1.4 Flashcards
What does treating staff as an asset involve?
- valuing employees
- concern for their welfare
- recognising their efforts help the business to perform more effectively
What may employers who treat their staff as an asset provide?
- acceptable remuneration
- reasonable holidays, sick leave, maternity e.t.c.
- a safe and comfortable working environment
- training
- job security and opportunities to interact with colleagues
- recognition
- chances of promotion
- clear and effective leadership
Advantages of treating staff as an asset?
- highly motivated staff
- employee performance may improve
- could give business a good reputation
- fewer staff may be needed
Disadvantages of treating staff as an asset?
- can be expensive
- too much autonomy could lead to slacking
- time consuming
- opportunity cost
What does treating staff as a cost involve?
- another cost for the business which needs to be minimised
- minimum remuneration
- staff easily replaced
- not nurtured
What may employers who treat their staff as a cost do?
- national minimum wage
- zero hour contracts
- neglect investment in training
- minimum legal employee rights
- cheap recruitment methods
- penalties for employees who are late or break rules
Advantages of treating staff as a cost?
- cheaper so leaves more money for products and other areas of the business
- decreased staff autonomy increases productivity
- more supervision over staff
Disadvantages of treating staff as a cost?
- possible negative reputation
- staff turnover increased - expensive to recruit new staff all the time
- low staff morale (could impact customer service)
- high absenteeism
- may leave workers feeling exploited, neglected, stressed and unhappy in their work
Define a flexible workforce
Providing employees with various options and contracts of employment, for example part-time
Develops employee satisfaction whilst enabling the business to adopt quickly to changes in demand/supply
What is multi-skilling?
Describes the process of enhancing the skills of employees
Benefits to multi-skilling?
- wider range of skills allows business to respond more quickly to problems
- fewer staff needed - staff used to capacity
- job has variety
- can increase efficiency, quality and productivity whilst reducing costs
Drawbacks to multi-skilling?
- more skills mean staff are expected to work harder for no extra pay
- if staff aren’t trained adequately for new roles, then business will not have staff who are specialised to one area - work may not be carried out to a high standard
What is part-time staffing?
- no specific set amount of hours
- can be employed to fit around a child
- may be evening
- may just be weekends to cover busy periods
- entitled to the same sick pay, pay rates, carrier breaks as full-time
- may be employed on a permanent basis
Benefits to part-time staffing?
- good way to keep costs down whilst a business is growing
- part-time jobs attract a large pool of applicants
- flexible and respond to seasonal changes in demand
- same employment rights as full-time
- the availability of part-time work can attract skilled workers who are unable to work full-time
Drawbacks to part-time staffing?
- employees may not give the business commitment and loyalty that a full-time worker would
- employee may work more than one job which would make them inflexible
- employee may leave if they find a full-time job
What is temporary staffing?
- staff employed for a fixed time period
- can be full-time
- can be employed on a contract basis which has a time limit e.g. maternity cover for 6 months
- can be employed on a seasonal basis e.g. Christmas
Benefits of temporary staffing?
- ideal for businesses that need extra workers for a specific period
- useful to meet seasonal demands
- useful to meet employee shortages
- if using agencies to hire temporary staff, it saves time for the business
Drawbacks to temporary staffing?
- if hired through an agency, workers can be expensive - although would be cheaper in the long run as hiring permanent staff is more costly
- all staff will need training which is expensive and time-consuming
Benefits of flexible hours?
- can keep valuable staff from leaving and can also help cover busy periods
- can accommodate the work-life balance needs of employees with busy lives or families
Drawbacks of flexible hours?
- the business may need extra staff to cover unmanned periods e.g. if everyone works extra hours other days to have Friday off, then no employees would be in on Fridays
What does home working include?
-farmers, shop owners, writers, musicians
-may be full or part-time and may also be self-employed
Benefits to home working for the business?
- lower bills
- more workers can be hired
- extra finances available can be used for marketing purposes
Benefits of home working for the employee?
- don’t have to commute to work
- improved well-being of the employee
- can fit work hours around children if parent
- less stress from travelling
Drawbacks to home working for the business?
- may not be able to meet deadlines if employees don’t respond / slack off
- hard to keep in touch and have a fast flowing business