BUS2024F Final Notes PDF

Evidence based IOP HR Analytics - The process of collecting, analysing, interpreting and reporting people related data for the purpose of improving decision making, achieving strategic objectives and sustaining a...

Evidence based IOP HR Analytics - The process of collecting, analysing, interpreting and reporting people related data for the purpose of improving decision making, achieving strategic objectives and sustaining a competitive advantage - Use people based metrics to inform decisions - Aim to provide data driven decisions that improve decision making at all levels of an organisation - Used to understand the company wide impact of system of integrated HR practices on employee, operational, stakeholder and financial outcomes - HR analytics can provide evidence supporting the links among HR systems, policies and practices and employee operational, stakeholder and financial outcomes. - Advanced HRA= provide prescriptive recommendations for the future\ - The growth of HRA = orgs understand the importance of making data driven decisions to gain a CA Why evidence based Case study: choosing an office location HRM - What people related data/ metrics used to make decision - Where everyone lives - Transportation - Schools for kids - Family and communities (helps with retention) - environmental/ health risks - Convenience of services (stores, hospitals) - Cost of living - will salaries match cost to live there - Type of talent in the location (do ppl with those qualifications already live there or will company have to relocate individuals) Importance of HRM - Adaptability to change - In-demand skills - Data- driven decision making - Global relevance - Analytics translators  Integrative Framework for EBHRM= Scientific process Step 1 Identifying the problem Step 2 Doing background research - Unlikely that your problem is completely novel - Look to prior theory and research by previous scholars - Help you better understand the phenomenon - Saves money time and energy on trying to solve a problem for which others have already found a viable solution Step 3 Form hypothesis - Clear statement of what you believe or predict to be true - Educated guess based on the background research you have performed - Informs what data you need to collect and research design you will use Step 4 Testing hypothesis via experimentation Practicality - A true experiment= random assignment to a treatment or control grp - Might be impractical, inappropriate or unethical to conduct - Observational design, surveys, record behaviour through direct observation or archival organisational records Qualitative vs quantitative - Qual= non numeric, text and narrative data, photos, videos - Provide info about context and processes - Thematically analysed with software programs and AI - Quant= numeric, counted or measured Big data vs little data - Big= large amounts of unstructured, messy and quickly streaming data which can be described in terms of volume variety, velocity and veracity - Often not from sources that originally intend to leverage for analytical purposes -  - Little= structured data that are gathered in small volumes for a preplanned purpose Data collection and measurement - concept= theoretical phenomenon or construct (eg job performance) - measures= tool used to assess the levels of a theoretical concept (survey) - Pretest posttest design - Manipulating variables therefore CONFOUNDING VARIABLES Step 5 Analysing the data To accept or reject your hypothesis - Qualitative data analysis - Testing relies on agreement between independent coder/analysts to determine the processes underlying the phenomenon - Quantitative data analysis - Correlation analysis, regression analysis, null hypothesis significance testing - Categorical data= chi square test of independence - quasi/ true exp= t tests and analysis of variation Biases in model building, testing and interpretation - Qual= maintain reflexivity when making judgement calls and decisions - quant= biases; models built by someone with inherent biases themselves Step 6 Communicating the results Depends on the field of work and the company culture - Audience is important Data visualisation - Pictorial and graphic representations of quantitative and qualitative data - Ppl don't need in depth understanding of stats to understand results - Create ways to help ppl understand your message/point Effective storytelling with data  Strategy formulation: developing and refining a strategy - Strategy formulation= the process of planning what to do to achieve organisational objectives - The development and/or refinement of a strategy - Formulate rational and methodical strategies with multiple preplanned phases - Top down approach or bottom up approach - Organisations should demonstrate strategic flexibility by remaining abreast of dynamic changes in the internal and external environment by re-envisioning and reformulating a strategy as needed Steps 1. Create mission, Mission= a core need that an organisation strives to fulfil + represents vision and values the organisation’s overreaching purpose (raison d'etre) Vision= an extension of an organisation’s mission that describes what the organisation will look