Topic 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management

Meaning of Human Resource Management

Human resource management (HRM) is the practice of recruiting, hiring,
deploying and managing an organization's employees. HRM is often referred to
simply as human resources (HR). A company or organization's HR department is
usually responsible for creating, putting into effect and overseeing policies
governing workers and the relationship of the organization with its employees. The
term human resources was first used in the early 1900s, and then more widely in
the 1960s, to describe the people who work for the organization, in aggregate.
HRM is really employee management with an emphasis on those employees as
assets of the business. In this context, employees are sometimes referred to as
human capital. As with other business assets, the goal is to make effective use of
employees, reducing risk and maximizing return on investment (ROI).
The modern HR technology term, human capital management (HCM), has come
into more frequent use than the term, HRM, with the widespread adoption by large
and midsize companies and other organizations of software to manage many HR
functions.

Human resource management functions

HRM can be broken down into subsections, typically by pre-employment and
employment phases, with an HR manager assigned to each. Different areas of
HRM oversight can include the following:
 Employee recruitment, onboarding and retention.
 Talent management and workforce management.
 Job role assignment and career development.
 Compensation and benefits.
 Labor law compliance
 Performance management.
 Training and development.
 Succession planning.
  Employee engagement and recognition.
 Team building.

Recruitment And Selection

Recruitment is the process of captivating, screening, and selecting potential and
qualified candidates based on objective criteria for a particular job. The goal of this
process is to attract the qualified applicants and to encourage the unqualified
applicants to opt themselves out.
Before starting the process of recruitment, the companies must execute proper
staffing plans and should grade the number of employees they are going to need.
Forecasting of the employees should depend upon the annual budget of the
organization and short-term and long-term goals of the organization.
Recruitment and selection process is very important to every organization because
it reduces the costs of mistakes such as engaging incompetent, unmotivated, and
underqualified employees. Firing the unqualified candidate and hiring the new
employee is again an expensive process.

Orientation
Many organizations do not provide a thorough orientation to the new employees.
This is the fundamental step to help a new employee to adjust himself with the
employer and with his new job. Employee orientation program should include the
objectives and goals of the organization and how the employee can help to achieve
the long-term and short-term goals of the organization.
Giving intensive orientation to the employee is one of the major functions of
human resource management. The program should help the employee to know his
assigned duties and his exact job description, job role, and the relationship of
position to other positions in the organization. It gives clarification to the employee
to take an active role in the organization.

Maintaining Good Working Conditions

It is the responsibility of the human resource management to provide good working
conditions to the employee so that they may like the workplace and the work
environment. It is the fundamental duty of the HR department to motivate the
employees. The study has been found that employees don’t contribute to the goals
of the organization as much as they can. This is because of the lack of motivation.
Human resource management should come up with a system to provide financial
and non-financial benefits to the employee from the various departments.
Employee welfare is another concept which should be managed by HR team.
Employee welfare promotes job satisfaction.

Managing Employee Relations

Employees are the pillars of any organization. Employee relationship is a very
broad concept and it is one of the crucial functions of human resource
management. It also helps to foster good employee relations. They have the ability
to influence behaviors and work outputs.
Management should Organize activities which will help to know an employee at
the personal and professional level. Well-planned employee relations will promote
a healthy and balanced relation between the employee and the employer. It is the
key for the organization to be successful.

Training and Development

Training and development are the indispensable functions of human resource
management. It is the attempt to improve the current or future performance of an
employee by increasing the ability of an employee through educating and
increasing one’s skills or knowledge in the particular subject.

Role of Human Resource Management

Human resources managers oversee the most important component of a successful
business – a productive, thriving workforce. This requires viewing people as
human assets, not costs to the organization. As with any other asset, a talented
workforce can be used strategically to add value to an organization.
Strategic Role of HRM
The human resources management team suggests to the management team how to
strategically manage people as business resources. This includes recruiting and
hiring employees with specific skill sets to meet the company's current and future
goals, coordinating employee benefits and suggesting employee training and
development strategies. In this way, HR professionals are consultants, not workers
in an isolated business function; they advise managers on many issues related to
employees and how they help the organization achieve its goals.

Developing Skills for the Future

At all levels of the organization, managers and HR professionals work together to
develop employees' skills. For example, HR professionals advise managers and
supervisors how to assign employees to different roles in the organization, thereby
helping the organization adapt successfully to its environment. In a flexible
organization, employees are shifted around to different business functions based on
business priorities and employee preferences.

Building Loyalty and Commitment

HR professionals also suggest strategies for increasing employee commitment to
the organization. This begins with using the recruiting process or matching
employees with the right positions according to their qualifications. Once hired,
employees must be committed to their jobs and feel challenged throughout the year
by their manager.

Building a Talent Pipeline

An HRM team helps a business develop a competitive advantage, which involves
building the capacity of the company so it can offer a unique set of goods or
services to its customers. To build an effective human resources, private companies
compete with each other in a "war for talent." It's not just about hiring talent; this
game is about keeping people and helping them grow and stay committed over the
long term.

Staying Current and Competitive

Human resource management requires strategic planning to address not only the
changing needs of an employer but also a constantly shifting competitive job
market. Employee benefit packages must be continually assessed for costs to the
employer. Tweaking the packages also provides an opportunity to increase
employee retention through the addition of vacation days, flexible working
arrangements or retirement plan enhancements. For example, in recent years many
human resource professionals have overseen the addition of preventative health
components to traditional health plans for both employment recruitment and
retention efforts.

Evolution of Human resource Management

(refer to module 1 notes)
TOPIC 2: HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES
Meaning of Human Resource Policy
Policy is the statement or general understanding which provides guidelines in
decision making to members of an organization in respect to any course of action.
Thus, human resource policy provides guidelines for making decisions on matters
relating to management of human resources.
In general HR Polices should respect human dignity and personal integrity, ensure
fair treatment for all, irrespective of caste, creed, or colour, and offer reasonable
social and economic security to employees.
Human resource policies are continuing guidelines on the approach the
organization intends to adopt in managing its people. They define the philosophies
and values of the organization on how people should be treated, and from these are
derived principles upon which managers are expected to act when dealing with
human resource matters.

Importance of Human Resource policies

A policy is a guiding principle used to set direction in an organization. It should be
used as a guide to decision making under a given set of circumstances within the
framework of objectives, goals and management philosophies as determined by
senior management.
There are two types of Policies. The first is Rules frequently used as employee
policies. The second is Mini-Mission Statements frequently associated with
procedures. A policy in a procedure acts as a mini-mission statement containing
the customer of the policy, it’s purpose, and a key performance indicator (KPI) to
communicate how users know the procedure is working.
A procedure is a particular way of accomplishing something. It should be
designed as a set of series of step to be followed as a consistent and repetitive
approach or cycle to accomplish an end result.

Human resource policies are the formal rules and guidelines that businesses put in
place to hire, train, assess, and reward the members of their workforce. These
policies, when organized and disseminated in an easily used form, can serve to
preempt many misunderstandings between employees and employers about their
rights and obligations in the business place. It is tempting, as a new small business
owner, to focus on the concerns of the business at hand, and put off the task of
writing up a human resource policy. All business analysts and employment lawyers
will advise a new business owner to get a policy down on paper, even if it is a
simple one drafted from a boilerplate model. Having policies written is important
so that it is clear to all what the policies are and that they are applied consistently
and fairly across the organization. Moreover, when issues concerning employee
rights and company policies come before federal and state courts, it is standard
practice to assume that the company's human resource policies, whether written or
verbal, are a part of an employment contract between the employee and the
company. Without clearly written policies, the company is at a disadvantage.
These HR Policies and Procedures helps an organization to:
 Manage all employees who are on the payroll in a fair and consistent manner
 Set and manage employee expectations
 Communicate an organization’s goals and values
 Ensure all policies are aligned to legal requirements and best practices
 Create a common and healthy working environment
 Provide know how o how to apply policies across all levels of an
organization
 Give a clear picture of career growth in the organization
HR Policies and Procedures are important as they provide structure, control,
consistency, fairness, and reasonableness. They also ensure compliance with
employment legislation and inform employees of their responsibilities and the
company’s expectations. Policies and procedures are written by the human
resources department for various reasons.
The following points show why policies and procedures are important for the
human resource management process.
 HR policies and procedures ensure every employee of the organization is
looked after their needs respected and proper benefits are given to them for
their work.
  They help address complaints, problem, and grievances of employees and
solve them appropriately.
 They protect employees from wrong behavior from other employees or even
from the organization itself.
 Helps train and develop employees who are consistent with the needs of the
organization.
 Helps employees receive adequate compensation.
 Helps maintain discipline in the workplace, and
 Provide paid vacations and holidays to eligible employees.
In order to build a good company, it is essential for employees to be able to work
together peacefully. This is attainable by having a proper set of policies and
procedures in a company.

Types of Human Resource policies

There are a few HR policies that can help businesses today avoid lengthy policy
disputes, expensive lawsuits and unnecessary liabilities and risks. Take a few
minutes to review the following types of policies to be sure your company has
covered more than “just the basics” with its current HR policies.

Recruiting and Hiring Policies

As discussed in previous articles about the pre-employment process, the
financial and legal liabilities surrounding “bad hires” and negligent hiring practices
can be significant.
A clear understanding of tasks that need to be completed, by whom, and on what
timeline can help reduce your organization’s risk.
Some examples of HR policies to clarify may include:
 how a position is advertised,
 who interviews candidates,
 the process for and thoroughness of  background screenings,
  issues surrounding job offers and decline letters
 and what forms are required - from W-2s to non-disclosure agreements
(NDAs), if applicable.
Because these HR policies address the pre-employment or the start of an
employee's time with your organization, they are often some of the most important.
For example, following thorough background screening policies saves your
organization from having to address conduct or safety, and therefore disciplinary
and termination issues with a given employee down the line.

Employee Handbook HR Policies

Employee handbooks address a group of policies about general employment
information including compensation, attendance and leave, benefits and the Equal
Employment Opportunity (EEO) as well as references policies about the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), standards of conduct, safety, disciplinary
actions and more.
The employee handbook should be updated regularly to accommodate changes in
labor laws and company culture, and those changes should be communicated
promptly to all staff members.
The following three important HR policy types to consider may also appear in the
employee handbook for employee reference.

