CHALLENGES OF HRM IN INDIAN ECONOMY
The job of HRM department in India has never been so challenging. Last decade has witnessed tectonic shift in Job market. From being an employer’s market, it has suddenly turned into employee’s market, especially in the most crucial segment, ie middle management. Globalisation and India’s growing stature in the world has seen demand for Indian managers soaring. From the state of plenty, there is a stage of scarcity of the right talent. The biggest challenge is to retain the talent one has so assiduously hunted and trained. The attrition rate has reached alarming proportions. It has reached such proportions that certain segments of Industry are maintaining bench strengths to fill in the sudden gaps due to resignations. In addition, there are following new issues:
1. Globalization: Growing internationalization of business and workforce has its impact on HRM in terms of problems of unfamiliar laws, languages, practices, attitudes, management styles, work ethics and more. HR managers have a challenge to deal with more and more heterogeneous functions and more involvement in employee’s personal life.
2. Corporate Re-organizations: Liberalisation has led to largescale reorganization of businesses in terms of expansions, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, take overs, and internal restructuring of organizations. In circumstances as dynamic and as uncertain as these, it is a challenge to manage employees’ anxiety, uncertainties, insecurities and fears.
3. New Organizational Forms: Exposure to international business and practices have led to change in the organisational structure and HR policies of the local companies. Take for instance, the hierarchical structure of Indian companies. Suddenly, Indian companies have begun to adopt flat hierarchical management structure. But to implement and grout such fundamental changes in management philosophy of any company is never easy. The challenge for HRM is to cope with the implications of these new relations in place of well established hierarchical relationships that existed within the organizations for ages in the past.
4. Changing Demographics of Workforce: Changes in workforce are largely reflected by dual career couples, large chunk of young blood with contrasting ethos of work among old superannuating employees, growing number of women in workforce, working mothers, more educated and aware workers etc. Thus, changing demography of workforce has its own implications for HR managers and a true challenge to handle.
5. Changed Employee Expectations: With the changes in workforce demographics, employee expectations and attitudes have also transformed. Traditional allurements like job security, house, and remunerations are not much attractive today. Rather, employees are demanding empowerment and equality with management. Hence, it is a challenge for HRM to redesign the profile of workers, and discover new methods of hiring, training, remunerating and motivating employees.
6. New Industrial Relations Approach: In the changed industrial climate, even trade unions have realised that strikes and militancy have lost their relevance and not many workers are willing to join them and disrupt work. However, the problems faced by workforce now have different dimension for the management. They manifest in the form of increased attrition rate. Unsatisfied employees instead of approaching the management for resolution, often take up the new job. The challenge before the HRM is find ways and means to feel the pulse of employees and address the issues on proactive basis.
7. Renewed People Focus: “Man behind the machine is most important than the machine”. This is an old doctrine of the Armed Forces. However, this doctrine has begun to gain acceptance in the corporate world and thus all out efforts to grab the best talent at what ever cost.
8. Managing the Managers: Managing the managers is most difficult. Armed with inside information, they can not be lured with rosy promises. They are in great demand too with growth in economy. These are the people who are most mobile, attrition rate being highest for the junior and middle management level. The challenge of HRM is how to manage this tribe?
9. Weaker Section’s Interests: Another challenge for HRM is to protect the interest of weaker sections of society. The dramatic increase of women workers, minorities and other backward communities in the workforce, coupled with weakening of trade unions, has resulted in the need for organizations to re-examine their policies, practices and values. In the name of global competition, productivity and quality, the interests of the society around should not be sacrificed. It is a challenge of today’s HR managers to see that these weaker sections are neither denied their rightful jobs nor are discriminated while in service.
10. Contribution to the Success of Organizations: The biggest challenge to an HR manager is to make all employees contribute to the success of the organization in an ethical and socially responsible way. Because society’s well being to a large extent depends on its organizations.
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Strategy:
“Strategy is a way of doing something. It includes the formulation of goals and setting of action plans for accomplishment of that goal.”
Strategic Management:
“A Process of formulating, implementing and evaluating business strategies to achieve organizational objectives is called Strategic Management”
Definition of Strategic Management
“Strategic Management is that set of managerial decisions and actions that determine the long-term performance of a corporation. It includes environmental scanning, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, evaluation and control.”
The study of strategic management therefore emphasizes monitoring and evaluating environmental opportunities and threats in the light of a corporation’s strengths and weaknesses.
STEPS IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
1. Environmental Scanning: Analyze the Opportunities and Threats in External Environment
2. Strategy Formulation: Formulate Strategies to match Strengths and Weaknesses. It can be done at Corporate level, Business Unit Level and Functional Level.
3. Strategy Implementation: Implement the Strategies
4. Evaluation & Control: Ensure the organizational objectives are met.
IMPORTANCE & BENEFITS OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
1. Allows identification, prioritization and exploration of opportunities.
2. Provides an objective view of management problems.
3. Represents framework for improved co-ordination and control
4. Minimizes the effects of adverse conditions and changes
5. Allows major decisions to better support established objectives
6. Allows more effective allocation of time and resources
7. Avoids ad hoc decisions
8. Helps to integrate the individual behaviours
9. Encourages forward thinking
10. Encourages favourable attitude towards change.
ROLE OF HRM IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Role in Strategy Formulation: HRM is in a unique position to supply competitive intelligence that may be useful in strategy formulation. Details regarding advanced incentive plans used by competitors, opinion survey data from employees, elicit information about customer complaints, information about pending legislation etc. can be provided by HRM. Unique HR capabilities serve as a driving force in strategy formulation.
Role in Strategy Implementation: HR Manager helps strategy implementation by supplying competent people. Additionally, HRM facilitates strategy implementation by encouraging proactive thinking, communicating goals and improving productivity and quality.
HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Human Resource Development is a process to help people to acquire competencies and to increase their knowledge, skills and capabilities for better performance and higher productivity.
Definition 1:
HRD is a process of enhancing the physical, mental and emotional capacities of individuals for productive work.
Definition 2:
HRD means to bring about the possibility of performance improvement and individual growth.
PROACTIVE HRD STRATEGIES FOR LONG TERM PLANNING AND GROWTH
Like quoted earlier, employee retention has become bigger challenge than employee hiring today. With trade unions breathing their last, and easy job availability, employees have developed propensity to switch jobs for minor reasons without voicing their protest. Thus, HRD has to take a proactive approach, that is, to seek preventive care in human relations. By using HRD strategies, maximization of efficiency and productivity could be achieved through qualitative growth of people.
Long-term growth can also be planned by creating highly inspired groups of employees with high aspirations to diversify around core competencies and to build new organizational responses for coping with change.
A proactive HRD strategy can implement plans directed at improving personal competence and productive potentials of human resources.
Following strategic choices can be considered which would help today’s organizations to survive and grow.
Change Management: Manage change properly and become an effective change agent rather than being a victim of change itself.
Values: Adopt proactive HRD measures, which encourage values of trust, autonomy, proactive approach and experimentation.
Maximize Productivity and Efficiency: Maximize productivity and efficiency of the organization by helping qualitative growth of people
TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
Definition:
A team is a small group of people who agree to work together for achieving a clear and identifiable set of goals.
Teams Can be Very Effective.
The benefit of teams lie in Synergy which means – The whole is greater than sum of its parts. Thus, a team is able to produce more than the sum of individuals working separately. A team benefits from complementing and some times contrasting abilities of its members. Teams can bring to bear a wider range of skills and experience to solve a problem. Teams often lead to better quality decisions as individual whims and prejudices are kept in check. Further, members of team have an obligation to each other and thus there is a moral force/binding to perform.
TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
For a team to be effective, following are the prerequisites:
1. Harmony and trust among the team members
2. Effective leadership
3. Shared goals
4. Diverse skills and experience - technical, problem solving and interpersonal skills
5. Creativity and risk taking ability
6. Freedom to voice views
7. Ability to self-correct
8. Interdependent work
9. Effective decision making process
10. Ability to resolve conflict
11. Clear communication channels
Synergy among the team members is very important. The team needs a clear sense of direction which the leader provides. Harmony and trust among the group members is utmost essential. In any group, conflicts are inevitable, how ever harmonious it may be. There has to be a well formulated policy for conflict management. Decision making is a source of potential conflicts. A well charted course for decision taking will be able to minimise such conflicts.
HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING (H R P)
Human Resource Planning, as the name suggests, is the process of identification/ forecasting a firm’s future requirement of type and number of people in order to meet the organisational goals and objectives. It is a continuous process either due to fresh requirement of manpower owing to change/growth/diversification of business or due to attrition of manpower due to retirement, termination, death, disability or resignations.
Definition 1:
“HRP includes estimation of how many qualified people are necessary to meet the future business requirement, how many people will be available, and what, if anything, must be done to ensure availability of personnel equals the demand at all times in the future.”
Definition 2:
“HRP is a Process, by which an organization ensures that it has the right number of right kind of people at the right place, at the right time, capable of effectively and efficiently completing those tasks that will help the organization achieve its overall objectives.”
NEED & IMPORTANCE OF HRP
Human Resource comes at a cost and generates profits. While excess of human resource will lead to unproductive costs, shortages of same will lead to idling of other resources and impede profit generation. Having the people is not enough. Each job needs specific skills and experience and only a certain trained personnel can do it effectively. Therefore, it is necessary that right kinds of people are hired for each job.
Personnel requirement is never static. Manpower wastages in the organisation keep taking place regularly due to retirement, injury, resignations, termination, etc. In addition, changes in the business environment, business model and plan, capacity/product changes, diversifications, etc, also generate need to review the human resource requirement of the organisation.
Changes in the Business Environment in the past one and half decade have led to relative scarcity of talented people. Right kinds of people are no more available at short notice. There is considerable time gap between identifying the need for manpower and filling the vacancy, some times stretching between 6 months to one year. Thus, it will help the company if the requirement is forecasted adequately in advance to enable hiring of right kind of personnel just in time so that neither the machines/other resource idle for want of manpower nor do the people idle. At the same time, there could be situations when there is spare manpower in the company. Company may have changed over to a new technology productions and therefore all personnel trained in old machines may have become redundant and surplus. The “Exit Policy” for workers is not easy and they can not be released at short notice. Re-training or retrenchment of personnel has to be planned in advance.
In India services is growing at a fast pace. It has already overtaken agriculture and Industrial production sectors to become the biggest contributor to GDP. In service industry, human capital is the most important asset. HRP bears a disproportionate importance in this industry.
Foundation of Personnel Functions: HRP provides for not only front line manpower but also caters for support staff requirement which are called Personnel “Functions” like recruitment, selection, personnel development, training and development etc. Large scale changes in frontline staff will have proportional changes in requirement of support staff as well which can be planned alongside.
HRP SYSTEM
HRP System as such includes following elements or sets for planning.
• Business Environment
• Overall Organization Objectives
• Forecasting Manpower Needs
• Assessing Manpower Supply
• Matching Manpower Demand-Supply factors
Based on these elements we can draw “HRP System Architecture” as under.