like or be at some point in the future Core values= parameters and guidelines for decision making that help an organisation realise its vision 2. Analyse int and To achieve a competitive advantage, an organisation must look both ext environment internally and externally to understand how to bring its mission, vision and values to life SWOT ANALYSIS Systematic and methodical decision making tool = formulate viable strategy - INTERNAL = strengths and weaknesses (can control) - How to leverage S and improve on W - EXTERNAL= threats and opportunities (beyond direct control) - Identify O and T with respect to the state of its industry and competitors, labour market, unemp rate and state of local national and global economies Resource based view during a SWOT analysis  - Identify the S, W in terms of physical, financial, organisational and HR and identify how the org can use these to max O and min T - Proposes that a resource holds value to the extent that it is rare (scarce and few competitors) and inimitable (extent to which it is difficult for competitors to reproduce, attain or deploy the same resource) - Provides a way of anticipating whether the organisation, upon applying the strategy will be able to achieve its objectives and sustain a CA - Example: Apple Inc 3. Pick a strategy Strategy type= general approach for how an organisation will bring V, type M, V to life, while at the same time leveraging its strengths and improving on weaknesses - Differentiation: org creates a P/S that is different from competitors’ and thus warrants a higher price or more attention from consumers - Apple inc. = ‘think different’ - Cost leadership: org identifies ways to produce a product or provide service at lower cost compared with competitors - Help org increase margins or sell P/S at a cheaper price than competitors - Focus or niche: org uses differentiation or cost leadership but identifies a narrow consumer base to appeal to a specific P/S type that may not be sold by competitors 4. Define specific The process of operationalizing a mission and general strategy type into objectives to satisfy specific objectives hinges on the needs of stakeholders and stakeholders organisation’s need for sustainable competitive advantage. - Org forms strategy to meet needs of stakeholders and to be competitive - Stakeholders include: customers, investors and shareholders, employees and communities - Different groups that an organisation must appeal to 5. Finalise strategy Organisation must create a clear plan for the future before progressing to strategy implementation  HR Analytics and Business strategy What is strategy - A well-devised and thoughtful plan for achieving an objective - It is inherently future oriented and is intended to provide a road map toward completion of an objective - Reflects how a unit coordinates activities to achieve planned objectives in both the long and short term - Business strategies + data analytics = data driven decisions which can improve the likelihood of achieving strategic objectives and sustaining competitive advantage Strategy implementation - Org follows through on its plan - Org builds and leverages the capabilities of its human resources (Human capital) - Human capital: the knowledge, skills and abilities that people embody across an organisation HRM alignment - Bus strat= where you are to where you wanna be with bus strategy - HR analytics = help us analyse our current and future position and how to track progress Aligning HR with strategy - Implementation requires the coordination and cooperation of employees and managers at all levels of the organisation - Can be disconnects between proposed strategy and its real enactment - HR analytics offers a rigorous approach to attracting, motivating and retaining talented people that are crucial for realising strat objectives and achieving CA - SHRM can help organisations realise its strategy and objectives through the deployment of its HR capabilities Strategy formulation Steps in strategy 1. Create V, M value formulation 2. analyse internal and external environments a. SWOT,  b. PESTLE 3. choose strategy type a. Differentiation, b. Cost leadership c. Sustainability strategy 4. Define specific objectives to satisfy stakeholders a. Customers, investors, community, employees 5. Finalise strategy a. Create clear plan b. Strategy implementation i. Bring strategy to life 1. Building and leveraging the capabilities of a bus HR 2. Managers role: contributing to your org strat  Strategic HRM - transactional/ administrative → strategic business partners (transformational) - HR has a more critical and valuable purpose within a business - transactional/ admin has become more automated Origins of SHRM - Personnel management - Employees viewed as an expense TO - HRM - Employees viewed as asset/ resource - Must invest HRM = focus on transactional and administrative activities and employee relations activities. - to a more pronounced focus on transformational activities intended to help the organisation leverage its human capital to achieve strategic org objectives - Expanded our view of managing people from a cost TO AN ASSET Ulrich HR Models this change business partner model  HR analytics