Conduct Policies
HR policies that address employee conduct define “appropriate workplace
behavior” for employees. These policies may address issues from dress code to
sexual harassment. It is important that these policies also address the written
reporting of and ultimate consequences for any breaking of these policies.

Safety Policies
Generally speaking, safety policies ensure employees have a safe work
environment and culture. These HR policies may overlap with conduct policies in
some ways, as they can address how to report physical or emotional threatening
behavior of coworkers. But safety policies may also inform employees how to
make wise decisions that are Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) compliant.
The company also benefits from safety policies when it comes to property or data
losses and liabilities. Door locking rules and regulations and the use of passwords
are an example of this.
Disciplinary and Termination Policies
One of the major functions of HR policies is to ensure the consistent and fair
treatment of all employees. This is especially important when an organization
needs to address and document disciplinary actions and termination decisions.
Discipline and termination policies should address whether:
 A specific HR policy was violated.
 Proof the employee was aware of the policy.
 All employees are held to the standard of the policy.
 All employees face the same consequences for breaking the policy.

 Other types are as follows;

Attendance
Company policies regarding attendance go beyond simply mandating that you
show up on time. Talk to your supervisor about how you need to notify
management when you’re ill and can’t make it in, let your boss know you’ll need
to take a personal day and how to request vacation time. Management might expect
you to answer emails during the evening or weekends without extra pay; talk to
your co-workers about attitudes toward extra unpaid work, which might be
different from department manager to department manager. If you travel as part of
your job, ask what the procedures are regarding travel days and if you receive
compensation for any weekend travel.

Requests
Some companies have formal procedures for purchase, travel, expense
reimbursement and personal time-off requests. Get copies of any forms you’ll need
to use for future requests and review them to see if you understand them or need to
clarify any items before you’re on deadline. Find out what receipts you need to
turn in with expense reports or if you can use credit card statements. Learn the
typical turnaround time necessary to get requests approved so you avoid asking
superiors to rush requests, which can make you look unorganized.

Emerging issues and trends in Human Resource policies

Human Resource is a sector that has changed gradually. Everything from people
analytics, the hiring process to software systems, has evolved. Since HR trends
keep changing, it is essential for you to stay up-to-date on the current trends.
 
Emerging issues:
Effective management of human resources depends on refining HRM
practices to changing conditions. Hence the need to look at other important
issues that can motivate people to give their best in a dynamic and ever-
changing environment.
Personnel records: Personnel records such as papers, files, cards, cassettes and
films are maintained to have tangible record of what is actually happening in an
organization and to formulate appropriate HR policies and programs (based on
historical records, actual experience and future trends) from time to time.
 
Human resource audits: Human resource audit refers to an examination and
evaluation of policies, procedures and practices to determine the effectiveness
of HRM. Personnel audit (a) measures the effectiveness of personnel programmes
and practices and (b) determines what should or should not be done in future.
 
Human resources research: It is the process of evaluating the effectiveness
of human resource policies and practices and developing more appropriate ones.
 
Human resources accounting (HRA): It is a measurement of the cost and value
of human resources to the organization. Human resource management is said to be
effective if its value and contribution in any organization is more than its cost.
 
Human resource information system: HRIS is an integrated system designed to
improve the efficiency with which HR data is compiled. It makes HR records more
useful to the management by serving as a source of information.
 
Stress and counseling: Stress is the psychological and physical reaction to certain
life events or situations. At an organizational level, stress results in burn out,
substance abuse in the form of alcohol or drug use/dependence reduced job
satisfaction, increased absenteeism and increased turnover. Companies, therefore,
are closely looking at what should be done to promote the physical and mental
well-being of employees through proper counseling and employee development
programmes.
 
International human resource management: International business is important
to almost every business today and so firms must increasingly be managed with a
clear global focus. This of course, poses many challenges before managers
including coordinating production, sales and financial operations on a worldwide
basis. International HRM places greater emphasis on a number of responsibilities
and functions such as relocation, orientation and training services to help
employees adapt to a new and different environment outside their own country

Here are 7 Emerging HR Trends 

Review culture and continuous feedback.
One of the most predicted HR trends is the culture of reviews and continuous
feedback in the workplace. The methods that people use to give feedback has
changed over the years. As an HR leader or a manager, you should focus on
improving your departments by providing frequent and constructive feedback.
According to several studies, most employees would prefer real-time reviews or
feedback instead of the annual performance reviews. This is because the practice
helps them to know where they might be going wrong, and offer them a chance to
correct themselves before the annual evaluation. They do not have to wait for
twelve months to learn where they went wrong. Continuous feedback will also help
the organization grow and avoid significant loses.

Speeding up of performance management.

We have come to learn that job satisfaction and performance go together. Both
seem to develop when employees have an opportunity to explore their creativity.
Most leading enterprises apply this knowledge to offer growth of their employees.
By developing systems which measure and also manage performance, you can be
able to speed up growth and notice the significant transformation. It is vital to
promote healthy performance management to both individual level and
organizational level if you want your company to succeed.

Digitized rewards and recognition

One of the best motivators for most employees has been receiving praise and
recognition from their managers. Every person expects the trend to advance. We
all hope to see digitized rewards and recognition. Hence, to make your employees
productive, digital recognition is a trend you need to implement. Another HR trend
expected is peer to peer recognition. Start by using the social platforms and offer a
suitable platform for your employees to recognize and reward their contribution.

R Bots (Artificial Intelligent driven HR)

Another interesting HR trend to focus in is AI ( Artificial Intelligence) driven
human resources. Even though it is not expected to eliminate the usual human HR,
it will transform and help to analyze the data. It will also assist in the primary
repetitive HR tasks. When you use Artificial intelligence to recruiting the
workforce, you will be able to eliminate bias. It will help to access the candidates
based on their requirements without favoritism. It will also let your team focus on
employee relations instead of being caught up in unexciting tasks.

Learning management systems

The need for skills development is important for all your employees no matter
which stage of career they are at the moment. Constant learning is expected to be
among the most popular and emerging HR trends. It is essential for any
organization that wants to grow to provide learning opportunities to all employees.
Through learning, your employees can be able to improve their skills and be able
to give the best while working. Your organization can have learning management
systems that will help you to check and track your employees learning process
accurately, and also help to promote collaboration between various departments in
your company.

Increase in part-time employment and contingent workforce management

In most advanced countries, there is a usual trend where more than 40 percent of
employees are being hired on a contingent basis. This means you need to learn
more about your workforce structure and whether you can reconsider structuring it.
You need to learn and understand the type of systems and technologies that can be
implemented in your organization. Even though it is not practical for any
organization to adopt a new workforce structure instantly, it is essential to be
aware of the emerging HR trends. Keep in mind that your workforce is the most
critical asset in your organization.

Use of Online skill assessments

Online assessments have also become increasingly popular as an effective talent
management tool. Employee assessment is no longer just about complying with an
organization’s guidelines. It is now an integral part of management strategy. In
today’s highly competitive global economy, an organization has to have a grip of
what exactly the workforce knows, or doesn’t know. Online assessments including
tests, surveys, quizzes and exams have been used to mitigate the risks or relying on
mere self-assessment.
Fitness and wellness apps to develop employee engagement
Another vital HR trend that most organizations are expected to focus on is fitness
and wellness apps. Most companies these days are focusing on creating life and
work balance. If you want your employees to be productive, and to be able to build
a sustainable workforce, you need to balance work and life. To achieve this
objective, you can introduce wellness and fitness app for your employees. The
apps will help to create a balance between their professional and their personal
lives. For example, your employees can have access to dietary counseling, yoga,
and work and life counseling among many others.
Salary History Ban
Many states have legislated a ban on asking job candidates about their salary
history as a means to prevent current or previous pay inequality from following a
person throughout their career. Determining a candidate’s compensation based on
their salary history can perpetuate existing wage inequalities that are the result of
gender bias or discrimination.

Topic 3: Human Resource Records

Meaning of Human Resource records
Human resource records refers to the informational documents utilized by an
organisation to carry out its functions. It represents the memory of organisation.
The records provide information about the organisation which is maintained in
tangible form i.e. written, pictorial, charts etc.
Employee information is collected and stored by the Department for a number of
purposes.  In order to comply with privacy requirements, employees must be
advised of the purpose for which the information is required and the bodies or
agencies to whom the Department may disclose personal information.
Human Resource Information collected by the Department may be stored either
electronically or in hard copy form in personnel files.
“Employee Records” is often looked upon as a very transactional element in HR
administration. But the impact of employee record-keeping on great talent and
growth management cannot be undermined- it helps create a comprehensive view
of all employees. And we are fast moving from “HR-does-it-all” to a self-service
model of employee records maintenance, which ensures transparency and
ownership at an employee-level. This is the way ahead for employee records
management, and one that organizations must embrace by way of system changes.
Why maintain accurate employee records?
Employee records are not just about maintaining a view of the employee numbers
and employee spread. The repercussions of inadequate record-keeping are far-
reaching. Here are some compelling reasons to pay attention to your employee
records system.
 Creates a talent profile: Employee records are a window to create a talent
dashboard: employee skills, preferences, availability for positions,
performance, etc. can be accessed at the click of a button.
 Provides a productivity view: By maintaining the relevant employee
records, HR and business managers can gain an accurate view of resource
allocation and utilization. This can help gauge productivity levels at an
individual, functional and organizational level, and thereby take steps to
improve productivity.
 Builds objectivity into the employer-employee relationship: Accurate
employee records in areas such as goal tracking, performance management,
time and attendance, leave management, payroll etc. can minimize any
possible disputes between employer and employees. Properly maintained
employee records offer irrefutable evidence that employees have been
following or avoiding the correct workplace policies and procedures.
 Enhances the employee experience: Today self-servicing of employee
records is a rising trend. It allows employees to access information, so that
they can take important career decisions. For example, if an employee sees
that his or her profile is not updated with a particular skill for a career move,
he or she can opt for a training in that area and then update the skill-records,
and qualify for the move. It’s all about more power to employees, and
therein, better engaged employees!
 A past and future competency reference: Employee records are data, and
data can drive objective talent decisions. Past and future data can be made
accessible in a jiffy, with an employee record system. For example, while
hiring for a position, managers can pull out records of past employees for
rehiring. Or the skill-data of current employees can be analyzed in relation to
future business (and labor) trends, and future skill-predicaments can be
made. The organization can thus prepare for future talent scenarios based on
present employee records.
  Protects against lawsuits: Keeping records is the first line of defense
against lawsuits. Employers who fail to keep proper personnel records can
face legal action based on various labor laws.
Maintaining accurate employee records benefits both the manager/organization and
the employee. Yet, organizations cannot maintain all sorts of records because it
comes with a cost. It is therefore important to know which records are a must to
maintain, and in what format.