HRP PROCESS
Organizational Objectives & Policies:
Organizational objectives and policies give a clue to future requirement of manpower. A company planning expansion would require more manpower in near future. Kind of people required would be dictated by technology being planned for expansion. HRP needs to align hiring of people with these elements. In addition, company’s policies towards its manpower policies, like using internal resources for promotion or external resources or dependence on certain caste or region for some jobs have also to be catered for. Gujarati companies in diamond business hire only gujaraties. Similarly, certain Business Houses from Rajasthan prefer Rajasthanies. So, HRP process will be dictated by following organisational policies:
1. Internal Hiring or External Hiring?
2. Training & Development plans
3. Union Constraints
4. Job enrichment issues
5. Rightsizing organization
6. Automation needs
7. Continuous availability of adaptive and flexible workforce
Manpower Demand Forecasting: It is the process of estimating the future quantity and quality of people required. The basis should be long term corporate plans. Demand forecasting should be based on following factors.
Internal Factors: -
• Production levels
• New products and services
• Organizational structure
• Employee separation
• Budget constraints
External Factors:
• Economic climate
• Laws and regulatory bodies
• Technology changes
• Social Factors
• Legal requirements with regards to reservations
Manpower Supply Forecasting: This process measures the number of people likely to be available from within and outside the organization after making allowance for absenteeism, internal movements and promotions, wastages, changes in hours and other conditions of work.
Supply Analysis covers:
Existing Human Resources: HR Audits facilitate analysis of existing employees with skills and abilities. The existing employees can be categorized as skills inventories (non-managers) and managerial inventories (managers).
Skill inventory would include the following;
• Personal data
• Skills
• Special Qualifications
• Salary
• Job History
• Company data
• Capabilities
• Special preferences
Management inventories would include the following:
• Work History
• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Promotion Potential
• Career Goals
• Personal Data
• Number and Types of Subordinates supervised
• Total Budget Managed
• Previous Management Duties
Internal Supply Assessment:
• Inflows and outflows (transfers, promotions, separations, resignations, retirements etc.)
• Turnover rate (No. Of separations p.a. / Average employees p.a. X 100)
• Conditions of work (working hours, overtime, etc.)
• Absenteeism (leaves, absences)
• Productivity level
• Job movements (Job rotations or cross functional utilizations)
External Supply Assessment: External sources are required for following reasons
• New blood,
• New experiences
• Replenish lost personnel
• Organizational growth
• Diversification
External sources can be colleges and universities, consultants, competitors and unsolicited applications.
SUCCESSION PLANNING
Meaning of Succession Planning
Succession planning is the process or activities connected with the filling of key positions in the organization hierarchy as vacancies arise. Succession planning focuses on identification of future vacancies and locating the probable successor. For example in succession planning the key concern can be who will be next CEO or what will happen if the Marketing Manager retires in coming March. Grooming a person to fill an important position may take years. Succession planning involves identification of key positions in the company and then scouting for people who can effectively fill those positions at short notice.
Importance of Succession Planning
1. Succession planning helps when there is a sudden need due to job hopping/death of serious injury to a key employee.
2. There is little or no set back due to absence of key employee.
3. Acts as a motivator for the individual employee who comes to know of the impending promotion in advance.
4. Succession planning helps create loyalty towards the organization and improved motivation and morale of individual employees.
5. Organization gains stable workforce and low employee turnover.
6. Ultimately organization becomes successful in accomplishing its goals effectively.
CAREER PLANNING
Career as a concept means a lifelong sequences of professional, educational and developmental experiences that an individual goes through in his working life. It is a sequence of positions occupied by a person during his life.
Career planning is the process of identifying an individual’s strengths, weaknesses, aptitudes, inclinations, aspirations and attitudes and designing his job responsibilities to take maximum advantages of positive traits and minimising the effect negatives traits.
After identifying the personality traits of the individual begins the process of identifying suitable job billets for him. It may also involve training at times to strengthen his weak areas.
Career planning is a process of integrating the employees’ needs and aspirations with organizational requirements.
A typical succession planning involves the following activities:
1. Analysis of the demand for managers and professionals by company level, function and skill.
2. Audit of existing executives and projection of likely future supply from internal and external sources.
3. Planning of individual career paths based on objective estimates of future needs and drawing on reliable performance appraisals and assessments of potential.
4. Career counselling undertaken in the context of a realistic understanding of the future needs of the firm as well as those of the individual.
5. Accelerated promotions with development targeted against the future needs of the business.
6. Performance related training and development to prepare individuals for future roles as well as current responsibilities
7. Planned strategic recruitment not only to fill short term needs but also to provide people for development to meet future needs
8. The actual activities by which openings are filled
JOB ANALYSIS
Definition 1
“Job Analysis is a process of collecting and studying the information relating to operations and responsibilities of a specific job. The immediate products of this analysis are ‘Job Description’ and ‘Job Specifications’.”
Definition 2
“It is a basic technical procedure that is used to define duties and responsibilities and accountabilities of the job.”
PURPOSE OF JOB ANALYSIS: -
• Human Resource Planning (HRP): Job analysis helps in determining staffing needs, type, quality and quantity.
• Recruitment & Selection: Knowing the staffing needs is essential for Recruitment and Selection – Right person for each job. Sourcing of recruits also becomes easy and cost effective
• Training & Development: Job analysis is the key to determining Training and Development programs.
• Job Evaluation: Job evaluation means determination of relative worth of each job for the purpose of establishing wage and salary. This is possible with the help of job description and specifications; i.e. Job Analysis.
• Remuneration: Job analysis also helps in determining wage and salary for the jobs.
• Performance Appraisal: Job analysis helps in fixing the bench marks of performance standards which in turn help in objective Performance appraisal, rewards, promotions, etc.
• Safety & Health: Job Analysis helps to uncover hazardous conditions and unhealthy environmental factors so that corrective measures can be taken to minimize and avoid possibility of human injury.
