RESOURCES

According to the syllabus for Business for Leaving Certificate students must know the following :

Functions of the human resource manager to include recruitment, selection and the employer and employee relationships.
Teamwork, people development, performance appraisal and reward, career planning.
Holding interviews, how to write a Curriculum Vitae.

 

Click here to view Powerpoint Presentation on HRM

 - This powerpoint presentation is an excellent resource for teachers and students.    The complete chapter on Human Resource Management is covered in this chapter, each area follows in a logical order to complete the teaching and learning of same.
What is Human Resource Management ?  Human Resource Management is the process by which an organisation attracts, develops and rewards its workforce.

Functions of Human Resource Management

Manpower planning

Recruitment and Selection

Training and Development

Performance Appraisal

Rewarding Employees

Important terms you need to know and be familiar with  from this Chapter

job description

person specification

job sharing

performance appraisal

personnel

recruitment

redundancy

selection

teamwork

training and development

Recruitment and Selection Process

       Study Notes: People Management

The Recruitment Proces

For most businesses, large or small, the task of identifying what work needs doing and who should do it is a continuous challenge!

It is rare that a business of any size operates for long without having to recruit or remove employees. For example, consider why a business might need to recruit staff:

Business expansion due to

• Developing new products
• Entering new markets
• Existing employees leave:
• To work with competitors or other local employers
• Due to factors such as retirement, sick leave, maternity leave
• Business needs employees with new skills
• Business is relocating – and not all of existing workforce want to move to new location

The world of work is also changing rapidly:

Increase in part-time working

Increased number of single-parent families

More women seeking work

Ageing population

Greater emphasis on flexible working hours

Technology allows employees to communicate more effectively whilst apart

People rarely stay in the same job for life

Businesses need to understand and respond to these changes if they are to recruit staff of the right standard – and keep them!

So what is workforce planning?

Workforce planning is about deciding how many and what types of workers are required

There are several steps involved in workforce planning:

The workforce plan establishes what vacancies exist

Managers produce a job description and job specification for each post

Internal and external recruitment

A manager can recruit in two different ways:

Internal recruitment is when the business looks to fill the vacancy from within its existing workforce

External recruitment is when the business looks to fill the vacancy from any suitable applicant outside the business
Of course, the option to use BOTH internal and external recruitment can be used. This is often the case for senior management appointments.

	Advantages	Disadvantages
Internal Recruitment	Cheaper and quicker to recruit	Limits the number of potential applicants
	People already familiar with the business and how it operates	No new ideas can be introduced from outside
	Provides opportunities for promotion with in the business – can be motivating	May cause resentment amongst candidates not appointed
	Business already knows the strengths and weaknesses of candidates	Creates another vacancy which needs to be filled
External Recruitment	Outside people bring in new ideas	Longer process
	Larger pool of workers from which to find the best candidate	More expensive process due to advertising and interviews required
	People have a wider range of experience	Selection process may not be effective enough to reveal the best candidate

The four most popular ways of recruiting externally are: 

Job centres – Government agencies to help the unemployed find jobs or get training

• Job advertisements - the most common form of external recruitment.  Where a business chooses to advertise will depend on the cost of advertising and the coverage needed (i.e. how far away people will consider applying for the job)
• Recruitment agency - Provides employers with details of suitable candidates for a vacancy and can sometimes be referred to as ‘head-hunters’.  They work for a fee and often specialise in particular employment areas e.g. nursing, financial services, teacher recruitment
• Personal recommendation - Often referred to as ‘word of mouth’ and can be a recommendation from a colleague at work.  A full assessment of the candidate is still needed however but potentially it saves on advertising cost

When recruiting externally, the business will almost certainly have to produce a job advertisement.  The objectives of the advertisement are to:

Inform audience of potential candidates about opportunity

• Provide enough information to both inform and interest possible applicants
• Help “screen” or dissuade unsuitable applicants
• Obtain most number of suitably qualified applicants for post advertised

Preparing job descriptions

- a job description – specifying the work to be done

- a person specification – detailing the qualities and type of person needed for the job

• Job description

• Detailed explanation of the roles and responsibilities of the post advertised

• Most applicants will ask for this before applying for the job

• Refers to the post available rather than the person

• Job specification

• Sets out the kind of qualifications, skills, experience and personal attributes a successful candidate should possess.

• A vital tool in assessing the suitability of job applicants

• Refers to the person rather than the post

Recruitment interviews - selecting the candidates

An interview is the most common form of selection and it serves a very useful purpose for both employer and job candidate:

For the Employer:

Information that cannot be obtained on paper from a CV or application form

• Conversational ability- often known as people skills
• Natural enthusiasm or manner of applicant
• See how applicant reacts under pressure
• Queries or extra details missing from CV or application form

For the Candidate

Whether job or business is right for them

What the culture of company is like
• Exact details of job

There are though other forms of selection tests that can be used in addition to an interview to help select the best applicant.  The basic interview can be unreliable as applicants can perform well at interview but not have the qualities or skills needed for the job. 

