Strategic Talent Acquisition and HRM Processes

• Strategic Talent Acquisition is the process of planning, attracting, developing, and retaining an effective workforce, ensuring the organization has the right people with the right skills at the right time
• Objectives of Human Resource Management (HRM) including ensuring proper staffing with enough employees in the right positions, optimizing organizational effectiveness by alighning HR strategy with business goals, and legal compliance by following labor laws and regulations
• Strategic Human Resource Management involves designing and implementing HR policies and practices to align human capital with organizational objectives
• Key Human Resource Management Processes include:

HRM Processes

• Human resource planning, which involves forecasting staffing needs
• Recruitment, which involves attracting suitable candidates
• Selection of employees, which involves choosing the best fit
• Onboarding to integrate new hires
• Learning & Development for training and growth
• Prioritizing Safety & Health to ensure workplace well-being
• Looking at Retention & Dismissal to effectively manage employee tenure
• Addressing Labor Relations to manage employer-employee relationships
• Competent and High-Performing Workforce includes competitive compensation and benefits, performance appraisals for measuring and improving employee performance
• The staffing cycle framework considers:

Key Staffing Decisions

• Whether to join the workforce, what position to fill
• Whether to apply for a position, who will receive offers
• Whether to accept an offer, whether to retain an employee and whether to leave a position
• Our approach to Talent Acquisition includes starting at the individual level to understand how to staff positions, expanding to organizational staffing to apply foundational principles to larger teams
• Staffing is a sequence of decisions rather than a process.

Key considerations for staffing include:

• Sequential dependence, each decision impacts the next
• Temporal separation, decisions happen at different times
• Alternating decision control, the organization or the applicant controls the choice
• Boundaries of the staffing system to define where staffing decisions begin and end
• Whether to join the workforce (D1): Applicant controls the decision on whether to work and compensation. Organizations try to attract workforce participants
• (D2) Job Design Organization controls the decision by defining responsibilities, authority, establishing selection criteria, and job attractiveness. Applicants influence the decision based on job preferences
• (D3) Attracting Applicants: Organizations need to attract high-quality applicants and determine the value of the staffing cycle, but the applicant controls whether they find the job appealing
• (D4) Selection: Organizations control who receives job offers using valid selection methods for cost optimization. Applicants decide based on interest in accepting the offer
• (D5) Job Acceptance: Organizations make offers attractive with signing bonuses, benefits, and perks. Recruitment strategies have a role
• (D6) Retaining the Employee: Organizations control if the position is still needed and effective employee performance, but the employee influences if they are happy with their role
• (D7) Employee's Decision to Stay: Organizations influence decision with retirement, benefits and incentives, but the employee controls whether the job meets their needs

Key Takeaways

• Staffing is an ongoing cycle with alternating decision control between the organization and the employee
• Focus on job design, attraction, selection, and retention to create an effective workforce, and employees evaluate their situation and choose to stay or leave based on satisfaction and incentives

The Staffing Cycle Framework Notes

• (D1) Joining the Workforce is the first step in the staffing cycle
• Organizations act as influencers trying to attract workers, potential workers are the decision-makers as to whether they will work
• Individuals must consider whether to work at all, how much to work, what benefits and compensation package they need

Factors That Influence Workforce Participation

• Economic & Government Data Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) – www.bls.gov, U.S. Census Data - www.census.gov, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) – www.dol.gov
• Key Workforce Metrics for the US Population:
  • Size 340.1 mil
  • Workforce Size 170.7 mil
  • Current Unemployment Rate 4.0%
  • Number of unemployed individuals 6.8 mil
  • Median Wage Levels 61-62k

The reasons to join the workforce

• Financial stability
• Career aspirations
• Cost of living
• Employment benefits (healthcare, retirement plans)
• Personal or family expectations

The reasons to leave the workforce

• Reservation wage (minimum wage a person is willing to work for)
• Cost of daycare and childcare
• Personal wealth, health issues, Economic conditions such as Inflation, recession or technological innovation

Key Takeaways

• The decision to join the workforce is highly personal, being influenced by financial, social, and economic factors
• Organizations try to attract workers, but individuals ultimately decide whether to participate
• Macroeconomic indicators and Life circumstances influence job market decisions
• Statistical and Financial Analysis involves Statistical Techniques in Staffing.