Types of Human Resource records

One of the primary responsibilities of the HR department is to maintain employee
records and regularly keep them updated. It is not just a good practice but it is also
made mandatory by the law. These records help companies gather and analyze
comprehensive information about their workforce at a micro as well as macro
level.
Apart from the legal implications, maintaining accurate and updated employee
records helps employers save time while performing administrative duties. These
details can also come in handy during the recruitment process, identifying gaps in
skills, availability of resources or at the time of separation. It is important to have
acute understanding of available human resources to efficiently administer their
business and maintain productivity.

Ideally the most sought for information should be available easily. While the
attributes for this section may vary for each company, the most common ones are
listed below. Designation of employees in the workplace. Who do they report to?
Or do they have anyone reporting to them? Which teams are they associated with?
At times, an individual can be associated with multiple teams, if need be.
This information is not only relevant to the HR team but also executives, project
management teams & peers. It can help in making quick decisions about escalation
hierarchy, information flow etc
Consider the following profile of a fictional employee John McClane, to get a
better understanding of how this section would look like:
1. Designation – Product Marketing Manager
 2. Manager – Hans Gruber
3. Teams – Marketing, Sales
4. Direct Reports – Meriadoc Brandybuck, Peregrin Took

Personal details
These are basic details that need to maintained in order to formulate and review
personnel policies and procedures. It gives a background about the employee’s
personal attributes, demographic information and essential identity proofs that are
required to be recorded as per the law.
While this information is important, it is not relevant at all times. In fact, more
often than not this data is legally necessary. But additionally, it can also help HR
teams analyse their resources based on different demographic criterion. e.g. if
diversity is of prime importance for an organisation, they can use the nationality
attribute to analyse.

Contact details
Workplace laws require employers to maintain updated employee contact details at
all times. For any correspondence, employers should be able to contact their
employees through via phone, email or in-person. In case of emergencies, it is
necessary to have information about who is the right person to be contacted and
how best to reach them.
Employment details
Employment records consist of details about employee’s past experience, date of
joining the current organization and referrals from previous managers and
colleagues (if any). Other information such as employee id number, work week
and leave policies are also recorded in this section. Even bank details are recorded
here through which employees receive their salaries.
This section server pure administrative purpose & is not looked at too often.
Having said that, if you are looking to track advanced HR metrics (such as
relationship between attrition rates at a certain experience level etc) this section
will hold important pieces of information for you.
1. Employee Identification Code – MI6-007
 2. Employment Type – Permanent
3. Employment Status – Active
4. Date of Joining – 1st April 2014
5. Name of Bank – ACME Corp.
6. Bank Account number – XXXXXXXXXX2018
7. IFSC code – XXXXXX003
8. Work week – Monday to Friday
9. Last day of working – NA

Job details
While assigning employees to new projects or adding additional resources to
existing ones, this information can help to determine individuals who do not
currently have work assigned to them or those who have the capacity to take on
additional workload. They can quickly be shifted to the newer requirement without
wasting time so that productivity is not hampered and work continues
uninterrupted.
These records would consist of information that is relevant to his or her current
role in the organization such as:
1. Job description – Brand promotion, Digital Advertising, Sales Promotion
2. Skills and expertise –  Grievance Slayer, Negotiation Ninja
3. Location – New York
4. Current Projects – Manhattan Project
 
Payroll records
Different regions have different compliance laws when it comes to maintaining
payroll records. In some areas it may be made mandatory by law to store these
details, while the rest may not have such strict requirements.
For example, in the United States, under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the state
labor laws, companies are required to document reasons for decisions, so payroll
information needs to be made readily available whenever required.

Training and development

Employees need to be properly trained and developed to ensure they are
performing to their maximum potential and have the right skills to perform their
responsibilities efficiently. They should be capable of functioning with minimal
guidance while also having a clear picture of what is the outcome expected of their
actions.
 
Keeping an accurate record of what training has been provided and what are the
current skill sets of the employee helps the company in many ways. They can
decide whether the employee can be given more responsibilities to match their
skills or should they be further trained to take on more managerial roles. These
records help to ensure employees become competent in other areas apart from their
basic duties.

Awards and achievements

Recognition is one of the most powerful performance enhancers. Whenever
employees perform exceptionally well and achieve greater milestones, they are
bound to be recognized for their performance. Employers need to keep track of
these awards and achievements and acknowledge them during performance
evaluations. They may even be awarded for their efforts. It is necessary to note
here that often employees get disgruntled when their achievements are not
considered during their review process. This mostly happens due to not keeping a
record of achievements throughout the year. Thus, inadvertently managers tend to
forget to take these into account while appraising the performance and employees
miss out on reaping the benefits of their efforts. It is one of the primary reasons
employees leave organization.
Use of computerized Human Resource records
Uses of HRIS:
The main purpose of maintaining HRIS system is to gather, classify, process,
record and disseminates the information required for efficient and effective
management of human resources in the organisation.
The various uses of HRIS in an organisation can be listed as follows:
Personnel Administration:
It encompasses personal information of an employee. These may include name,
address, date of birth, marital status, and the date of joining the organisation. It also
contains the name and address of next kin of the employee concern. These
information describe the employee.
Salary Administration:
One of the functions of HRIS is to provide a report containing information like
present salary, benefits, last pay increase and proposed increase in future.
Leave/Absence Increase:
HRIS is also used to control leave/absence of employees. This is done by
maintaining a leave history of each employee. Every employee can be issued an
identity card writing every employee’s token number coded on it. Employee’s
entry and exit from the organisation should be recorded on the identity card. This
reduces chances for malpractice or oversight in calculating wages for each
employee.
Skill Inventory:
Recording employee skills and monitoring a skill data base is yet another use of
the HRIS. Such a skill record helps identify employees with the necessary skill for
certain positions or jobs in an organisation.
Medical History:
The HRIS is also used to maintain occupational health data required for industrial
safety purposes, accident monitoring, and so on.
Performance Appraisal:
In order to form a comprehensive overview about an employee, HRIS maintains
performance appraisal data such as the due date of the appraisal, potential for
promotion, scores of each performance criteria and alike. The textual information
can be combined with the factual data obtained from the HRIS and the
combination of information can be used for imparting training and affecting
employee mobility in the form of transfer and promotion.
Manpower Planning:
HRIS is used for manpower planning also. It keeps information of organisational
requirements in terms of positions. HRIS connects employees to the required
positions in the organisation. It is also used to identify vacancies and establish
employees thereon. HRIS can also help identify a logical progression path and the
steps to be taken for employee progress/ advancement.
Recruitment:
Recruitment forms the most essential function of HRM. HRIS helps in the
recruitment process in a big way by recording the details of activities involved in
employee recruitment. These may include cost and method of recruitment and time
taken to fill the positions level wise, for example.
Career Planning:
By providing necessary information such as which employees have been
earmarked for which positions, HRIS facilitates positional advancement of
employees. In other words, HRIS helps in planning for succession.
Collective Bargaining:
HRIS through a computer terminal can provide up-to-date relevant and required
information, facts and figures and, thus, can facilitate collective bargaining. It can
he p collective bargaining as “what if analysis” rather as feelings and fictions. In
the same manner, HRIS can also help maintain better human relations in the
organisation.
What is HRIS?
A HRIS, which is also known as a human resource information system or human
resource management system (HRMS), is basically an intersection of human
resources and information technology through HR software. This allows HR
activities and processes to occur electronically.
To put it another way, a HRIS may be viewed as a way, through software, for
businesses big and small to take care of a number of activities, including those
related to human resources, accounting, management, and payroll. A HRIS allows
a company to plan its HR costs more effectively, as well as to manage them and
control them without needing to allocate too many resources toward them.
In most situations, a HRIS will also lead to increases in efficiency when it comes
to making decisions in HR. The decisions made should also increase in quality—
and as a result, the productivity of both employees and managers should increase
and become more effective.

What are the Benefits of a HRIS?

The human resources department within any organization is considered to be
highly critical for the entire organization. Its many functions serve as a supportive
background for the company by providing everything from skilled and talented
labor to management training services, employee enrichment opportunities and
more. Since labor is the single largest expense for most organizations, human
resources helps companies derive the greatest value from this important asset.
In order to function optimally, however, human resources departments must have
the right tools and resources in place. A HRIS can be utilized within the
department to help human resources employees and managers improve their
productivity and the results of their efforts.

There are many benefits that can be enjoyed after implementing a HRIS into
an organization, such as:
 Expedition of recurring tasks through automation
  Improved ability to reach large candidate pools regarding new position
openings
 Ability to quickly apply higher selection standards to a number of
applications
 Speedy onboarding made possible by mobile accessibility
 Reduction of paper and related materials and storage – often yields cost
savings
 Ease in distributing up-to-date materials concerning company policies and
procedures
 Potential for greater employee engagement through self-service options
 Streamlining of open enrollment for benefits
 Empowerment of employees to change benefits information directly as
changes occur
 Improved collaboration throughout organization, even when there are
multiple company locations
 Improvements in training capabilities through integration with LMS and
development tracking features
 Scheduling optimization with an emphasis on compliance and immediate
distribution to employees
 Reduction of errors within payroll systems and employee information
databases
 Improved time and attendance tracking abilities and accuracy
 Decrease in compliance woes aided by alerts and automatic reporting
options
 Ability to make more informed decisions in real time by using analytics and
integration of organizational data

Improving HR Productivity
While the HRIS features benefit the organization in many ways, one of the most
important of all HRIS benefits relates to the ability of the software program to
improve the productivity of human resources employees. These HR systems are
highly detailed, and they are designed to enhance and speed up the efforts of HR
employees in a number of ways. For example, they can assist with recruitment by
simplifying the process of collecting resumes, reviewing candidate information and
more.
HRIS systems can also be used to improve productivity related to financial
management through payroll processing tasks and benefits administration. These
and other related tasks may require numerous hours of manpower each week.
However, the time and effort required to complete them can be drastically reduced
when some of the tasks are automated through a HRIS system. Tasks that may
have required many hours of labor may possibly reach completion very quickly
and easily – or sometimes even done automatically – with the software program.

