The Story So Far (Week 5)

 HR planning – RP x RP x RT (including “intangibles”)

 Human resource planning is a process by which an organization ensures that

 it has the right number and kinds of people

 at the right place

 at the right time

 capable of effectively and efficiently completing those tasks that will help the
organization achieve its overall strategic goals.

 HR planning must be

 linked to the organization’s overall strategy to compete domestically and globally

 translated into the number and types of workers needed

 Senior HRM staff need to:

1) participate in the strategic planning process

2) lead top management in planning for HRM implications once the plan is completed

 Organizational Framework – Mission, vision and values

 A mission statement defines

 what business the organization is in

 why it exists

 who its customers are.

 strategic goals set by senior management to establish targets for the organization to
achieve

- Goals are generally defined for the next 5-20 years.

 Translating the Mission into Action
 Strategic planning process
 Gap or SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) analysis determines what
is needed to meet objectives.
 Strategic goals
- Set by senior management to establish targets for the organization to achieve.
- Plans to achieve the goals (including one year operating plan/budget)

 What does this mean for the organization’s people?

 HRM determines what knowledge, skills and abilities are needed by the organization’s
human resources to meet the strategic goals
 The result?
- The right people, in the right place at the right time
 HRM determines what knowledge, skills, and abilities are needed by the
organization’s human resources through a job analysis.
 HR must ensure staff levels meet strategic planning goals.
 SWOT analysis

 Inventory of “assets” supply/demand action

 HR must ensure staff levels meet strategic planning goals.

 An HR inventory report summarizes information on current workers and their skills

 HR information systems (HRIS) – increasingly popular computerized databases that contain

important information about employees.

 process employee information

 quickly generate analyses and reports

 provide compensation/benefits support

 Determining the Demand for Labor

 A human resource plan can be developed to project year-by-year estimates of future

HRM needs for every significant job level and type.
  Forecasts must be made of the need for specific knowledge, skills and abilities.

 Predicting the Future Labor Supply

 A unit’s supply of human resources comes from:

- new hires
- contingent workers
- transfers-in
- individuals returning from leaves

 Predicting these can range from simple to complex.

 Transfers are more difficult to predict since they depend on actions in other units.

 Decreases in internal supply come about through:

 Retirements are the easiest to forecast

 Other factors are much more difficult to project

 Dismissals, transfers, lay-offs, and sabbaticals are more easily controlled by management

 Candidates come from – Where Will We Find Workers?

 migration into a community

  recent graduates

 individuals returning from military service

 increases in the number of unemployed and employed individuals seeking other

opportunities, either part-time or full-time

- The potential labor supply can be expanded by formal or

on-the-job training.

 To match labor demand and supply, HR

 Employment planning compares forecasts for demand and supply of workers.

 Special attention should be paid to current and future shortages and overstaffing.

 Decruitment or downsizing may be used to reduce supply and balance demand.

 Rightsizing involves linking staffing levels to organizational goals.

 Succession planning

 includes the development of replacement charts that

- portray middle-to-upper level management positions that may become vacant

in the near future
- lists information about individuals who might qualify to fill the positions
 Job analysis – why? Methods?

 Job Analysis is a systematic exploration of the activities within a job.

 It defines and documents the duties, responsibilities and accountabilities of a job and
the conditions under which a job is performed.

Job Analysis

 Job Analysis Methods – The best results are usually achieved with some combination of
methods.

1) Observation method – job analyst watches employees directly or reviews film of

workers on the job.
2) Individual interview method – a team of job incumbents is selected and extensively
interviewed.
3) Group interview method – a number of job incumbents are interviewed
simultaneously.
4) Structured questionnaire method – workers complete a specifically designed
questionnaire.
 5) Technical conference method – uses supervisors with an extensive knowledge of the
job.
6) Diary method – job incumbents record their daily activities.

 Sign-off?

 The Multi-faceted Nature of Job Analysis

 Almost all HRM activities are tied to job analysis.

 Job analysis is the starting point for sound HRM.

 Job Analysis and the Changing World of Work

 Globalization, quality initiatives, telecommuting, and teams require adjustments to the

components of a job.

 Today’s jobs often require not only technical skills but interpersonal skills and
communication skills as well.

