B123
Chapter 14
Managing People
Managing individuals
Human resource (HR) management is of
direct relevance to anyone who has to
achieve results through the efforts of other
people.
It concerns all management decisions and
actions that affect the relationship between
an organization and its members.
The flow of people
HR policy concerns the flow of people into,
through and out of an organisation. This includes:
planning for staffing needs
selecting and recruiting the right people
their induction into the organisation
internal staffing and promotion decisions
the management of employees – including
contract staff or, in the not for-profit sector,
volunteers
exit from the organisation, whether voluntary or
Managers need to make such choices as:
the extent to which they rely on temporary or
permanent staff
the flexibility they require from employees in
terms of patterns of working hours
the extent to which they invest in employee
development and training, or recruit for the skills
they need
the extent to which they will meet changes in
demand by varying the numbers employed or
hours worked.
Recruitment and selection
The process of recruitment and selection is
the first means by which an organisation
seeks to engage employees with the right set
of skills, motivation and potential to meet
its needs.
It is also the first stage in forming a
relationship with employees.
The selection interview
The aim of the selection interview is to ascertain
whether the candidate is interested in the job and
competent to do it. It also has other functions:
to explain the work of the organisation, the job
and any features such as induction and probation
to set expectations on both sides, including a
realistic discussion of any potential difficulties (if
appropriate)
to enable the candidate to assess whether they
want the job being offered.
Performance management
Quantitative aspects: Some aspects of performance can be
measured as quantitative targets:
Timescales
Deadlines
Amounts produced
Costs
Resource usage.
Qualitative aspects: Other aspects of performance may be more
subjective and require a qualitative judgment which are associated with
problems: such as
ethnicity,
gender,
appearance
personal biases.
Performance appraisal
It is a method by which the job
performance of an employee is evaluated.
Performance appraisals are a part of career
development and consist of regular reviews
of employee performance
within organizations.
Methods of assessment
Observation & involvement
Questioning & discussion
Routine statistics & reporting
Your own statistics
Other reports
360 degree feedback
360-degree feedback
In the 360-degree feedback system, assessments are sought from a
variety of people with whom the individual interacts –from the line
manager, the individual’s own direct reports, their co-workers and
colleagues, and their internal and external customers.
The 360-degree feedback method (also known as the multi-rater and
multisource feedback method) has increased rapidly in recent years.
The underlying rationale has two elements.
First, it corrects for the bias and the imperfect and incomplete
information associated with single-rater feedback.
Second, it encourages self-awareness and personal development by
allowing individuals to identify and reflect on the gap between
their own perceptions of their performance and those of others
with whom they work.
Mentoring
Mentoring is a powerful personal
development and empowerment tool. It is
an effective way of helping people to
progress in their careers and is becoming
increasing popular as its potential is
realised. It is a partnership between two
people (mentor and mentee) normally
working in a similar field or sharing similar
experiences. It is a helpful relationship
based upon mutual trust and respect.