Fundamentals - Growing interest - Shape people related bus decisions and strategies - New teams/ departments focused on HR analytics - Driving processes with data Essential - Theoretical lens components - Business - Broader understanding outside people processes - Data management - Clean, secure, private, protection of data esp personnel data - Measurements - Sound HR metrics, choose reliable and valid measurement for data analysis - Data analysis - Choosing meaningful process - Employment law - How to use data in way that is legal - Ethics - Can be done but should it be done Considerations - Integration and embedding of HR analytics into HR and org for sustainable strategies HRA function - Integration of HR analytics into culture of org - Pairing HRA with good change measurement - Ethics - Composition of HRA team HR value chains - Attract, motivate, engage, develop, retain, perform - Recruitment & Selection - Employee Relations - Motivation - Reward Management - Performance Management  - Training & Development HRA in functional - turnover/ attrition, improving performance, employee engagement domains and performance, strategic workforce planning, recruitment, talent management, compensation and benefits, leadership, culture and org change Levels of HR analytics Descriptive analytics - Descriptive analytics: focuses on understanding what has already happened (focus on past) - Summary statistics; absence rates, turnover rates, cost per hire - HR dashboards provide summaries of key HR metrics to help them understand their workforce Predictive analytics - Predictive analytics: focuses on what is likely to happen in the future based on available data - Statistical and computational models (approximation of reality or the way we think things work - Stats models: mathematical approximations of reality based on data sampled from the population = regression model Prescriptive - Prescriptive analytics: focuses on what actions should be taken analytics based on what is likely to happen in the future - Build upon predictive analytics by taking data informed predictions and translating them into different decision alternatives and courses of action - Optimise decision making and ultimately achieve the best outcome that is aligned with organisational strategy Categories of HR analytics: efficient, effectiveness and impact measures Efficiency - Connection between investments in people and programmes and practices they produce - Eg. cost per training hour effectiveness - Connection between programmes and practices and the changes in talent quality - Eg. skill increase in trainees Impact - Connection between changes in talent and strategic success of organisation - Eg. skill enhances firm performance 4 types of people analytics Operational (WORKFORCE REPORTING → PROVIDING INFO) Raw and unstructured data, typically presented as a list Descriptive What happened? (WORKFORCE REPORTING → PROVIDING INFO) Summarise data into meaningful charts and reports, often representing trends over time - Lagging data of historical insights - Represented in a tabular or graphical form; presents snapshot of the workforces’ composition Eg. HR metrics, HR reporting, HR benchmarking, HR scorecard diagnostic Why did it happen? (PEOPLE ANALYTICS → ADDING VALUE THROUGH INSIGHT) The output from a piece of root cause analysis - To determine why something has happened Predictive What will happen? (WORKFORCE REPORTING → PROVIDING INFO) Using historical data to predict future outcomes using data to model relationships between variables and then extrapolating these relationships forward in time. - helps to highlight relationships undetectable through standard descriptive methods. Able to offer trend analysis and forecasting. - Combination of lagging data to create leading indicators.  Eg. intention to leave, predicted sick days per period Takes info from diagnostic data and integrates other environmental factors and projecting future direction of critical metrics or KPIs Prescriptive How can we make it happen? (PEOPLE ANALYTICS → ADDING VALUE THROUGH INSIGHT) Using optimisation to identify the best alternatives to minimise or maximise an objective. - The mathematical and statistical techniques of predictive analytics can also be combined with optimisation to make decisions that take into account the uncertainty in the data. Eg. combination of product turnover data, pricing strategy and worker rota to design optimal opportunity for successful sales Working with stakeholders to determine intervention strategies that will minimise rise or maximise opportunity and measure the success of these plans  Data maturity Mature and powerful - understanding the organization’s data and systems, resolve talent analytics data quality issues, and build credibility with stakeholders all take time. - Then there are the issues of finding or developing the right skills sets, integrating data, and building effective tools for line managers. Reporting - Reactive approach: fielding ad-hoc requests for data - Proactive approach: using benchmarks and trends to highlight what is working (and what is not), Very few organisations = use advanced analytics to help business leaders solve their talent challenges through statistical analyses. - Even less are using predictive analytics to forecast future talent outcomes Mature analytics Mature analytics = better talent outcomes and efficiency gains teams - making far better decisions about their people and they are learning faster every day. 1. Strong technical skills - Organizations at Levels 3 and 4 of our maturity model develop strong statistical and data skills. - More than 70 percent of Level 4 organizations have staff personnel with expertise in statistics, database, and data visualization, and more than one-half have staff with IT backgrounds. 