Extract the Excellence Through People

Performance appraisal methods

Performance appraisal methods are the techniques and processes used by organizations to assess and evaluate the job performance of their employees. These methods help in providing feedback, making compensation decisions, identifying training and development needs,...

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Safety and Wellness of employees in HRM

In the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of Human Resource Management (HRM), one aspect has gained paramount importance – the safety and wellness of employees. Modern HR practices go beyond traditional roles of hiring, training, and...

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Employee Motivation

Employee motivation is a process of getting the needs of the employees realized with a view to induce them to work for the accomplishment of the organizational objectives. What is employee motivation? Motivation refers to...

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Compensation and Benefits Management

Compensation and benefits management is the process of managing, analysing and determining the salary, incentives, and benefits given by any organization to their employees in exchange of their work.

What are compensation and benefits?

Whenever the employees receive a job offer, the first thing they look at is the salary offered for their work to be performed. Whatever salary is mentioned in the offer later whether it is hourly or monthly, the candidates see it as the most critical part of any job offer.

Generally, when employees think about compensation, the first thing that comes in their mind is salary. But for several employees, especially the senior employees the compensation and benefit is something more than just the regular pay.

Benefits is the part of compensation which includes indirect pay. Benefits can be like health insurance, stock options, and social benefits which are offered to employees. All of these things are important for any job offer.

The two jobs that offer identical salaries to the employees for the same work may be vary widely in the benefits category, which will made an one way effect for making them a better financial proposition than the other.

Goals of Compensation and Benefits Management

  • Attract employees
  • Retain employees
  • Motivate employees
  • Maximize ROI (Return on Investment)

These goals are achieved by offering broad and competitive compensation plans to the employees within the company budget.

Compensation and benefits management ensures employees should get paid a fair and pertinent salary based on:

  • Work performance
  • Position
  • Responsibilities
  • Experience
  • Job market
  • Company budget

What is compensation management?

Compensation management plays a vital role in HR because it can impact employee retention, the hiring process, company performance, and team management.

Compensation management is the process in which the management analyzes and ensures that the salaries, wages and bonuses given to employees for their work remain appropriate, equitable, and competitive.

If salary, bonuses, and benefits are not managed properly, employees might find much better packages elsewhere. The performance and job satisfaction could decline which can be result in downfall of the business.

Compensation management is responsible for managing the employees data and keeping up with complex benefits administration rules and regulations.

Compensation and Benefits definitions

Compensation and benefits for employees are key part of human resource management.

Employee Compensation:

Compensation is the remuneration awarded to an employee in exchange of their services or individual contributions towards any organization. The contribution can be their time, knowledge, skills, abilities, and commitment to any organization or project.

Compensation consists of both the financial and non financial reimbursement that the organizations pay to their employees in exchange for their work. Simply, compensation maybe defined as the pay given to an employee by an employer as a salary or wages.

Compensation is simply a methodical approach to provide financial value to employees in exchange of work they performed. Wages, salaries and tips are some common forms of compensation.

Employee Benefits:

Employee benefits are non financial rewards provided to employee as a return of their well performed work for the organization.

Benefits are the subset of compensation which covers non monetary form of compensation. It is the non financial part of compensation which includes;

  • Employees allowances
  • Pay raise
  • Paid vacation
  • Achievements and awards
  • Perks and bonuses
  • Social security
  • Health insurance
  • Meal breaks

Types of Compensation and Benefits

Compensation and benefits of employees are divided into two parts;

  • Direct compensation
  • Indirect compensation
Types of compensation and benefits

Direct Compensation

Direct compensation may be defined as the monetary rewards offered and provided to the employees in exchange of their work and the services for the organization.

The monetary benefits include basic salary, conveyance, house rent allowances, medical reimbursements, special allowances, stock options, bonus, provident fund, gratuity, leave travel allowances, etc.

These monetary benefits are given at a regular interval at a definite time.

Indirect Compensation

Indirect compensation is non monetary rewards other than the direct compensation in the form of benefits or perks given to an employee in exchange of their well performed work for the organization..

It includes overtime policy, leave policy, insurance, flexible timing, retirement benefits, paid holidays, job security, best staff award, etc.

Why are compensation and benefits important?

Compensation and benefits in HR play a vital role in encouraging employees and enhancing organizational effectiveness.

Compensation package offered to employees is essential because it is likely to be the primary reason the employees work for them. If companies offer best benefits to the employees than companies can get the desired talent for their success.

Compensation packages with good pay and advantages can help to attract and retain the best employees because the employees want to be associated with the companies which give the job with best benefits. And it gives an employee a reason to stick to the company.

  • Attracting Top Talent

People always want to look themselves in the best possible position financially. So a well designed research on competitor’s compensation and benefits packages is required by any organization to make sure that they also offer a relative packages to their potential employees.

So that they can attract the best candidates for your organization. Because candidates will prefer to go with the organization which will provide them best compensation and benefits plans according to their skills and experiences for the job.

  • Increasing Employee Motivation

When the employees are provided with the proper and suitable compensation than it shows you are valuing them as workers and human beings.