Reducing Errors and Maintaining Compliance

Many HR tasks are highly regulated, and because of this, even a minor error on the
part of a human resources employee could result in considerable legal issues and
even financial loss for the company. For example, when resumes are not reviewed
in a fair and just manner during the hiring process, a lawsuit may ensue. A HRIS
can provide guidance to avoid these types of issues before they escalate.
When considering HRIS benefits for your organization, the ability to reduce issues
and other related errors associated with human oversight or other factors can be
considerable. Furthermore, additional HRIS benefits relate to compliance issues.
Some software programs are designed to review compliance with specific rules and
regulations—this makes it easier to ensure that your company is in compliance
with these laws and regulations. Ultimately, this can improve company reputation
and help to avoid penalties.

Performing Analyses
Performing analyses and reviewing metrics related to various aspects of the
organization can assist with better decision making and also help with spotting
patterns. For example, the human resources department is responsible for
analyzing hiring costs and calculating the turnover rate in different departments.
The results of these calculations may be used to make important business decisions
and to develop strategies for moving the organization along a successful path.
HRIS analytical tools give HR employees the ability to perform many pertinent
calculations with speed. Employees can collect the data needed within a short
period of time and then analyze all of the data in a concise and effective manner.
Some software programs are designed to create professional reports on metrics and
analysis that can help HR professionals to spot issues at a glance.
Companies can immediately enjoy many HRIS benefits once the human resources
information system has been implemented. There are several different types of
HRIS systems available for purchase, and each may offer different features and
functions. Companies should carefully review the different systems, vendors, and
features available in order to find the right program for their needs and budget.

Solutions Offered by HRIS Systems

There are a number of solutions offered to a company that adopts a HRIS. Some of
these include solutions in training, payroll, HR, compliance, and recruiting. The
majority of quality HRIS systems include flexible designs that feature databases
that are integrated with a wide range of features available. Ideally, they will also
include the ability to create reports and analyze information quickly and
accurately, in order to make the workforce easier to manage.
Through the efficiency advantages conferred by HRIS systems, a HR administrator
can obtain many hours of his or her day back instead of spending these hours
dealing with non-strategic, mundane tasks required to run the administrative side
of HR.
Similarly, a HRIS allows employees to exchange information with greater ease and
without the need for paper through the provision of a single location for
announcements, external web links, and company policies. This location is
designed to be centralized and accessed easily from anywhere within the company,
which also serves to reduce redundancy within the organization.
For example, when employees wish to complete frequently recurring activities
such as requests for time off or electronic pay stubs and changes in W-4 forms—
such procedures can be taken care of in an automated fashion without the need for
human supervision or intervention. As a result, less paperwork occurs and
approvals, when deigned, may be appropriated more efficiently and in less time.
Emerging issues and trends in Human resource records

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

Meaning of Human resource planning
Human Resource Planning is a systematic process of forecasting both the
prospective demand for and supply of manpower, and employment of skills with
the objectives of the organization. It can also be termed as the method of reviewing
the manpower necessities to ensure that right kind of skills is made available to the
organization.
The main purpose of HRP is to set the goals and objectives of the company. In
other words, it is to have the precise number of employees, with their skills
matching the requirements of the organization, so that the organization can move
towards its goals. Chief objectives of Human Resource Planning are as follows:
 Guarantee ample supply of resources, whenever there is a need for it.
 Make sure that the current manpower in the company is being used properly.
 To foresee the potential requirements of manpower at various skill levels.
 Evaluate excess or scarcity of resources that are available at a given point of
time.
 Predict the impact of technological changes on the resources as well as on
the kind of jobs they do.
 Manage the resources that are already employed in the organization.
 Ensure that there is a lead time available to pick and train any supplementary
human resource.

Importance of Human Resource Planning

 It gives the company the right kind of workforce at the right time frame and
in right figures.
 In striking a balance between demands-for and supply-of resources, HRP
helps in the optimum usage of resources and also in reducing the labor cost.
 Cautiously forecasting the future helps to supervise manpower in a better
way, thus pitfalls can be avoided.
 It helps the organization to develop a succession plan for all its employees.
In this way, it creates a way for internal promotions.
 It compels the organization to evaluate the weaknesses and strengths of
personnel thereby making the management to take remedial measures.
 The organization as a whole is benefited when it comes to increase in
productivity, profit, skills, etc., thus giving an edge over its competitors.
Human Resource Planning Process

In any Human Resource Planning model there are three key elements which the
management should adhere to:
1. Forecasting recruitment needs: There are a number of ways in forecasting
your business needs, to know the exact number of employees required to run
the business. Factors to be considered are the economical situation of any
 given country, internal and external factors of an organization and the
demand for the products.
2. Evaluate Supply: In estimating this, there are two aspects, one is the
evaluation of the internal resources and the other is the prospective or
external resources. Among the two, external factors require extra care, these
include education, unemployment rate and law that is in existence.
Evaluating these factors very closely will help the organization in filling the
right resources at the right time with the right skill set.
3. Supply and demand balance: This element of Human Resource Planning is
very important, as striking a balance between these two forces will help the
organization in understanding if there is shortage or excess of employees
available in a particular group. It also helps in understanding as to the need
of full time or part time needs of the organization.

Alternative…
What are the steps in the human resource planning process?
Step 1: Assess your current human resource capacity
Start by looking at your current human resources state of play. This will involve
analyzing the HR strength of your organization across factors including employee
numbers, skills, qualifications, experience, age, contracts, performance ratings,
titles, and compensations. During this phase, it’s a good idea to gather insight from
your managers who can provide real-world feedback on the human resource issues
they face, as well as areas in which they think changes are necessary.
Step 2: Forecast future HR requirements
You will then need to look at the future HR needs of your organization and how
human resources will be applied to meet these organizational goals. HR managers
will typically look at the market or sectoral trends, new technologies that could
automate certain processes, as well as industry analysis in order to gauge future
requirements. Of course, there are a number of factors affecting human resource
planning such as natural employee attrition, layoffs, likely vacancies, retirements,
promotions and end of contract terms. Above all of this, you will need to
understand the goals of the organization: are you entering a new market, launching
new products or services, expanding into new areas. Forecasting HR demand is a
complex task based on several dynamics. Being informed and having a seat, or at
least an ear, at boardroom level is essential if you are to make accurate HR
projections.
Step 3: Identify HR gaps
An effective human resource plan walks the fine line between supply and demand.
By assessing the current HR capacity and projecting future requirements you
should have a clear picture of any gaps that exist. Using your HR forecast you can
better judge if there will be a skills gap, for example. Should you upskill existing
employees or recruit employees who are already qualified in specific areas? Are all
current employees being utilized in the right areas or would their skills be better
suited to different roles?
Step 4: Integrate the plan with your organization’s overall strategy
After you’ve assessed your current human resources capacity, projected future HR
demands and identified the gaps, the final step is to integrate your human resources
plan with your organizational strategy. On a practical level, you will need a
dedicated budget for human resources recruiting, training or redundancies, and you
will also need management buy-in across the business. You will need cooperation
and the necessary finances in order to implement the plan and a collaborative
approach from all departments to put it into practice. Learn about the benefits of
strategic human resource management.

Techniques of forecasting human resource needs

Human resource demand forecasting is the process of estimating the future
quantity and quality of people required. The basis of the forecast must be the
annual budget and long-term corporate plan, translated into activity levels for each
function and department. In a manufacturing company, the sales budget would be
translated into a production plan giving the number and type of products to be
produced in each period. From this information, the number of hours to be worked
by each skilled category to make the quota for each period, would be computed.
Once the hours are available, determining the quality and quantity of personnel
will be the logical step.
HR Demand forecasting must consider several factors-both external as well
as internal. Among the external factors are competition (foreign and domestic),
economic climate, laws and regulatory bodies, changes in technology, and social
factors. Internal factors include budget constraints, production levels, new products
and services, organisational structure, and employee separations. Demand
forecasting is common among organisations, though they may not do personnel-
supply forecasting.
Forecasting Techniques: HR Forecasting techniques vary from simple to
sophisticated ones. Before describing each technique, it may be stated that
organisations generally follow more than one technique. The techniques are:
1. Ratio-trend analysis:-This is the quickest HR forecasting technique. The
technique involves studying past ratios, say, between the number of workers and
sales in an organisation and forecasting future ratios, making some allowance or
changes in the organisation or its methods.
2. Regression analysis:-This is similar to ratio-trend analysis in that forecast
is based on the relationship between sales volume and employee size.
3. Work study techniques:-Work-study techniques can be used when it
is possible to apply work measurement to calculate length of operations and
the amount of labor required.
4. Delphi technique:-Delphi Technique Named after the ancient Greek Oracle
at the city of Delphi, the Delphi technique is a method of forecasting personnel
needs. It solicits estimates of personnel needs from a group of experts, usually
managers.
5. Flow models:-Flow models are very frequently associated with forecasting
personnel needs. The simplest one is called the Markov model.
6. Other forecasting techniques:-New venture analysis will be useful when new
ventures contemplate employment planning. This technique requires planners
to estimate HR needs in line with companies that perform similar operations.

TOPIC 5: JOB ANALYSIS

Meaning of job analysis
Job analysis is a systematic and detailed examination of jobs. It is the process of
collecting information about a job — that is, the knowledge, skills, and the
experience needed to carry out a job effectively. The jobholder is supposed to
possess job-related knowledge useful to carry out the job easily.

 Job Analysis is a method of collecting and studying about the information

related to a particular job. It includes the operations and tasks of a specific
job.
 Another meaning of Job analysis is a complete examination of activities in a
job. It can be considered a technical procedure that can be used to classify
the duties and responsibilities of a job.
 It can also be defined as a group of tasks which can be performed by a lone
employee towards the production of some services or products of an
organization.
If we take it in a specific manner, Job Analysis involves the below steps:
→ Recording and collecting the information related to a job.
→ To check the accuracy of the job information.
→ Note down the Job Description as per the data gathered.
→ Use the data to determine the skills and knowledge that is required for a
particular job.
→ Updating the gathered information from time to time.

