Introduction to Human Resource Management (HRM)

Introduction to HRM

• Human resources constitutes the foremost asset within any organization.
• HR necessitates vigilant and consistent maintenance.
• HRM integrates all functions, resources, and processes within an organization.
• It focuses on the comprehensive management and development of individuals within the organization.
• HRM exhibits a performance-oriented nature, encompassing subdivisions like Organizational Development and Performance Management Systems.

Meaning of HRM

• HRM is a management discipline focused on planning, organizing, and controlling the procurement, development, maintenance, and effective utilization of a workforce.
• The objectives for establishing the company should be achieved both economically and effectively.
• The objectives of all levels of personnel must be served to the highest possible degree.
• Society's objectives should be duly considered and served.

Organizational Function of HRM

• HRM serves as a vital function within an organization.
• It focuses on employee management, providing direction to individuals within the organization.
• As an organizational function, it addresses aspects like compensation, hiring, performance management, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training.

Definition of Human Resource Management

• Human Resource Management involves the processes of acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating employees.
• HRM includes addressing labor relations, health and safety, and fairness concerns.

Concept of HRM

• HRM is people-oriented and individual-oriented.
• It is a continuous, staff, and pervasive function.
• It is a challenging and development-oriented practice.
• HRM takes a strategic, coherent approach to managing employees, who contribute to business objectives both individually and in teams.

Importance of HR

• HR plays a pivotal role in creating jobs.
• It ensures a consistent supply of manpower.
• HR uses manpower talent effectively.
• HR fosters a conducive environment for employees from all sectors of society.

Objectives of HRM

• Organizational objectives include talent management, cost optimization, work culture, and employer branding.
• Personal objectives includes growth opportunities, work-life balance, appraisals, and enhanced self-confidence.
• Societal objectives include addressing gender bias and conflict and promoting a healthy environment.
• National objectives include employment opportunities and rising living standards.

Functions of HRM for the Organization

• Human resource planning is a key function of HRM.
• Job analysis and job assignment is a key function of HRM.
• Performance appraisal systems and feedback/monitoring is also a key function of HRM.

Functions of HRM for Employees

• Procurement, development, compensation, and motivation of employees are key functions of HRM.
• Maintenance of employee engagement, grievance redressal systems, talent management, and social security measures are functions of HRM.

Personnel Management vs Human Resource Management

• Personnel management (PM) is a traditional approach as compared to HRM's modern approach.
• PM views manpower as machines, while HRM views humans as assets.
• PM involves routine functions while HRM involves strategic functions.
• PM restricts up to payroll, compliances and employment laws while HRM Actively participates in accomplishing organizational mission and vision
• PM is a control technique while HRM is about motivation and development.
• PM promotes pre-defined rules/procedures while HRM focuses on a building dynamic organizational culture
• PM is Reactive while HRM is Forward looking proactive
• PM uses collective bargaining while HRM uses workers participation.
• PM uses standard practices irrespective of capabilities, competence and experience while HRM uses individual development and management

Roles and Responsibilities of the HR Manager

• HR planning, job analysis and design, and hiring are roles of the HR manager.
• Training & development, formulating policies, and evaluating performance are responsibilities of the HR manager.
• Maintaining work culture, conflict resolution, employee health and safety, and implementing rewards/benefits are responsibilities of the HR manager.

HR Manager's Proficiencies

• HR proficiencies involve skills in employee selection, training, and compensation.
• Business proficiencies reflect the strategic role of HR professionals.
• HR managers should be familiar with strategic planning, marketing, production, and finance.

Leadership and Learning Proficiencies

• Leadership skills include working with management groups to drive change.
• For example is implementing employee screening and training systems.
• Learning proficiencies entail adapting to competitive changes and new technologies.

Job Analysis

• Job analysis is determining job duties, skill requirements, and the ideal candidate.
• It produces a job description which lists what a job entails and a job specification which lists kind of people to hire for the job.

Information Collected Under Job Analysis

• Work activities are the actual work, such as cleaning, selling, teaching, or painting including how, why and when the activity is performed.
• Human behavior is collecting information about sensing, communicating, deciding, and writing, including information regarding job demands.
• Machines, tools, equipment, and work aids involve materials, knowledge, and services rendered.
• Performance standards determine quantity or quality levels and are used to appraise employees.
• Job context includes physical conditions, work schedule, and social context. Information regarding incentives can also be included.
• Human requirements involve job-related knowledge/skills and personal attributes.