JOB DESCRIPTION
“Job Description implies objective listing of the job title, tasks, and responsibilities involved in a job.”
Job description is a word picture of the duties, responsibilities and organizational relationships that constitutes a given job or position. It defines work assignment and a scope of responsibility that are sufficiently different from those of the other jobs to warrant a specific title. Job description is a broad statement of purpose, scope, duties and responsibilities of a particular job.
Contents of Job Description
1. Job Identification
2. Job Summary
3. Job Duties and Responsibilities
4. Supervision specification
5. Machines, tools and materials
6. Work conditions
7. Work hazards
8. Definition of unusual terms
Format of Job Description
1. Job Title
2. Region/Location
3. Department
4. Reporting to (Operational and Managerial)
5. Objective
6. Principal duties and responsibilities
JOB SPECIFICATIONS
“Job Specification involves listing of qualifications, skills and abilities required in an employee to meet the job description. These specifications are minimum required to do the job satisfactorily.”
In other words, it is a statement of minimum acceptable physical/psychological attributes and professional skills necessary to perform the job properly. Job specifications seek to indicate kind of persons who can be expected to meet the role requirements. Thus, it is basically concerned with matters of selection, screening and placement and is intended to serve as a guide in hiring.
Contents of Job Specifications
1. Physical Characteristics
2. Psychological characteristics
3. Personal characteristics
4. Educational Qualifications
5. Skill Set and Experience/Responsibilities
6. Demographic features
Job specifications can be further divided into three broad categories
1. Essential Attributes
2. Desirable Attributes
3. Contra-Indicators – Attributes which are likely to act as impediments to success of job
JOB EVALUATION
Job evaluation is the process of analyzing and assessing various jobs systematically to ascertain their relative worth in an organization.
Job Evaluation involves determination of relative worth of each job for the purpose of establishing wage and salary differentials. Relative worth is determined mainly on the basis of Job Description and Job Specification only. Job Evaluation helps to determine wages and salary grades for all jobs. Employees need to be compensated depending on the grades of jobs they perform. Remuneration must be based on the relative worth of each job. Ignoring this basic principle results in inequitable compensation and attendant ill effects on employees’ morale. A perception of inequity is a sure way of de-motivating an employee.
Jobs are evaluated on the basis of content and placed in order of importance. This establishes Job Hierarchies, which becomes the basis for satisfactory wage differentials among various jobs.
Jobs are ranked (not jobholders)
PROCESS OF JOB EVALUATION:
1. Defining objectives of job evaluation
(a) Identify jobs to be evaluated (Benchmark jobs or all jobs)
(b) Who should evaluate job?
(c) What training do the evaluators need?
(d) How much time involved?
(e) What are the criteria for evaluation?
(f) Methods of evaluation to be used
2. Wage Survey
3. Employee Classification
4. Establishing wage and salary differentials.
METHODS OF JOB EVALUATION
1. Analytical Methods
(a) Point Ranking Methods: Different factors are selected for different jobs with accompanying differences in degrees and points.
(b) Factor Comparison Method: The important factors are selected which can be assumed to be common to all jobs. Each of these factors are then ranked with other jobs. The worth of the job is then taken by adding together all the point values.
2. Non-Analytical Methods
(a) Ranking Method: Jobs are ranked on the basis of their title or contents. Like Managers, Supervisors, Workers, Peon, etc. All managers whether from production, planning, sales, stores or Allied Services (House Keeping) Deptt are treated equal. Job is not broken down into factors etc. It is easier to implement but not always satisfactory for the employees.
(b) Job Grading Method: It is based on the job as a whole and the differentiation is made on the basis of job classes and grades. Like in a hotel, Receptionist’s job may be graded higher than back office billing clerk’s job. Similarly, a production/sales manager billet may be graded higher than Allied Services Manager’s. In this method it is important to form a grade description to cover discernible differences in skills, importance to company’s core operations, responsibilities and other characteristics.
PITFALLS OF JOB EVALUATION:
1. Sometimes encourages employees to manipulate for promotion/internal placement when there may be limited opportunities for enhancement as a result of downsizing.
2. It promotes internal focus (office politics) instead of customer orientation
3. Not suitable for forward looking organizations, which may have trimmed multiple job titles into two or three broad jobs.
JOB DESIGN
In the most simplified form - The process of breaking/organizing work into specific tasks in order to perform a specific job is called Job Design. Job Design is the logical Sequence to Job Analysis. Job design involves conscious efforts to organise tasks, duties and responsibilities into a unit of work to achieve certain objective.
Steps in Job Design
1. Specification of Individual Tasks
2. Specification of Methods for Tasks Performance
3. Combination of Tasks into Specific Jobs to be assigned to individuals
FACTORS AFFECTING JOB DESIGN
1. Organizational factors
(a) Characteristics of Tasks (Planning, Execution and Controlling of Task)
(b) Work Flow (Process Sequences)
(c) Ergonomics (Time & Motion Study)
(d) Work Practices (Set of ways of performing tasks)
2. Environmental Factors
(a) Employee Abilities and Availability
(b) Social and Cultural Expectations
3. Behavioural Elements
(a) Feedback
(b) Autonomy
(c) Use of Abilities
(d) Variety
TECHNIQUES OF JOB DESIGN
1. Work Simplification: Job is simplified or specialized. The job is broken down into small parts and each part is assigned to an individual. To be more specific, work simplification is breaking down the job to such small tasks that complexity is taken out of them. Like in a assembly line of car, one person only tighten wheel nuts with a pneumatic tool which tighten the nuts. The complexity of ensuring that each nut is tightened to required degree has been transferred to machine and the worker only applies the tool to the right place. He does not even put the wheel in place. In such cases, work becomes repetitive in nature. Work simplification is used when jobs are not specialized.
