Promotion policy Promotion is a double edged sword. If handled carefully it can contribute to employee satisfaction & motivation.

If mishandled it leads to discontent, frustration, & bickering among the employees, & culminates in a high rate of turn over. It is the responsibility of the HR manager to lay down a sound promotional policy & ensure its implementation. The policy of promotion should be clear on the following matters: 1) The HRM must make it clear whether to fill up higher positions by promotions or recruit people from outside. Generally, higher positions are filled up through external recruitment. 2) When it has been decided to fill up the higher positions with promotions, a further decision has to be taken whether the basis of promotion would be seniority or merit or both. If seniority is the basis for promotion an employee with the longest period of service will get promoted, irrespective of whether he or she is competent to occupy a higher post or not. This kind of promotion has its merits & demerits both The merits are: a) it is easy to administer b) there is less scope for subjectivity or arbitrariness in fixing seniority c)labor unions welcome seniority based promotions d) seniority & experience go hand in hand & therefore it is right & proper to make promotions on this basis e) subordinates are more willing to work under people people who have given many years of service to the company. f) loyalty is rewarded The demerits are: a) seniority is no indication of performance b) young & competent people get frustrated & might leave the job If competence is a basis of promotion, an employee whose performance is the best, as revealed by performance appraisal, is promoted. Such a promotion has its own charm because it is won by hard work & dedication. The merits of promotion by competence include a) efficiency is encouraged, recognized & rewarded b) competent people are retained Separations Separation occurs when an employee leaves the origination. Why do separations occurs? Reason for employee separation may be voluntary or involuntary. In the former intuition for separation is taken by the employee himself or herself . Where the employer initiates to separate an employee, it become involuntary separation. in latter the employee entertain the feeling of injustice and seeks legal protection to undo it Separation Voluntary Quits involuntary discharges

Retirements

layoff Retrenchment VRS Rightsizing

Voluntary separations Quits An employee decides to quit the job when his or her level of dissatisfaction with the present job is high or a more attractive alternative job is awaiting the individual. the reasons for the dissatisfaction may be because of the job its self or because of extrinsic factor such as supervision , company policy ,compensation , advancement opportunities, health , spouse relocation and the like . Thanks to economic boom, job are available in plenty .competent will get multiple offers at any given time . Some of them stay with the organization in the name of loyalty or some other commitment. Majority accept the more attractive offers prefer to leave the company. Retirement Retirement occurs when employee reach the end of their careers. The age for the employee' superannuation differs. In some states it is 58 yr and in central government it is 60 yrs .There is a thinking to raise the limit to 60 to 62 respectively as there is shortage of skilled people to fill up the vacant job .Retirement differs from quits .When the employee superannuates and leaves the organization , he or she carries several benefits with himself .Such a privilege is denied to the employee who quit . Second, retirement occur at the end of the employees carrier but the quit cant take place at any time. Third, superannuation shall not leave any soured relationship behind the retiree is liked to result in hurt feeling with the employer . Involuntary separation Employers resort to terminate employment contract with employees for at least three reason (i) organization is passing through lean period and is enable to maintain the existing labour . (ii)initial faulty hiring resulting in mismatch between job and employee fit , and (iii) employee exhibits deviant behaviours vitiating the environment around .discharge ., layoff . vs. and rightsizing are the common methods of employer sponsored separations. Discharges A discharge take place when the employers discovers that it is no more desirable to keep an employee any longer .discharge ,also called termination , should be avoided as far as possible . Any termination is a reflection on the company HR'S system .In addition, termination is expensive as the firm must seek replacement , hire and train the person . Finally, discharged in individual is likely to be a badmouth about the company . Obviously, discharge need to be viewed as the last resort . Layoffs A layoff is an temporary separation of the employee at the instance of the employer. Section 2(kkk) of the industrial dispute act,1947 , defines layoff as a failure ,refusal or inability of an employer to give employment to workers whose name is present on the roll but who has not been retrenched . A Layoff may be for the definite period on the expiry of which the employee will be