Job Analysis Objectives

• Determination of the most efficient methods of doing a job
• Enhancement of the employee's job satisfaction
• Improvement in training methods
• Development of performance measurement systems
• Matching of job specifications with the person specifications in employee selection

Uses of Job Analysis Information

• The information is used for recruitment and selection.
• The information is used for compensation and training.
• The information is used for performance appraisal and discovering unassigned duties.
• The information is used for legal compliance.

Steps in Job Analysis

• Decide how you'll use the information and determine how you will collect it
• Review relevant background information such as organizational charts, process charts, and job descriptions
• Select a representative position
• Perform data collection using job analysis methods
• Verify the job analysis information with the worker performing the job and his/her immediate supervisor
• Develop the job description and job specifications

Job Analysis Methods

• Job analysis methods provide detailed descriptions of the various jobs in an organization.
• The methods helps in preparing job description and job specification.
• The methods include observation, helping employees towards organizational goals, managing and evaluating.
• Observation, interview, questionnaire, participant diary/logs and internet-based analysis are examples of job analysis methods.

Interview Techniques

• Involves discussion with employees, their superiors and everyone in contact with him/her for their work.
• The role of an expert to conduct the interview is important.
• One is Responsible for holding the discussion in one direction, eliminating any distractions, and avoiding arguments.
• A complex method of job analysis.
• There are structured and unstructured interviews.
• Guidelines includes job analyst & supervisor working together to identify the workers who know the job best, quickly establish rapport with the interviewee, follow a structured guide or checklist and list the duties in order of occurrence.

Questionnaire Method

• The questionnaire is filled up by the employees.
• The questionnaire can be structured or unstructured.
• Questionnaires can be close ended with few open ended questions.
• It is the preferred method and is less time consuming.
• It provides easy collection and analysis of data.

Observation Method

• Involves studying jobs by watching the employees perform.
• Behavior, skills, leadership, knowledge, team working etc. are observed.
• Direct observation involves observation of daily activities, machinery usage, output, work environment and relation with supervisors.
• Work analysis also involves time and motion studies, watching how much time an employee takes to accomplish a particular task.

Participant Diary/Logs

• Workers are asked to keep a diary/log of daily tasks by workers.
• A daily listing of every activity in which they engage along with the time each activity takes.

Internet-Based Job Analysis

• Face-to-face job analysis methods can be slow, time-consuming, and difficult to update quickly.
• Standardize job analysis questionnaires that are disbursed geographically to employees via the company's intranet, allowing instructions to complete forms and return by a target date.

Job Description

• It is a list of a job's duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, working conditions, and supervisory responsibilities.
• It outlines minimum requirements of the job, preserving flexibility of operations
• Helps in segregating various jobs in an organization

Purpose and Importance of Job Description

• Enables career advancement in the company
• Avoiding disputes among employees related to their duties and responsibilities
• Determines the amount of payment to be made to employees
• Grading and classification of jobs
• Counselling, coaching and mentoring employees
• Ascertain the promotions and transfer decisions

Components of a Job Description

• Job Identification and Job Summary
• Relationships and Responsibilities/Duties
• Authority and Standards of Performance
• Working Conditions and Job Specifications

Job Identification

• This includes the job title. For example: marketing manager, inventory control clerk
• It also includes the date and Location of the Job.
• It also includes the department, division or section.
• Reports to or the supervisor's title and their salary/pay scale.
• Includes grade or level of the job

Job Summary

• Summarize the essence of the job and Include only it's major functions or activities.
• For example, the Marketing Manager should determine the demand for products and services offered by their firm and others.
• They should identify potential customers and develop pricing strategies with the end goal of maximizing profits while ensuring customer satisfaction.
• They should also oversee product development or monitor trends that suggest the need for new products or services.

Relationships

• Jobholder's relationships with others inside and outside the organization must be outlined
• For example, a Human Resource Manager would report to the VP of Employee Relations.
• They would supervise human resource clerks, administrators, labor relations directors and one secretary.
• They work with all department managers and executive management.
• They communicate with outside entities such as employment agencies, executive recruiting firms, union representatives, state and central employment offices and various vendors.