 Job description (what the job does)

 Written statement of what jobholder does, how it is done, under what conditions and why.

 Common format: title; duties; distinguishing characteristics; environmental conditions;

authority and responsibilities.

 Job descriptions list:

 job title

 job identification

 job duties/essential functions in order of importance

- Identification of essential job functions is needed to assure compliance with

Americans with Disabilities Act.

 job specifications - minimal qualifications for job

 They are critical to:

 describing job to candidates

  guiding new-hires

 developing performance evaluation criteria

 evaluating job’s compensation worth

 Job specification (what the job holder requires to be effective)

 States minimum acceptable qualifications.

 Sets out important competencies.

 Used to select employees who have the capability to perform well in the role.

 Job evaluation

 Specify relative value of each job in the organization.

 Used to design equitable compensation program.

 Job enrichment

 great job design enriches and motivates through

 skill variety

 task identity

 task significance

 autonomy

 feedback from job itself

 Flexible work schedules

 flexible work schedules keep employees motivated and loyal

 flex time

 job sharing

 telecommuting
True or False?
1. HR planning must be separate from the organization’s overall strategy.

False!

2. A mission statement defines what business the organization is in.

True!

3. To forecast staff requirements, HR creates an inventory of future staffing needs for job level and type,
broken down by decade.

False!

4. Job analysis is a systematic exploration of the activities within a job.

True!

5. A position analysis questionnaire is more qualitative than quantitative in nature.

False!

6. Job design is how a position and its tasks are organized.

True!
The Story So Far (Week 6)

 Factors and constraints that affect recruitment

 Factors that affect recruiting efforts

1) organizational size
2) employment conditions in the area
3) effectiveness of past recruiting efforts
4) working conditions, salary, and benefits offered
5) organizational growth or decline
 Constraints on recruiting efforts include:
1) Organization image
2) Job attractiveness
3) Internal organizational policies
4) Government influence, such as discrimination laws
5) Recruiting costs

 Sources of candidates - internal search, employee referrals, external search, alternatives

 Sources should match the position to be filled.

 The Internet is providing many new opportunities to recruit and causing companies to revisit
past recruiting practices.

 Internal Searches – Organizations that promote from within identify current employees for job
openings

 by having individuals bid for jobs

 by using their HR management system
 by utilizing employee referrals

• Advantages of promoting from within include

– good public relations

– morale building

– encouragement of ambitious employees and members of protected groups

 – availability of information on existing employee performance

– cost-savings

– internal candidates’ knowledge of the organization

– the opportunity to develop mid- and top-level managers

• The internal search Disadvantages include:

– possible inferiority of internal candidates

– infighting and morale problems

– potential ‘inbreeding’

 Employee Referrals/Recommendations

 Current employees can be asked to recommend recruits.

 Advantages include:

- the employee’s motivation to make a good recommendation

- the availability of accurate job information for the recruit

- tend to be more acceptable applicants, to be more likely to accept an offer and to have a
higher survival rate.

 Disadvantages include:

- the possibility of friendship being confused with job performance

- the potential for nepotism

- the potential for adverse impact

 External Searches – Advertisements / Employment agencies / Schools, colleges, and universities

 Advertisements: Must decide type and location of ad, depending on job; decide
whether to focus on job (job description) or on applicant (job specification).

 Factors influencing the response rate include:

 1) identification of the organization
2) labor market conditions
3) the degree to which specific requirements are listed.
- ‘Blind’ ads don’t identify the organization.
 Employment agencies:
- Public or state employment services focus on helping unemployed individuals with lower
skill levels to find jobs.
- Private employment agencies provide more comprehensive services and are perceived to
offer positions and applicants of a higher caliber.
- Fees may be paid by employer, employee or both.
- Management consulting, executive search or headhunter firms specialize in executive
placement and hard-to-fill positions:
Charge employers up to 35% of the first year salary (or total cash)
Have nationwide/international database and contacts
Do thorough investigations of candidates
 Schools, colleges, and universities:
– May provide entry-level or experienced workers through their placement services.
– May also help companies establish cooperative education assignments and
internships.