When people feel that they are being valued by the company than they feel better about coming in to work. Overall company morale increased and people are motivated to perform better towards their job and work.

  • Boosting Employee Loyalty

When the employees are being paid well then they feel happy and satisfied. which make them to stay with the company for long which is good for the employee and the organization’s success as well. Proper and suitable compensation is one factor why employees remain with employers.

  • Increasing Productivity and Profitability

When the employees are well compensated, they feel valued which results in increased motivation and loyalty. The good and well designed compensation and benefits plan makes the employees satisfied and happy.

And this happiness improve their performance and willingness to work with the company for a long time. And this results in enhancing the productivity and profit for the organization.

  • Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction is most valuable factor for an employee to remain in the company for long time. Some time the reason of employee’s job leaving is that he/she is not well compensated according to his/her performance.

Creating the right compensation program leads to stronger job satisfaction. The well designed compensation plan is important for the job satisfaction of the employees because this stronger sense of satisfaction converts into the well performed work which results in company’s success.

Related Posts;

Human Resource Planning (HRP)

Recruitment and Selection of Employees

Training and Development of Employees

Conclusion

Compensation and benefits management is required as it encourages the employees to perform better, show their excellence and also provide growth and development options to the deserving employees. When the proper compensation and benefits are given to the employees than they feel valuable, motivated, secure and satisfied which motivate them to perform better for the success of the organization.

By Maaz Anwar, ago

Performance Management in HRM

Performance Management

What is Performance Management?

Performance management in HRM refers to the process to ensure that the organization connects mission with the work of employees.

One of the primary HR activities is to manage employee attitude and behaviors. Managers do this by using performance management programs.

Performance management involves two related activities;

  1. Evaluating the performance of the employees against the standards set for them.
  2. Helps the employees to evolve the action plans to improve their performance.

Performance Management Meaning

Performance management is a continuous procedure which takes place throughout the year through communication between the supervisors and the employees in order to achieve the predetermined aim of the organization.

Performance management in HRM is a set of activities composed to ensure that the organization obtains the desired performance from its employees.

Effective Performance Management

It depends on the evolution and implementation of suitable performance management tools, feedback and documentation.

After the effective performance management program, a manager is able to answer the questions such as;

  • How can I best measure performance?
  • How can I best communicate the feedback to employees about their performance development?
  • How should I communicate to employees?
  • How should I manage poor performance?

Outcomes of Effective Performance Management

  • Clarifying the job responsibilities and expectations.
  • Enhancing individual and group productivity.
  • To develop employee ability through emphatic feedback and coaching.
  • Driving behavior to align the organization’s values, goals,and strategies.
  • Providing a basis for making human resource decisions.
  • Improving communication between employees and managers.
  • Prepare employees for work by focusing on the most important components of their job.

What Performance Management should do?

At a minimum performance management in HRM should the following four things.

  • Make clear what the organization expects.
  • Document performance for personnel records.
  • Identify the areas of success and development.
  • Provide performance information to employees.

Performance Management Purpose

Administrative;

The first purpose is administrative in nature because it directly affects a firm’s administrative decision regarding its workforce.

  • Firms use performance evaluation to make decision regarding their employees salary adjustments, merit raises, and incentive rewards.
  • Manager must make decision regarding the promotions, demotions, transfers, terminations, and even layoffs of individuals.
  • Knowing about the current performance of your employees as well as the potential of the employees to perform their job will help you to take decision about movement of employees within or outside of the organization.
  • Mangers also use performance evaluation data for disciplinary purposes that is to reinforce the attitude and behavior of employees should display on a daily basis.

Developmental;

The second purpose of performance management is developmental in nature using performance evaluation information to help employees improve their performance in order to add more value to the organization.

  • Performance management perform a important role in identifying the training needs of employees.

For example, if the employees do not perform optimally, a developmental emphasis endeavor to find out the areas where the employees performance need improvement. And then it will help to implement a course of action which helps the employees to meet their potential.

  • If a problem arises due to the behavior of the employees then a developmental approach involves the disciplinary actions to indicate employees that current actions or behaviors what they show may not be acceptable.
  • Generally a developmental approach also deal with succession planning or right employee career development.

Performance Management Process

There are five steps related to developing and implementing a good performance management process.

Performance management process

Performance Dimensions;

This process starts with identifying performance dimensions. Performance dimensions associate with the special tasks and activities for which employees are liable.

Performance dimension serves as a starting point for developing an effective performance management system. The job which the people perform, generally consist of multiple performance dimensions.

A job performance dimension should reflect the reason it exists in the first place. The performance dimensions should reflect the tasks, duties and responsibilities of that job.

Performance Measure;

After knowing dimensions now you have to be able to measure an employee’s level of performance on the dimensions you have identified.

In order to to make performance evaluation effective system should use valid, specific and clear standard of measuring the performance.

Performance measures must be reliable and valid. Reliability refers to how well the measure yields consistent results over time.

Rather, validity is the extent to which you are measuring what you want to measure and how well it is done. Really, the valid performance measures convey the genuine performance of your employees.