2. Job Rotation: Same job, same people, same surrounding, days over days, months over months, leads to boredom and even fatigue. And it manifests in higher error rate, fall in productivity, absenteeism, job hopping, etc. Job rotation is answer to such problems. While broadly the job may remain same, minor variations between jobs are enough to rejuvenate the employee. It not only benefits the personnel but also the organisation in equal measure
(a) Benefit to the Employee. It is a development tool since the employees get exposure to several jobs which develops their personality and employability. It improves their self-image and leads to personal growth. Such cross functional deployments often reveal hidden performance potentials/skills of many employees in the course of new job.
(b) Benefits to the Company: Such cross functional knowledge of employees provides the company with a fall back option in case of absence of any employee. It also gives flexibility to the management to reorganise the functional setup just in case of need like demand pattern shift or change in business model or any other eventuality. Also, periodic job rotation is the best method to avoid compartmentalisation of departments. Movement of personnel between departments and first hand knowledge of limitations and problems faced by other departments reduces frictions and leads to better cooperation between them. Interpersonal bonds developed during in the course of such cross functional job rotation further smoothens the interaction between departments. On the negative side, training costs rise and it can also de-motivate intelligent and ambitious trainees who might take it as their undesirability in their own department unless it is well laid down policy of the company.
3. Job Enlargement: It means expanding the number of tasks, or duties assigned to a given job. Job enlargement is naturally opposite to work simplification. Adding more tasks or duties to a job does not necessarily mean that new skills and abilities are needed. There is only horizontal expansion. It is with same skills taking additional responsibilities like increasing the number of machines operators under a supervisor from 10 to 15. Job enlargement may involve breaking up of the existing work system and redesigning a new work system. For this employees also need to be trained to adjust to the new system. Job enlargement is said to contribute to employee motivation but the claim is not validated in practice.
4. Job Enrichment: Job enrichment is to add a few more motivators to a job to make it more rewarding. A job is enriched when the nature of the job is exciting, challenging, rewarding and creative or gives the job holder more decision-making, planning and controlling powers. An enriched job will have more authority, responsibility, autonomy (vertical enrichment), more variety of tasks (horizontal enrichment) and more growth opportunities. The employee does more planning and controlling with less supervision but more self-evaluation. For example: transferring some of the supervisor’s tasks to the employee and making his job enriched. As per Hertzberg, who was the father of this term, an enriched job has eight characteristics:
(a) Direct Feedback: Employee should be able to get immediate knowledge of the results they are achieving.
(b) Client Relationship: An employee who serves a client or customer directly has an enriched job. The client can be outside or inside the firm.
(c) New Learning: An enriched job allows its incumbent to feel that he is growing intellectually.
(d) Scheduling Own Work: Freedom to schedule own work (autonomy) is job enrichment.
(e) Unique Experience: A enriched job has some unique qualities or features.
(f) Control over Resources: One approach to Job enrichment is for the each employee to have control over his or her resources and expenses.
(g) Direct Communication Authority: An enriched job allows worker to communicate directly with people who use his or her output.
(h) Personal Accountability: An enriched job holds the incumbent responsible for the results. He or she receives praise for good work and blame for poor work.
Problems with Job Enrichment
(a) Job enrichment is not a substitute for good governance. If other environmental factors in the business are not right, mere job enrichment will not mean much.
(b) Job enrichment may have short term negative effects till the worker gets used to the new responsibility.
(c) Job enrichment itself might not be a great motivator since it is job-intrinsic factor. As per the two-factor motivation theory, job enrichment is not enough. It should be preceded by hygienic factors etc.
(d) Job enrichment assumes that workers want more responsibilities and those workers who are motivated by less responsibility, job enrichment surely de-motivates them
(e) Workers participation may affect the enrichment process itself.
(f) Change is difficult to implement and is always resisted as job enrichment brings in a changes the responsibility.
5. Autonomous or Self-Directed Teams: Empowerment results in self-directed work teams. A self-directed team is a group of employees responsible for a whole work segment. They work together, handle day-to-day problems, plan and control, and are highly effective team.
JOB SATISFACTION
Job satisfaction is self satisfaction derived by an employee in doing the job he has been entrusted to do. Job satisfaction is more a function of the various attitudes possessed by an employee towards his job, related factors and life in general than the job itself. The attitudes related to job may be wages, supervision, steadiness, working conditions, advancement opportunities, recognitions, fair evaluation of work, social relations on job, prompt settlement of grievances etc. A person with a kind heart will find high level of job satisfaction in working with some agency involved in charitable work though the salary might be relatively less. An over ambitious person will never find the job satisfaction.
In short job satisfaction is a general attitude towards the job, which is the result of many specific attitudes in three areas namely, job factors, individual characteristics and group relationships outside the job.
COMPONENTS OF JOB SATISFACTION
Personal factors: Sex, Dependents, Age, Timings, Intelligence, Natural affinity towards the job, Education and Personality.
Job Inherent Factors: Nature of work, Skills, Occupational status, Geography, etc.
Management Controlled Factors: Security, Payment, Fringe benefits, Advancement opportunities and Working conditions, Co-workers, Responsibilities, Supervision
WORK SAMPLING
Definition:
"A measurement technique for the quantitative analysis of an random/irregularly occurring activity."
MEANING OF WORK SAMPLING
Work sampling is based on the theory that the characteristics of a sufficiently large sample represent the actual characteristics of entire population. Work sampling operates by an observer taking a series of random observations on a particular "item" of interest (machine, operating room, dock, etc.) to observe its "state" (working, idle, sleeping, empty, etc.). When enough samples are taken, an analysis of the observations yields a statistically valid indication of the states for each thing analyzed.