The process of job analysis

How to conduct job analysis? We should perform eight steps as follows for
conducting job analysis.
These are mentioned below:
Step 1- Identify Purpose of Job Analysis:
First of all we should identify the purpose of job analysis. Otherwise we will not be
able to collect all the pertinent information concerning job analysis and job
analysis methods.
Step 2- Selection of Analyst:
We have to choose analyst to whom responsibilities will be assigned for job
analysis. The analysts will be taken from professional human resource, line
managers, incumbents or consultants.
Step 3- Selection of Method:
We will select representative positions to analyze because it may not be necessary
to analyze all jobs and there may be too many similar jobs to analyze. After
selecting representative jobs we must identify the appropriate method which is the
best one in order to analyze a particular job.
Step 4 -Train the Analyst:
If we use internal analyst then we have to give them appropriate training so that
they can use the selected methods of job analysis in an efficient and effective way.
Step 5- Preparation of Job Analysis:
It includes communicate the project in the organization and preparing the
documentation.
Step 6- Collection of Data:
Job analysts will collect data relating to job activities, employee behaviours,
working conditions, human traits and abilities to perform the job, etc.
Step 7- Review and Verify:
Analysts must verify the collected data to confirm that the information is factually
correct and complete.
Step 8- Develop a Job Description and Job Specification:
Develop a job description and job specification from the job analysis information.
A job description is a written statement that describes the activities and
responsibilities of the job, working conditions, safety and hazards. A job
specification summarizes the personal qualities, traits, skills, and background
required for getting the job done.
Importance of job analysis
1. Facilitates Manpower Planning:
Job analysis is the qualitative aspect of manpower requirements. It determines the
demands of the job in terms of responsibilities and duties and then translates these
demands into skills, qualities and other human attributes.
It determines the quantum of work which an average person can perform on the job
in a day. It facilitates the division of work into different jobs. Thus, it is an
essential element of manpower planning as it matches jobs with men.
2. Helps Recruitment, Selection and Placement:
In order to hire the right person on a job, it is essential to know the requirements of
the job and the qualities of the individual who will perform it. The information
regarding these is procured from job description and job specifications
respectively. These help the management in matching the job requirements as
closely as possible with workers’ aptitudes, abilities, interests, etc. It facilitates the
execution of employment programme.
3. Determines Training and Development Needs:
Job analysis determines the levels of standards of job performance. It helps in
administering the training development programmes. Job descriptions and job
specifications are written documents. If the contents of these two documents are
known to the employees, they will try to acquire the skills and knowledge required
to perform the task assigned to them efficiently.
They may also prepare themselves for the higher post in the light of the job
description and the job specifications. The same information may be used by those
who administer the training and development programmes for determining the
contents and subject matter needed in such programmes.
4. Determines Job Evaluation:
Job evaluation aims at determining the relative worth of the job which helps in
determining the compensation of job. These jobs are evaluated in terms of money.
An accurate and comprehensive set of job descriptions and the job specifications
forms of factual basis for evaluating the worth of the job.
5. Provides Data for Performance Appraisal:
Job analysis data provide a clear-cut standard of performance for every job. The
performance of employee can be appraised objectively with the standard of job
performance so established. A supervisor may very easily compare the contribution
of each man with the set standards.
6. Helps Job Designing:
Industrial engineers may use the job analysis information in designing the job by
making the comprehensive study of the job elements. It helps in time and motion
study, work-specifications, methods and workplace improvement and work-
measurement. Human engineering activities such as physical, mental and
psychological actions are studied with the help of job analysis information.
7. Ensures Safety and Health:
The job analysis process uncovers the hazardous and unhealthy environmental
factors such as heat, noise, fumes, dust, etc. related with the jobs. The management
may take corrective measures to minimize the chances of risks to ensure safety to
workers and avoid unhealthy conditions.
8. Maintains Discipline:
Job analysis provides the information regarding characteristics of various jobs and
the job-holders. It studies the failure of the workman to meet the required standard
of performance. Corrective measures may be taken in time to avoid untoward
situations. In this way it helps in maintaining the discipline in the industry.

Use of job analysis information

A comprehensive job analysis programme can be used as a foundation and as an
essential ingredient for all the functions and areas of personnel management and
industrial relations.
A brief description of uses of job analysis is as follows:
(1) Employment:
Job analysis is useful as a guide in every phase of employment process like
manpower planning, recruitment selections, placement, orientation induction, and
in performance appraisal as it gives the information about, duties, tasks and
responsibilities, etc.
(2) Organisation Audit:
Job information obtained by job analysis often reveals instances of poor
organisation in terms of the factors affecting job design. The analysis process,
therefore, constitutes a kind of organisation audit.
(3) Training and Development Programmes:
Description of duties and equipment used is of great help in developing the content
of training and development programmes. Needs of training and developing are
identified with the help of job description. Further, the training programmes are
also evaluated with the standards of job analysis.
(4) Performance Appraisal:
Instead of rating an employee on characteristics such as dependability there is now
a tendency toward establishing job goals and appraising the work done toward
those goals. In this type of appraisal, a job description is useful in defining the
areas in which job goals should be established.
(5) Promotion and Transfer:
Job information helps in charting the channel of promotion and in showing lateral
lines of transfer.
(6) Preventing Dissatisfaction and Settling Complaints:
Job information can be used as a standard in preventing and settling complaints
related to work load, nature of work, work procedure, etc., alteration or revisions
of job description, etc.
(7) Discipline:
Job information can be used as a standard when discipline is being considered for
standard performance.
(8) Restriction of Employment Activity for Health Reasons and Early
Retirement:
When employees are unable to maintain the standard of job performance due to old
age or health hazards, they may opt for early retirement or the organisation may
retrench their services.
(9) Wage and Salary Administration:
Job analysis is the basis for job evaluation. Basically wage and salary levels are
fixed on the basis of job evaluation which takes into consideration the content of
the job in terms of tasks, duties, responsibilities, risks, hazards, etc.
(10) Health and Safety:
Job description provides the information about hazardous and unhealthy
conditions, accident prone areas etc.
(11) Induction:
Job description is a standard function as the employee is provided with the
information about the job.
(12) Industrial Relations:
A job description is a standard function to solve industrial disputes and to maintain
sound industrial relations. If an employee attempts to add or to delete some duties
from the ones listed in job description, the standard has been violated. The labour
union as well as management’s interest has been violated.
The labour union as well as management is interested in this matter. Controversies
often result, and a written record of the standard job description is valuable in
resolving such disputes. Despite these uses, job analysis is also a target of
criticism.

Techniques of conducting job analysis

There are several techniques that can be used for the purpose of collection of data.
The important among them are-
(i) Interviews,
(ii) Direct observations,
(iii) Maintenance of long records,
(iv)Questionnaires,
(v) Critical incident technique, etc.
In practice, these techniques may be used individually, or in possible
combinations.
(i) Interviews:
There are two types of interviews which can be used for collection of data for job
analysis, viz., individual interviews (with groups of employees who do the same
job) and supervisory interviews (with one or more supervisors who are thoroughly
knowledgeable about the job being analyzed).
(ii) Direct Observation:
Direct observation is particularly useful in jobs that consist primarily of observable
physical activity like draftsman, mechanics, etc. One approach to this method is by
observing the worker on the job during a complete work cycle. In this process,
notes should be taken regarding all the job activities observed. The next stage is
interviewing the worker and getting the additional information from him. The other
approach is to observe and interview simultaneously.
(iii) Maintenance of Long Records:
In this technique the workers are asked to maintain and keep daily records or list of
activities they are doing on that day. For every activity he engages in, the
employee records the activity in the list given. This technique provides
comprehensive job information and it is much useful when it is supplemented with
subsequent interviews.
(iv) Questionnaires:
Many companies use job analysis questionnaires to secure information on job
requirement relating to typical duties and tasks, tools and equipments used, etc.
(v) Critical Incident Technique:
The critical incident technique for job analysis is especially useful for scientific
analysis, and selection research. In this technique, incidents are short examples of
successful or unsuccessful job behaviour. After many incidents are collected they
are classified into behavioural categories.
These categories describe specific desired job behaviours and can be useful in
recruitment and selection decisions. The job analysis information, thus collected is
useful to the personnel department to prepare the forms detailing as job
descriptions, job specification and job standards.
There are three important sub-systems in job analysis. They are job description, job
specification and employee specification.
TOPIC 6: RECRUITMENT
Meaning of recruitment
Recruitment is a positive process of searching for prospective employees and
stimulating them to apply for the jobs in the organisation. When more persons
apply for jobs then there will be a scope for recruiting better persons.
The job-seekers too, on the other hand, are in search of organisations offering them
employment. Recruitment is a linkage activity bringing together those with jobs
and those seeking jobs. In simple words, the term recruitment refers to discovering
the source from where potential employees may be selected. The scientific
recruitment process leads to higher productivity, better wages, high morale,
reduction in labour turnover and enhanced reputation. It stimulates people to apply
for jobs; hence it is a positive process.
Recruitment is concerned with reaching out, attracting, and ensuring a supply of
qualified personnel and making out selection of requisite manpower both in their
quantitative and qualitative aspect. It is the development and maintenance of
adequate man- power resources. This is the first stage of the process of selection
and is completed with placement.
According to Edwin B. Flippo, “It is a process of searching for prospective
employees and stimulating and encouraging them to apply for jobs in an
organisation.” He further elaborates it, terming it both negative and positive.
He says, “It is often termed positive in that it stimulates people to apply for jobs, to
increase the hiring ratio, i.e. the number of applicants for a job. Selection, on the
other hand, tends to be negative because it rejects a good number of those who
apply, leaving only the best to be hired. ”

Sources of candidates in a recruitment exercise

There are two broad sources of recruitment – internal and external. A brief
description of each source follows:
1. Internal Sources of Recruitment: Existing employees of an organization
provide the internal sources in the main. Whenever any vacancy arises, someone
from within the organization is upgraded, transferred, promoted or even demoted.
Retrenched employees, retired employees, dependents deceased employees may
also constitute the internal sources. The major internal sources of recruitment are
as under.
a. Promotion and Transfers: The most important source of filling vacancies from
within is through transfers and promotions. A transfer is a lateral movement within
the same grade, from one job to another. They may lead to changes in duties and
responsibilities, working conditions, etc. but not necessarily salary. Promotion, on
the other hand, involves movement of employees from a lower level position to a
higher level position accompanied by (usually) changes in authority, duties,
responsibilities, status and remuneration. Organizations generally prepare a central
pool of persons from which vacancies can be filled in. such persons are usually
posted to various departments, depending of internal requirements.
b. Job posting: Job posting is another way of hiring people from within. In job
posting, the organization publicizes job openings on bulletin boards, electronic
media and similar outlets. One of the important advantages of this method is that it
offers a chance to highly qualified applicants working within the company to look
for growth opportunities within the company without looking for external
opportunities.
c. Employee referrals: Employee referral means using personal contacts to locate
job opportunities. It is a recommendation from a current employee regarding a job
applicant. The logic behind employee referral is that “it takes one to know one”.
Employees working in the organization, in this case, are encouraged to recommend
the names of their friends working in other organizations for a possible vacancy in
the near future. In fact, this has become a popular way of recruiting people in the
highly competitive IT industry now-a-days. Companies offer rewards also to
employees whose recommendations are accepted – after the routine screening and
examining process is over and job offers extended to the suggested candidates. As
a goodwill gesture, companies also consider the names recommended by unions
from time to time.