2. Beyond number crunching - Mature analytics functions have learned to solve business problems. One of the biggest gaps in the capabilities of many analytics teams is the ability to “tell the story” behind the data, so that business leaders can quickly grasp the implications. - These teams need personnel with strong business, HR, and consulting skills. 3. Data Quality - Mature analytics teams have invested time in ensuring that their data is high quality and up to date. - Accurate data is important to gaining credibility with stakeholders—if they find errors or do not believe the data, the analytics function will likely suffer a serious setback. 4. Effective dashboards - Mature analytics teams have learned how to create self-service, customizable dashboards for business and HR leaders. - These dashboards allow stakeholders to have quick access to the information they need, while the analytics staff spends more time providing insights and recommendations on business challenges  Evidence based challenges and opportunities Considerations for - Integrating HR analytics into culture of org sustainable HRA - Integration and embedding of HR analytics into HR and org strategies - Pairing of HR analytics with good change measurement - Composition of HR analytics team - Ethics and HR analytics - Ensuring high quality of data Factors influencing effectiveness of HR practices Building a culture of - Develop HR data skills HRA - Scale beyond the data analytics team - Determine what works - Experiment to fine-tune approaches - Demonstrate value - Leverage leader communication - Decide with balance - Keep humans in the loop - Might become mistrustful of HR if data is the only focus 7 competencies of effective HRA teams Ethics 1. Privacy a. POPIA, transparency, training, consent 2. Security a. Password policies, encryption, POPIA 3. Bias a. Transparency and explainability (open- source) 4. People impact a. Positive impact, be clear on purpose Intuition Leader still like to use their intuition when making major decisions instead of empirical evidence - Using data to inform people decisions requires making business case to organisational leaders by linking data to strategic org objectives - Convince org leaders and HR professionals of the value of the scientific process - By leveraging HR analytics= goal should be to provide managers with actionable evidence based practices that improve the management of people When is ok to trust your gut - Uncertain situations ( where additional data wont sway you/ data is not available)  Recruitment and selection What is staffing - Acquiring/ deploying and retaining employees - Process of managing the flow of employees - Management of quantity and quality - Outcomes - Filing vacancies - Organisational effectiveness Strategic staffing - Prioritise Human Capital Staffing plays a central role in creating and enhancing orgs competitive advantage - Alongside a company’s strategic, financial and technological capabilities, organisational capabilities generated by attracting, retaining, motivating and developing talented employees, is important Acquiring, developing and retaining the right talent helps businesses create the organisational capability and intellectual capital driving their strategy execution Things to Things to consider when staffing in orgs consider - Planning = time - Bus strategy - Alignment= HR= Labour market - Targeted recruitment= how - Assessment = evaluation HR vs Staffing strategies HR strategy Staffing strategy - The linkage of the entire HR function - The collection of priorities, policies with the firm’s bus strategy in order to and behaviours used to manage the improve bus strategy execution flow of talent into through and out of an organisation over time  Staffing organisation model Alignement - Alignment of staffing and org strat - Organisational Strategy - HR and Staffing Strategy - Involves key decisions about size and type of workforce to be: - Acquired, Deployed, Trained, Managed, Rewarded, Retained - Staffing strategy guides the development of recruitment, selection and employment programmes. The staffing 1. Onboarding process 2. Selection 3. Recruitment 4. Needs analysis  Staffing goals Process Goals (during hiring) Outcome goals (after hire) - Attracting sufficient numbers of - Hiring successful employees appropriate applicants - Hiring individuals who will be - Complying with the law and org promoted policies - Reducing turnover rates among high - Fulfilling affirmative action plans performers - Meeting hiring timeline goals - Hiring individuals for whom the HR - Staffing efficiency functions will have the