3.5.3 - Human Resources Flashcards
Absenteeism
The habitual non-presence of an employee at his or her job. Possible causes of absenteeism include job dissatisfaction, ongoing personal issues and medical problems.
Regardless of cause, a worker with a pattern of being absent may put their reputation at risk, and may lose their job.
What is Labour Productivity
• Productivity is the output per worker in a time period
• For example in a car garage we could measure the number of faults fixed by each mechanic in a day
Labour Productivity Calculation
Total Output
———————
No. Workers
Interpreting Labour Productivity
• A business will seek to increase productivity to reduce the average cost per unit to produce
• Labour productivity can be improved through kaizen, TQM, lean production
What is Labour Turnover
Number of Employees Leaving
———————————————- X 100
Average No. Employees
Interpreting Labour Turnover
• Some industries may naturally have a high turnover so context is
important e.g. retail and catering
• Turnover should be measured against historical figures in the business
• High labour turnover may be due to poor recruitment, weak induction, lack of challenge in the job and low pay rates
• If this figure is rising year on year management should see this as a red flag and investigate it
Absenteeism Calculation
No. work days lost
——————————————- X 100
Total Possible Days Worked
Interpreting Absenteeism
• This can be caused by; poor management, stress at work through role overload or under load, lack of recognition or poor working conditions
• Some absenteeism is natural as staff retire or move on to new challenges but too much and it could cost the business in terms of lost orders and poor customer relations
• Absenteeism can be improved through job enlargement, job rotation, incentive schemes etc.
Ways of Reducing Absenteeism
• introducing more flexible working practices
• ensuring that jobs are interesting and challenging
• improving working conditions and thus reducing dissatisfaction
• improving relations between employers and employees
• introducing attendance bonuses as an incentive to attend regularly
Financial Rewards
• Commission – sales jobs e.g. car sales
• Overtime on a weekly wage
• Bonus on a salaried wage
• Piece rate – paid by results e.g. per garment knitted
• Fees – one off payment for work completed, for example editing a book
Employee Shared Ownership
• Shared ownership can also bring a say in who runs the company. On major issues it can be a powerful reason for employees to focus on business improvement.
• However, employee share ownership never means employees taking over business management. This continues to be the directors’ job
Consultation Strategies
• Employees are motivated by being consulted (asked for their opinion) on matters relating to work by managers
• This can reduce absenteeism and labour turnover as it involves the employee in a discussion on; pay, conditions and work matters
• Employees are less likely to be frustrated and leave the business if they feel that they have a valid influence on management decisions
Empowerment Strategies
• Empowerment means giving employees the authority to make decisions. This shows recognition of an employees abilities and trustworthiness, and will boost their self confidence and motivate them hopefully reducing absenteeism and raising productivity
• Criticism of this method is that it may be an excuse to cost cut, delayer and make managers redundant. Also that employees being empowered is a smoke screen for more work on the same pay.
