People Flashcards
Why does a business need new staff? (Workforce planning) 5
Meet increasing demand for products Develop new products Enter new markets Opening new stores/factories Respond to flexible working arrangements
Why do staff leave (Workforce planning) 4
Falling demand for products
Take up a job elsewhere
Retire, sick leave, maternity leave etc
Business requires different employees with new skills
Stages of Workforce planning 5
1 Analyse potential demand (Potential demand for its good /services? Decide how many staff/what skills are needed?)
2 Conduct staffing forecast (Highlight if any staff are due to leave eg maternity leave. Identify if there will be surplus /shortage of staff)
3 Analyse existing workforce (a need for new staff? skills that need to be developed in existing staff?)
4 Surplus or shortfall of staff
(Surplus - remove some staff eg redundancy
Shortfall - close the gap’ to ensure correct workforce to meet objectives by:
Recruiting and selecting new staff.
Training existing staff. Retaining existing staff through motivation methods)
5 Review process (Opportunity to make changes if necessary)
Equality Act 2010. (9)
Covers 9 protected characteristics.
Age Gender Race Disability Marriage Status Pregnancy and maternity religion or belief sexual orientation gender reassignment.
Impacts of the Equality Act (4)
The organisation may be prosecuted for discrimination eg fines
Employers may have to revise their recruitment policies
Invest in better accessibility leading to increased costs e.g. installing lifts, ramps, etc.
Investigate issues of discrimination/harassment/victimisation against an employee, customer or a third party
Selection Methods (4)
Application Forms (Comparison of applicants is easier as all provide the same information.)
CVs (A written summary of an applicant’s experience, educational background, and any other relevant information that may not be requested on the application form)
Interviews (A formal face-to-face meeting between an employer and an applicant – can compare candidates in pressure situations and allow candidates to respond to questions and also ask questions about the job/company.)
Assessment centres (Candidates can be observed in practical situations with tasks tailored to the vacancy, eg in-tray exercise, group task, presentation, case study but can be time consuming and costly)
A & D of Assessment Centres 2A 2D
A
Assesses how applicants interact with others
Scrutinize applicants over longer periods of time
D
Time-consuming due to preparing relevant tests.
Expensive due to hiring venue for testing to take place.
A & D of Interviews 2A 2D
A
Find out how the candidate reacts under pressure
Gives an indication of the candidates personality
D
Some candidates are good at interviews but not necessarily the best person for the job.
Highly stressful, a good candidate may perform badly but would have been perfect for the job.
Testing 5
Attainment testing (candidate to demonstrate their skills eg ICT)
Medical Testing (measures physical fitness which may be required for certain jobs, eg fire service)
Aptitude (Assesses a candidate’s natural abilities and skills EG: Psychometric/Psychological - Assesses a candidate’s personality)
References (used to confirm that the candidate is who they say they are, reliable etc. Requested from previous employer, school etc)
Trial Period (employed for a short period of time before offered permanent position. Advantage is it allows business to see if capable of doing the job and not ending up having to go through complicated discipline/dismissal procedure if unsuitable)
Testing (5)
Attainment testing (candidate to demonstrate their skills eg ICT)
Medical Testing (measures physical fitness which may be required for certain jobs, eg fire service)
Aptitude (Assesses a candidate’s natural abilities and skills EG: Psychometric/Psychological - Assesses a candidate’s personality)
References (used to confirm that the candidate is why they say they are, reliable, etc. Requested from a previous employer, school, etc)
Trial Periods (employed for a short period of time before offered permanent position. The advantage is it allows businesses to see if capable of doing the job and not end up having to go through complicated discipline/dismissal procedures if unsuitable)
Employee Participation (Ways employees can participate in decision making) 3, 1A 1D each.
Work council (Groups made up of equal number of employees and managers with joint decision making powers over major change to the organisation)
A
Reducing resistance to change from employees as they’ve had a say in the change taking place
D
Time-consuming with employees being taken away from core activities reducing productivity
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Consultative Committees (Similar to Works Councils but also includes members of the public, consumers etc.)
A
Reducing resistance to change from stakeholders such as local community etc
D
Difficult to get some stakeholders to engage with the process as it is time consuming and there is no pay allocated to it
—
Worker Directors (A low-level employee is given a seat on the Board of Directors, they have no voting rights but they do get to present their view and gives them a say in decision making)
A
Workers are more motivated as they feel their voice is being heard and that management is listening to the views of low level workers
D
Workers may feel that due to no voting rights that it is just a policy to look good for the business rather than the workers actually get a say with a vote
Training Methods 3 Types of Appraisal training
One to one - meeting between employee and manager
Peer - review interview is carried out by a colleague at same level in organisation as employee
360 degree - performance feedback (often conducted by HR manager) is given from many different individuals such as other employees, supervisors, subordinates etc
One to one training 2A 2D
A
Staff are highlighted for promotion which will retain a core workforce
Targets will be set for the employee which motivates them to be successful by giving them a goal to work towards.
D
Could be demotivational if negative aspects are focused on.
Time-consuming which results in decreased productivity whilst being carried out.
Peer 2A 2D
A
Relationships with managers not harmed through judgments
Employees may relax more and react better to a review given by a colleague.
D
Personal relationships between colleagues could result in appraisal being ineffective.
Bias could wrongly highlight an employee for a pay rise or promotion.
360 degree 2A 2D
A
The complete profile of the employee is gained
Areas of subjectivity such as character and leadership skills are measured
D
Some employees may find it difficult to be critical of their colleagues
Time constraints may limit the quality of responses from so many people in the organization.
