Human Resource Management in the Public Sector PP Instructor: Trebor Negron Unit 8 Seminar 4/18/2012 8:00 – 9:00 PM, EST

Recruiting, Selecting Employees, and Training the Workforce

Human Resource Planning  Process used to ensure that an org has the “right” people when needed  Right number  With right skills  Failure to plan has sig. financial costs  Forecast future labor demand  Forecast future labor supply  Compare forecasted supply and demand

Human Resource Supply and Demand

The Hiring Process  Three components in hiring process:

Costs of Turnover  Above average employee worth about 40% more than average employee  Turnover costs about 25% of salary  Costs both direct and indirect  Major costs include:  Separation  Recruitment  Selection  Hiring  Productivity

Challenges in the Hiring Process  What characteristics most important?  How do you measure the characteristics?  How do you account for motivation?  Performance = ability x motivation  Context dependent  Who makes the hiring decision?

Recruitment  A “sales activity”  Sources of recruiting  Current employees  Referrals from current employees  Former employees  Former military  Customers

Recruitment  Sources of Recruiting (continued)  Print and radio advertisements  Internet advertising and career sites  Employment agencies  Temporary workers  College recruiting  Nontraditional Recruiting

Recruitment  Internal vs. External Recruiting  External—fresh perspectives  Is learning curve associated with new hires  Internal—less costly  Signals opportunity to workforce  May not have as many new ideas  Evaluating recruiting sources  Cost of sources?  How long do employees recruited from different sources stay?

Recruitment  Planning recruitment efforts  Should be tied to HRP  How many candidates to attract?  Depends on Yield ratios  Applicant to Interview  Interview to Offer  Offer to Acceptance  Recruiting protected classes  Target potential recruits through media that focuses on minorities

Selection  Reliability— consistency of measurement  Across time and judges  Almost always involves “noise”  Validity—does the device do what you want?  Content—degree which selection device measures actual job content  Empirical—measures relationship between selection device and job performance

Selection Tools  Letters of recommendation  Poor predictors of job performance  Look at traits instead of tone  Application forms  Ability tests  Cognitive and Physical ability tests  Work Sample  Honesty tests  Psychology tests

Selection Tools  Personality tests  Extroversion  Agreeableness  Conscientiousness  Emotional stability  Openness to experience

Selection Tools  Interviews  Structured Interview

Selection Tools  Assessment centers  Usually for managerial positions  In basket exercise  Drug tests  Reference checks  Background checks  Handwriting analysis

Selection Reactions to Selection Devices  Applicant reactions to selection devices  Prefer job simulations and interview  Dislike personality and cognitive ability tests  Manager reaction to selection systems  Little research  Need devices that are quick, easy to administer and easy to interpret

Legal Issues in Staffing  Discrimination Laws  Develop clear policies for  Hiring, disciplining and dismissing employees  Affirmative Action  Not just for govt. and govt. contractors  Can apply if guilty of discrimination  Negligent Hiring  Learn as much as possible about past work-related behavior

Key Training Issues  How can training keep pace with a changing organizational environment?  Should training take place in a classroom or on the job?  How can training be delivered effectively, worldwide?  How can training be delivered so that trainees are motivated to learn?

Training vs. Development  Training—provide employees  With specific skills, or  Help correct deficiencies in performance  Development—effort to provide abilities the organization will need in the future

Challenges in Training  Is training the solution to the problem?  Are training goals clear and realistic?  Is training a good investment?  Will the training work?  Must flow from strategic goals

Transfer of Training: From Learning to Doing  Teach others what you learned  Assign yourself homework  Set goals that apply the lessons  Develop your own job aids  Get a training partner  Ask for help

The Training Process

Needs Assessment  Organizational Analysis— identify:  Organizational needs  Level of support for training  Task Needs—examine job to be performed  Based on job analysis  Identify needed KSAs  Person Needs  Which employees need training?

Clarifying Training Objectives  Develop set of objectives  Relate objectives to KSAs  From assessment phase  State in behavioral terms  Make objectives as specific as possible  Use objectives to assess effectiveness

Training and Conduct Phase  Location Options—On the Job  Job rotation, Apprenticeships and Internships  Is job relevant  Can be costly  Quality varies substantially  Location Options—Off the Job  Good if need uninterrupted period  In environment conducive to learning  May not transfer back to job

Training and Conduct Phase Presentation Options:  Slides and Videotapes  Teletraining  Computers  Simulations  Virtual Reality  Classroom Instruction and Role-plays

Types of Training  Skills Training  Retraining  Job Training Partnership Act  Cross-Functional Training  Team Training  Content tasks  Group Processes  Virtual team training

Types of Training Continued  Literacy Training  Diversity Training  Crisis Training  Ethics Training  Customer Service Training  Creativity Training

Brainstorming

The Evaluation Phase  Important but often overlooked  Does training result in attaining a goal?  Four Level Framework for Evaluation:  Reaction of trainees  How much trainees learn  Post-training behavior  Results of training (financial value: ROI)

Legal Issues in Training  Subject to anti-discrimination laws  Employees must have access to training and development programs  In a nondiscriminatory fashion  Job-relevance is valid defense

Orientation and Socialization  Orientation—inform new employees about  Organizational policies and procedures  What is expected of them  Socialization—helps acclimate employees  Anticipatory stage  Encounter  Settling in

Summary and Conclusions  HR Planning is essential  Many challenges in the hiring process  Each step of hiring process must be managed  Recruiting – look everywhere!  Training—provides specific skills  Is training the appropriate fix?  Are goals of training clear?  Don’t forget evaluation phase  Pay attention to socialization  Better workplace outcomes

Questions/Concerns?