Sometimes due to the use of deficient or defective measures method, the performance evaluation become awry.

One key consideration in developing performance measure is clarifying the level of expected performance, or performance standards.

Evaluate Performance;

There are number of ways through which the performance of the employees can be evaluated by managers. They can compare and rank or order them, rate them against preset standards or evaluate the results and outcomes of performance.

These methods vary in some important ways, some methods focus on measuring performance outcomes like quality, speed and sales whereas others focus on employee traits and behaviors.

There are various methods to evaluate performance like ranking method, paired comparison, forced distribution method, graphic scale method, 360 degree, behaviorally anchored rating scale, etc.

Provide Feedback

Further step in the process is providing feedback to the employees to help them improve their performance. In order to make feedback effective, the it should be provided in set interval of time and in a professional manner.

Organizations vary in terms of how often they provide performance feedback. Most of the supervisors are required to formally appraise employees in every six months to one year.

Providing feedback to employee is an ongoing task. However, ideally supervisors will be providing feedback on a daily basis to employees.

Action Plan

Giving feedback to the employees is not sufficient to improve their performance. Rather effective managers take another step, they work with their employees to diagnose the source of performance issues and might help to drive strategies and set expectations to improve those issues.

Doing so requires a queer clear understanding of the nature of performance efficiency. The development of a plan to address performance problems and effective discipline of employees.

Taking action requires us to remove barriers, training and development activities to be implemented, coaching and mentoring to be pursued, and work design and technology solutions to be implemented as well as addressing the overall quality of performance on an ongoing basis.

Related Posts;

Training and Development

Recruitment and Selection

Human Resource Planning

Conclusion

When you understand about the performance management in right manner, then you will be able to compose and execute a performance management system.

And it will motivate your employees to covey the necessary attitudes and behavior at work which will help your organization to achieve competitive advantage.

Performance management in HRM includes activities which ensure that goals of the organization are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner.

By Maaz Anwar, ago

Job Evaluation

What is Job Evaluation?

Job evaluation is a methodical strategy to gauge how valuable a certain position is in comparison to others within an organization. The goal of job evaluation is to develop a framework for comparing the worth of various jobs so that there is some basis for how pay are determined for distinct roles.

The need for job evaluation

Why is it necessary for our organization to employ these methods of job evaluation?

Job evaluations should be conducted periodically for the following reasons:

  • Workflow integration with new technology
  • greater responsibility being placed on workers
  • Reorganization of the business 
  • Modifications to the policies and practices
  • shifts in the workload or job descriptions
  • Promotions
  • fresh positions

The factors mentioned above can affect how a specific job is carried out and what value is attached to that job.

Advancements in technology could reduce the workload of your employees. It frees up time to direct other responsibilities, demanding a corresponding change in pay.

Increased tenure and responsibilities demand regular evaluations of job to ensure employee satisfaction. If responsibilities and tenure continue, you’ve retained, and the person stayed for appreciable reasons.

In some cases, the entire organization goes through some restructuring. This can mean that some people are doing less than before while others are doing more work than before.

All this calls for evaluation of jobs to ensure that everyone gets what they deserve and that the company is also getting the most bang for its buck.

In some cases, employees may even request that their job be reassessed and that their pay grades be re-evaluated. For example, one of the reasons for a pay increase could be that the employee has taken on more duties.

Another reason could be that they have been given more authority in that position and, thus, more responsibility.

Job evaluation

Job Evaluation Meaning

Job evaluation is the procedure of examining and estimating several jobs respectively to ensure their relative worth in an organization.

JE is an estimation of the relative worth of different jobs on the basis of their nature, requirements and personnel factors, such as qualification and skills required.

JE is a system wherein a particular job of an enterprise is compared with its other jobs. In present industrial era, there are different types of jobs which are performed in every business and industrial enterprise.

Comparative study of these jobs is very essential because on the basis of such study the structure of wages for different types of jobs is prepared.

The comparison of jobs may may be made on the basis of different factors such as duties, responsibilities, working conditions efforts, etc.

Job Evaluation Definitions by Authors

Job evaluation represents an effort to determine the relative value of every job in a plant and to determine what the fair basic wage for such job should be.

“Kimball and Kimball Jr”

Job evaluation may be defined as an attempt to determine and compare the demands which the normal performance of a particular job makes on normal workers without taking account of the individual abilities or performance of the workers concerned.

“International Labor Organization”

Job evaluation is the evaluation or rating of job to determine their positions in the job hierarchy. The evaluation may be achievement through assignment of points or the use of some other systematic rating method for essential job requirements such as skill, experience, and responsibility.

“Bureau of Labor Statistics”

Job evaluation as a personal term has both a specific and genetic meaning specifically, it means job rating or the grading of occupations in terms of duties; generally it means the entire field of wages and salary administration along modern lines.

“Bethel, Atwater and Smith”

A process of determining the relative worth of the various jobs within the organisation so that differential wages may be paid to jobs of different worth.