desired impact - Meeting stakeholder needs - Maximising the financial return of the org’s staffing investment - Enhancing employee diversity - Enabling org flexibility - Enhancing business strategy execution - Should be aligned with improving the strategic performance of the staffing system - The primary staffing goal is to MATCH the competencies, styles, values and traits of job candidates with the requirements of the organisation and its jobs - Strategic staffing goes further and enables the organisation to better execute its business strategy and attain its business goals - Staffing goals should be consistent with the goals and needs of all stakeholders in the staffing process, including applicants and hiring managers - Hiring for potential QUESTIONS TO ASK - Is it more important to fill the position quickly or fill it with someone who closely matches a particular talent profile? - What levels of which competencies, styles and values and traits are really needed for job success and to execute the business strategy? - What is the business strategy & what types of people will it need in the short, medium and long term future? - What talents must new hires possess rather than be trained to develop? - What are the organisation's long term talent needs? - Is it important for the person hired to have the potential to assume leadership roles in the future? Values Values are enduring beliefs that are personally or socially preferable to converse beliefs that transcend specific situations and which guide selection or evaluation of behaviour.  Resource based view of the firm - RBV= describes how employee’s motivations, competencies and skills create a sustained competitive advantage - Proposes that a company’s resources and competencies can produce a sustained competitive advantage by creating value for customers by lowering costs, providing something of unique value or a combo of the two Competitive advantage is achieved by having resources that are Resource= valuable Staffing creates value by helping it to exploit O and/or neutralise T Evaluating effectiveness of staffing practices + targeting staffing activities to identify best applicants for org needs - Increases the return on staffing investments, retention and performance - Providing applicants abt realistic info abt job and org - Reduces turnover, cut labour costs and improve productivity - Better job for same pay= create value for staffing investment Strategic staffing to create value= recognised by investors - Quality of staffing can differentiate org to investors= CA Resource = rare Staffing practices must result in a set of workforce attributes that are rare to create a sustainable CA - The ability to identify and attract rare talent varies across orgs Strategic staffing allow firms to meet rarity requirements for gaining CA - Have the potential to create orgs that are more intelligent/ flexible than their competitors with superior levels of cooperation and performance. Eg. Google Resource /= imitated If staffing can be easily copied= talent will not be distinct from talent of competitors - NOT EASY Companies who try the same staffing strategies may not experience the same response A firm’s staffing competencies are determined by unique or rare talent attributes in LM and firm’s ability to identify staffing practices that contribute to the acquisition of this talent\ - BUT competencies are due to the company’s social relationships and recruiting networks, long standing relationships with its talent sources - Firms’ unique history, reputation and culture can also influence competitor’s abilities to copy staffing practices  Interrelated factors contribute to the success of an org’s staffing effort and therefore will be difficult for competitor to copy Resource/= substituted If a competitor can find a substitute for the type of talent another organisation has acquired= neither will have a CA Tech is unlikely to serve as a substitute for the talents employees contribute - No machine can duplicate intelligence, judgement, innovation of humans - Therefore superior staffing meets CA criteria of non substitutability  4 business strategies - Business strategy: How does business compete in labour market - Different strategies will be used based on an organisation’s competitive advantage Cost leadership Strive to be the lowest cost producer in an industry for a particular level of product quality - They are good at designing products that can be manufactured efficiently and engineering efficient manufacturing and distribution processes to keep costs and prices low - Orgs look for ways to reduce costs and lower prices while offering a desirable product that competes with competitors Develop CA based on operational excellence - Maximising the efficiency of the manufacturing or product development process to minimise costs Nature of strategy - Cost effective, Efficiency, Operational Excellence, Standardised processes, procedures and products Types of orgs/industries using it - Manufacturing (Toyota), transportation (Safair), Fast food restaurants (McDonalds), Shoprite etc. Types of employees recruited - Adaptable, efficient, follow procedures, trainable, don't hire those with high salary expectations, willing to follow standardised procedures Differentiation Attempts to develop a p/s that has unique characteristics valued by customers (can charge a premium price) - Image of firms products, quality, safety, usability - Tech and pharmaceutical Develop CA based on product innovation - Developing new p/s - Maintain environment that encourages innovation and new ideas - Frequent introduction of new products is key to stay competitive Nature of strategy - Innovation, Unique characteristics (processes/products), Premium services and costs , Quality Types of orgs/industries using it - Manufacturing (Volvo), transportation (Emirates), Charlie’s Bakery, Woolworths etc.  