HUMAN RESOURCES

• No new ideas or experience come into the business

• May create jealousy and rivalry between existing employees
The purpose of human resource management (HAM) is to make sure that the business has the appropriate • Can cause line management problems for the promoted person if they now supervise former
workforce to enable it to meet its stated objectives. The workforce must be committed and physically capable colleagues
of d oing the work required. Aims to ensure that the right workers are available in the right numbers , in the External Recruitment
right place and at the right time . The human resources (HR) function is also responsible for planning for a
business's future need for labour Finding and attracting job candidates from outside the organisation. Most vacancies are filled with external
recruitment , which always involve advertising the vacancy. Some of the suitable media of advertising
Functions
include :

The HR department is responsible for succession planning . Succession planning is the process of Local news paper
identifying employees who can be trained for future leadership positions National news paper
Recruiting , selecting and appointing employees Recruitment agencies
Salary administration and determination Government job centres
Skills development Internet
Appraising and managing workforce performance External recruitment also involves headhunting. Headhunting takes place when people who are already
Establishing and maintaining employee wellness employed by one employer are asked to apply for a job at another employer
Responsible for promotions, transfer, demotions and expulsions
Prepare employment contracts Advantages of external recruitment
Responsible for workforce planning
Keeping staff records New ideas and skills are brought into the business
Ensure that labour legislations are followed • Can prevent conflicts among existing employees
Recruitment Chances of attracting the best candidate are high
Disadvantages of external recruitment
Refers to all HR activities that are aimed at finding and attracting job candidates who have the necessary
knowledge, experience , qualifications and skills to fill a job . It involves identifying the need for an employee , It is time consuming
devising a job description and finding a person suitable to fulfill the needs of the job. • It is very expensive e.g advertising costs and interview expenses
Demotivate existing staff . Internal applicants might be unhappy that a stranger has got the job.
Reasons why businesses need to recruit people Recruitment Agencies

To replace those who were dismissed Most agencies keep record of candidates' CVs and they are able to make a recommendation quickly.
To replace employees who resigns or who have passed away Recruitment agencies usually know a business's needs. Time is saved as the agency works through
New employees for expansion applicant's CVs
Employees who are promoted
Problems
Employees who retire
Two types of recruitment Usually , recruitment agencies are paid a percentage of the new employee's remuneration package.
Thus it increases the cost of labour.
a )ln ternal Recru itment: occurs when in-house employees are promoted. The business doesn't know what CVs have not been recommended
Recruitment Procedure
Advantages of internal recruitment
Step no.1: Determine the exact labour needs of the enterprise
Saves time and money
• The candidate's reliability , ability and potential are already known.
The business must carry out job analysis. Job analysis involves determining the exact labour needs of an
• T he candidate already know the expectations and rules of the company
enterprise before candidates can be attracted. Job analysis involves coming up with the job description and
Motivate other employees to work harder to get promoted too
job specification.
D isadvantages of Internal recruitment
 Job tittle
Job Description Job location
Essential skills, qualifications and personal qualities
Refers to a written description of the job and its requirements . Provide details as to what task will the person Brief outline of the job responsibilities
be expected to undertake. Pay scale
How to apply (Curriculum Vitae (CVs), telephone call or online etc)
It Includes details such as: Who to apply to (to the business itself or it might be through an agenc y)
Deadline for the submission of applications
Job tittle
NB : Draw up a j ob advert for a new maths teacher at your school.
Main purpose of the job
Duties and re sponsibilities
Step no.4 Selection
Department in which the job is performed
Pay scale It is known as shortlisting. It reiers to the process of determining which applicants will best s utt which sp ecific
ADVANTAGES OF PRODUCING A JOB DESCRIPTION
Provides a clear idea of what a job involves so they can select the best candidate jobs . Selecting them ba sing on certain assessment criteria (screen responses) . The CVs of unsucc essful
Saves time / money / makes selection easier and the business won 't get applications from ca ndidate s can be kept for future references . Draw up a short list of candidates. Come up with a sho rt list of
people who cannot do the job potential candidates, usually a list of 5 candidates
A s a basis for drawing up a contract and the business can be sure that all duties will be
carried out on-board
Step no.5: provide feedback to candidates
Helps decide basis for pay
Help create person specification
Helps create appropriate job advert lntorm all applicants about the outcome of their applications so that unsuccessful candidates can look for
Helps resolve disputes between managers and subordinates other employment options. Invite suitabl e candidates for interviews .