Assume, for example, that you wish to determine the proportion of time a factory operator is working or idle. Also assume that 200 random observations were made of the operator and during 24 of these he or she was observed to be idle. From the random samples of his state you conclude that the individual is working 176/200 = 88% of the time.
ADVANTAGES OF WORK SAMPLING
It is relatively easy, simple and inexpensive to use and extremely helpful in providing a deeper understanding of all types of operations.
When properly used, it can help pinpoint those areas, which should be analyzed in further detail and can serve as a measure of the progress being made in improving operations.
QUESTIONS OF WORK SAMPLING STUDY
• What is our equipment/asset utilization?
• When we are not adding value to the product, how are we spending our time?
• How are our inter-dependent systems performing?
• Where should we focus our continuous improvement activities?
DISTINCTION BETWEEN WORK SAMPLING AND "TIME STUDIES"
Before we set out to analyse the distinctions between work sampling and time studies, let us understand that the two are as different as chalk and cheese. The purpose of each is different and one can not be substituted by the other in most cases. While work sampling is a broad analysis of trend, time study is microanalysis of the job and procedure. Time study is conducted with a view to improve the process/method where as work sampling is done to improve quantitative utilisation of resources.
• Work sampling is relatively cheaper because it uses random samples instead of continuous observations.
• Many operators or machines can be studied by a single observer
• Work sampling normally spans over several days or weeks, thus minimizing the effects of sudden variations on a particular day.
• Work Sampling tends to minimize operator behaviour modification during observation (operator, deliberately or otherwise, under or over performing while under observation).
• Work Sampling, in general, does not require a trained time-study analyst to take the observations. Also, stopwatches or other timing devices are not required. Many studies make use of off-shift technicians or operators to take the observations.
WORK SAMPLING METHODOLOGY
An analyst RANDOMLY observes an activity (equipment, operating room, production line) and notes the particular states of the activity at each observation.
The ratio of the number of observations of a given state of the activity to the total number of observations taken will approximate the percentage of time that the activity is in that given state.
Randomness of observations is very critical for a work sampling study. The observations should vary over the time of the day, days of the week and if possible, months to get he correct trend.
RECRUITMENT
Definition:
“Recruitment is the process of finding and attracting capable applicants for a job to create a pool from which selection is to be made of the most suitable candidates”.
The Process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applications are submitted. Though theoretically recruitment process is said to end with the receipt of applications, in practice, the activity extends to the screening of applications so as to eliminate those who are not qualified for the job. The result is a pool of applicants from which selections for new employees are made.”
PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE
1. To broad base the applicant pool in order to get the right talent at the affordable cost.
2. Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost
3. Help increase success rate of selection process by reducing number of under-qualified or over-qualified applications.
4. Meet legal and social obligations
5. Identify and prepare potential job applicants
FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT
External Factors:
1. Demand and Supply status of specific skills set.
2. Unemployment Rate (Area-wise)
3. Labour Market Conditions
4. Political and Legal Environment (Reservations, Labour laws)
5. Company’s Image
Internal Factors:
1. Recruitment Policy (Internal Hiring or External Hiring?)
2. Human Resource Planning (Planning of resources required)
3. Size of the Organization (Bigger the size lesser the recruitment problems)
4. Cost
5. Growth and Expansion Plans
RECRUITMENT PROCESS
1. Recruitment Strategy Development
(a) Trained or untrained (to be trained at company’s expense)
(b) Internal or external sourcing
Internal Recruitment (Source 1)
(i) Present employees
(ii) Employee referrals
(iii) Transfers & Promotions
(iv) Former Employees
(v) Previous Applicants
External Recruitment (Source 2)
(i) Professionals or Trade Associations
(ii) Advertisements
(iii) Employment Exchanges
(iv) Campus Recruitment
(v) Walk-ins Interviews
(vi) Consultants
(vii) Contractors
(viii) Displaced Persons
(ix) Radio & Television
(x) Acquisitions & Mergers
(c) Competitors
(d) Technological tools to be used for advertising
(e) Where to look
(f) How to look
2. Recruitment Planning
(a) Number of applicants sought (Based on past experience)
(b) Types of applicants to be called (Qualification, category, area, etc)
3. Searching
(a) Source activation
(b) Selling
4. Screening of Applications
5. Evaluation and Cost Control
(a) Salary Cost
(b) Management & Professional Time spent
(c) Advertisement Cost
(d) Producing Supporting literature
(e) Recruitment Overheads and Expenses
(f) Cost of Overtime and Outsourcing
(g) Consultant’s fees
EVALUATION OF RECRUITMENT PROCESS
1. Return rate of each source of recruitment
2. Selection rate from each source
3. Retention and Performance of selected candidates
4. Recruitment Cost
5. Time lapsed data
6. Image projection
INTERNAL RECRUITMENT
Advantages Disadvantages
1. Less Costly
2. Candidates already oriented towards organization
3. Organizations have better knowledge about internal candidates
4. Employee morale and motivation is enhanced 1. Old concept of doing things
2. It abets raiding
3. Candidates current work may be affected
4. Politics play greater roles
5. Morale problem for those not promoted.
EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT
Advantages Disadvantages
1. Benefits of new skills, talents and Ideas
2. Benefits of new experiences
3. Compliance with reservation policy becomes easy
4. Scope for resentment, jealousies, and heartburn are avoided. 1. Better morale and motivation associated with internal recruiting is denied
2. It is costly method
3. Chances of creeping in false positive and false negative errors
4. Adjustment of new employees takes longer time.
SELECTION
MEANING OF SELECTION
Selection is the process of picking up individuals (out of the pool of job applicants) with requisite qualifications and competence to fill jobs in the organization. A formal definition of Selection is as under:
“Selection is the process of differentiating between applicants in order to identify and hire those with a greater likelihood of success in a job.”