2. External Sources of Recruitment: The sources of recruitment that are used to

hire people from outside the organization may be many but a few most important
among them are discussed below:

a. Advertisements: When an organization desires to communicate to the public

that it has a vacancy, advertisement is one of the most popular methods used.
However, the media of advertisement preferred is often determined by the type of
job.
As, of fact the higher the position in the organization, the more specialized the
skills, or the shorter the supply of the resource in the labor force, the more widely
dispersed the advertisement is likely to be. The search for a manager, for example,
might include advertisement through internet, in national dailies, specialized
journals, etc. on the other hand, the advertisement for lower level jobs in usually
confined to the local dailies.
Many organizations prefer what is referred to as a blind advertisement in which
identification of the organizations is not disclosed. Respondents are usually asked
to reply to a post office box number. This is especially preferred when the position
that the organization wishes to fill is expected to draw an extraordinary number of
applications. Using the blind ad relieves the organization from having to respond to
any individual who applies. Only those individuals the organization wishes to see
are notified; the remaining are not as if the application was never received. This
method is appropriate when (A) the organization intends to reach a large target
group and (b) the organization wants a fairly good number of potential candidates
who are geographically dispersed to apply for the advertised vacancies. Let’s
briefly examine the wide variety of alternatives available to a company as far as
ads are concerned:
i. Internet ads: In the age of globalization prospective candidates for specialized
jobs in large organizations, especially MNCs may be attracted through internet ads.
Such ads do have world wide access to highly qualified people having internet
connections.
ii. Newspaper ads: Ads in newspapers may be published without much of a lead
time. It has flexibility in terms of information and can conveniently target a
specific geographic location. On the negative side, newspaper ads tend to attract
only those who are actively seeking employment at that point of time, while some
of the best candidates who are well paid and challenged by their current jobs may
not be aware of such openings. As a result, the company may be bombarded with
applications from a large number of candidates who are marginally qualified for
the jobs, adding to its administrative burden.
iii. Television and radio ads: These ads are more likely to reach individuals who
are not actively seeking employment, they are more likely to stand out distinctly,
they help the organization to target the audience more selectively and they offer
considerable scope for designing the message creatively. However, these ads are
expensive. Also, because the television or radio is simply seen or heard, potential
candidates may have a tough time remembering the details, making application
difficult.
b. Employment agencies: There are three forms of employment agencies – public
employment agencies, private employment agencies, and management consulting
firms.
i. Public employment agencies: Most public agencies tend to attract and list
individuals who are unskilled or have had minimum training this, of course, does
not reflect on the agency’s competence. Rather, it reflects the image of public
agencies. Such agencies are perceived by prospective applicants as having few
high skilled jobs, and employers also tend to see such agencies as having few high
skilled applicants. Therefore public agencies tend to attract and place
predominantly low skilled workers.
ii. Private Employment Agencies: How does a private agency, which has to
charge for its services, compete with state agencies that give their services almost
free? Clearly, they must do something different from what the public agencies do,
or at least give that impressing.
The major difference between public and private employment agencies is their
image. That is, private agencies are believed to offer positions to applicants of a
higher caliber. Private agencies also provide a more complete line of services.
They advertise the position, screen applicants against the criteria specified by the
employer, and usually provide a guarantee covering six months or a year as
protection to the employer should the applicant not perform satisfactorily.
The private employment agency’s fee can be totally observed by either the
employer or the employee, or it can be split. The alternative chosen usually
depends on the demand – supply situation in the community involved.
iii. Headhunters: The third agency source consists of head
hunting management consulting or executive search firms. Agencies of this type
are actually specialized private employment agencies. They specialize in middle-
level and top-level executive placements. In addition to the level at which they
recruit, the features that distinguish executive search agencies from most private
employment agencies are their fees, their nationwide contacts, and the
thoroughness of their investigations.
Executive search firms canvass their contacts and do preliminary screening. They
seek out highly effective executives who have the skills to do the job, can
effectively adjust to the organization, and most important are willing to consider
new challenges and opportunities.
c. Unsolicited Applicants / Walk – ins: Companies generally receive unsolicited
applications from job seekers at various points of time. The number of such
applications depends on economic condition, image of the company and job
seeker’s perception of the types of jobs that may be available, etc. such
applications are generally kept in a data bank and whenever suitable vacancy
arises, the company would intimate the candidate to apply through formal channel.
d. Temporary help Services: This can be a source of employees when individuals
are needed on a temporary basis. Temporary employees are particularly valuable in
meeting short term fluctuations in personnel needs. The firms that take resort to
such type of recruiting source also enjoy the benefit of avoiding the burden of
excess employees.
e. Campus Recruitment: It is a method of recruiting by visiting and participating
in university campuses and their placement centers. Here the recruiters visit
reputes education institutions with a view to pick up job aspirants having requisite
technical or professional skills. Job seekers are provided information about the jobs
and the recruiters, in turn, get a snapshot of job seekers through constant
interchange of information with respective institutions. A preliminary screening is
done within the campus and the shortlisted students are then subjected to the
remainder of the selection process.
If campus recruiting is used, steps should be taken by the Human Resource
Department to ensure that the recruiters are knowledgeable about the jobs that are
to be filled and are capable of employing effective interviewing skills.

f. Professional Organization: Organization like the chambers of commerce and

industries, engineer’s institutions, management associations, etc. may act as
external sources of recruitment. These lists to members. It is also common practice
to provide placement facilities at regional and national meetings where individuals
looking for employment and companies looking for employees can find each other.

Emerging issues and trends in employee recruitment

In terms of recruitment trends, 2020 will bring a fresh set of recruiting trends that
will significantly impact your recruiting process. Are you ready to implement them
or will you be left behind?
We bring you the 15 top recruiting trends for 2020 that you need to start
implementing ASAP, otherwise, you will end up being the loser in the war for
talent before the year ends!
It’s a candidate driven market out there
The way we recruit has changed. Compared to just a few years ago, candidates
now have far more power during the job search.
According to research and every recruiter and HR professional everyday work
experience, the current job market is 90% candidate driven. That means you don’t
pick talent anymore. Talent picks you.
Consequently, finding and hiring ideal job candidates, especially those with in-
demand skills, has become an extremely hard, expensive and time-consuming.
That’s why there is a major shift going on in recruiting paradigm. The focus is now
on candidates, who are being treated like customers.
The change of paradigm brings a whole new set of buzzwords and new recruiting
trends. We highlighted 15 most important among recent trends in recruiting that
will have the greatest overall impact on the recruitment industry in 2020.

1. Recruitment Marketing
What is recruitment marketing?
Recruitment marketing strategy is based on the implementation of marketing
tactics in recruiting. Recruitment marketing is the process of nurturing and
attracting talented individuals to your organization using marketing methods and
tactics.
The importance of recruitment marketing
Recruitment marketing is a discipline that has been introduced as a consequence of
the current situation in the labor market. Its main goal is to follow the latest trends
in the market and offer solutions to the companies that best overcome these new
challenges. Companies that first adopt these new recruiting best practices will be
more likely to attract talent. This is why Recruitment Marketing will be at the sole
top of the recruitment trends 2020. 

2. Inbound Recruiting
What is inbound recruiting?
Inbound Recruiting is a recruitment marketing strategy where you proactively and
continually attract candidates with the goal to make them choose you as their
next employer. Your goal in inbound recruiting is to attract, convert and engage
candidates.
The importance of inbound recruiting
Lately, there has been a switch from outbound to inbound recruiting. Simply
reaching out to the candidates and offering an open position is not the way to
attract talent anymore. If you are looking for a long-term solution to advance your
recruiting and hiring strategy, inbound recruiting is the recruitment trend you
should adopt. 
3. Employer Branding  
What is employer brand?
Employer brand is the term commonly used to describe an organization's
reputation and popularity as an employer, and its employee value proposition, as
opposed to its more general corporate brand reputation and value proposition to
customers. Employer branding ideas are essential for building a strong and
attractive employer brand.
The importance of employer branding
Research by LinkedIn has proven that more than 75% of job seekers research
about a company’s reputation and employer brand before applying. Companies
with a bad reputation not only struggle to attract candidates, but they also struggle
to retain employees. This is why employer branding is one of the top recruitment
trends of 2020! 

4. Candidate experience
What is the candidate experience?
“Candidate experience” is current, past and potential future candidates’ overall
perception of your company’s recruiting process. It is based on candidates’
feelings, behaviors and attitudes they experience during the whole recruiting
process, from sourcing and screening to interviewing, hiring and finally
onboarding.
The importance of candidate experience
Why is paying attention to your candidate experience another extremely important
recruitment trend you should adopt in 2020?
Because candidates who had a positive candidate experience in your recruiting
process will more likely accept your job offer, reapply in future and refer others
to your company.
On the flip side, a negative candidate experience can cost you more than a few
candidates - it can even lose your company big bucks! The most famous example
of this is the case of Virgin Media, a company who calculated that a bad candidate
experience costs them a shocking $5.4 million annually!
5. Talent pools
What is a talent pool?
Talent pool refers to a place or database where recruiters and HR Managers keep
all of their top job candidates. Talent pools make not only candidates that have
applied for jobs, but also sourced, referred candidates, silver medallists and
candidates that have willingly joined your pool in an inbound way.
The importance of talent pool
Imagine if every time you had a job opening, you had a pool of talent from which
you can just pick the best one! Sounds great, right? This is the reason why many
recruiters have already adopted this recruitment trend and started building a high-
quality candidate database for current and future needs. 