recalled by the employer for the duty .It may extent to a length of time , with the result the employer is unable to estimate when he she can recall his or her employees. A Layoff may be occasioned by the following reasons : 1. shortage of coal, power or raw material 2. Accumulation of stock 3. Breakdown of machinery 4. for any other reason As the employees are laid off at the instance of the employer, they have to be paid compensation for the paid compensation for all the period they are laid off. Section 25 of the industrial dispute act 1947, makes it mandatory on the part of the employer to pay compensation for all the days off layoff . The compensation equal to half the normal wages the employee would have earned if he or she had not been laid off. when part or a section or an department is laid off ., the management shall define the basic for the laying off individuals . The basic for the layoff may be merit or seniority. If merits is the basic , employees with unsatisfactory performance are laid off first .Similarly , the basic for re calling the employees as soon as the layoff is lifted needs to be made clear .A after the layoff , the management seeks to return to normal production as quick as possibly . Naturally key employee must be the first to be recalled. T he seniority system usually specifies that those who were laid off last will be called back first .presumably , the more senior workers will have held the more important position . Resignation A resignation refers to the termination of employment at the instance of the employee. An employee resigns when he or she secure a better job elsewhere , in case of female employee , when she marries and had to quit for personal reasons ,or when an employee suffers from ill health . The administration of separation caused by resignation is very simple because the employee himself / herself is responsible for it. Dismissal or discharge Where the termination of employment is initiated by the employer , it is known as dismissal or discharged , which is drastic step and should be taken after careful thought . A dismissal needs to be supported by just and sufficient reasons. the reason are as follow 1. Excessive absenteeism 2. Serious misconduct 3. False statement of qualification at the time of employment 4. Theft of company's property dismissal shall be the last steps and may be resorted to after all the efforts in salvaging the employee have failed . Retrenchment Retrenchment, too, result in the separation of an employee from his /her employer . It refers to termination of the services employee because of the replacement of labor by machine or te closure of a department due to continuing lack of demand for the products manufactured in that particular department of the organization.

Example: If the plant itself is closed, as was once done by the proprietors of the Binny mills , Madras , the management and employees have to leave for the good. Retrenchment, like lay off , entitles the employer to compensation which , in terms of section 25 (f)of the industrial dispute act ,197, is equivalent to fifteen days 'average pay complimented of continuous service . However, retrenchment differs from layoff in that , in the later , the employee continues to be in the employment of the organization and is sure to be recalled after the end of the period of layoff . But in retrenchment the employee is send home for good, and his or her connection with the company are severed immediately. Retrenchment differs from dismissal as well . An employee is dismissed because of his or her own fault. Retrenchment, on the other hand , is forced on both the employer and his employees . Moreover, retrenchment involves the termination of the service of several employees. But dismissal generally involves the termination of services of one or two employees. Voluntary retirement scheme Voluntary retirement scheme (vrs)is yet another type of separation . Beginning in the early 1980's , company both public and private sector , have been sending home surplus labors for good , not strictly by retrenchment , but by a novel scheme called VRS , euphemistically called the golden hand shake plan . Hand some compensation are paid to those workers who opts to leave . Management prefers to pay hefty sums and reduce staff strength than retaining surplus labors and continuing to pay them idle wages. Further, VRS is perceived as a painless and time saving method of trimming staff strength, easing out unproductive older workers, unions, too , cannot object as the scheme are voluntary. VRS also result in separation from employer. VRS is resorted to where organization have surplus labour. Firm will be required to pay wages for idle time if VRS is not invoked to trim the surplus labour force . Rightsizing Rightsizing theoretically means reducing the size of the workforce or increasing it to maintain the employee strength at the most desired level . In reality , rightsizing means downsizing the employee strength thought planned elimination of jobs .A record of short was created by GE when it released 104,000 of its 402,000 of its works during 1980's .downsizing is not a involuntary separation method by its self . in fact ,to downsize employee strength firms need to adopt other method .But because of its off repeated focus in corporate circle(a couples of years ago) we choose to discuss right sizing as an involuntary method of separation .downsizing is triggered by at least three factors 1. The company bottom line is threatened 2. Technological advancement renders people redundant and 3. Organizational restructuring Downsizing, thought claimed as a desirable corporate strategy , creates more problem than it can solve one of the biggest problem in the employees morale . Downsizing creates not a ripple But a tidal wave throughout the organization. The surviving employees experience trauma -they have lost identity, colleagues, security, power and control. More over, the economic benefit experienced by the organization often fails to materialize.

