HRM – roles and purpose
The strategic approach to the effective management of an organization’s workers so that they help the business gain a competitive advantage.
Departments were responsible for just recruiting, training, disciplines and welfare of staff. They tended to be:
- Rather bureaucratic in their approach with an inflexible approach to staff issues
- Focused on recruitment, selection and discipline rather than developing and training
- Reluctant to give any HR roles to any other department managers - Not presented at board of directors level and not part of the strategic
management team.
HRM is broader and more far-reaching in scope. It focuses on: - Planning in work-force 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 - Preparing contract of employment for all staff and deciding on whether
these should be permanent or temporary, full or part-time
- Involving all managers in the development of their staff – emphasis that this is not just an HR responsibility
- Improving staff morale and welfare
- Developing appropriate pay systems for different categories of staff - Measuring and monitoring staff performance
Workforce planning
Analyzing and forecasting the numbers of workers and the skills of those workers that will be required by the organization to achieve its objectives. Workforce planning means thinking ahead and establishing the number of skills of the workforce required by the business in the future to meet its planned objectives. The starting point is always a workforce audit. A workforce audit is a check on the skills and qualifications of all existing workers/managers. Once this has been conducted the next stages in workforce planning are to assess what additional staff and skills might be needed.
1. The number of staff required in the future depends on many factors Forecast demand for the firm´s product
This will be influenced by market and external conditions, seasonal factors, competitor´s actions trends in consumer tastes and so on.
The productivity levels of staff
Of productivity (output per worker) is forecast to increase – perhaps as a result of more efficient machinery – then fewer staff will be needed to produce the same level output
This could influence future workforce numbers in two main ways. Firstly, if the business plans to expand over the coming years then staffing numbers will have to rise to accommodate this growth
Changes in the law regarding workers´ rights
If the government of a country decides to pass laws that establish shorter
maximum wage levels, then there will be a considerable impact on the workforce plan.
The labour turnover
The higher the rate at which staff leave a business, then the greater will be the firm´s need to recruit replacement staff
Recruiting and selecting staff
Recruitment is the process of identifying the need for a new employee, defining the job to be filled and the type of person needed to fill it, attracting suitable candidates for the job and selecting the best one. The recruitment and selection process involves several steps:
1.establishing the exact nature of the job vacancy and drawing up a job description
A job description is a detailed list of the key points about the job to be filled – starting all its key tasks and responsibilities
2.Drawing up a person specification
A person specification is a detailed list of qualities, skills and qualifications that a successful applicant will need to have
3.preparing a job advertisement reflecting the recruitments of the job and the personal qualities needed
The job advertisement can be displayed within the business premises- particularly if an internal appointment is looked for – or in government job centres, recruitment agencies and /or newspapers
4.drawing up a shortlist of applicants
A small number of applicants are chosen based on their application forms and personal details, often contained in a CV.
5.conducting interview – or using other selection methods
Interviews are conducted that 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
There are different types of training:
Induction training: is given to all new recruits. It has the objectives of introducing them to the system and people that they will be working with most closely.
On the job training: instruction at the place of work on how a job should be carried out
Off the job training: all training undertaken away from the business (work related college courses, etc)
Development and appraisal of staff
Staff appraisal is the process of assessing the effectiveness of an employee judged against pre-set objectives
Drawing up contracts of employment
An employment contract is a legal document that sets out the terms and conditions governing a worker´s job
Discipline and dismissal of employee
Being dismissed or sacked from a job due to incompetence or breach of
discipline. And unfair dismissal is ending a worker´s employment contract for a reason that the law regards as being unfair. In order to dismiss someone the following procedures:
- Inability to do the job in a situation where necessary and after sufficient training has been given
- A continuous negative attitude at work, which has badly affected the employees or their work.
- Continuous disregard of required health and safety procedures - Deliberate destruction of an employer´s property
- Continued bullying of other employees
There are certain situations in which dismissal would be unfair: - Pregnancy
- Discriminatory reason - Being a member of a union - A non-relevant criminal record
Sometimes a manager will need to discipline an employee for continued failure to meet the obligations laid down by the contract.
Redundancy is when a job is no longer required, so the employee doing this job becomes redundant through no fault of his or her own
Employment contra contracts: full or part-time, temporary or permanent?
Temporary employment contract is an employment contract the lasts for a fixed time period e.g. six months
Part-time employment contract is an employment contract that is for less than the normal full working week of, say, 40 hours
Flexi-time contract is an employment contract that allows staff to be called in at times most convenient to employers and employees e.g. busy times of the day Advantages to the firm
- Staff can be required to work at particularly busy periods of the day but not during the slack times, for example banking staff needed at lunch times or theatre and cinema receptionists needed mainly in the evening - More staff are available to be able to be called upon should there be
sickness or other causes of absenteeism
- The efficiency of staff can be assessed before they are offered a full time contract
- By using teleworking from home for some groups of workers, even further savings in overhead costs can be made, such as smaller office buildings
Advantages for the worker with part time and flexible contracts - This contract could be ideal for certain types of workers, for example
students, parents with young children, or more elderly people who do not wish to work a full week.
- They may be able to combine two jobs with different firms, giving greater variety to their working lives
Disadvantages for the firm
- There will be more staff to manage than if they were all full-time
- Effective communication will become much more difficult, not just because there will be more staff in total but also because it may be impossible to hold meetings with all the staff at any one time.
- Motivation levels may be adversely affected because part-time staff may feel less involved and committed to the business than full-time workers Disadvantages for the workers
- They will be earning less than full-time workers
- They may be paid at a lower rate than full-time workers
- The security of employment and other working conditions are often inferior to those of full-time workers
Hard or soft HRM?
Hard HRM is an approach to managing staff that focuses on cutting costs e.g. temporary and part-time employment contracts, offering maximum flexibility but with minimum training costs
Soft HRM is an approach to managing staff that focuses on developing staff so that they reach self-fulfillment and are motivated to work hard and stay with the business