Techniques include:

• Trend analysis uses historical data on employee numbers to predict future staffing needs,
• Ratio analysis examines productivity ratios to estimate staffing requirements,
• Correlational analysis measures the relationship between two variables to assess the validity of job performance predictors,
• Regression analysis uses many factors to predict future staffing needs

Designs for Studying Staffing

• Experimental design randomly assigns subjects to treatment & control groups, measures cause-and-effect relationships, like testing the impact of a new hiring process.
• Quasi-experimental design uses naturally occurring events (like recessions or technology changes) this design is not fully controlled but provides real-world insights
• Non-experimental (Observational) Design involves data collection and analysis, and cannot determine causation

Experimental Design Methods

• Pre-test Post-test Control Group Design, the Effect = (Post-test Exp – Pre-test Exp) – (Post-test Control – Pre-test Control)
• Single Group Pre-test, Post-test Design, Effect = (Post-test Exp – Pre-test Exp)
• Post-test Only Control Group Design, the Effect = (Post-test Exp – Post-test Control)
• Single Group Post-test Only Design, Effect = Post-test Exp

Sampling in Staffing Research

• Key Factors:
  • Sample representativeness ensures findings can be applied beyond the sample group
  • Sample size indicates that larger samples lead to reduced sampling error

Financial Analysis in Staffing

Retirement planning formula

• M: annual money needed
• LE: Life Expectancy
• IR: Inflation rate

Financial Strategies for Organizational Success involve:

• Engaging in new value-added activities, redesigning current processes, increasing efficiency in existing work, and preventing non-compliant & counterproductive behavior such as legal issues or misconduct

Key Takeaways

• Data-driven decision-making is crucial for effective staffing, statistical methods can improve the workforce and recruitment strategies
• Experimental design leads to evidence-based approaches for HR improvements, and financial analysis supports long-term workforce planning & cost management

Notes on MGT 3424 - Job Design (2025)

• D2: A job should be created if it adds more value to the organization than its costs, has enough qualified individuals available, and it attracts the right candidates
• The key characteristics of successful employees can be identified, and performance for jobs is clear and effective

HR Planning Goals

• Definition: Forecasting talent needs and developing action plans to meet them is Important because it helps in hiring, selection, and evaluating recruitment success
• Addresses questions such as how many people to hire, what jobs need to be filled, what skills and abilities are required, where the employees are needed and when to hire them

Job Design

• What is a Job? A set of responsibilities, tasks, and prescribed behaviors
• Assigning Responsibilities & Tasks: Careful division of labor is required, and there must be 2 approches Generalists and Specialists
• Economies of Work Specialization: Not all jobs contribute equally to an organization's mission and job attractiveness depends on work conditions, salary, and responsibilities

There are 2 approaches to job design

• Scientific Management focuses on efficiency and task optimization
• Humanistic/Motivational is the other approach, and its focus is to design jobs to increase satisfaction and engagement
• Ergonomic/Human Factors – Ensure jobs are physically comfortable and safe
• Perceptual/Motor Approach – Design jobs to reduce mental workload and errors

Other Job Design Issues:

Task Interdependence – How jobs rely on each other, Teams Job roles in team-based structure Gig/Contract Employment – The rise of freelancing & short-term contracts., Remote Work – More jobs allowing work-from-home options., Full-Time vs. Part-Time – Deciding on employment status., Work Week Definition – Determining standard working hours., Compensation & Benefits – Attracting and retaining employees., Overtime Eligibility – Who qualifies for extra pay?

Key Takeaways

• Job design impacts productivity, efficiency, and employee satisfaction
• Organizations must balance specialization and generalizations
• HR planning aligns staffing needs with business goals
• New trends related to remote and gig jobs are reshaping job structures

Improving Individual Job Performance

Key Questions

• How can individual performance be enhanced
• Performance Changes Over Time, performance:
  • Increases as skills improve
  • It Reaches a plateau after a high skill level
  • Declines Temporarily once new tactics are introduced
  • Rises When new skills are acquired

Performance Over Time with New Tactics

• Initial Skill Growth: Performance rises as the individual gains expertise Performance Drop: When a new tactic is introduced, performance may temporarily deline to unfamiliarity Plateau Effect: After learning the new skill, performance stabilizes., and each time a new approach rises performance improves

Key Insights from Models

• Learning new methods and technology often results in short term performance drops
• Over time, individuals can rapidly adapt, leading to higher long-term performance
• The rate of improvement increases with each learning cycle

Strategies to Improve Organizational Outcomes

• Engaging in new value-added activities to increase value
• Redesigning current processes to improve efficiency by refining existing workflows
• Enhancing productivity in existing work by doing current tasks more efficiently without changes
• Avoiding non-compliance and counterproductive behaviors

Key Takeaways

• Skill development is a continuous cycle resulting in growth, decline, stabilization, and improvement
• New tactics require adaptation, leading to short-term dips but long-term gains
• Organizations must focus on continuous improvement through innovation, efficiency, and behavioral managemant

What is Job Analysis?

