Human Resource Management

 What’s the main purpose of HRM ?

Human Resource Management  What’s the main purpose of HRM ?  To recruit  To train  To utilise the business personnel in a way that is going to satisfy the business objectives  HRM has developed from what was traditionally the ‘personnel department’.  The personnel department was usually responsible for hiring, firing, training, discipline and general staff welfare

Human Resource Management  But there were problems with the old traditional personnel department. What were they ?

Human Resource Management  HRM however is holds many advantageous.

Human Resource Management  HRM however holds more advantages. Benefits are:  More sensitive on the workforce needs of a business  Better techniques to hire the correct staff  Training and development more accessible along with appraisal systems  The development of pay systems for different categories of staff  Monitors staff performance  Involves the various and appropriate managers in staffing decisions.

Human Resource Management  The needs of the business – making a plan !  Its a big part of the HR job to calculate staffing needs for future periods of time.  If they don’t do this right what happens ?

Human Resource Management  The needs of the business – making a plan !  Its a big part of the HR job to calculate staffing needs for future periods of time.  If they don’t do this right what happens ?  Could have a situation where you have either not enough or too many staff and possibly staff without the right skills !  Planning means thinking ahead. Thinking about how many and what skills staff need.

Human Resource Management  What does the ‘number of staff required’ depend on ?

Human Resource Management  What does the ‘number of staff required’ depend on ?  Demand for a product:  Would you replace a staff member who has left if sales are falling ?  Demand forecasts can be used to assess staffing needs  Some businesses allow for a little excess of staff to account for any up-turn in demand  Productivity of staff:  If the productivity is forecast to increase, maybe because of efficient machinery, then you possibly don’t need certain levels of staffing  Business objectives:  If expansion is the main objective, then staffing levels will need to rise  If improving and increase customer service is an objective, you need “people persons!”  Changes in law  New legislation such as maximum hrs to be worked in a week or minimum wage level increases will affect staffing levels.  Labour turnover and absenteeism  If people leave or are off sick, it costs to cover their work – and it costs to replace the one’s who have left – Recruitment Procedures! What is Labour proposing for the National Minimum Wage if elected? What are the impacts on employment? Min Wage Proposal

Human Resource Management The skills of the staff required Businesses need to be able to adapt, so the need for skilled staff or staff with different skills to what you already have is essential. What does this depend on?...  Technological change Forever changing technology forces businesses to keep pace with the rest of the world - we need to be ‘up-to-speed’.  Multi skilled or flexible staff  This is to avoid specialisation as much as possible – why ?  Specialist come at a higher cost Change of roles may be necessary - demand can quickly fall from one area of the business and rise in another – multiskilling could be essential.

Human Resource Management  Planning your workforce Other things need to be considered... Consider: You have decided that the firm needs to hire 10 additional workers. What do you need to think about before recruiting?  Do I need full time workers on permanent contracts?  What about 20 part timers? Would this offer more flexibility ?  Temp contracts? Get rid of people easier if not working out  Out source the jobs possibly?

Human Resource Management  It is more popular these days to outsource contracts or employ people on temp contracts  Part Time Workers...  What are the advantages to a business of employing part time work force ?  Staff can be employed specifically to work busy times of the day  More staff available at short notice to cover emergencies  Can measure the efficiency of the worker before you hand them a full time contract (trial period – usually 3 months!)  Advantages to the worker ?  Ideal possibly for your circumstances (mums, students, retired)  Can possibly combine two jobs

Human Resource Management  What could be the drawbacks to the employer ?  More staff to manage  Communication can become difficult  Motivation can be tough as they feel less important being part-time  And to the employee?  Earning less than they would be if full time  Might be paid at a lower rate than full-time workers  Job security might be less than the full-timers

Human Resource Management  What other type of contract can an employee be on that we have not mentioned yet ?  Temporary contracts  Can be either full or part – time  They are for fixed periods of time (maternity cover/sickness)  Permanent contracts  Only end when the worker leaves For example, for poor discipline  (sacked!), redundancy or they leave of their own accord. So, you can have a CORE set of full-time workers and surround them with the temps and part-timers as and when you need them

Human Resource Management  What sort of trend have we seen from employees over the last 10 years in particular ? Out sourcing Not employing staff directly but “hiring out” the job. How and what does this save the business ?  Its saves the business time on looking for staff to do the job required  Saves the business money on training them staff to do the job required

Human Resource Management OK, so you know you need to recruit someone – the right person for the job available... The Recruitment Process:  Preparing a job specification  Draw up a person specification  Devise an appropriate advertisement What is the difference between a Job Spec and a Person Spec?

Human Resource Management OK, so the Ad goes out and applications are received... In the form of... A CV or an Application form HR now need to...  Creating a short list of applicants (most will end up in the bin  )  Interview the short list  Other tests might be needed - aptitude and psychometric tests. These ones are designed to test applicants ability under certain stresses and potential scenarios.

Human Resource Management Factors to consider...  Picking the right candidate can be tricky and very time consuming.  Is it better to take a long time to find the right person?  Is it better to fill a vacancy quickly? Either way, you need to try to recruit the RIGHT person! This will involve TRAINING – done through HR...