“Wendell French”

Features of Job Evaluation

  • It helps the organization to sustain advanced level of employee productivity and employee satisfaction.
  • It helps in substantiating system by reduction of numbers of different and separate rates.It does not compose the wage structure.
  • A group of experts performs the process of job evaluation rather than the individuals.
  • It helps in assessing the value of job. Further the aspects (like skills and responsibilities) values are also studied in connection with the job.
  • It simply attempts to determine the jobs not people.
  • When the job analysis is done, what we found as an output is job evaluation.

Job Evaluation Schemes

There are two basic types of JE schemes: analytical and non-analytical.

Evaluation of job

Analytical Schemes

An analytical JE scheme can defend against a claim of equal pay for work of equal value. Jobs are broken down into components or demands, known as factors, and scores are awarded for each factor. The final total gives the overall rank order of jobs.

Non-analytical Schemes

Under this scheme, whole jobs are compared with each other. There is no attempt to break the jobs down and analyze them under their various demands or components.

The rationale for non-analytical JE is that it produces a hierarchy of jobs that approximate the ‘felt-fair’ ranking of these jobs in the minds of the people working in the organization.

Examples of non-analytical schemes include job ranking and paired comparisons. These represent different ways of drawing up a list of jobs in rank order.

A non-analytical JE scheme does not provide us with a defense against a claim of equal pay for work of equal value.

Process of Job Evaluation Program

The Job evaluation program is a process involving a few steps.

  1. Gaining acceptance
  2. Creating a job evaluation committee
  3. Finding the jobs to be evaluated
  4. Analyzing and preparing a job description
  5. Selecting the method of evaluation
  6. Classifying jobs

Gaining acceptance

Before undertaking job evaluation, top management must explain the aims and uses of the program to the employees and unions.

To elaborate on the program further, oral presentations could be made. Letters and booklets could be used to classify all relevant aspects of the job evaluation program.

Creating a job evaluation committee

A single person can’t evaluate all the key jobs in an organization. Usually, a job evaluation committee consisting of experienced employees, union representatives, and HR experts is created to set the ball rolling.

Finding the jobs to be evaluated

Every job need not be evaluated. This may be too taxing and costly. Certain key jobs in each department may be identified. While picking up the jobs, care must be taken to ensure that they represent the type of work performed in that department.

Analyzing and preparing a job description

This requires the preparation of a job description and also an analysis of job needs for successful performance.

Selecting the method of evaluation

The most important method of evaluating the jobs must be identified now, keeping the job factors and organizational demands in mind.

Classifying jobs

The relative worth of various jobs in an organization may be found out after arranging jobs in order of importance using criteria such as skill requirements, experience needed under which conditions the job is performed, type of responsibilities to be shouldered, degree of supervision needed, the amount of stress caused by the job, etc

Weights can be assigned to each such factor. A job’s worth is determined when we add all the weights. The points may then be converted into monetary values.

Advantages of Job Evaluation

Job Evaluation is advantageous to management, workers, trade unions and organisations as well.

Management has the advantage of greater order in its pay arrangement and more stable wage structure. Unions benefit from a greater sense of fairness and reasons in pay matters.

Union can play a more important role in determining the relation between different levels of pay and in the joint regulation of work place conditions.

Employees benefit because job evaluation provides an agreed framework for setting questions affecting jobs and so helps to prevent arbitrary decisions.

It also helps to ensure that differences in skill and responsibility are properly recognized. Everyone benefits from a system which enables the pay for new and revised jobs to be settled in the same way as for existing job by preventing anomalies.

Limitations of Job Evaluation

The main limitations of JE are;

  1. JE is not exactly scientific. It is a systematic and not scientific technique of rewarding the job. It lacks scientific precision because all factors cannot be measured accurately.
  2. Most of the techniques are difficult to understand, even for the supervisors.
  3. The factors taken by the program are not exhaustive.
  4. There may be wide fluctuations in compensate factors given changes in technology, values, aspirations of employers, etc.
  5. Employees, trade union leaders, management, and program operators may assign different weights to different factors, thus creating grounds for dispute.
  6. The trade unions regard job evaluation with suspicion because it is made on certain principles, and the results are generally ignored. Some of the methods of job evaluation are not easily understood by workers. Workers fear that job evaluation will do away with collective bargaining.
  7. A job evaluation scheme takes a long time to install. It requires specialized personnel, and it is costly.
  8. Too many factors are used in job evaluation, and there is no standard list of factors to be considered. Definitions of factors vary from organization to organization. Many types of research show that the factors used are not independently valued. It gives more reliance on internal standards and evaluation for fixing wage rates.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that job evaluation is not an exact science. It is a technique that can help avoid several anomalies in wages that cause so many heart burns and disgust today, provided it is used sensibly and is not pressed beyond its proper limits.

By Maaz Anwar, ago

Training and Development Process

What is Training and Development Process

Training and development process is an organized activity for enhancing the knowledge of the employees and transferring technical and management skills to the employees.

