Theme 3 - 3.5.3 - Human Resources Flashcards
What is absenteeism ?
It is the non-presence of an employee at their job - causes of absenteeism include job dissatisfaction, personal problems, medical issues - however regardless of the cause of being absent -it might put the employees reputation at risk and might lead to job loss
What is labour productivity ?
Productivity is the output per worker in a time period
For example for a car mechanic, it could be the number of car parts fixed in a day
It measures the efficiency of the workforce and the business seeks to increase the productivity so that the cost per unit goes down as you make more products in an hour so they become cheaper
What is the labour productivity calculation ?
Total output / number of workers
Productivity is a measure of efficiency
What are the ways to increase labour productivity ?
Labour productivity can be increased through methods such as:
- Kaizen
- TQM
- Lean production
What is the labour turnover calculation ?
Number of employees leaving / average number of employees x 100
What is labour turnover ?
Labour turnover measured the rate at which employees leave the business in a 1 year period
It is a measure of performance
Some industries might naturally have a higher of rate labour turnover such as retail and catering as they provide a lot of part time jobs for students etc
Labour turnover should be measured against the business historical figures as then you can see over time if more people are starting to leave and this would be a red flag if there is a massive increase for example in the last year as this means you are doing something bad and you have to try and change
Why would a high rate of labour turnover be bad for a business ?
A high rate of labour turnover would be bad for business, it means that staff are so unhappy
they don’t stay in the business and they leave. The business then has all the costs of recruiting and training another member of staff
What could a high labour turnover be due to ?
High labour turnover may be due to poor recruitment, weak induction, lack of challenge in the job and low pay rates
Goes hand in hand with the motivational factors such as monetary etc
What is the absenteeism calculation ?
Number of work days lost through absence / total possible days worked x 100
E.g. if a business employs 20 employees that work 5x a week and 45 weeks = then the total possible days worked are 4500 days
What do the results of absenteeism calculations show ?
• The results of absenteeism calculations can show if there is low staff morale or job satisfaction
• 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.
What are the ways to reduce 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
Increasing motivation in the workplace - increases productivity - reduces absenteeism
How do financial rewards decrease absenteeism ?
To motivate staff so that they will turn up for
work and work harder - is sometimes
possible to do through financial rewards.
For example depending on the business
context some of the following may be
suitable:
• 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
How does employee share ownership decrease absenteeism ?
• 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
How do consultation strategies decrease absenteeism ?
• 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 thememployee 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
How do empowerment strategies decrease absenteeism ?
• 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.
All these link to motivation of the workforce as empowerment also increases motivation