Human Resource Management  What are the different types of training you think ?  Induction training  Given to all new workers....  Explains the business objectives  Introduces them to who they will be working with and their role specifically.  Outlines any health and safety guidelines and the structure of the business.

Human Resource Management  What are the different types of training you think ?  On – the – job training  Involves learning as you go – on the job!  Often run by a HR officer or a training officer from your department.  You will be working closely with experienced members of staff and may have a mentor.  Cheap way of training new workers – no cover needed an still doing the work

Human Resource Management  What are the different types of training you think ?  Off – the – job training  Involves going on training courses  May be at a specialist training centre  Can be expensive  But, can introduce new ideas to the worker that the company isn’t aware of. REMEMBER - Training can be expensive but can lead to having well qualified staff  But.. What problems can occur following training?  Can lead to you training staff up and them leaving for a competitor - need to go through it all again (cost and time  )

Human Resource Management  However, the costs of NOT training staff can be substantial also – why ?  Staff will be less efficient – low productivity = costs = less profits   Workers may become bored and de-motivated.  Accidents may occur on the factory floor if people are not trained properly  High staff turnover = more costs to recruit replacements  Bad reputation for the business – who will want to work for you then?

Human Resource Management So, what does the department also look at?  HR is heavily involved in deciding how remuneration is carried out.  How each level in the hierarchy is rewarded  Bonus systems  Holiday entitlement  How will they go about deciding what to offer? Maybe look at similar roles with competitors and see how they reward and pay? Not forgetting there is the Law to abide by! However, In the name of “fairness” HR should also look at the importance of a role compared to others within the business and reward accordingly (but does this really happen in the real world ???)

Human Resource Management  HR will also measure and monitor staff performance.  There will be consequences for continued poor performance in your role.  Also it is the job of HR to help reward and improvements recognised by your superiors.  There are different indicators that are used to measure performance such as your productivity and possibly your absenteeism rate

Human Resource Management What methods are there to improve performance ?  Appraisal  Training and further education opportunities  Quality circles – small groups given the responsibility of suggesting solutions to work problems  Cell production or autonomous work groups – where teams of workers are given multi skilled training and the opportunity to take responsibility for a complete section of work  Financial incentives

Human Resource Management What other jobs do you think HR carry out ?  Drawing up employment contracts  Discipline and dismissal of employees  Dealing with gross misconduct  Dealing with unfair dismissal claims  Informing staff of redundancies  Employee welfare OK, lets look at these in a little more detail...

CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT  Legally binding document  Care needs to be taken to ensure that they are fair and are in line with employment law  Details the responsibilities of both parties So, what goes into one?  Hours of work  Notice period if wish to leave  Agreed remuneration (pay)  Holiday entitlement  Conditions of employment

Discipline & Dismissals  On occasion it is the job of the HR manager to discipline or dismiss an emplyee.  This should not be taken lightly by HR, why? (POSSIBLE EXAM QUESTION!)  You are taking away a persons financial support and possibly hurting their reputation  If not carried out properly, it can be taken to a civil court and substantial damages maybe paid to the employee.  HR manager must be seen to be ensuring that employees stay within the boundries of their employment agreement and helping them to do so.  Hightens the importance of correct training (a reason for the discipline?)  There are situations where a person can be dismissed immediately. This is on grounds of gross misconduct for situations such as stealing.  If employee is a regularly late then warning must be given before dismissal (Chandnani, take note !!!)

What qualifies a legitimate Dismissal?  To show that dismissal is fair the company must show that one of the following has occurred:  Inability to do their job (even after training and guidance!)  Continuous negative attitude - affects others and their productivity  Continuous disregard for health and safety of themselves and others  Deliberate destruction of employers property  Bullying

What qualifies as UNFAIR Dismissal? UNFAIR Dismissal occurs when you are “sacked” due to...  Pregnancy  Discrimination against other members of staff  Being a member of a trade union  Non-relevant criminal record – where it does not affect your job!

Redundancies Happens when workers are no longer required  Nowhere else for them to be employed in the business either Can happen due to change in demand possibly and other external economic factors (like what?) (POSSIBLE EXAM Q???)  The way redundancies are announced can have a very serious effect on employees (personal situations differ)  If not done properly then external stakeholder may have an adverse reaction to the company (bad reputation = no investment)  Usually a principle of last in first out but not always the case! Some firms try to avoid redundancies by not replacing those who leave or those whose contracts have expired.

Might need to know !!! Bringing all types of employment together! Charles Handy – the “Shamrock Organisation”... FLEXIBLE WORKERS – P/T Contractors Consultants Outsourced – IT, payroll, marketing., Training, Franchising

Hard HRM v’s Soft HRM approach HARD HRM Focuses on cutting costs – temp and part time contracts Offers maximum flexibility, but very little training SOFT HRM Focuses on development of staff Staff reach self fulfilment Motivated and hard working Should the Core workers be treated differently to the Peripheral workers? Many companies will take the Soft approach with their core workers, and the hard approach with temp/part timers! The Hard approach does ignore other theories: Maslow, Mayo, Herzberg The Hard approach does ignore other theories: Maslow, Mayo, Herzberg