6. Candidate Relationship Management

What is candidate relationship management?
Candidate relationship management (CRM) is a method for managing and
improving relationships with current and potential future job candidates.
The importance of candidate relationship management?
Having a strong candidate relationship management has quickly become one of the
top 2020 recruitment trends. This relatively new method of recruiting was
introduced to the world of talent acquisition as a solution to one of the biggest
challenges in the HR industry - attracting talent. 
7. Social Recruiting
What is social recruiting?
Social recruiting is using social media channels for recruiting. The term refers to
different ways of using social media networks (such as Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn etc.) and websites (blogs, forums, job boards and websites like Glassdoor
for example) to find, attract and hire talent.
The importance of social recruiting
Social recruiting goes beyond posting current vacant jobs ads on your company’s
social network accounts. It offers so much more! You can use social media
networks to proactively search for potential candidates, build a relationship with
them and encourage them to apply for your vacant job positions. Because of all the
possibilities it offers, Social recruiting has become one of the top 2020 recruitment
trends. 
Make sure to implement an employee advocacy program. You need your
employees for a successful talent attraction strategy. 

 8. LOGIN FREE TRIAL

15 New Recruiting Trends You Should Implement in 2020

Anja Zojceska | 9/24/2018 | HR Trends
This list of 2020 recruiting trends should be your guide for improving your
recruiting strategy. 2020 will bring a new set of recruiting trends that will
significantly impact your recruiting process. Are you ready to implement these
new recruiting trends or will you be left behind?

Importance of implementing new recruiting trends in 2020

In terms of recruitment trends, 2020 will bring a fresh set of recruiting
trends that will significantly impact your recruiting process. Are you ready to
implement them or will you be left behind?
We bring you the 15 top recruiting trends for 2020 that you need to start
implementing ASAP, otherwise, you will end up being the loser in the war for
talent before the year ends!
It’s a candidate driven market out there
The way we recruit has changed. Compared to just a few years ago, candidates
now have far more power during the job search.
According to research and every recruiter and HR professional everyday work
experience, the current job market is 90% candidate driven. That means you
don’t pick talent anymore. Talent picks you.
Consequently, finding and hiring ideal job candidates, especially those with in-
demand skills, has become an extremely hard, expensive and time-consuming.
➡️Get our guide for finding high-quality job candidates! 
That’s why there is a major shift going on in recruiting paradigm. The focus is
now on candidates, who are being treated like customers.
The change of paradigm brings a whole new set of buzzwords and new recruiting
trends. We highlighted 15 most important among recent trends in recruiting that
will have the greatest overall impact on the recruitment industry in 2020.
Top recruiting trend no. 1: Recruitment Marketing
What is recruitment marketing?
Recruitment marketing strategy is based on the implementation of marketing
tactics in recruiting. Recruitment marketing is the process of nurturing and
attracting talented individuals to your organization using marketing methods and
tactics.
The importance of recruitment marketing
Recruitment marketing is a discipline that has been introduced as a consequence of
the current situation in the labor market. Its main goal is to follow the latest trends
in the market and offer solutions to the companies that best overcome these new
challenges. Companies that first adopt these new recruiting best practices will be
more likely to attract talent. This is why Recruitment Marketing will be at the sole
top of the recruitment trends 2020. 

Top recruiting trend no. 2: Inbound Recruiting

What is inbound recruiting?
Inbound Recruiting is a recruitment marketing strategy where you proactively and
continually attract candidates with the goal to make them choose you as their
next employer. Your goal in inbound recruiting is to attract, convert and engage
candidates.
The importance of inbound recruiting
Lately, there has been a switch from outbound to inbound recruiting. Simply
reaching out to the candidates and offering an open position is not the way to
attract talent anymore. If you are looking for a long-term solution to advance your
recruiting and hiring strategy, inbound recruiting is the recruitment trend you
should adopt. 
Top recruiting trend no. 3: Employer Branding  
What is employer brand?
Employer brand is the term commonly used to describe an organization's
reputation and popularity as an employer, and its employee value proposition, as
opposed to its more general corporate brand reputation and value proposition to
customers. Employer branding ideas are essential for building a strong and
attractive employer brand.
The importance of employer branding
Research by LinkedIn has proven that more than 75% of job seekers research
about a company’s reputation and employer brand before applying. Companies
with a bad reputation not only struggle to attract candidates, but they also struggle
to retain employees. This is why employer branding is one of the top recruitment
trends of 2020! 

Top recruiting trend no. 4: Candidate experience

What is the candidate experience?
“Candidate experience” is current, past and potential future candidates’ overall
perception of your company’s recruiting process. It is based on candidates’
feelings, behaviors and attitudes they experience during the whole recruiting
process, from sourcing and screening to interviewing, hiring and finally
onboarding.
The importance of candidate experience
Why is paying attention to your candidate experience another extremely important
recruitment trend you should adopt in 2020?
Because candidates who had a positive candidate experience in your recruiting
process will more likely accept your job offer, reapply in future and refer others
to your company.
On the flip side, a negative candidate experience can cost you more than a few
candidates - it can even lose your company big bucks! The most famous example
of this is the case of Virgin Media, a company who calculated that a bad candidate
experience costs them a shocking $5.4 million annually!

Top recruiting trend no. 5: Talent pools

What is a talent pool?
Talent pool refers to a place or database where recruiters and HR Managers keep
all of their top job candidates. Talent pools make not only candidates that have
applied for jobs, but also sourced, referred candidates, silver medallists and
candidates that have willingly joined your pool in an inbound way.
The importance of talent pool
Imagine if every time you had a job opening, you had a pool of talent from which
you can just pick the best one! Sounds great, right? This is the reason why many
recruiters have already adopted this recruitment trend and started building a high-
quality candidate database for current and future needs. 
Top recruiting trend no. 6: Candidate Relationship Management
What is candidate relationship management?
Candidate relationship management (CRM) is a method for managing and
improving relationships with current and potential future job candidates.
The importance of candidate relationship management?
Having a strong candidate relationship management has quickly become one of the
top 2020 recruitment trends. This relatively new method of recruiting was
introduced to the world of talent acquisition as a solution to one of the biggest
challenges in the HR industry - attracting talent. 
Top recruiting trend no. 7: Social Recruiting
What is social recruiting?
Social recruiting is using social media channels for recruiting. The term refers to
different ways of using social media networks (such as Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn etc.) and websites (blogs, forums, job boards and websites like Glassdoor
for example) to find, attract and hire talent.
The importance of social recruiting
Social recruiting goes beyond posting current vacant jobs ads on your company’s
social network accounts. It offers so much more! You can use social media
networks to proactively search for potential candidates, build a relationship with
them and encourage them to apply for your vacant job positions. Because of all the
possibilities it offers, Social recruiting has become one of the top 2020 recruitment
trends. 
Make sure to implement an employee advocacy program. You need your
employees for a successful talent attraction strategy. 

8. Recruitment automation tools

What are recruitment automation tools?
Simply put, recruitment automation tools are software that use new technology
to automate recruiting process. Automation of recruiting process has been
around for a while, but now it will go beyond HRIS, Applicant Tracking System
(ATS) and Recruitment Marketing Software. The new trend is software that offer 2
in 1 tools - integrate both ATS and Recruitment Marketing solutions under one
platform.
The importance of recruitment automation tools
These new all in one tools offer help in finding, attracting, engaging, nurturing
and converting candidates into applicants. They also streamline, simplify and
automate hiring process, making it faster and more efficient. Those organizations
that have up till now been too slow to incorporate automation into their recruitment
systems are in danger of losing the best candidates to their more forward-thinking
competitors. This is why using recruitment tools is successful recruiters' favorite
recruitment trend! 

9. GDPR
What is GDPR?
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new piece of EU legislation that
will replace the current Data Protection Act (DPA) with the goal to unify data
regulations within the EU.
The importance of GDPR
GDPR will give people greater control over their personal information, which
means it will completely change the way recruiting operates in 2020. It will be
introduced on 25th May 2018 at which time those organizations in non-compliance
will face heavy fines. This is one the most recent trends in recruitment!

10. Data-driven recruiting and HR Analytics

What are data-driven recruiting and HR analytics?
Data-Driven Recruiting and HR Analytics are expressions used to
demonstrate recruiting methods in which planning and decision making are based
on data acquired through HR technology such as Applicants Tracking
Systems and Recruitment Marketing Platforms.
The importance of data-driven recruiting and HR analytics
Using data-driven metrics is a recruitment trend that can give you some great
insights on which parts of your hiring strategy work well, and which ones have
room for improvement. Paying attention to your HR analytics and using data-
driven recruiting has proven to improve some of the most important hiring
metrics such as time to hire, cost to hire and quality of hire. 

11. Employee referrals

Employee referral programs are definitively one of the most productive ways of
hiring talent and filling open positions.
May research has proven that referred employees take shortest to hire and onboard,
and require way less money.
That being said, we had to put employee referrals to our list of best recruitment
trends for 2020!

12. Talent Sourcing

Proactive talent sourcing has become a must-have recruitment strategy.
LinkedIn research has shown that only about 36% of potential candidates are job
seekers. However, more than 90% of them are interested in hearing about new job
opportunities.

13. Collaborative hiring

Collaborative hiring is a hiring method in which both HR teams and teams from
other departments work together to find and hire talent. Collaborative hiring is
extremely important as it significantly improves the quality of new hires. 
Consequently, turnover rates drop which positively effects the overall recruitment
and hiring strategy. For all of these reasons, collaborative hiring was chosen as top
15 recruitment trends for 2020!

14. Structured interviews

Structured interviews are becoming the most popular interview type among many
employers.
Why?
Here are a few advantages of structured interviews:
 effectiveness
 objectiveness
 fairness
 Legal defensibility.

15. Strategic alignment

Recruiting and hiring should be aligned with the overall business strategy! As
companies can't grow without people, recruiting talent should be more
strategic. 
What does this mean?
In order for recruiting to be more strategic, it is necessary to identify company's
future needs and goals. Based on that current and potential future skill gaps should
be identified. 
Based on the results, HR teams should plan their hiring efforts to support business
growth!

TOPIC 7: EMPLOYEE SELECTION

Meaning of employee selection
Employee Selection is the process of interviewing and evaluating the candidates
for a specific job and selecting an individual for employment based on certain
criteria (qualifications, skills and Experience). Employee selection can range from
a very simple process to a very complicated process depending on the firm hiring
and the position. Certain employment laws such as anti-discrimination laws must
be obeyed during employee selection.