Other selection tests can increase the chances of choosing the best applicant and so minimise the high costs of recruiting the wrong people.  Examples of these tests are aptitude tests, intelligence tests and psychometric tests (to reveal the personality of a candidate). 

Managers selecting candidates for a high level post in an organisation may even send applicants to an assessment centre.  In such centres candidates undergo a variety of tests, role-plays and simulations for a number of days.

Once the best candidate has been selected and agreed to take up the post, the new employee must be given an employment contract. This is an important legal document that describes the obligations of the employee and employer to each other (terms and conditions) as well as the initial remuneration package and a number of other important details.

Job analysis

The management of a business need to determine what work needs to be done. Job analysis is a key part of this need.

Job analysis concentrates on what job holders are expected to do. It provides the basis for a job description, which in turn influences decisions taken on recruitment, training, performance appraisal and reward systems.

What is contained in a job analysis?

A job analysis would typically contain:

Job purpose	What is the job meant to do - and how does this related to other parts of the business?
Job content	Duties and responsibilities
Accountabilities	What results / outputs is the job holder responsible for?
Performance criteria	How will the job holder's performance be measured?
Resource requirements	E.g. equipment, location

How is a job analysis carried out?

Several techniques should be used to complete an effective job analysis:

- Research business documents - e.g. procedures manuals

- Ask relevant managers about the requirements and purpose of the job; what are the key activities; what relationships does the job have with other posts. Develop a comprehensive profile through these discussions

- Interview the existing job holder (if the job already exists) -e.g. ask store managers in retail stores and build a profile from asking those who actually do the job

- Observe the job holders to see what they really do

The key information that needs to be collected includes:

- Job title

- Main duties and tasks

- Targets and performance standards that the job holder is required to achieve

- The amount of supervision that is normally given / freedom of decision-making in the job

- Skills and/or qualifications needed for the job (including personal skills)

Training is, therefore, a process whereby an individual acquires job-related skills and knowledge. 

Training costs can be significant in any business. However, many employers are prepared to incur these costs because they expect their business to benefit from employees' development and progress.

Training takes place at various points and places in a business.  Commonly, training is required to:

• Support new employees (“induction training”)
• Improve productivity
• Increase marketing effectiveness
• Support higher standards of customer service and production quality
• Introduction of new technology, systems or other change
• Address changes in legislation
• Support employee progression and promotion

Effective training has the potential to provide a range of benefits for a business:

• Higher quality
• Better productivity
• Improved motivation - through greater empowerment
• More flexibility through better skills
• Less supervision required (cost saving in supervision)
• Better recruitment and employee retention
• Easier to implement change in the business

Effective training starts with a “training strategy”.  The three stages of a training strategy are:

• Identify the skills and abilities needed by employees
• Draw up an action plan to show how investment in training and development will help meet business goals and objectives
• Implement the plan, monitoring progress and training effectiveness

Given the costs involved, you might not be surprised to learn that many businesses do not invest enough in training. 

Some firms don’t invest anything in training!  Here are the most common reasons for under-investment in training:

They fear employees will be poached by competitors (who will then benefit from the training)

• A desire to minimise short-term costs
• They cannot make a justifiable investment case
• Training takes time to have the desired effect – management are impatient!
• Sometimes the benefits of training are more intangible (e.g. morale) than tangible – so they are harder to measure

On-the-job training

With on the job training, employees receive training whilst remaining in the workplace.

The main methods of one-the-job training include:

• Demonstration / instruction - showing the trainee how to do the job
• Coaching - a more intensive method of training that involves a close working relationship between an experienced employee and the trainee
• Job rotation - where the trainee is given several jobs in succession, to gain experience of a wide range of activities (e.g. a graduate management trainee might spend periods in several different departments)
• Projects - employees join a project team - which gives them exposure to other parts of the business and allow them to take part in new activities. Most successful project teams are "multi-disciplinary"

Off-the-job training

This occurs when employees are taken away from their place of work to be trained.

Common methods of off-the-job training include:

• Day release (employee takes time off work to attend a local college or training centre)
• Distance learning / evening classes
• Block release courses - which may involve several weeks at a local college
• Sandwich courses - where the employee spends a longer period of time at college (e.g. six months) before returning to work
• Sponsored courses in higher education
• Self-study, computer-based training

The main advantages and disadvantages of this form of training can be summarised as follows:

Advantages	Disadvantages
A wider range of skills or qualifications can be obtained Can learn from outside specialists or experts Employees can be more confident when starting job	More expensive – e.g. transport and accommodation Lost working time and potential output from employee New employees may still need some induction training Employees now have new skills/qualifications and may leave for better jobs