 Professional organizations – including labor unions

– Publish rosters of vacancies

– Placement services

– Control the supply of prospective applicants

 Unsolicited applicants (Walk-ins): May provide a stockpile of prospective applicants if

there are no current openings.

 Cyberspace Recruiting: Nearly four out of five companies use the Internet to recruit
employees. Commercial job-posting services continue to grow.

 Job fairs: attended by company recruiters seeking resumes and info from qualified
candidates
 <Recruitment Alternatives>

 Temporary help services:

- temporary employees help organizations meet short-term fluctuations in HRM needs

- older workers can also provide high-quality help

 Employee leasing:

- trained workers are employed by a leasing company, which provides them to employers
when needed for a flat fee
- typically remain with an organization for longer periods of time

 Independent contractors:

- do specific work either on or off the company’s premises

- costs of regular employees (i.e. taxes and benefits costs) are not incurred

 Long-term strategies for attracting talent

 Auto-shop – created a training program with local college

 NZ health system – web sites selling NZ lifestyle

 Indiana hospital – outreach to grade and junior high students; merit-based pay for nurses

 Defense contractors need US citizens – M&A

 Obtain security clearance while interning

 Financial services group – CEO performance tied to talent objectives

 Companies who are offshoring linking with local universities

 Florida hospital – scholarships and education assistance

 EVP/employment “brand”
Matching

The Story So Far (week7)

 The selection process typically consists of eight steps:

1. Completing the Application Form: Key Issues

a. Gives a job-performance-related synopsis of what applicants have been doing, their skills and
accomplishments.
b. Legal considerations
i. Omit items which are not job-related; e.g., sex, religion, age, national origin, race, color,
and disability.
ii. Includes statement giving employer the right to dismiss an employee for falsifying
information.
iii. Asks for permission to check work references (signed release).
iv. Typically includes “employment-at-will” statement.
c. Weighted application forms
i. Individual items of information are validated against performance and turnover
measures and given appropriate weights.
ii. Data must be collected for each job to determine how well a particular item (e.g., years
of schooling, tenure on last job) predicts success on target job.
d. Successful applications
 i. Information collected on application forms can be highly predictive of successful job
performance.
ii. Forms must be validated and continuously reviewed and updated.
iii. Data should be verified through background investigations.
2. Initial Screening
a. Involves screening of inquiries and screening interviews.
b. Job description information is shared along with a salary range.
3. Employment testing
a. Estimates say 60% of all organizations use some type of employment tests.
i. Performance simulation tests: requires the applicant to engage in specific job behaviors
necessary for doing the job successfully.
ii. Work sampling: Job analysis is used to develop a miniature replica of the job on which
an applicant demonstrates his/her skills.
iii. Assessment centers: A series of tests and exercises, including individual and group
simulation tests, is used to assess managerial potential or other complex sets of skills.
iv. Testing in a global arena: Selection practices must be adapted to cultures and
regulations of host country.
4. Comprehensive Interviews:
a. Interviews involve a face-to-face meeting with the candidate to probe areas not addressed by
the application form or tests.
b. They are a universal selection tool.
i. Do you have a high school diploma?
ii. When did you obtain your bachelors degree?
iii. Where are you from originally?
iv. What languages do you speak fluently?
v. Any plans to start a family?
vi. How many children do you have?
vii. Do you have any disabilities?
viii. Are you legally eligible to work in the US?
ix. Are there specific times when you cannot work?
 Interview Effectiveness
- Interviews are the most widely used selection tool.
- Often are expensive, inefficient, and not job-related.
 - Possible biases with decisions based on interviews include prior knowledge about the
applicant, stereotypes, interviewee order.
- Impression management, or the applicant’s desire to project the “right” image, may skew
the interview results.
- Interviewers have short and inaccurate memories: note-taking and videotaping may help
- Structured interviews use fixed questions designed to assess specific job-related
attributes
- More reliable and valid than unstructured ones.
- Best for determining organizational fit, motivation and interpersonal skills.
- Especially useful for high-turnover jobs and less routine ones.
 Behavioral Interviews
- Candidates are observed not only for what they say, but how they behave.
- Role playing is often used.
- x8 effectiveness.
- Behaviorally-based questions (past and future).
 Realistic Job Preview
- RJP’s present unfavorable as well as favorable information about the job to applicants.
- May include brochures, films, tours, work sampling, or verbal statements that realistically
portray the job.
- RJP’s reduce turnover without lowering acceptance rates.
5. Background Investigation:
a. Verify information from the application form
b. Typical information verified includes:
i. former employers
ii. previous job performance
iii. education
iv. legal status to work
v. credit references
vi. criminal records
c. Qualified privilege
- Employers may discuss employees with prospective employers without fear of reprisal as
long as the discussion is about job-related documented facts.
d. One-third of all applicants exaggerate their backgrounds or experiences.
 e. A good predictor of future behavior is an individual’s past behavior.
f. Background Investigation Methods:
i. Internal investigation: checks former employers, personal references and possibly
credit sources.
ii. External investigation: Uses a reference-checking firm which may obtain more
information, while complying with privacy rights.
iii. Documentation, including whom called, questions asked, information obtained/not
obtained, is important in case an employers’ hiring decision is later challenged.