• Job analysis is a process to gather, document, and analyze information about a job
• it is used to Help in recruitment, selection, and workforce planning
• Job Descriptions define the role and responsibilities, acting as the primary source document for recruitment and impacting joining, accepting an offering and leaving a position

Job Specifications

• List qualifications, skills, and attributes needed for the job. Primary source document for selection, and also influences job design & creation and retention and performance management

The Staffing Cycle Framework & Job Analysis

• D1 Helps potential employees understand what jobs are available
• D2 guides decisions on job creation and design
• D3 used to attract the right applicants through recruitment
• D4 determines selection criteria for hiring decisions
• D5 impacts job acceptance decisions
• D6 influences performance management and retention strategies
• D7 affects exit decisions and replacement planning

Position Description Writing Guide

Job Descriptions Should Include

• key responsibilities
• tasks & duties
• Work environment

Job Specifications Should include

• Skills and Qualifications required
• Experience & Education Levels expected
• Competencies & Abilities needed for success

Key Takeaways

• Job analysis helps the internal process that inform what is needed for recruitment and selection
• Job Descriptions and Specifications help attracts candidates and defines expectations as well as guide hiring decisions by setting qualification criteria

What is Utility Analysis?

• Evaluates effectiveness of staffing decisions
• Determines how context and interventions impact hiring outcomes
• Measures the value of different hiring strategies compared to random hiring
• Understanding the Z-Score in Staffing represents a measure of the standardized metrics
• (e.g., Likert scales), including the normal distribution with purpose in staffing to help evaluate the expected performance of job predictor

Interpreting the Z-Score in Staffing

• Z_x: Represents an individual's predicted future job performance and their normal distribution
• Utility equations can also Compare Candidates strength

Validity Coefficient (r_xy) in Selection

• Definition: Measures how well a selection predictor correlated with future job performance
• Range: -1.0 to 1.0 +1.0 Perfect positive correlation 0.0 No correlation -1.0 Perfect negative correlation
• Greater correlations (higher r_xy) = More accurate hiring predictions. Also includes strength measurement

Standard Deviation of Performance in Dollars (SD_y)

• Factors that influence the standard:
• Definition: the dollar value of a 1.0 standard deviation difference in performance that measures job importance and the variability of performance
  • Factors of estimation include
• Direct Measurement using actual performance in dollars

Key Takeaways

• Expert estimations are those by SMEs to estimate percentile performance differences

• The rough estimate formula is SD_y ≈ 40% of Annual Salary

• Interpreting Utility Analysis using utility analysis to compare to hiring strategies by showing the differences in employee value

• The random hiring approach is defined by “zero utility” and allows for example utility analysis

• Utility analysis measures the financial impact of different hiring decisions.

• Greater selection validity and higher values leads to strategic improvement.

• Recruitment is attracting and hiring to match candidates for positions

• Staffing & cycle measures for recruitment are an analysis of the role being considered

Concerns of Recruitment:

• Candidates of the Right Type/ number/ time + Optimal cost
• A Recruitment Guide is a document includes costs timeline and processes

There is a process called Recruitment Planning to...

• Identify sub populations of recruits, identify communications channels and messaging

General Approached to Recruiting:

• Cast a wide NET
• Targeted market in a more specified market There must be great factors of applicants and reactions depending on the type

Considerations

• Job Characteristics
• Characteristics of the current organization
• Recruiters and their own process of recruitment

Goals of Recruitment include:

• targeting diverse groups and communication to different demographics and skill based profiles
• Messages can be brand statements, targeted custom or statements for descriptions
• Media is typically available through recruitment channels and networking systems

Key takeaways:

• Ensure organizations hire the effective people
• Targeted improves effectiveness
• Focus on diversity and inclusion while recruiting

Explore strategic talent acquisition, HRM objectives (proper staffing, organizational effectiveness, and legal compliance), and aligning HR with organizational goals. Learn about HR processes: planning, recruitment, selection, onboarding, learning, and development.