Now a days in technology based environment, things are changing very fast. In order to retain its position, an organization has to modify and act very fast according to the changes in the business environment. Hence, for achieving superiority, an organization should have skilled and well trained employees. And it is performed by training and development process.

Through training process the employees are taught specific skills according to the requirements of their respective jobs. And through development process the personalities and management skills of the employees are improved.

Steps in Training and Development Process

Assessment of Organizational Objectives;

First of all, in an organization, there should be a proper assessment of objectives. Nowadays the organizations should adopt new technological changes in the business environment, improve product quality through skilled personnel, enhance service quality and increase productivity to perform better and to stay competitive in the business.

Determining Training Needs;

Before an organization takes decision regarding training & development of its employees and allocate huge resources for it, organizations have to assess the training needs of its employees.

We sit down with the management and help them in identifying strategic goals & objectives, and skills & knowledge needed to achieve these goals and objectives. Then we work together to identify whether our staffs have the required knowledge and skills, if they don’t then training needs are discussed.

Saying of a Trainer…….

Training need investigation step is important due to many reasons. For example, employees performance may be down because the working standards are not clear to them.

And some reason may be faulty selection, lack of motivation, poor job design, less supervision and personal problems. In these cases, the problems may be solved by proper job design, offering incentives to motivate, improving supervision, etc.

If the deficiency in performance is because of lack of knowledge and skills, then training and development of employees is essential in this condition.

Two main ways which are basically used to identify the training needs are performance analysis and task analysis.

Task analysis is a process to identify the specific skills required by analyzing and studying the job in detail. Task analysis is suitable for determining the needs of the employees who are newly selected and new to their work.

And performance analysis is the method of investigating the performance scarcity and then determining the ways to correct this scarcity whether it should be fine through training or some other method like transferring the employee etc.

Apart from these methods, supplementary methods can be used to identify training needs such as supervisor’s reports, personnel records, management requests, observations, test of job knowledge and questionnaire surveys.

Setting Goals and Objectives of Training;

Once it is analyzed that training is the solution of the performance deficiency, then the objectives are set. In other words, once training needs are assessed, then the objectives of the training are established.

These objectives will specify what a trainee should accomplish after the successful completion of a training program.

Preparing the Training Budget;

Preparation of the training budget is specifically concerned with the allocation of funds to be provided for the training for carrying out the training activities as devised in the plan.

Deciding about the training venue;

The decision about the training venue depends invariably on the type of training given. For in company and on the job training, will be in the plant itself.

In case of the job training through external sources, the venue has to be somewhat away from the trainees working environment. The venue of the training will be some where outside the agency.

Fix up the methods and techniques to be used in the training;

There are various types of on the job and off the job training methods which can be used in the training program. The method of training would be chosen according to the specific objectives of the training program.

Evaluation of training program;

When the training program is completed, then the evaluation of program is done by the organization in order to see the effectiveness of training efforts. This is done to check whether the training program accomplish specific training objectives or not.

The conduct of training program is costly; this includes needs assessment costs, salaries of the training department staffs, purchase of equipment (computers, video and handouts), program development costs, evaluation costs, trainer’s costs, rental facilities and trainees wage during the training period.

Thus, it is important to assess the costs and benefits associated with the training program, in order to convince the top management that the benefits outplay costs.

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Conclusion

As we know that training and development programs are very essential for any firm or organization in order to develop their employees. For achieving the success and to grow to a greater height, the organization should have employees with updated skills and knowledge.

As due to rapid up gradation of technology and change in working methods day by day, the training and development process is continuously required by an organization to enhance and improve the skills and knowledge of employees.

By Maaz Anwar, ago

Recruitment and Selection Process

Recruitment and Selection Process in HRM

A well devised recruitment and selection process is very essential for the organization because if an employee selected once, he/she will remain in the company for number of years.

Therefore, faulty recruitment and selection process will lead to low productivity and high labor turnover.

Recruitment and selection in HRM is a process by which the organization develops a set of qualified and desired job seekers for the future human resources needed in the organization even though specific vacancies do not exists in the organization. It is the procedure which connects the employers with the job applicants.

Steps in Recruitment

  • Publicizing information about job vacancies in the organization.
  • Identifying the sources of supply of adequate number and right type of personnel required.
  • Contact and communicate with the source of recruitment which is chosen. e.g. advertisement for vacancies in a newspaper so as to stimulate the prospective candidates to offer themselves for employment.
  • Assessing alternative sources of manpower and choosing the best source.

Recruitment Process

Recruitment process can be defined as the process of searching and choosing the potential human resources for filling the desired vacant posts in a company.

Recruitment process is the first step ob building a strong and energetic personnel base. Because the success of any organization depends upon its talented and effective human resources.

Recruitment process can be organized as follows;

  • Identifying the vacancy. Recruitment process starts when the human resource department receive the requisition for the people needed for the vacant jobs from any department of the organization.
  • Number of posts to be filled.
  • Number of persons required.
  • Qualification required for respective vacancies.
  • Preparing the job description and person specification.
  • Developing the sources required to fulfill the desired candidates for the job. (Advertising etc.)
  • Shortlisting the desired employee with desired characteristics.
  • Arranging the interview with the selected candidates.
  • Conducting the interview and decision making.