Horizontal movement of employees Horizontal or lateral movement of employees is common in organization is popularly called transfer, such movement of employees takes place for valid reason nevertheless, hr manager needs to handle transfer with caution A transfer involves a change in jobs accompanied by a change in the place of the jobs of an employee without a change in responsibilities or remuneration. Reason for transfers The reason for transfer varies from organization, and from individual to individual within an organization. Broadly speaking the following are the reason for transfers; 1. There shortage of employees in one department or plant because of a heavy demand which necessitates an increase in the number of shifts or expansion of production capacity .in other department or plant of the same organization ,employees may be surplus because of slackened demands for products manufactured by that department .if the demand is undisturbed ,increase mechanization may render some employees redundant .workers are transferred from the surplus department or plant where there is a shortage of staff. 2. Removal of the incompatibilities between the workers and his or her boss and between one worker and another worker. 3. Correction of faulty initial placement of employee. 4. A change has taken place in the interest and capacity of an individual, necessitating his or her transfer to a different job. 5. Over period of time, the productivity of an employee may decline because of the monotones of his or her job , break this monotony , the employee is transferred, 6. The climate may be unsatisfactory for an employee's health .he or she may request a transfer to a different place where his or her health will not be affected by its climate . 7. Family related issues cause transfer, especially among the female employees. When they get married , the females want to join their spouses , and this fact necessitates transfers or resignation Principles of transfers The HR managers must from a policy on transfer and apply it to all the transfer instead of treating each case on its own merits. Such a policy must be based on the following principle: 1. The frequency of transfer and the minimum period between transfers need to be decided upon and made known to all the employees. Defence personnel and government employees, for example, are subjected to transfer once in three years. The employees in these establishments know when they are due for a transfer and are prepared for it. 2. The authority which would handle transfer is to be decided upon. the usual practice is that transfers in each department is handled by the person in charge of that department .the best course is to centralize the authority handling transfer, and make the hr professional responsible for them. 3. The criteria for entertaining transfers needs to be laid down and strictly adhered to. 4. The reason of the organization over which transfer can be made need to be defined.

5. The effect of the transfer on the pay and seniority of the transferred employee may be clearly evaluated . 6. Transfers should be clearly defined as permanent or temporary. 7. The interest of the organization are not be forgotten in framing a policy of transfer.

Types of Transfer Broadly speaking, transfers may be classified into 3 types 1. Those designed to enhance training and development. 2. Those making possible adjustment to varying volumes of work within the firm. 3. Those designed to remedy the problem of poor placement. Specifically, transfers can be production, replacement, versatility, shift and remedial. 1. Production Transfers:. As mentioned earlier, a shortage or surplus of the labour force is common in different departments in a plants in an organisation. Surplus employees in a department have to be laid off, unless they are transferred to another department. Transfers effected to avoid to such imminent lay-offs are called production transfers. 2. Replacement Transfers:. Replacement transfers, too, are intended to avoid lay-offs, particularly, of senior employees. A junior employee may be replaced by a senior employee to avoid laying off the later. A replacement transfer programme is used when all the operations are declining, and is described to retain long-service employees as long as possible. 3. Versatility Transfers:. Versatility transfers are effected to make employee versatile and competent in more than one skill. Clerical employees in bank, for example, are transferred from one section to another so that they may acquire the necessary skills to attend the various activities of the bank. Versatile operations are valuable assets during rush periods and periods when work is dull. Versatile transfers may be used as a preparation for production or replacement transfers. 4. Shift Transfers:. Generally speaking, industrial operations operate more than one shift. Transfers between shifts are common, such transfers being made mostly on a rotation basis. Transfers may also be effected on special requests from employees. Some request the transfer to the second shift or the night shift in order to avail the free time during the day to take up part time jobs, although this is not permitted by law. 5. Remedial Transfer:. Remedial transfers are effected at the request of employees and are, therefore, called personal transfers. Remedial transfers take place because the initial placement of an employee may have been faulty or the worker may not get along with his or her supervisor or with other workers in the department. He or she may be getting too