6. Conditional Job Offers:

 Offers of employment made contingent upon successful completion of background check,
physical/medical exam, drug test, etc.
 May only use job-related information to make a hiring decision.
7. Medical/Physical Examination
 Should be used only to determine if the individual can comply with the essential functions of
the job.
 Americans with Disabilities Act requires that exams be given only after conditional job offer is
made.
8. Job Offers
a. Actual hiring decision generally made by the department manager.
b. Candidates not hired deserve the courtesy of prompt notification.
 The Comprehensive Approach
 Comprehensive selection approach puts applicants through all the steps in the selection process
before making a decision.
 Assesses both strengths and weaknesses and is considered more realistic.
 must measure factors related to the job only
 Now It’s Up to the Candidate
 The candidate now has to decide whether this is the job for him or her.
 Negotiation?
 Applicants who are not hired this time will still form an impression about the company.
 Management should assure the selection process leaves them with a favorable impression of the
company.
 Selection for Self-Managed/Directed Teams
  If teams are given management responsibilities, it makes sense for them to select their own
members.
 Team members bring to the selection process varied experiences and backgrounds.
 Team members need training in selection and interviewing techniques.
 Key Elements for Successful Predictors – Reliability / Validity / Cut scores
1) Reliability
- The ability of the selection tool to measure an attribute consistently.
- HR managers need reliable tests to make sure the applicant will perform satisfactorily
2) Criterion-related validity
a. predictive (cut score)
- The cut score separates successful from unsuccessful performers.
- cut scores on a selection device can be determined by validity studies
- applicants scoring below the cut score are predicted to be unsuccessful on the job and are
rejected
b. concurrent
- The relationship between scores on a selection tool and a relevant criterion, such as job
performance.
- There are three types:
i. Content – degree to which the content of the test, as a sample, represents
situations on the job
ii. Construct – degree to which a particular (abstract) trait is related to successful job
performance
iii. criterion-related - degree to which a selection device accurately predicts important
elements of work behavior
a. Predictive validity uses test scores of applicants to compare with their future
job performance
b. Concurrent validity correlates test scores of current employees with
measures of their job performance
 Selection From a Global Perspective
 Selection criteria for international assignments includes
1) interest in working overseas
2) ability to relate to different cultures and environments
3) supportiveness of the candidate’s family
Fill-in-the-blanks
1. The ____ _____ _____ is the first step in the selection process.
initial screening interview
2. _____ _______ __ assign values to application information in order to
determine job success.
Weighted application forms
3. _______ _____ ___require applicants to engage in job behaviors
necessary for doing the job successfully.
Performance simulation tests
4. Three types of comprehensive interviews are _______, ______, and
_____.
traditional, panel, and situational
5. In a ___________ ___ _____, HR manager makes an offer of
employment, contingent upon successful completion of background
check, physical/medical exam, drug test, etc.
conditional job offer
6. _________ _________ means employers may discuss employees with
prospective employers without fear of reprisal as long as the discussion
is about job-related, documented facts.
Qualified privilege
7. There three types of validity are _______, ________, and _________-
_______.
Content, construct, criterion-related
8. On an employment test, the ___ _____ separates successful from
unsuccessful performers.
cut score