After recruitment process is done than immediately selection process starts i.e. the final interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the appointment formalities.

Recruitment and selection process

Selection Process

Selection process can be explained as the process in which right candidates with desired qualification and skills are shortlisted and selected according to the nature and requirements of the job.

Selection process includes the following systematic procedure.

  • Preliminary Interview

The organization set some minimum eligibility criteria for the candidates to be selected. And those candidates who do not fit in that criteria are eliminated from further selection process through preliminary interview.

This is basic interview which is conducted to eliminate the candidates who are not suitable to work in the organization. It helps the organization to move further for selection process with potential fit employees to fill their vacancies by removing the unsuitable candidates.

  • Receiving Applications

Those candidates who have qualified the preliminary interview, they are required to fill the application form in the prescribed format. This application contains personal information including name, father’s name, age, sex, marital status, Qualifications, experience, hobbies etc,

These information helps interviewers to obtain the clear idea about the candidates which helps to formulate the questions to get more information about him.

  • Screening Applications

When all the applications are received once, then these applications are screened by a special screening committee who analyse and choose the desired and suitable candidates from the applications to call for an interview.

Applicants could be selected through shortlisting criteria like age, sex, qualifications, work, experience of an individual, etc.

  • Employment Tests

In this step all the candidates have to go through some employment tests organized by the organization in order to check their skills, talent and the mental ability.

This is done through various employment tests like intelligence tests, personality tests, aptitude tests, interest tests, proficiency tests, etc. These tests help the organization to decide and judge the suitable candidates for the job.

  • Employment Interview

Employment interview is an important step. It not only acts as a check on the information already obtained but also provide the opportunity to form a better understanding of the candidate to motivate and inform him about the job and the company.

Purpose of this interview is to analyse and find the suitability of a candidate to the job. And provide him an idea about the job profile and what are the expectation of the organization from the potential employee.

This step is critical because organization has to select the right people for the right jobs. The communication skills and confidence level can also be checked at this stage.

  • Checking References

The organizations usually inquire for the references from the candidates which help the organizations to cross check authenticity of the information given by the candidates.

It is important source of information because through these references, the organization come to know about the capabilities, experience in the previous companies, managerial skills and leadership ability of the candidates.

  • Medical Examination

Medical examination of the candidate is required for several reasons like to ensure that he/she is physically fit for the job that he/she does not suffer from any latent disease and the firm is not liable for any claim under Workmen Compensation Act.

The medical exam is very important step in the process of selection. In some organizations, it is done at the beginning of the process while in some cases it is done after the final selection. Thus, this stage is not rigid and can take place anywhere in the selection process.

  • Final Selection and Appointment Letter

On completion of the selection process, the candidates are finally selected and letters of appointment are issued to them. This appointment letter states the term and conditions of employment including the pay scale, starting salary, allowances, the period of probation, and other benefits etc.

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Training and Development

Conclusion

Recruitment and selection process of employees is very valuable and important process in human resource management because it provides the effective and desirable employees to the organization. If it is not done effectively and in appropriate manner than it will directly affect the future growth and success of the organization.

By Maaz Anwar, ago

Training and development Methods

Types of Training and Development Methods

There are several training and development methods available. The use of a particular method depends upon the criteria which accomplishes training needs and objectives.

There are various training and development programs which are held in the organization to train the employees according to nature of their jobs. Training and development methods are classified into two categories;

I. On-the-job Methods

On the job method is the heart and soul of all training in any organization. It is the most universal form of employee development.

It is traditional mode of training which is designed to enhance the knowledge and learning of employees to perform their job properly under the guidance and supervision of trained instructor.

Job instruction training;

This technique of training was developed during the world war II. It is basically used to teach the workers how to perform their current jobs. A trainer, supervisor and co-worker can act as a coach.

Coaching;

It is continuous learning process by doing. Coaching involves direct instruction, guidance, extensive demonstration and continuous critical evaluation and correction.

It is a kind of the daily training and feedback is given to employees immediately by their coach or supervisor.

Mentoring;

In this method, a senior person in the organization takes the responsibility of training as well as grooming of a junior.

A mentor acts as a teacher, guide, counselor, philosopher, and facilitator of the juniors.

Whenever any problem arises to juniors to perform their work than mentor helps them to overcome to that problem through his experience and fine sense of opinion.

Job Rotation;

Position rotations training is broadening of the background of the trainees in the organization.

Through job rotation method a employee understand the larger perspective and different functional areas of the organization.

Special Projects;

This method of training give the chance to the trainees to work on some projects related with departmental objectives.

Through this method the trainees will acquire the knowledge about the assigned work and also learn how to work with others.

Committee Assignment;

In this, the trainees become the members of the committee in the organization. The committee assigned a problem to discuss and make recommendations according to that.

Training and development methods

II. Off-the-job Methods

Another part of training and development methods is off the job method. In this method the trainees have to leave their jobs and workplaces to learn and acquire knowledge related to their work which will enhance their working abilities.

