HUMAN RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT
Purpose of the Human Resource
Management
 The central purpose of (HRM) is to
 recruit,
 train and
 utilize a business’s personnel
 in the most productive manner to assist the organization
in the achievement of its objective.
 Human Resource Departments or
Personnel Departments’.
 ‘Personnel Departments historically were responsible for
 recruiting,
 training,
 discipline and welfare of staff and they tended to be:
 Rather bureaucratic in their approach to staff issues;
 Focused on recruitment, selection and discipline rather
than development and training; and
 Reluctant to give any HR roles to any other functional
managers.
Human Resource Management is broader
and farther reaching in scope today.
 It focuses on:
 • Planning the workforce needs of the business;
 • Recruiting and selecting appropriate staff, using a variety
of techniques;
 • Appraising, training and developing staff at every stage of
their careers;
 • Developing appropriate pay systems for different
categories of staff;
 • Managing staff performance;
 • Involving all managers in the development of their staff.
Planning the workforce needs of the
business –
 Planning the workforce needs of the
business – manpower planning
 HR departments need to calculate the
staffing needs of the business over future
time periods.
 Failure to do this can lead to too few or
too many staff or staff with inappropriate
skills.
Recruiting and selecting staff
 Organizations need to obtain the best workforce available
if they are to meet their objectives successfully.
 As far as possible the workers need to be chosen so that
they meet exactly the needs of the organization in order
to reduce the risk of conflict between their personal
objectives and those of the business.
 The recruitment process involves several steps:
 draw up a job description
 draw up a person specification.
 Job advertisement
Draw up a job description
 To establish the precise nature of the job vacancy and draw up a job
description (or specification).
 This provides a complete picture of the job and will include
(I) job title
(ii) details of tasks to be performed,
(iii) responsibilities involved,
(iv) place in the hierarchical structure
(v) working conditions and
(vi) how the job will be assessed and performance measured.
The advantage of the job description is that it should attract the right
type of people to apply for the job, as potential recruits will have an
idea whether they are suited to the position or not.
Person specification
 To draw up a person specification.
 This is an analysis of the type of qualities and
skills being looked for in suitable applicants.
 It is clearly based on the job description because
these skills can only be assessed once the nature
and complexity of the job have been identified.
 The person specification is like a ‘person profile’
and will help in the selection process by
eliminating applicants who do not match up to the
necessary requirements.
Job advertisement

 Todevise a job advertisement reflecting

the requirements of the job and the
personal qualities looked for.
 This
can be displayed within the business
premises – particularly if an internal
appointment is looked for –
 or in newspapers.
Selecting staff
 Once applications have been received then the selection
process can begin.
 A typical process will follow this pattern:
 A shortlist of applicants is drawn up from the application
forms and personal details. (Curriculum Vitae)
 Interviews are conducted which will be designed to
question the applicant on their skills, experience and
character to see if they will both perform well and fit into
the organization.
 Other tests can be conducted, such as aptitude tests and
psychometric tests.
Training, developing and appraising staff
 Training
 Having spent a great deal of time and effort on recruiting
and selecting the right staff, the HR department must
ensure that they are well equipped to perform the duties
and undertake the responsibilities expected of them. This
will always nearly involve training in order to develop the
full abilities of the worker. There are different types of
training:
 Induction training is given to all new recruits.
 On the job training involves instruction at the place of
work.
 Off-the-job training entails any course of instruction away
from the place of work.
On-the-job training
 This is where employees learn while they are performing the job.
 On-the-job training may take several forms:
 Job rotation — as was discussed in earlier chapters, this involves a
lateral transfer of employees to enable them to work in and learn
about other job responsibilities in the organization
 Apprenticeship — this is where new employees understudy more
experienced employees in an attempt to learn about the task being
performed
 Coaching — trainees are guided by a coach who will give the
necessary instructions to carry out a job or use a machine or
equipment
 Mentoring — a trainee is paired with an experienced worker who acts
as an adviser for the trainee while he/ she carries out the job.
Advantages and Disadvantages of on-the-job
training

 Usually cost effective

 Employees are working while learning
 Less productive time is lost than with external training
 Disadvantages of on-the-job training
 The quality of training might be compromised since it is
dependent on the person giving the instruction
 Bad habits might be passed on
 Production may be disrupted during training.
Off-the-job training

