Study unit 3 Meeting human resource requirements and developing effectiveness in HR

Question 1

What is human resource planning?

Answer 1

We do human resource planning when we determine how many employees will be needed and what their skills, knowledge, qualifications and experience must be to ensure the achievement of organisational goals. This means that the point of departure for a human resource plan should be the organisation’s strategy and goals.

Question 2

The steps in the HR planning process are:

Answer 2

Step 1: Identify what the employees are doing currently (job analysis and job descriptions).
Step 2: Identify what skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications employees need to be effective in their jobs (job specifications).
Step 3:Identify how many employees will be needed in the future (human resource forecasting and planning).

Question 3

Recruitment

Answer 3

Recruitment is what an organisation does to alert people that there are vacancies available. The purpose of recruitment is to create as large as possible a pool of candidates for a vacancy, so that the organisation can choose the best of them for a vacant position. The technique most commonly used to do this is advertising.

Question 4

Selection

Answer 4

Selection is what is done after the advertisement, when people who are interested in the position have applied for it and the organisation then goes through a process to determine which of the interested people will be best to fill the position. In other words, selection follows on recruitment.

Question 5

Informal development

Answer 5

The employee does not follow an official training programme.

Question 6

Formal development

Answer 6

The employee follows an official training pro- gramme and receives a formal qualification.

Question 7

INSIDE THE WORK SITUATION

Informal development

Answer 7

Employees are put to work immediately and expected to learn the work in due course, for example coaching and job rotation (John and Mary).

Question 8

INSIDE THE WORK SITUATION

Formal development

Answer 8

Learnerships. Employees are trained in the work environment but must also pass certain compulsory modules and at the end receive a formal qualification, for example electricians.

Question 9

OUTSIDE THE WORK SITUATION

Formal development

Answer 9

Students acquire a formal education at the end of a study period, for example a BCom degree (Alexander)

Question 10

OUTSIDE THE WORK SITUATION

Informal development

Answer 10

Training courses offered inside the company, for example induction courses and courses in computer literacy (Paul and Christel)

Question 11

Compensation

Answer 11

Compensation is all the financial returns and tangible services and benefits employees receive as part of their employment relationship.

Question 12

The kind and level of compensation is determined by the compensation policy. This indicates the company policy on the following matters:

Answer 12

• a level of pay that may be higher or lower than, or equal to, competitors’ pay
• the kind of benefits employees will receive
• how annual increases will be approached
• how exceptional performance will be rewarded

Question 13

We have seen that compensation consists of three main elements:

Answer 13

• a basic salary (also called direct compensation)
• benefits (also called indirect compensation)
• rewards

Question 14

DIRECT COMPENSATION

Answer 14

This is a monthly salary or daily, weekly or bi-monthly wage. It is the money that the employee receives at the end of a wage/salary period. The determination of this compensation is based on the worth of the job to the organisation and not on individual or team performance. In other words, everyone who is employed as a cashier in a bank will receive more or less the same salary, with differences being based on years of experience and qualification and not on job performance.

Question 15

INDIRECT COMPENSATION

Answer 15

This compensation is not monetary. Instead of giving employees more money and expecting them to supply their own benefits such as a pension fund and medical aid fund, the organisation saves money for a pension fund and medical aid on behalf of the employee. So the employee does not receive money in hand or in the bank, but receives the benefit of the money in the form of a pension when he or she reaches retirement age, or as financial assistance from a medical aid scheme when he or she falls ill. Some benefits are required by law (such as vacation leave and sick leave), while others are provided by the organisation but not required by law (such as pen- sion funds and medical aid schemes).
In some organisations the benefits employees receive are linked to the hierarchical level of their job. For example, in a bank, only employees at certain levels may receive a housing subsidy or car allowance. Benefits are also not linked to individual or team performance.

Question 16

REWARDS (INCENTIVES)

Answer 16

This compensation is linked to individual or team perfor- mance. It can take the form of a once-off performance bonus, a better-than-average salary increase or some- times a paid holiday or other special reward. The aim of rewards or incentives is to motivate employees to perform above average. Incentives are not a right – if an employee performs well one year and gets a bonus, he or she may not claim a bonus the following year if his or her performance is not above average.

Question 17

Job analysis

Answer 17

Job analysis is one of the basic activities of a human resource manager. Through a job analysis, an organisation can determine the activities involved in each job and the information can be used to compile a job description and job specification. A job description is a description of the tasks, duties and responsibilities of a job, and can include information about reporting lines and working conditions as well as decisions that must be made in a specific job. A job specification is a description of the qualifications, knowledge and experience the job incumbent needs in order to perform the job successfully.

Question 18

Job descriptions

Answer 18

Job descriptions are used in performance appraisals, to compare employee performance against job standards. They are also used in job evaluations.

Question 19

Job specifications

Answer 19

Job specifications are used in recruitment and selection, to determine whether candidates possess the qualities necessary to be successful in a job.

Question 20

Performance appraisals

Answer 20

Performance appraisals are used to evaluate the quality of an employee’s job performance. In other words, compared with the job standards, did the employee perform equivalent to the standard, above the standard or below the standard?

Question 21

Job evaluation

Answer 21

Job evaluation determines the worth of a job, establishes where a job fits into an organisation’s hierarchy and determines the salary that should be attached to that job.