Jon specification Step no.6: Employment Interviews

Refers to a written description of the characteristic and qualification required of the person that will fill the An inte rview is a conversation between a job candidate and the releva nt managers of a business enterprise.
job. It is a person profile which will help in the selection process by eliminating applicants who do not match II is used for selecting the best candidate from the short list. Interviews aim to determine if candidates are
up to the necessary requi reme nts. suitable for a job by comparing the candidate's skills, experience, qualifications with the job requirements.

It includes details such as: Roles of Interviewer and Interviewee

Qualifications required Interviewer

Training required
Minimum experience required Put the candidate at ease
Physica l requirements Explain the purpose of the interview
Step no.2: Choose the recruitment Souroe • Allow the candid ate time to think about each question
• To answe r questions asked by the interviewee
Decide on whether to use external or internal recruitmerit method Explain to the candidate how he/she can benefit from working for the business
• Analyse the candidate by also looking at his/her non-verbal communication
Step no.3: Prepare a j ob advertisement
Prepare interview questions
Interviewer
This is what a business needs to decide on when drawing up an job advert

Prepare for the interview

What should be included i.e job description and job specification
Research the business by visiting its website
Where the advert will be placed i.e newspapers , internet, notice boards etc
• Avoid simple yes or no answers
Costs associated with the advertising media .
• Giving a clear picture about onesett
Headings to be included in a Job Advert
Not avoiding difficult questions
, : :tude Tests and Psychometric Tests What employers expect from employees

Punctuality
Aptitude Test- tests the candidate's skills or the ability of a candidate to perform a certain task. The tests
Co-operation from employees
can include practical tests requiring the applicant to perform some part of the work that they are applying
Obedience to Instruction
for.
Appropriate handling of facilities and equipment
Loyally and trustworthiness
Psychometric Test- written examination or role plays on situations that are designed to test the character,
How can an employment contract be terminated?
attitude and personality. For example , a role play might reveal whether or not the applicant works well as
part of a team . The employee can resign in order to take up employment elsewhere
The employee might reach retirement age
NB Interviews , aptitude tests and psychometric tests are methods of selection The employee might be in breach of contract and therefore the employer might be able to dismiss
him
Contract of Employment The employee might have broken the terms of the contract causing the employee to wish to leave
his/ her employment
Once a candidate is appointed, the individual receives a letter of appointment followed by a contract of
The term of the contract might have come to an end
employment. The letter of employment is an offer to the chosen candidate to work for a particular employer. The employee might be promoted, in which case the rotes and responsibilities would probably
The contract of employment is a written agreement between the employer and the employee which
change.
describes the duties, rights and responsibilities of both parties.
Performance Appraisal
Contents of an Employment Contract
It is the process of assessing an individual's performances at work. It is an analysis of an individual's
performance against pre-set and agreed targets.
Details of the employer
Details of the employee
Working hours (ordinary days and hours of work) It Is Important for :
Remuneration
Identifying training needs
Job tittle and job specification
Motivating staff by discussing and recognising their achievements
Date of commencement
Remuneration
Duration of contract i.e part-time, temporary or full time
Identifying people worth of promotion
Termination of contract
Checking the efficiency of the organisation in recruitment, selection and training.
Leave (number of leave days, types of leave days)
Beneflta of having an employment contact Two types of performance appraisal
Both parties are clear about the terms and conditions that have been agreed a)Formal appraisal: involves the use of standardised forms which are completed by employees and
The employer and the employee both know what a person has been employed to do because this managers combined with regular interviews. Employees can also draw up personal action plan.
would be clearly stated in the contract that would be signed by both parties
Any d ispute about the terms and conditions of employment could be resolved by referring to the b) Informal Appraisal: takes place when managers check on the work of the employees and discuss how
employment contract. ii can be improved. II is an on-going process.
Avoiding heavy fines or penalties
What employees expect from employers Problems of performance Appraisal