 Off-the-job training is where employees are trained away from their

immediate workplace. This training could be done elsewhere within
the firm's premises or in an educational facility, such as a university.
Some examples are:
 Lectures — these are verbal presentations on a specified area and are
conducted by a person qualified in the field
 Audio-visual — this can be done using videos or films to conduct
training. Workers may watch a presentation on how to perform a
particular task or set of tasks
 Simulation — this is where a real-life situation is created and
participants may be asked how they would respond in such a
situation. For example, it could be used to assess tellers in a bank.
Simulation exercises may incorporate case studies, sensitivity training
and role play
 E-learning and distance learning — both of these can take place
over the internet and so are convenient for a number of employees.
People are able to upgrade their skills at their own pace.
Advantages and Disadvantages of off-the-job
training
 Advantages of off-the-job training
 A wider variety of skill and qualifications available
 Trainers may have specialist training
 Employees can be exposed to the latest information available
 Usually more systematic and organized.

 Disadvantages of off-the-job training

 More costly
 Loss of productive time while workers are being trained externally
 Firm may lose workers to other firms after they are trained
 Firms may still have to do supplementary training.
Training, developing and appraising staff

 Development
 Development and training of staff should be a
continuous process.
 Development might take the form of
 new challenges and opportunities,
 additional training courses to learn new skills,
 promotion with additional authority and
 chances for job enrichment.
Training, developing and appraising staff

 Appraisal
 Appraisal is often undertaken annually.
 It is an essential component of a staff development
programme.
 The analysis of performance against pre set and agreed
targets
 combined with the setting of new targets allows the future
performance of a worker to be linked to the objectives of
the business.
Compensation
 The HR department will be heavily involved in
analyzing which method of financial reward
should be applied to each category and grade of
worker.
 In addition, the HR team may be asked to
compare different types of jobs within the
business to allow for different pay levels and pay
differentials between jobs to be set.
 Thisprocess of objectively comparing the
demands of different jobs is called job
evaluation.
Performance management – Measuring and
monitoring staff performance

 The consequences of poor workforce performance can be

damaging for business prospects.
 On the other hand, improvements in performance should be
recognized and fed back to the staff.
 There are a number of indicators that HR and other managers
can use to access the level of achievement and morale of the
workforce. They are:
 Labour Productivity
 Absenteeism Rates
 Labour Turnover
Indicators use to access the level of
achievement and morale
 Measuring workforce performance What are the major signs that all
is not well with the commitment level and degree of motivation of
the workforce?
 Labour productivity This is often viewed by managers as the key
test of workforce performance. It is the comparison of the
number of workers with total output.
 Absenteeism rates This measures the proportion of the total
workforce who are absent over a particular time period.
 Labour turnover This is a measure of the rate at which staff
leaves a business over a certain time period.
Employee performance – methods to improve it

 Appraisal;

 Training and general educational opportunities to

stretch and challenge every worker;
 Quality circles – small groups of workers encouraged to
take responsibility for identifying and suggesting
solutions to work-related problems;
 Cell production and autonomous work groups where
teams of workers are given multi-skilling training and
the opportunity to take responsibility for a complete
section of work;
 Financial incentives linked to taking ownership of the
company
Involving all managers in staff development

 HR managers should not perform their duties in isolation

to the rest of the business.
 Workforce plans can only be established after discussions
with other managers in the business.
 The HR department must keep the other managers of the
business well informed of the tasks they are undertaking.
 Ensure that the training and development needs are well
coordinated between all departments.
Health and safety in the workplace
 This issue is concerned with working conditions for all
staff employed by a business.
 The human resources department will have an important
role to play in ensuring good, safe working conditions.
 Firstly, competent workers must be recruited.
 They then must be adequately trained in using appropriate
equipment, and procedures in event of an incident or
accident.
 HR department should be responsive to staff complaints
regarding faulty equipment, inadequate of dangerous
working conditions and a lack of training.
Other tasks for HR Managers

 Drawing up contracts of employment for all staff

 Discipline and dismissal of employees
 Informing staff of redundancies
 Employee welfare
Health and safety in the workplace
 This issue is concerned with working conditions for all staff
 The human resources department will have an important role
to play in ensuring good, safe working conditions.
 Firstly, competent workers must be recruited.
 They then must be adequately trained in
 using appropriate equipment,
 in procedures in event of an incident or accident.
 Lastly, the HR department should be responsive to staff
complaints regarding
 faulty equipment,
 inadequate of dangerous working conditions
 and a lack of training.