RECRUITMENT Vs SELECTION: DIFFERENCE
Recruitment Selection
1. Recruitment refers to the process of identifying and encouraging people with required qualifications to apply for job.
2. Recruitment is said to be positive in its approach as it seeks to attract as many candidates as possible. 1. Selection is concerned with picking up the right candidates from a pool of applicants.
2. Selection on the other hand is negative in its application in as much as it seeks to eliminate as many unqualified applicants as possible in order to identify the right candidates.
PROCESS / STEPS IN SELECTION
1. Preliminary Interview: This is a short interview. The purpose of preliminary interviews is to weed out the prima facie misfit applicants. It is also called courtesy interview and is a good public relations exercise.
2. Selection Tests: Jobseekers who pass the preliminary interviews are called for tests. There are various types of tests conducted depending upon nature of job and the company. These tests can be Aptitude Tests, Personality Tests and Ability Tests and are conducted to judge how well an individual can perform tasks related to the job. Besides this, there are some other tests also like Interest Tests (activity preferences), Graphology Test (Handwriting), Medical Tests, Psychometric Tests etc.
3. Employment Interview: The next step in selection is employment interview. Here, interview is a formal and in-depth conversation to assess applicant’s suitability. It is considered to be an excellent selection device. Interview type and pattern can vary greatly. Interviews can be One-to-One, Panel Interview, or Sequential Interviews. Besides there can be Structured and Unstructured interviews, Behavioural Interviews, Stress Interviews.
4. Reference & Background Checks: Reference checks and background checks are conducted for provisionally identified candidates to verify the information provided by them. Reference checks can be through formal letters or telephonic. However, it is more of a formality and selections decisions are very seldom affected by it.
5. Selection Decision: After obtaining all the information, selection decision is made. The final decision has to be made out of applicants who have been identified as suitable. The views of line managers carry much weight at this stage because it is they who are eventually responsible for the performance of the new employee. Considering the job climate, often more than required number is selected to cater for any selected candidate withdrawing at the job offer stage.
6. Physical Examination: After the selection decision is made, the candidate is required to undergo a physical fitness test. A job offer is often contingent upon the candidate passing the physical examination.
7. Job Offer: The next step in selection process is job offer to those applicants who have successfully passed all tests. It is made by way of letter of appointment.
8. Contract of Employment: After the job offer is made and candidates accept the offer, certain documents are needed to be executed by the employer and the candidate. A formal contract of employment, containing written contractual terms of employment etc are signed by both sides.
GOOD SELECTION PRACTICE: ESSENTIALS
1. Detailed Job Descriptions and Job Specifications prepared in advance and endorsed by personnel and line management should be available with Selection Board.
2. Train the selectors to assess the right attributes in applicants.
3. Determine aids to be used for selection process.
4. Check competence of recruitment consultants before hiring their services.
5. Involve line managers at all stages
6. Attempt to validate the procedure regularly
7. Help the appointed candidate to succeed by training and management development
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE SELECTION
1. Perception: We all perceive the world differently. Our limited perceptual ability is obviously a stumbling block to the objective and rational assessment of people.
2. Fairness: Barriers of fairness includes discrimination against religion, region, caste, race or gender, etc.
3. Plethora of Human Traits: Success in any job is more a function of attitude than aptitude. The tests are validated over a period of time to differentiate between the employees who can perform well and those who will not. Yet, no test can claim 100% success in finding the right employee.
4. Pressure: Pressure brought on selectors by management, politicians, bureaucrats, relatives, friends and peers to select particular candidate are also barriers to effective selection.
5. Time and Cost: Often the time and funds available to undertake selection process are limited forcing the selectors to forego certain tests.
TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Training and development, though are spoken in the same breadth, are quite different. Training generally refers to teaching of new skill in professional field of the employee. Like an employee being taught to operate another machine, or to perform a new operation in the same machine. Development refers to enhancement of personal qualities of the employee which do not have a one to one relationship with his current job. It may be to help an employee to grow. Like stress management techniques, yoga lessons, meditation exercises, soft skills training, etc. While training is expected to reward the company immediately in terms of better productivity of employee, Development does not lead to any immediate and tangible benefits to the company. At the best, there might be some intangible benefits in the long run, like improved motivation, loyalty, improved intra-departmental relations, reduced absenteeism on medical ground, etc.
Dividing line between training and development is expectation of immediate benefits. Thus, in case a program, generally qualifying as development program, is directly related to employee’s job skills, like Communication Skills course for telephone attendant or receptionist, will qualify as training and not as development. Same program for some one in back office would be termed as Development program.
Education: It is a theoretical learning in classrooms. The purpose of education is to teach theoretical concepts and develop a sense of reasoning and judgment. Any training and development program must contain an element of education.
Definition of Training & Development
“Training & Development is any attempt to improve current or future employee performance by improving his performance capabilities and potential through learning, usually by changing the employee’s attitude or increasing his or her skills and knowledge.”
The need for Training and Development is determined by the employee’s performance deficiency, computed as follows.