Special courses and lectures;

Being a traditional method it is most popular method of developing personnel even today. These types of courses and lectures are designed to enhance and improve the knowledge of the trainees.

These courses and lectures are designed by any management or professional school.

Companies sponsor their trainees to attend these courses or lectures. This the most easy and quick way to provide knowledge to a large group of trainees.

Conferences and Seminars;

In this method, the participants have to share their ideas, suggestions, thoughts, viewpoints and recommendations.

When the trainees attend conference and seminars, they will observe a problem from different angles because the participants are from different fields and sectors.

Selected Reading;

This is the self improvement training technique. The Trainees obtain required knowledge and awareness by reading various business journals and magazines.

Most of the companies have their own libraries. The employees become the members of the professional associations to have awareness of latest development in their respective fields.

Case study method;

In this method, trainees used to analyze the situation/problem faced by a company in the past. Companies have the record of these situation and their solution in a written form.

These types of cases are provided to the trainees where they analyze and discuss the situations/problems and their solution.

The main aim of this method is to identify and diagnose the problem. The participants can suggest the alternate course of action according to them.

Programmed instruction/learning;

This is step by step self learning method where the medium may be a text book, computer or the internet.

This is a systematic method for teaching job skills involving presenting questions or facts, allowing the person to respond and giving the immediate feedback to his/her answers.

Brainstorming;

This is creativity training technique, it helps people to solve problems in new and different ways.

In this technique, the trainees are given the opportunity to generate ideas openly and without any fear of judgment.

Once a lot ideas are generated then they are evaluated for their cost and feasibility.

Role Playing;

In this method, a role of is assigned to the trainees in which they have to play a role of another person in an artificially created situation.

For example, a trainee is asked to play the role of a trade union leader and another trainee is required to perform a role of a HR manager.

Through this technique the trainees can understanding each other’s situation in better way by analyzing their work and problems faced by them.

Vestibule Schools;

Well established organization provide training center to the trainees within the organization in which the trainees are given some particular training according to the nature of their job.

A vestibule school is a training center operated by the personnel department. It is a training center produced to deliver the training to new employees in the organization according to the job requirements which are assigned to them.

Apprenticeship Training;

This is a saying that this type of training method started in the middle ages. That time, the people used to work under the guidance of a master craftsman in order to learn and enhance the trade skills.

In apprenticeship training the people improve the skills and become skilled workers through training and classroom instructions given to them.

In-basket Exercise;

In this technique, some memos, directives, e-mails, requests, reports, messages, hand written notes, etc., are given to the trainees by the management, staff members, supervisors and other stakeholders.

Then the trainee task is to review these in basket items, analyze the problem and then take action according to the situation. After taking the action a final report is made in the form of record notes, comments and responses.

Business Games;

Business games involves teams of trainees. The teams discuss and analyze the problem and arrive at decision. In this method, the issues which are related to the sales, inventories, research & development, production, etc are taken up for consideration.

Behavior Modelling;

This is a approach where trainee used to learn special supervisory skill. This is based on the social learning theory in which the trainee can learn new behavior by observing.

In this method the trainee is provided with a special model of behavior and also informed in advance of the consequences of engaging in that type of behavior.

Sensitivity (T-group) Training;

In this type of training, a small group of trainees consisting 10 to 12 persons is formed which meets in an unstructured situation. There is no set agenda or plan.

The main objective of this training are openness with each other, enhance listening skills, trust, support, tolerance, concern and help for others. The trainers serve a catalytic role.

The group formed in this method meets in segregation without any formal agenda. And there is a great focus on inter personal behavior. And then trainers provide honest feedback to members about their interaction with each other.

Multiple Management;

McCormick, president of McCormick & co. of Baltimore introduced the multiple management method of training in 1932. He presented the thought of organize a junior board of directors.

Authority is given to the junior board members to discuss any problem that could be discuss in senior board and give recommendations to senior board. Innovative and productive ideas became available for senior board.

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Training and Development Process

By Maaz Anwar, ago

Human Resource Planning Process

Steps in Human Resource Planning Process

Human resource planning process focuses on the demand and supply of the labor. It involves in the acquisition, development, and departure of people.

Human resources are definitely the most significant part of the organization as the success of any organization depends upon its qualified, skilled and effective personnel.

The purpose of manpower planning is to ensure that a predetermined number of persons with the correct skills are available at a specific time in future.

Thus, human resource planning is the process of identifying systematically that what must be done to fulfill the availability of the human resources needed by an organization in the future to meet its strategic business objectives.

human resource planning process

Analyzing of Organization Objectives;

The human resource management manager first observes the objectives of the organization. Then the manager prepares a  list of all the activities such as jobs, human resources etc. that are required to achieve the organization objectives efficiently.

There are some corporate level strategies like expansion, diversification, mergers, acquisition, reduction in operations, technologies to be used, method of production etc.

So, HRP should start with analyzing these corporate level strategies. Therefore, human resource planning should analyze the corporate plans of the organization  before setting out on fulfilling its tasks.

