Human Resource Management - Management function of using and developing people within a business to meet its organisational objectives. It involves workforce planning, recruitment and induction, training and development, appraisals and welfare of employees.
Labour Turnover - measures the percentage of the workforce that leaves the organisation per given time period.
Workforce Planning - The management process of anticipating and meeting an organisation’s current and future staffing needs. Businesses forecast expected periods of growing and falling demands, and employ the appropriate number of staff to ensure they can meet that demand.
Ageing Population - An ageing workforce poses a number of different problems: a lack of in-demand skills, reskilling challenges, and mass-retirement (high labour turnover).
Immigration Policies - A global rise in immigration policies will affect the quality and quantity of the working population a business can employ.
Cost Reduction - Increasing global competition forces organisations to maximise efficiency in order to reduce unit production costs. Organisations will want as productive and motivated of a workforce as possible.
Flexibility - The highly competitive landscape required faster innovation and quicker adaptation to market changes. A lean and flexible workforce is required to be able to adapt as quickly as possible.
Demographic Changes - Management will need to consider how to treat a diversified workforce equally, such as offering flexible working schedules, parental leave offers, and retirement assistance plans. A comprehensive understanding of the needs of different employees will be expected of management to avoid potential conflicts in the workplace over unfair working practices.
Ageing Population - Adequate recruitment and training programs must be planned with a rising number of retirees and high labour turnover. An increased dependent population may require businesses to offer more flexible working schedules so that employees will be able to look after their retired parents.
Changes in Consumption Patterns - Businesses must adapt to trending consumer preferences such as an inclination towards sustainable, environmentally friendly, and socially responsible businesses.
Changes in Labour Mobility - Flexibility of workforce to relocate geographically or change jobs or occupations; affects the quantity and quality of the working population available to the business.
New Communication Technologies - The rise of communications technologies, such as email, e-commerce, video conferencing, improve the efficiencies of human resource practices such as recruitment, training, meetings with clients or suppliers, and coordination with other offices of the organisation.
Government Regulations - Human resources department is under constant pressure to operate within the law with continual introduction of new legislation that affect workplace compliance standards and trade union negotiations. Without adhering to regulations, the organisation will face legal punishment and may be forced to completely shut down.
Job Analysis and Person Specification - Determining the skills, qualifications and personal qualities required for competency in the vacant job post, as well as adequate financial and non-financial rewards for the potential employee who is hired.
Job Description - Outline the roles, duties and responsibilities of the job.
Advertise Vacant Post - Generally businesses have postings on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, local press and industry blogs. Other methods of recruitment include gathering employee referrals, or even scouting the employees of competitors.
Interview Shortlisted Applicants - Interviewing candidates provides the business an opportunity to learn more of the personal characteristics and traits, and perform a general qualitative analysis of applicants.
Induct New Employees - Introducing new employees to the corporate culture and general business practices to welcome them to the organisation.
Internal Recruitment - Hiring people already employed by the organisation to fill a vacant post. Usually occurs during either restructuring, where roles of middle management are divided amongst subordinates, or when an employee has earned a promotion.
Less Down-Time - Employees are already familiar with the culture and operations of the business, and would require less time to adapt to their environment.
Lower Costs - Costs for recruitment agencies and advertising, as well as time spent interviewing and shortlisting candidates, will be saved.
Motivational - Employees will see the potential for career development within the organisation and will be motivated to increase productivity and performance to earn promotions as well. The prospect of career development will also enhance the reputation of the organisation to potential employees in the future, allowing the business to attract greater talent.
Internal Politics - conflict could ignite among co-workers who feel unjust for not being rewarded the promotion ahead of their peers. This may result in a hostile work environment with less collaboration and support, as well as unengaged and unproductive employees who felt deserved of the promotion.
Smaller Pool - Promoting internally limits the talent pool available. Recruiting externally will enable access to a wider range of candidates who may potentially add more value to the organisation. Additionally, any promotion of internal staff is unlikely to stir significant change to operational efficiency, the business will only experience more of the same.
External Recruitment - Searching outside of an organisation’s current employee pool to fill job vacancies.
New perspectives - people hired straight from schooling or from other firms/industries may bring with them a foreign mindset that could allow them to find areas for improvements for the organisation that could potentially increase productivity and operational efficiency.
Larger pool of applicants - public advertising will increase the exposure of the vacancy listing and draw a larger pool of potential employees to choose the ideal candidate from.
Greater degree of uncertainty - The recruitment process does not make time for understanding the full personality of an applicant to measure whether they would be an adequate fit for the organisation. The potential employee may also fail to adapt to the organisation’s culture or have polarising views that will cause conflict in the workplace.
Time-Consuming - Gathering applicants and running through a large pool will consume valuable management time.
Training - Providing opportunities for employees to acquire performance-enhancing skills and knowledge. Human resources is the most valuable asset of an organisation, so investing in talent and skill is vital to business growth through improved productivity and operational efficiency.
Enhanced Reputation - Investing in professional development of staff will grow a positive reputation of talent recognition and career development for an organisation. This will increase staff retention, especially as they grow more skilled and competent, and gives the organisation a competitive edge when it comes to recruiting top talent. The higher morale as employees feel valued and recognised will increase their loyalty to the business and their productivity.
Lowers Unit Production Costs - Employees whose skills and knowledge have a marked improvement after training will be more productive and efficient for the business, and may bring in new insights that improve business operations. This increases the output the business receives for the same salaries of the employees, thereby reducing its unit production costs.
