Human Resource Management
Most companies use a process of human resource management, for example:
- A corporate strategy for human resource planning (understanding when to employ new staff, extra staff, redeploy staff or retrench staff according to company change and performance)
- Selection and recruitment of new employees
- Induction of new employees
- Training and development of all staff
- Performance reviews and their management
- Employee retention through recognition and rewards for their achievements
- Termination and resignation processes and decisions
They use this process to ensure that:
- Key performers are recognised
- Talent and potential is recognised and used to add-value within the company
- Poor performers are identified
- Labour or skills shortages are identified
- Task suitability is identified so labour and skills are used to company advantage
Human resource plans need regular review in order to:
- Retain currency and efficacy
- Evaluate the benefits
- Recognise its disadvantages and effectiveness
Appropriate measures used to evaluate the design of a human resource plan include:
- Employee retention rates
- Employee turnover rates
- Productivity rates
- Profitability per employee
Factors affecting human resource planning:
- Supply and demand and other trends in the labour market
- Changes in technology
- Political climate and initiative
- Competitor practices
- Social aspects
- Increased customer expectations
- Management skills and consistency within the company
- Corporate politics
Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy can be a serious enemy to good management in any organisation - private or public. Some people can easily lose sight of the fact that administrative procedures are only of value if they contribute toward an overall increase in productivity. It can be valuable to continually reflect upon which type of organisation will be most productive:
a. The organisation which occasionally loses track of what it is doing, but has 90% of it’s workforce actually creating products and delivering services which are in strong demand and serving a real need;
OR
b. The organisation which has 100% control and awareness of everything it is producing, but allocates 80% of it’s manpower to achieve that control, leaving only 20% to produce the products or services which are always exceedingly under supplied.
In some countries a high proportion of the workforce works for a governmental instrumentality. Bureaucratic mismanagement is not, nor has been uncommon in many workplaces. Proper structural organising within the work place, more efficient use of updated equipment, career guidance, stress management and worker participation would eliminate a large slice of bureaucratic mismanagement within Government bodies. Many Government organisations now recognise this and thus practice good management.
Private business cannot afford mismanagement; profits fall, motivation ceases, share holders become agitated. Decisions are made quickly to rectify any problems within the organisation. Changes are usually governed by profits plus efficiency production wise or management.
Personnel/Human Resources Departments
The personnel or human resources department has the job of securing and maintaining an adequate and healthy work force. The personnel department assists the company in reaching its objectives by helping with management of the company's staff.
Regulations
Any manager will need to operate in accordance with a variety of regulations. Regulations restrict (or define) what can and cannot be done. There are various types of regulations, and a manager needs to ensure they maintain an awareness of regulations that affect their work. Types of regulations may include:
- Laws set down by government
- Conditions agreed to by the organisation in a contract
- Conditions of membership, accreditation, or some other status held by the organisation
- Directives given by more senior management (e.g. job specifications, memos, policy statements)
Job Analysis
Job analysis is a process used, through the collection of data, to identify the important details and tasks of a job and the essential abilities an individual should possess to satisfactorily perform the job. Although the information collected for a job analyses often comes from the person performing the job, it does not analyse the person performing the job but the just the job itself.
A job analysis may be used for many purposes including:
- Selecting suitable employees; determining a job description
- Determining training needs and developing training plans for employees
- Developing performance review assessment criteria and also performance reviews; set goals and objectives, standards required, set probationary periods, identify the duties that need further evaluation
- Determining rewards (ie. wages, bonuses etc.)
- Determining health and safety hazards; amount of concentration required; physical effort or safety risks
- Determining the amount of responsibility associated with the job
- Determining the educational levels required
- Helping to formulate interview instruments: tests, simulations, evaluation forms for applicants (checklists); induction needs.
Methods of Analysis
- Review the job classification
- Interview incumbents
- Interview supervisors
- Questionnaires
- Identifying tasks
- Check lists
- Observation
- Work logs
Elements of a Job Analysis Questionnaire
- Identify duties and tasks – what tasks are performed, how often, how much effort is required, skills required, complexity and standards required.
- Identify responsibilities
- Identify equipment used including protective clothing
- Identify work relationships in the business and with business contacts
- Identify the work environment – temperature, chemical fumes or other odours, other dangerous substances; problem colleagues all these aspects impact on the physical requirements of the job
- Review the questionnaire and compare the outcome to those of the immediate supervisor.