Employees dislike appraisal because they fear criticism and their weaknesses being exposed
Fair treatment by managers
Badly designed forms or poorly conducted interviews may result in subjective appraisal
Fair wages
Reasonable working hours and good working environment Causes of poor performance
Holidays with pay
Lack of job knowledge
Appropriate t raining
Opportunities for promotion Lack of skills
 his/her side . ii occurs due to a permanent decrease in demand for a particular product. II also occurs in t~
Stress
mining sector due to the depletion of mineral resources . II is lair for the employer to give the redunda;t '11111111111
Health problems
worker severance package. The severance pay can be used by the redundant worker to start inoome
Poor management
Poor working oondition generating project.
Solution•
Labour Turnover
Offer oounseliing services
Provide staff development programmes Measures the rate at which employees are leaving an organisation. It is measured using the following
Organise review meetings fonnula
Set realistic targets
Labour turnover number of employees leaving x 100
Average number of people employed

DlamlaNI end Redundancy

Example: ABC limited employees 500 employees on average in 2014 . 50 workers left the business during

DlemlaNI : to end the services of an employee due to an act of misconduct. It is the termination of an 2014.
employment oontract because the employee has not fulfilled the conditions of the contract in some way. An
Labour turnover = 50 workers x 100
employee can be sacked from a job due to inoompetence . Incompetence refers to the lack of ability to do 500 workers
something well. Dismissal will deprive a worker of his or her immediate means of financial support and the
worker is likely to lose pension benefits. There should be enough evidence that the HR department has Interpretation : labour turnover is increasing or is too high then it will be a signal that:
done all it can to help the employee before dismissing him/her. It is unfair to terminate the contract of
employment for the first offenders Employees are not happy i.e low morale
The business failing to recruit the right people
Reaaona for dlamlaNI Bad leadership or management
Availability of better paid jobs elsewhere
• Gross misconduct e .g stealing Potential benefits of high labour turnover
Incompetence even afte r sufficient training has been given
• Continuous negative attitude Low-skilled and less productive staff might be leaving and creating space for highly skilled workers
Intentional destruction of an employer' s property New ideas and practices are brought into the business by new workers
Bulling of other employees Can benefit the business with the plans of reducing staff size i.e staff that will be leaving won't be
Failure to disclose re levant details when being offered employment. replaced
Unfair Dlam1...1 Problems of high labour turnover

Tenninating an employee's employment oontract for a reason that the law regard as being unfair. The High costs of recruiting, selecting and training new staff
affected employee can report to the civil oourt so that the oourt can deal with such unscrupulous employers. Difficult to establish team spirit as team members are constantly changing
When dismissal is judged to be unfair, the employee will get damages from the !inn. Low output level when a new worker is introduced and, or when the business is in the process of
finding a suitable replacement.
Diam,..., la unfair under the following clrcumatances: Lose of customers

1) Pregnancy
Workforce Planning
2) A discriminatory reason e.g based on race , gender, religion, political affiliation etc
3) Employee being a member of a certain trade union II is also known as manpower planning. It involves the analysis and forecasting the number of workers and
4) For minor cases without giving fi rst or seoond warning. skills of those workers that will be required by the organisation to achieve its objectives. Thus, it involves
Redundancy forecasting the future demand for labour in the organisation and planning to meet ii. It is accomplished
through analysis of internal factors such as current and expected skills needs, vacancies and departmental
It occurs when an employee loses his/her job when the business no longer requires that work to be done . It expansions and reductions as well as external factors such as the labour market conditions. Workforce
is important to note that, it is the job that is no longer needed, not the person doing the job. When the good planning also involves a skills audit (Workforce audit). Workforce audit involves an assessment of staff
or service is no longer required, the employee doing that job becomes unnece ssary through no fault from capabilities and matching them against future needs. This is just a check on the skills and qualifications of
;;~ l',.
; , ·' •