Flexibility - Multi-skilled employees will enable the business to easily adapt to changing market trends and conditions, giving the business a competitive edge over bigger competitors who are not able to adapt as quickly. Having a multi-skilled workforce will also open opportunities to job enlargement and enrichment that will allow the business to reap greater productivity from each employee.
Costs - Other than financial costs associated with training, which may never be recouped by the business, there is also the opportunity cost for what the employees could have been doing for the business in the time that they are in training.
On-the-job training - Training carried out at the workplace, typically by shadowing a senior colleague.
Cost Effective - Business saves money from not paying for external specialist trainers, and the fact that staff members remain on-site means the business will not lose out on as much productivity as external training.
Quicker Adaptation - Unlike off-site learning, where knowledge and skills taught are general, on-the-job training will teach employees strictly work-related skills and how they are applied to the job and the business.
Morale Boost - New employees who are assimilated to the culture and working environment of the business will have a morale boost after feeling welcomed and valued in the organisation. This helps them adapt sooner, meaning they will be able to contribute to the organisation sooner.
Incompetent Trainers - Internal trainers are not usually qualified to teach new employees, and their training may hence be incomplete. The domino effect of employees not having proper training on how to conduct their jobs properly can be costly for the business; they may have efficiency issues or make mistakes that could sabotage entire operations.
Reduced Productivity - Both trainers and trainees will not be able to devote all their time and effort to their responsibilities as a result of the training.
Off-the-job Training - Training of employees off-site, usually by an external organisation with specialist trainers and resources not available to the business.
Reduced Distraction - Employees undergoing training can remain focused on honing their skills and gathering knowledge without the burden of job-related troubles. This will enhance the effectiveness of their training, allowing the business to reap more rewards.
Specialist Training - Specialist trainers will be more able to instruct and pass on information and skills more effectively. This reduces the time required for employees to learn, and improves the depth of the knowledge they gain from the training.
Detachment from Workplace - Although the employee benefits from reduced distractions, the business will endure the loss in productivity and gap in operations with the employee gone. This may result in a loss of output, and could prove costly if the employee sent for training is in middle or upper management.
Appraisal - a formal assessment of an employee’s performance in fulfilling his/her job based on the tasks and responsibilities set out in their job description. Appraisals are used to assess an employee's performance so as to identify areas for improvement.
Training - Managers have an objective overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the staff, allowing the manager to identify potential training programs for employees or rewards for performance.
Reward Evaluation - Appraisals can be used as part of performance evaluation to assess adequate pay levels for employees, based on their abilities to fulfil the tasks and responsibilities of their job.
Clarify Expectations - Employees will gain an understanding of the demands of their job, and what it takes to earn a bonus or a promotion.
Negative Work Environment - Critiques may offend employees and create a hostile work environment that damages staff morale and hence productivity.
Formative - A planned and ongoing process of monitoring to provide feedback that employers can use to inform employees about what to do to improve their work practices. The goal of formative appraisal is to monitor the performances of employees in order to help employees identify their strengths and weaknesses, and help managers recognise employees' areas for improvement.
Summative - A written description of an employee’s performance at work, summarising personal performance and achievements during the year. The goal of summative appraisal is to evaluate the performance and contribution of employees by comparing this with a predetermined standard or benchmark.
360-degree feedback - Gathering evidence about an employee’s job performance from different levels of authority: peers, subordinates, line managers, and other parties the employee is in direct contact with (suppliers, customers, etc.). It allows people to understand their effectiveness in their role as an employee, a line manager, a colleague, etc.
Self-Appraisal - Employees appraising themselves according to predetermined criteria. This gives employees an opportunity to express their strengths and identify their own weaknesses, which will make addressing their weaknesses much more of a personal endeavour.
Dismissal - Termination of a worker’s employment due to incompetence or a breach of contract. Unfair dismissals can be protested if they are not due to clear incompetence, gross misconduct, or legal issues.
Redundancies - When a business can no longer afford to employ the worker or when the job ceases to exist. Businesses must prove that the job or role of the employee no longer exists if they want to avoid legal action for wrongful dismissal.
Outsourcing - The practice of transferring internal business activities to an external firm as a method of reducing costs. Outsourcing non-essential operations is an opportunity for businesses to gain a cost advantage in the face of intensified competition as a result of globalisation.
High Quality - Outsourced organisations hire specialists to complete tasks with a high quality standard. Businesses are also able to choose from a variety of subcontractors, this competition will drive outsourced subcontractors to offer competitive rates and higher quality service.
Labour Costs - Reduces labour costs as outsourced workers are not employed by the organisation. This means the business does not have to cover insurance, sick leave, pension, or bonuses for surpassing expectations
Efficiency - Businesses typically outsource non-essential operations, allowing businesses to focus resources on core activities.
Quality Management - Businesses do not oversee operations of subcontractors. If the subcontractors are revealed to have conducted unethical practices, that would implicate the businesses involved. The quality of the work produced by the subcontractors is ultimately unknown until the business receives the finished product from them. If the subcontractor fails to meet quality standards set by the business, or fails to meet the deadline, an organisation’s entire operations could be delayed.
Redundancies - Outsourcing will initially cause redundancies in the organisation. The reduction in job security will negatively impact staff morale and hence productive efficiency.
Offshoring - Involves relocating business activities and operations abroad, either through relocating offices or outsourcing to external organisations. Offshoring allows businesses to maneuver protectionist measures of certain governments, such as environmental and labour protection laws, or higher taxes and trade restrictions of a certain country.
Reshoring - Returning business operations and practices back to the organisation’s country of origin. Reshoring may be financially detrimental for businesses, but government incentives such as tax benefits or changes in social opportunities such as the promotion of local employment may help the business in the long run.