retirement withdrawn  Employment equity: Employment activities designed to “right past wrongs” by increasing opportunities for minorities and women.  Reverse discrimination: The unfairness that unprotected groups may perceive when protected groups receive preference in hiring and promotion. Bus101

 Why should you be interested in the subject of human resources management, even if you are not majoring in this field?  Imagine you must fire an employee. What effect might the employee’s dismissal have on your other workers? Explain how you would tell the employee and your remaining subordinates. Bus101