. •"managerial
""'"' "°"'"" '"" m,~""· -"• HR =oa,o, •'"
and administration skills.
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on social , intellectual, technical, Work-life Balance
Refers to a situation in which employees are able to give the right amount of time and effort to work and to
their personal life outside work. Employees must have enough time to attend to their private life . Thus
Benefits of Workforce planning
employees must get time to spend with their loved ones. Working long hours and also denying employees
Planning lor the future i.e to calculate the future staffing needs of the business breaks can lead to stress and poor health . The management must assist employees to achieve a better
To prevent the problems of too few or too many staff at the business work -life balance . The aim is to maintain a sensible balance that allows career and ambition needs to met
To avoid many staff with wrong skills as well as family and friendship needs and commitments.
To achieve the objectives of the business in the future
Factors Influencing the number employees required In the future Methods that can be used to achieve a better work-life balance

Flexible working i.e allowing some employees to come at busy periods of the day but not during
Future demand for the firm's product
Productivity ol e xisting staff slower periods
The objectives of the business i.e growth objective will imply that more staff will be required. Teleworking i.e working from home for some of the working week
Job sharing i.e allowing two people to fill one full-time job, although each worker will only receive a
Labour legislations i.e minimum wage laws from government encourages firms to workers with
proportion of the full-t ime pay
machines
Labour turnover i.e the higher the rate at which staff leave the business, then the greater will be the Sabbatical periods i.e an extended period of leave from work. Some business do not pay employees

firm 's need to recruit replacement staff. during this period.

Skills of existing staff i.e HR managers have insatiable appetite for better-qualified employees. Policies of Diversity and Equality
Employee morale and Welfare
Equality Policy
Morale and welfare are important to people at work. They affect people's attitudes and willingness to work.
Refers to practices and processes aimed at achieving a fair organisation where everyone is treated in the
Thus they influence how much effort workers will exert to their job.
same way. People have the right to be treated with equality , respect and dignity. All employees must have
equal opportunities. Equality policy is violated when some employees are discriminated against e.g denying
Employee Morale: refers to the feeling of enthusiasm and loyalty that a person has about a task or job.
some employees an opportunity to receive skills training .
Employees must feel that what they are doing is worthwhile. If they feel that their work is valued by
management, they are also likely to feel that they are valued both as employees and as individuals. Their
Benefits of promoting Equality
morale will be high and employees tend to have a greater commitment and loyalty to their work .

Can improve employee morale

Employee Welfare: refers to the state of being happy, healthy or successful. Employees are often
Greater commitment and effort from employees
concerned about their health and safety at work. A business organisation which cuts corners on welfare is
The business can easily attract skilled and experienced personnel from other organisations
unlikely to get the best from its employees.
Diversity Policy

Ways to maintain or Improve staff morafe and welfare

Diversity refers to variety or mixture . Diversity policy refers to practices and processes aimed at creating a
Ensure that health and safety guidelines/ legislation is met. The physical welfare of employees can mixed workforce and placing positive value on diversity in the workplace . Diversity promotes inclusivity

partly be assured by followi ng health and safety measure.

Offering help and guidance to employees who might be experiencing problems in their life outside Diversified workforce Include employees:
work. E .g when a worker is worrying about her child's deteriorating health condition.
Who come from different backgrounds and cultures
Provide medical facil ities within the business in order for the employees to get treatment for any
Who speak different languages
injuries.
With different levels of education
Dealing with issues that are demotivating employees
Who differ in terms of age and gender
• Treating employees fairly.
Advantages of Diversity In business