old to continue in his or her regular job, or the type of job or working conditions may not be well adopted to his or her present health or accident record. If the job is repetitive, the worker may get stagnate and would benefit by transfer to a different kind of work.

UPWARD MOVEMENT OF EMPLOYEES Upward management of employees (called promotion) too is common in organisations. Promotion means an improvement in the pay, prestige, position and responsibilities of an employee within his/her organisation. A mere shifting of employee to a different job which has better working hours, better location and more pleasant conditions does not amount to promotion. The new job is a promotion to the employee only when it carries increased responsibilities and enhanced pay. PURPOSES OF PROMOTION The purposes of promotion may be outlined as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. To motivate employees to a higher productivity To attract and retain the services of qualified and competent people. To recognise and reward the efficiency of an employee. To increase the effectiveness of the employee and of the organisation. To fill up higher vacancies from within the organisation. To build loyalty, morale and sense of belongingness in the employee. To impress upon others that opportunities are available too them too in the organisation, if they perform well.

PRINCIPLES OF PROMOTION It is the responsibility of the HR manager to lay down a sound promotional policy and ensure its implementation. The policy of promotion should be clear on the following matter: The HR manager must make it clear whether to fill up higher positions or recruit people from the outside. Generally speaking, top positions in an organisations are filled through external recruitment. The lower positions, however, are filled up by promotions from within. When it has been decided to fill up higher positions with promotions, a further decision on determining the basis of promotion should be made by the HRM. The basis of promotion may be seniority or merit or both. A promotion on the basis of seniority has merits and demerits. The merits are: 1. 2. 3. 4. Its is easy to administer. There is less scope of subjectivity and arbitrariness in fixing seniority. Labor unions welcome seniority-based promotions. Seniority and experience go hand in hand, and therefore, it is right and proper to make promotions on the basis. 5. Subordinates are willing to work under an older boss who has given many years of service to the company. 6. Loyalty is rewarded.

The demerits are: 1. Seniority is no indication of competence. 2. Inspite of judicial pronouncement, there is no single criterion for fixing the seniority of an employee. 3. Young and competent people get frustrated and might leave the organisation. If competence is the basis of promotion, an employee whose performance is the best, as revealed by the performance appraisal, is promoted. Such a promotion has its own charm because it is earned by hard work and dedication.

The merits of promotion by competence are: 1. Efficiency is encouraged, recognized and rewarded.

2. Competent people are retained because better prospects are open to them. 3. Productivity increases. The disadvantages of promotion by merit are: 1. Discontentment among senior employees. 2. Scope of favoritism. 3. Loyalty and length of service are not rewarded. 4. Opposition from union leaders. Hence, it is obvious that senior and merit are the basis of promotion have their own merits and demerits. Of the two, competence is better basis because, it rewards those who deserve it, unlike seniority which results in promotion of a senior employee whose only qualification is, often, that he or she joined the organisation earlier than the others. Another point to be made clear about the policy of promotion is to whether to promote employees against vacancies or non-vacancies. In many organisations, employees are promoted on a non-vacancy basis after they complete a minimum period of service. Such promotions are time-bound and not based on vacancies or merit.