Employee selection process

The employee selection process usually entails notification or advertising,
reviewing, screening, interviewing, testing then selecting the best available
candidate.

The Employee selection Process takes place in following order-

1. Preliminary Interviews- It is used to eliminate those candidates who do not
meet the minimum eligiblity criteria laid down by the organization. The
skills, academic and family background, competencies and interests of the
candidate are examined during preliminary interview. Preliminary
interviews are less formalized and planned than the final interviews. The
candidates are given a brief up about the company and the job profile; and it
is also examined how much the candidate knows about the company.
Preliminary interviews are also called screening interviews.
2. Application blanks- The candidates who clear the preliminary interview are
required to fill application blank. It contains data record of the candidates
such as details about age, qualifications, reason for leaving previous job,
experience, etc.
3. Written Tests- Various written tests conducted during selection procedure
are aptitude test, intelligence test, reasoning test, personality test, etc. These
tests are used to objectively assess the potential candidate. They should not
be biased.
4. Employment Interviews- It is a one to one interaction between the
interviewer and the potential candidate. It is used to find whether the
candidate is best suited for the required job or not. But such interviews
consume time and money both. Moreover the competencies of the candidate
cannot be judged. Such interviews may be biased at times. Such interviews
should be conducted properly. No distractions should be there in room.
 There should be an honest communication between candidate and
interviewer.
5. Medical examination- Medical tests are conducted to ensure physical
fitness of the potential employee. It will decrease chances of employee
absenteeism.
6. Appointment Letter- A reference check is made about the candidate
selected and then finally he is appointed by giving a formal appointment
letter.

Employee selection methods

1.  General Mental Ability (GMA)

GMA (a.k.a., cognitive ability or g) is possibly the single most effective tool for
selection.  In fact, this approach is effective at predicting future performance in
every type of job, at all job levels (from entry-level to CEO) and in every industry.
GMA can be assessed in a variety of ways, from 30 minute paper and pencil tests
like the Wonderlic, to more expensive online computer adaptive tests.  Both
computer and paper & pencil tests are equally valid, allowing organizations to
select the approach that fits best.

2. Structured interviews

These are not your standard interviews that start with “So tell me about
yourself…” In structured or behaviorally-based interviews, applicants are asked a
series of specific, predetermined, job-related questions while their responses are
scored using detailed criteria (often presented in a scoring guide that provides
detailed descriptions on what constitutes each rating). An “interview panel”
approach is often used, where 2-3 trained managers ask the questions and score
each response separately. After the interview, their ratings are compared to
determine the consistency or interrater reliability. When responses are scored
inconsistently, interviewers discuss their rationale and come to consensus.

3.  Situational Judgment Tests (SJT)

These tests have been described as the multiple-choice equivalent to structured
interviews.  In SJTs, applicants are asked to choose how they would respond to
a variety of hypothetical situations that are relevant to the target job.  Results
indicate how that particular applicant will behave when faced with particular
situations and decisions.  The ability of this method to predict how applicants will
respond to complicated decisions makes SJTs one of the best approaches for
managerial and technical positions.

What about combining these methods?

YES!  It is important to note that combining more than one instrument or
method can greatly improve the predictive validity of your hiring process.  For
example, combining GMA tests with structured interviews will be much more
effective than using either of them alone.   Also, using any of these three methods
would be better than evaluating applicant resumes and giving unstructured
interviews or non-validated off-the-shelf tests.

Conclusion
There are countless tools, methods, and approaches to making good selection
decisions.  However, according to decades of applied organizational research the
ones described above are the most successful, accessible methods for finding those
diamonds in the rough.  It is important to note that other valid methods were
intentionally left out:  Assessment Centers were not described because they are not
a realistic approach for many jobs and organizations.
We have designed, developed, and validated selection processes for numerous
public and private clients over the years.  To leave you, reader, with a final
thought, we have found that when job analyses are used a foundation to develop
(or select appropriate off-the-shelf) selection tests, they pay off big in terms of
improved performance, productivity, environment, and retention.
Emerging issues and trends in employee selection
Assignment
TOPIC 8: PLACEMENT AND INDUCTION
Meaning of placement
When the candidate is selected for a particular post and when he reports to duty,
the organization has to place him or her in the job for which he or she is selected
which is being done through placement. Placement is the act of offering the job to
a finally selected candidate. It is the act of finally assigning the rank and
responsibility to an employee, identifying him with a particular job.
“Placement is the determination of the job to which an accepted candidate is to be
assigned and his assignment to that job. It is a matching of what the supervisor has
reason to think he can do with the job demands. It is a matching of what he
imposes in strain, working conditions and what he offers in the form of pay roll,
companionship with others, promotional possibilities etc.”

Meaning of induction
According to Edwin B.Flippo, “Induction is concerned with introducing or
orienting a new employee to the organisation. It is the welcoming process to make
the new employee feel at home and generate in him a feeling of belongingness to
the organisation”. It is the first step in a proper communication policy which seeks
to build a two-way channel of information between the management and
employees.

Importance of proper placement

1. If the employees are properly placed, they will enjoy their work and organisation
will not have to suffer the problem of employee turnover.
2. If employees don’t like their work, they start making excuses from the job and
remain absent. Effective placement will keep the absenteeism rate low.
3. Morale of workers increases because they get the work of their choice, if
correctly placed.
4. Workers will work attentively and safety of workers will be ensured and lesser
accidents will happen.
5. Workers will be satisfied with their jobs and there will be no reasons for
disputes, so human relations will improve.
6. Through proper placement, misfit between the job and person can be avoided.
7. Efficient and effective performance of individual tasks will ensure the
achievement of organisational goals.
8. Productivity i.e., ratio of output to input increases as wastage and abnormal
losses decrease.

Importance of employee induction

1. A sense of belongingness is created in the mind of a new employee
2. It gives favourable impression about the organization
3. It gives chances of increased loyalty towards the organization and
reduction in the rate of labour turnover
4. It leads to regular and honest participation, and timely completion of
the work by the employee
5. It helps in removal of anxiety, bias and confusion about the
organizational details
6. It leads to the development of good and favourable public image of
the company
7. Adjustment with peers, seniors and the work assigned becomes easier

Employee induction process

The steps involved in the process of induction are:
Step 1. Job Advert:
The advert should be realistic, with a design and copy that reflects the culture of
the organisation. The emphasis for the advert should be on the aspects of the work
that current employees find satisfying and it must be accurate about pay, conditions
and any special conditions that apply. A proper job advertisement will begin the
selection procedure to ensure the most suitable person is chosen.

Step 2. Application Pack:

This should provide literature about the organisation (Q&A’s, who we are, what
we have achieved, what it is like to work here, where we are, local facilities), a
suitable job description and a brief outline of the terms and conditions. Where
there are conditions that are not part of the contract, i.e., a no-smoking policy, then
these should be properly marked.

Step 3. Pre-Employment Handbook:

This can take the form of an actual handbook, or simply an introductory letter to
the successful candidate. The important points are that it should be friendly and
jargon free. It should set out the arrangements for the first day-
i. The time and place the employee should arrive,
ii. Parking/transport arrangements at site,
iii. The name of the person who will meet them/whom they should ask for,
iv. What type of clothing should be worn (dress code, safety clothing etc.),
v. Any specific security arrangements they should be aware of,
vi. The catering facilities that are on site/nearby,
vii. A list of the documents they will need to bring on the first day, and
viii. An outline of the work of the first day.

The pre-employment pack/letter should enable the employee to predict exactly

what will happen on their first day, which in turn will do a great deal to reassure
and overcome apprehension. If an inductee can go home at the end of the first day
and say that the day was as expected, the pre-employment material will have been
successful.
Step 4. Primary Induction:
This is the first face-to-face induction the inductee will have as an employee of the
company.
It should address both the inductee’s and the employer’s immediate needs and
priorities such as:
1. Health and Safety,
2. Conveniences,
3. Personal details- the following is a list of information that may be needed –
i. P45
ii. Driving license
iii. Car insurance
iv. Birth certificate
v. Passport
vi. Previous pension details
vii. 1st aid certificate
viii. Medical documents if a health check is to be carried out
4. Details of the next of kin, General Practitioner, etc., and
5. Important documents the employee needs to receive from the organisation –
i. Employee handbook
ii. ID
iii. Safety rules
iv. Clocking in card
v. Locker key
vi. Vending/restaurant tokens
vii. Car park entry
viii. Authority to draw protective clothing
ix. Documents for company car.
By the end of day the inductee should know:
1. The location of work site, toilets and facilities,
2. Time-recording procedure,
3. Rest/meal break times,
4. Health and Safety rules,
5. Location of their personal work station,
6. Rules about PC/phone use,
7. Key points of conduct,
8. Have been introduced to their immediate supervisors and colleagues.
Taking in all of this information can be very overwhelming on the first day and
easy to forget in the coming days and weeks. It is therefore important to present it
well and support the inductee.

Some ideas on how to do this are:

i. Have everything set out on paper, including the names of the people the inductee
is to meet, and send the inductee a timetable of the first day, as part of their pre-
employment pack.
ii. Nominate a key person who is responsible for each task that the inductee will
have to do and make sure they are prepared and trained to do it.
iii. Ensure that the people who are to meet the inductee are available, punctual and
friendly.
iv. Don’t hold inductions on a Monday, as staff are often busy getting back “up to
speed” after the weekend.
Once the primary induction is finished, the employee will still need to be inducted
into the culture and systems of the organisation and given training to allow them to
complete their work.
Ideally this should start in the first week, but again be careful to avoid overload.
Rather than seeing induction as happening on one day, see it as a yearlong
procedure that merges with your training programme.
When planning the induction programme, you should consider three broad
topics with which you want the employee to be familiar:
1. Work environment – Health and Safety issues, Employee welfare, work hazards
and preventative measures.
2. The organisation – A structured view of the organisation should be given
through providing mission statements and business plans and explaining
communication and involvement systems that show –
i. How employees fit in the organisation through organisational charts,
accountability charts and meeting people, and
ii. The roles and culture within the organisation through explaining policies and
meeting people.
3. Job instruction – Explained by the line manager through the job description,
setting targets and performance measurements and explaining the value and
importance of the work, as well as ensuring the inductee receives the relevant
training to actually carry out the work.
As with all training it is essential for the employer to review and evaluate the
process.

Methods of employee induction