Personnel Management (or Human Resource Management) is concerned with managing all aspects of the workforce - that is the "people" that make up the organisation.
In a small business, the owner may need to do the tasks of a personnel manager. Big businesses will usually have a personnel manager, or a personnel management department whose sole focus is on these tasks.
Is this course for you? Contact us for FREE course counselling.
This is a 6 module course. You can see all about the modules below. Click on the links for more information.
Note that each module in the Qualification - Certificate in Personnel Management is a short course in its own right, and may be studied separately.
However, money is not the only important factor, so intangible rewards will be considered in the next lesson. Between 1945 and 1965 The Minneapolis Gas Company carried out a survey on what their potential employees desired most from a job. The ratings varied slightly between men and women, but the highest factors for both groups were –
- Security
- Advancement
- Type of Work
- Company – proud to work for.
Factors such as pay, benefits and working conditions were given low ratings by both groups.
Kovach (1987) found that as an employee’s income increases, money becomes less of a motivator. This is contrary to the belief that pay is the prime motivator. However, this should not be regarded as an opportunity to pay employees poorly.
Money is however a factor in motivating people. Reward systems and payments do get results.
Money is important!
Some have argued that monetary incentives have lost their force. Peter Drucker (1974) denies this. He argues that anti-materialism is a myth, that in fact, money is taking so much for granted, that is actually acting as a de-motivator.
“Economic incentives are becoming rights rather than rewards”.
We do live in a monetary motivated world. If the reward is sufficient, good human relations will improve a team/individual to produce their best efforts. If the financial reward is insufficient, monetary reward cannot be compensated by good human relations. Consider professional athletes, many will now play for the highest bidder and the pride of playing for their own country is not often enough. Professional tennis players are refusing to play Wimbledon as the rewards are not high enough, so money is obviously a motivating factor in sport and business.
Monetary rewards can take the form of wages, bonuses, discounts and rewards. At the end of each week or month, the member of staff will receive their wages. However, it is important to consider how their wages are organized.
Overtime - For example, if a person receives the same wages each month, no matter how well he/she has performed, or how many hours they have worked, this can be particularly de-motivating. Let us say that person A works 50 hours a week, but receives the same wages as person B who works 40 hours a week. Why bother with the extra ten hours? In this example, some consideration should be given to whether overtime is to be paid to staff. It is important to bear in mind, though, that some staff will do overtime to gain more money, but not necessarily produce better or more work.
Bonuses – Another additional payment/reward can be in the form of bonuses. Staff may be rewarded for hard work in the form of bonuses at the end of the year, month, week, quarter, etc. Bonuses may be awarded individually to staff. For example, persons A and B worked the hardest so they received 50% of the bonus allowance; persons C and D worked hard, but not so hard, so received 30% of the allowance; persons E and F received 20%; and the remainder did not receive a bonus.
Commission Payments – Many sales people will receive commission payments on the amount of sales they make. This can be a real financial motivator as staff members are aware that certain sales targets are required to receive certain commission payments. Tiered commission structures are particularly useful in motivating staff, for example, if they reach $10,000 sales in a month, their commission may increase by an additional 5% above the usual amount.
Pension Contributions, Health Care and Childcare contributions – Many companies make contributions to their employees’ pensions, health care and childcare. Some companies will provide free healthcare for their employees in health care organizations. Others will offer childcare within the organization, for example a crèche, or offer vouchers towards child care costs. Whilst these may not be a direct reward, they are a reward for their continued work and employment.
Goods – Goods may be offered as motivating rewards. For example, goods such as holidays may be offered if targets are met.
Services – Services can be offered for staff achieving targets and working hard, including those mentioned above, such as childcare support.