Responsibilities and Duties

• It's the heart of the JD, presenting a list of the job's significant responsibilities and duties
• For example achieving quantitative sales goals, determining sales priorities, maintaining balance and controlled inventory, making accurate postings to accounts payable, maintaining favorable purchase price variance and repairing production line tools and equipment

Authority

• Defines the limits of the jobholder's authority, including decision-making authority, direct supervision of other personnel and budgetary authority
• The job holder has the authority to approve purchase requisitions up to a certain amount, grant time off/or leaves of absence, discipline department personnel, recommend salary increases, interview, and hire new employees.

Standards of Performance

• List of the standards the employee is expected to achieve under each of the JD's main duties and responsibilities.
• For example, a Duty of accurately posting accounts payable should involve posting all invoices received within the same working day.
• It should route all invoices to proper department managers for approval no later than the day following receipt, holding an average of no more than three posting errors per month.

Working Conditions

• List of the working conditions involved on the job
• E.g. Noise level, hazardous conditions and heat.

Job Specification

• A list of a job's "human requirements" - requisite education, skills, personality - product of a job analysis.
• May be a separate document entirely or a section of the JD.
• HR department in consultation with different line managers develops it

Significance of Job Specification

• Enables the recruiting organization to reach out to the right candidates
• Helps in acquiring relevant applications for the job
• Reduces time for short listing for interview
• Involves proper marketing and advertising the job opening
• Aids the human resource in placing the applicants in the appropriate role and position for a job

Contents of a Job Specification

• Education (formal degree)
• Training such as ERP, CRM, Six Sigma etc.
• Experience (fresher, experienced)
• Skills (communication, leadership, manual or mental)
• Physical attributes (appearance, age, weight, height, eye sight etc.)
• Psychological characteristics (emotional stability, maturity, initiative, and sociability)

Job Design

• Job is a set of closely related activities carried out for pay
• A process that companies use to create a new job or add duties to an existing job.
• The purpose of Job design is to optimize work processes to create value and maximize performance
• Key element in creating good quality jobs which benefit both workers and employers

Companies Reach Goals

• Job Design allows a company to more easily reach its goals by having more employees perform more tasks within the organization.
• Job design may involve developing a new position or simply adjusting the set of tasks that a current position encompasses.
• A company can add duties to a graphic design position that extend slightly beyond design work which essentially entrails integrating necessary duties for increased value and performance.

Managers Are Aided By Job Design

• How an employee completes tasks
• The tasks an employee must be able to perform
• The order in which the employee needs to complete the tasks

Job Design Strategies

• Job Rotation
• Job Enlargement
• Job Enrichment
• Job Simplification

Job Enlargement

• Assigning workers additional same level activities, thus increasing the number of activities they perform
• For example, an architect who only works on designing restaurants may also become involved in bridge design.

Job Enrichment

• Redesigning jobs in a way that increases the opportunities for the worker to experience feelings of responsibility, achievement, growth, and recognition.

Job Rotation

• Moving trainee from department to department to broaden his or her experience and identify strong and weak points to prepare the person for an enhanced role with the company
• Systematically moving workers from one job to another to enhance work team performance

Job Simplification

• Job simplification is when managers remove tasks rather than adding them.
• This can help narrow a role to a specific task or set of tasks.
• Professionals often use this approach when a position has become too enlarged and is unmanageable.

Components of Job Design: Skill Variety

• Refers to how many skills a specific job requires.
• Positions that have a larger skill variety are more likely to positively challenge employees and encourage them to gain more competence in specific areas.

Components of Job Design: Feedback

• Feedback is information that employees receive in relation to their effectiveness within a role.
• Feedback comes from both the work itself and external factors, such as customer satisfaction.

Components of Job Design: Task Identity

• Refers to whether a person completes an entire piece of work or contributes to only a piece of it.
• Jobs that allow employees to complete whole pieces of work or objectives are often more rewarding for employees than participating in only a part of it.

Components of Job Design: Autonomy

• How much freedom and independence an employee has in their position.
• Increased autonomy may lead to the employee feeling more responsible for their tasks.

Components of Job Design: Task significance

• Refers to how the job may impact others within or outside the company.
• When an employee feels their work affects others, they may feel more motivated and satisfied within their role.

Dejobbing

• Broadening the responsibilities of the company's jobs and encouraging employees not to limit themselves to what's on their job descriptions.