Training & Development Need = Standard Performance – Actual Performance
OBJECTIVES OF MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS (MDP)
1. To make the managers
• Self-starters
• Committed
• Motivated
• Result oriented
• Sensitive to environment
• Understand use of power
2. Creating self awareness
3. Develop inspiring leadership styles
4. Instil zest for excellence
5. Teach them about effective communication
6. To subordinate their functional loyalties to the interests of the organization
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT: DIFFERENCE
Training Development
Training is skills focused Development is creating learning abilities
Training is presumed to have a formal education Development is not education dependent
Training needs depend upon lack or deficiency in skills Development depends on personal drive and ambition
Trainings are generally need based Development is voluntary
Training is a narrower concept focused on job related skills Development is a broader concept focused on personality development
Training may not include development Development includes training wherever necessary
Training is aimed at improving job related efficiency and performance Development aims at overall personal effectiveness (including job efficiencies)
IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
1. Helps remove performance deficiencies in employees
2. Greater stability, flexibility and capacity for growth in an organization
3. Accidents, scraps and damages to machinery can be avoided
4. Serves as effective source of recruitment
5. It is an investment in HR with a promise of better returns in future
6. Reduces dissatisfaction, absenteeism, complaints and turnover of employees
IDENTIFICATION OF TRAINING NEEDS
Individual Training Needs Identification
1. Performance Appraisals
2. Interviews
3. Questionnaires
4. Attitude Surveys
5. Training Progress Feedback
6. Work Sampling
7. Rating Scales
Group Level Training Needs Identification
1. Organizational Goals and Objectives
2. Personnel / Skills Inventories
3. Organizational Climate Indices
4. Efficiency Indices
5. Exit Interviews
6. MBO / Work Planning Systems
7. Quality Circles
8. Customer Satisfaction Survey
9. Analysis of Current and Anticipated Changes
Benefits of Training Needs Identification
1. Trainers can be informed about the broader needs in advance
2. Trainers Perception Gaps can be reduced between employees and their supervisors
3. Trainers can design course inputs closer to the specific needs of the participants
4. Diagnosis of causes of performance deficiencies can be done
METHODS OF TRAINING
On the Job Trainings (OJT): When an employee learns the job in actual working site in real life situation, and not simulated environment, it is called OJT. Employee learns while working. Take the instance of roadside mechanics. Small boys working there as helpers learn while helping the head mechanic. They do not learn the defect analysis and engine repairing skills in any classroom on engine models.
Advantages of On-the-Job Training:
1. It is directly in the context of job
2. It is often informal
3. It is most effective because it is learning by experience
4. It is least expensive
5. Trainees are highly motivated
6. It is free from artificial classroom situations
Disadvantages of On-the-Job Training:
1. Trainer may not be experienced enough to train or he may not be so inclined.
2. It is not systematically organized
3. Poorly conducted programs may create safety hazards
“On the Job Training” Methods
1. Job Rotation: Refer page 27.
2. Job Coaching: An experienced employee can give a verbal presentation to explain the nitty-gritty’s of the job.
3. Job Instruction: It may consist of an instruction or directions to perform a particular task or a function. It may be in the form of orders or steps to perform a task.
4. Apprenticeships: Generally fresh graduates are put under the experienced employee to learn the functions of job.
5. Internships and Assistantships: Interns or assistants are recruited to perform specific time-bound jobs or projects during their education.
Off the Job Training: Trainings conducted in simulated environments, classrooms, seminars, etc are called Off the Job Training.
Advantages of Off-the-Job Training
1. Trainers are usually experienced enough to train
2. It is systematically organized
3. Efficiently created programs may add lot of value
Disadvantages of Off-the-Job Training:
1. It is not directly in the context of job
2. It is often formal
3. It may not be based on experience.
4. It is expensive.
5. Trainees may not be much motivated
6. It is artificial in nature
“Off the Job Training” Methods
1. Classroom Lectures: Advantage – It can be used for large groups. Cost per trainee is low. Disadvantages – Low interest of employees . It is not learning by practice. It is One-way communication. No authentic feedback mechanism. Likely to lead to boredom for employees.
2. Audio-Visual: It can be done using Films, Televisions, Video, and Presentations etc. Advantages – Wide range of realistic examples, quality control possible. Disadvantages – One-way communication, No feedback mechanism. No flexibility for different audience.
3. Simulation: Creating a real life situation for decision-making and understanding the actual job conditions give it. Ensures active participation of all trainees. Can be very effective but needs good conductors.
4. Case Studies: It is a written description of an actual situation in the past in same organisation or some where else and trainees are supposed to analyze and give their conclusions in writing. This is another excellent method to ensure full and whole hearted participation of employees and generates good interest among them. Case is later discussed by instructor with all the pros and cons of each option. It is an ideal method to promote decision-making abilities within the constraints of limited data.
5. Role Plays: Here trainees assume the part of the specific personalities in a case study and enact it in front of the audience. It is more emotional orientation and improves interpersonal relationships. Attitudinal change is another result. These are generally used in MDP.
6. Sensitivity Trainings: This is more from the point of view of behavioural assessment as to how an individual will conduct himself and behave towards others under different circumstances. There is no pre-planned agenda and it is instant. Advantages – increased ability to empathize, listening skills, openness, tolerance, and conflict resolution skills. Disadvantage – Participants may resort to their old habits after the training.
7. Programmed Instructions: Provided in the form of blocks either in book or a teaching machine using questions and feedbacks without the intervention of trainer. Advantages – Self paced, trainees can progress at their own speed, strong motivation for repeat learning, material is structured and self-contained. Disadvantages – Scope for learning is less; cost of books, manuals or machinery is expensive.
8. Computer Aided Instructions: It is extension of PI method, by using computers. Advantages – Provides accountabilities, modifiable to technological innovations, flexible to time. Disadvantages – High cost.
9. Laboratory Training.
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE TRAINING
1. Lack of Management commitment
2. Inadequate Training budget
3. Large scale poaching of trained staff
4. Non-cooperation from workers
5. Unions influence
HOW TO MAKE TRAINING EFFECTIVE
1. Management Commitment
2. Integration of Training with Business Strategies
3. Comprehensive and Systematic Approach
4. Continuous and Ongoing approach
5. Promoting learning as fundamental value
6. Creations of effective training evaluation system