THE EMPLOYMENT CYCLE ESTABLISHMENT

The employment cycle goes through stages known as recruitment, selection, induction, training and termination. For the employee the cycle represents the cycle of career. For the organisation the cycle is repeated as new individuals join, move through and leave the organisation.

The main stages of the employment cycle correspond to the major concerns of the human resource manager—establishing, maintaining and terminating employment—as shown in the diagram below

Determining human resource needs is an ongoing process for human resource managers in large organisations. Staff retire, resign or are promoted; and new positions are created as business needs change. Eg. A business’ employee resigns, therefore new staff need to be hired.

Human resource planning includes doing a job analysis, therefore a job description needs to be conducted (what the job entails and involves). The skills, experience and knowledge need to be identified, these are the job specifications. Staff represent a large investment, errors and mistakes are very costly for a business organisation. The results of poor planning and appointing unsuitable staff are common mistakes and can be difficult and time consuming to repair.

The key elements of HR planning and its link to the recruitment and selection of staff are shown in the diagram 4.4 below.

Recruitment and selection Recruitment and selection of staff only take place after an organisation’s human resource needs have been analysed and planned. The recruitment process has two steps: communicating the existence of vacant positions to potential applicants, and making initial contact with applicants. Typical methods of recruitment are either internal or external… INTERNAL /intranet – memos – noticeboards – newsletters EXTERNAL advertisements in the media-media and internet – employment agencies—Employment National (Centrelink), private employment/recruitment agencies – schools, universities and TAFE colleges – professional bodies/associations – recruiting consultants (‘headhunters’) – trade unions – personal contacts/networking – previous applicants for related positions.

Selection is choosing the most suitable applicant from the pool of applicants attracted in the recruitment process. The selection process includes the following -a panel to undertake the task - selection criteria developed from job specifications. The selection process comprises of five stages these include: 1, Screening/Shortlisting applicants- Applicants meet the selection criteria, also gives the panel an opportunity to consider how to process and rank the applicants. 2, Interviewing applicants The interview concentrates on the suitability of the applicant in terms of both the job criteria and the culture of the organisation. 3, Checking the background of applicants This involves contacting the applicant’s referees.

Stages in the selection process

4, Conducting suitability tests and medical examinations These can be used to estimate future work performance. Advising applicants of the outcome The organisation will offer the position to the most suitable applicant. If the chosen applicant declines the offer, the selection panel will need a ‘second best’. Unsuccessful applicants should be notified promptly of the outcome. The broad arrangements of employment for the recruit are established in one of the following employment contracts: -permanent employee: full-time - permanent employee: part-time - flexible contract employee (ongoing employment with flexible hours) - fixed-term employee (contracted for a specific period) - casual employee (contracted on a short-term or irregular basis).

Modern Human Resource theory suggests management should have in mind the interests of both the organisation and the applicants when recruiting and selecting staff. The organisation should want to become an ‘employer of choice’, attracting and keeping efficient employees.

EMPLOYER OF CHOICE (EOC) Staff is the key to productivity and business success. An organisations strength and potential is evident through it’s employees. An employer of choice (EOC) attracts staff of a higher quality than its competitors. A EOC does this by offering better rewards and providing higher opportunities. It tries to offer a positive corporate culture around mutual trust and respect. An EOC tries to improve its reputation in the community. Human resource managers make use of workplace flexibility (multitasking- functional flexibility), flexible working hours (numerical flexibility), and telecommuting (geographical flexibility). These three employment arrangements have advantages for customers, employees and the organisation.

Labour Market Trends Long term trends. Increased casual and part time employment. More than 25% of employees are casual in the Australian workforce. Increased casual and part time employees. Less and less permanent full-time staff are being employed due to factors including longer maternity leave, stay at home parents and employees working more than one job. This growth in causal and part time workers has a significant advantage for business organisations; saves money on costs such as annual leave, sick days and can terminate staff without notice. Business organisations lose employees that specialise in certain areas, along with highly educated employees and highly qualified employees. Staff are getting harder to hold at a business. Generation y are the next generation workers, although are seen as lazy, not willing to go the extra mile, lower levels of loyalty to the organisation, less driven by financial incentives but bring keenness to prove older management and generations wrong. The workforce is ageing rapidly as baby boomers are reaching retirement, governments and business’ are offering incentives so the older generation will work longer. These include-increased workforce flexibility -new challenges and opportunities -changes in health and safety arrangements

Ethical and socially responsible management in the establishment stage Striving to employee honest workers. Caring and showing interest in employees. Selecting a range of diverse employees. Ensure employee rights are respected. Introducing employees to the organisation. Informing staff and encourage staff to participate in decision making that can ultimately impact on themselves.