Manpower Forecasting;

Forecasting the overall human resource requirement like skills, knowledge, values and capabilities in accordance with the organizational plan is one of the key aspects of demand forecasting.

(a)  Executive or Managerial Judgment. In this method the managers decide the number of employees in the future according to the need of the organization. They adopt one of these approaches mentioned below.

  • Bottom Up Approach. In this approach the concerned supervisors send their proposals to the top management who compare these proposal with the organizational plans, and then implement necessary adjustments and finalize them to execute.
  • Top Down Approach. In this approach management prepares the requirements and proceed the information downwards to the supervisory level who finalize the draft and improves it.
  • Participate Approach. In this approach projections are made after participation and joint consultation of supervisors and management.

(b)  Statistical Techniques. In this method statistical methods and mathematical techniques are used to forecast and predict the supply and demand of human resources in the future.

(c)  Ratio Trend Analysis. In this method the past data of human resources like number of employees in each departments and work load, etc. are estimated. Past values are examined in this method to get the fairly and accurate idea of future projections.

(d)  Work Study Method. This technique is suitable to study the correlation between volume of work and labor i.e, demand of human resource is estimated on the workload. Work study method is very much suitable to the field of repetitive and manual jobs when it is feasible to measure work and set standards.

(e)  Delphi Technique. ‘Delphi’ is the name given to this technique after the Greek Oracle at the city of Delphi. The views of different experts related to industry are taken into consideration in this method and the then consensus about the human resource requirement is arrived at. Delphi technique primarily used to estimate the long term requirement of human resources.

Analyzing Human Resource Supply;

The human resource department manager estimates the manpower supply. The manager examines and find out that how many managers and employees are available in the organization.

Every organization has two sources of supply of human resources such as internal source and external source. Internally, human resource for certain posts can be obtained through promotions and transfers.

In order to judge the internal supply of human resource in future human resource inventory or human resource audit is necessary. Human resource inventory assist to determining and evaluate the quantity of internal existing human resources.

Once the future internal supply is estimated, supply of external human resource is analyzed.

Estimating Manpower Gaps;

Manpower gaps can be clarified by matching the demand forecasts and supply forecasts. Such matching will show the deficit or surplus of human resources in future.

Deficit suggests the number of persons to be recruited from outside, whereas surplus implies redundant employees to be redeployed or terminated. 

Action Planning;

Once manpower gaps are identified, plans are prepared to bridge these gaps. Plans to meet the additional personnel may be redeployment in other departments of the organization and may be retrench.

People may be persuaded to quit voluntarily through a golden handshake. Deficit may be fulfill through recruitment & selection of the employees, transfer of the employees, and promotion of the employees.

If there is shortage of certain skilled employees, then organization has to take care not only about recruitment but also retention of present employees. Therefore, the organization should make a plan to retain the existing employees.

Modify the Organizational Plans;

If future supply of personnel is estimated to be inadequate or less than the requirement, then the manpower planner has to suggest the management regarding the alterations or modifications in the organizational plans.

Controlling and Review;

When the action plans are set and implemented, than human resource structure and the processes should be controlled and reviewed according to action plans.

Problems in HRP process

As the future is uncertain so there may be some problems in the process of human resource planning which can be grouped as;

Inefficient information system;

For making the successful human resource planning the human resource information system should be reliable and strong. In the absence of reliable data, it is not possible to develop effective HR planning.

Uncertainties;

Labor absenteeism, labor turnover, seasonal employment, technological changes and market fluctuations are some uncertainties which human resource planning process might have to face.

Inaccuracy;

Human resource planning is entirely dependent on HR forecasting and supply, which can not be cent per cent accurate process.

Time and Expense;

Some of the industries avoid the human resource planning because it is very time consuming and expensive.

Employee resistance;

Employees and their unions feel that the human resource planning increases their workload so they resist the process.

Human Resource Planning at Different Levels

Human resource planning is done at various levels according to their requirements. There are several levels of human resource planning according to different enterprises.

National Level;

Generally, central government plans human resources for the entire nation. It anticipates the demand and supply of human requirements at the national level.

Sectoral Level; 

Central and state governments also plan human resources requirements at sectoral level. It offer to meet the needs of some special sectors like Agriculture.

Industry Level; 

Different types of industries need the different types of personnel according to their nature of work. There are some personal requirements of the particular industries according to their nature of work.

These industries are such as Engineering, Heavy Industries, Paper Industries, Consumer Goods Industries, Public Utility Industries, Textiles, Cement, Chemical Industries, etc. Planning is executed to match personnel requirements of a particular industry.

Departmental Level;

This level of planning is done to fulfill the manpower needs of a particular department in a company, e.g. Marketing, Finance, and production departments etc.

Job Level;

This level of planning fulfills the human resources needs of a particular job family within department. For Example, the number of sales executives required in the marketing department of any organization.


Related Posts;

Human Resource Planning (HRP)

Human Resource Management (HRM)

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The purpose of Human Resource Planning process is to assure the availability of predetermined number of people required in the future.

By Maaz Anwar, ago