Creativity increases when diverse team members work together

 Whe n a d iverse tea m pulls together by focusing on their strengths, increased levels of productivity Advantages
will be achieved
C olleag u es learn to value and respect one another even ii they do not hold similar values and beliefs It can cut travel costs.
A dive rse w orkforce brings different skills to the workforce , for example language skills
•
The train ee may do some work while on training . They can actually be contributing to production
Can lead to an increase in the customer base since some customers are attracted by a diversified while they are learning.
sale s force .
The costs may Include: Can be a motivator th e trainers
No special premises to hired or built
• higher recru itm ent costs It is chea per since it uses existing skilled an d experienced employees
• longer recruitm ent process Disadvantages
• greater training needs
• communication barriers.
The trainer's produ ctivity is decreased because he/she must attend to the trainee 's problems
If mentoring is not paid , th e trainer may not be fully committed
Training
Some skilled and experienced employees a re not good teachers.
Mistakes made by the trainee may affect the business 's reputation
Refers to w ork-re lated education to increase workforce skills and efficiency. Tra ining is required for new as
Off-the-job Training: It ta kes place outsid e lhe work place . Workers go to another place for
well as existing employees. Training will help prepare new employees for change and to improve the
training e.g schools or private training c olleges. It invo lves the use of specialised instructors.
efficien cy of the organisation. The emphasis on quality, competitiveness and the rapid pace of technologica l
cha nge have increased the need for training.
Advantages

Reasons for training

Employees ca n learn many skills .
Empl oyees ca n work during the day and attend training sessions in the evening .
T o facilitate the introduction of new technology
• Any mistake that the trainee is going to makes are unlikel y to affect the reputation of the business
• To prepare existing employees for succession purposes
• Training can lead to a recog nised qualification
To develop workers in order to enable them progress
Disadvantages
• To provi de employees with the skills, knowledge and aptitude
To improve worker morale
outside trainers are very expensive
Types of training • output of the trainee is lost
Trainee can also copy bad behavio urs from the trainer.
a)lnduction Training: involves the introduction of new staff to the firm as they are told about its Benefits of training
business and the way of operation . The HR manager should explain to the new worker the internal
To the employer
organisationa l structure , health and safety issues, and also company policy. The employee on the other
hand has got the cha nce to ask questions.
Improves motivation of staff
BENEFITS OF INDUCTION TRAINING Reduction of waste and scrap
Quality services to customers
• Helps employees to settle into their job quickly/familiarise workers with the business/provide May reduce labour turnover
information about the business so that he/she can easily cope with flow production Helps to deve lop a positive culture in the organisation
• Aware of health a nd safety/legal issues in the factory Increases productivity
• the new employee will know who to ask if there is a problem and this helps to prevent wastage of
To the employee
e xpensive raw materials
• Help keep productivity/efficiency high so that the business will remain competitive
Employees may feel valued by the organisation
• Training improves promotional prospects
b)On-the-job training: training is done at the work station where an employee works . It can
May improve job satisfaction
take the form of job tra ining combined with related classroom instruction and apprenticeship. The trainee
Employees are better able to cope with change.
will be under the guidance of a highly skilled co-worker. Employees are trained by watching professionals
do a job. It is only suitable for unskilled and semi-skilled employees.
 What do you know?
1.Explain any three functions of the human resources management department? [8]
2.Explain the differences between internal and external recruitment _. _ [4] _
3.Discuss possible reasons why external recruitment might be more benef1c1al to a business than internal
rncruitment [4]
4 . Explai n two methods of selection that mI9nt be used to selE,ct c. new sales manager ior a car re ;ail business
[6]
5.Outline two advantages of using interviews as a method of selecting a new employees [4]
6.Briefly explain three ways in which an HR department can improve staff morale and welfare [6)
7.Give two advantages of i) on-the -job training
ii)of-the-job training [4]
8.Distinguish between redundancy and dismissal [4]
9.Distinguish between a job description and a pe rson speci fication . [4]
10.What is meant by the term staff appraisal [3]
11.What is meant by term 'work-life balance' [3]
12 .Explain why it is important to both the business and the employee to have a contract of employment
between them [6]
Essays
13.Discuss the reasons why staff training and deveiopment is believed to be essential in modern
business[20]
14.Assess the potential problems that a business might experience if it did not use appropriate methods of
selection when recruiting new members of staff
(20]
15.a)Explain the purpose and roles of human resource management [8]
b)D1scuss whether ImprovIng staff morale and welfare is the most important role of human resource
department in a large manufacturing business (12]