Types of employees recruited - Creative, team-orientated, focused on long-term career, work well with ambiguity, good research skills, teamwork, entrepreneurial - Make greater investment in HR and focus on hiring highly skilled workers for key research positions - Not for those who need predictability and stability Individual contribution are important - Cost is less of a barrier= first to market - Motivate by pay for performance systems Specialisation Focusing on a narrow market segment or niche and pursuing either a differentiation or cost-leadership strategy within that market segment - A single product, particular end use or buyers with special needs - High level of customer loyalty - Successful if it results in lower costs than competitors serving the same niche or ability to offer something that comp cannot CA based on customer intimacy - Delivering unique and customisable p/s that better meet customers needs and increase customer loyalty - Tailoring offerings to meet demands of niches - Consulting, retail and banking organisations Nature of strategy - Cost-leadership/differentiation , Narrow and specific market, Customer centred , Operational effectiveness, Unique characteristics (processes/products) Types of orgs/industries using it - Health and Fitness products (USN), pet stores, Tesla (electric vehicles), etc. Types of employees recruited - Open-minded, emotional resilience, customer relations skills, problem solvers, active learners, adaptable, flexibility and knowledge of customer needs Growth A strategy to expand the company either organically or via acquisitions - Success depends on firms ability to find and retain right number and types of employees to sustain intended growth Organic growth - Org expands from within by opening new factories/ stores - Requires an investment in recruiting, selecting and training Mergers/ acquisitions - Expand internationally - Companies acquire other companies solely for talent and discontinue OG company - Employees in redundant positions by merged organisations  are reassigned or fired, while targeted talent is incorporated into acquired company - Important that there is a match between organisational cultures, values, talent philosophy and HR when merging - mismatches= loss of talent, people issues Nature of strategy - Mergers and Acquisitions, Increase in sales or staff, Local→ global Change Types of orgs/industries using it - Famous Brands (e.g., Steers, Mugg & Bean), MTN, Sasol, franchising, etc. Types of employees recruited - Open-minded, resilient, trainable, problem solvers etc  Organisational (product) life cycle Introduction Company is just forming - Acquiring top technical and professional talent is a priority - Company needs to meet or exceed market compensation rates - Firms that lack resources to attract top talent= offer ownership in the company Growth New companies/ products must set themselves apart from competitors to gain customers and market share by pursuing innovation or differentiation strategies - Companies are less established and higher risk= need to invest more money and resources in staffing to attract the talent they need to grow - Need to hire externally - Due to rapid growth= employees promoted/ transferred faster than other stages Maturity The firm’s p/s have fully evolved and market share has become established - Focus shifts to maintaining or obtaining further market share via a cost leadership strategy - Talent becomes more internal at this stage and promotion opportunities can decrease unless the turnover of lower performers is managed carefully - Many companies restructure during the mature years - employees= adaptable and mobile Decline Face shrinking markets and weaker business performance - could pursue a cost-leadership strategy and allow decline to continue until the business is no longer profitable - Or could make changes to revive p/s through specialisation/ differentiation strategies  Talent philosophy Talent philosophy: A system of beliefs about how its employees should be treated HR strategy: the linkage of the entire HR function with the company’s business strategy - Aligns goals with behaviours, values and goals of employees and influences sub strategies creating an integrated HRM system supporting execution of bus strat Staffing strategy: the constellation of priorities, policies and behaviours used to manage the flow of talent into, through and out of an organisation over time - Encompasses its approaches to acquiring, deploying and retaining its talent - Ultimately reflects its bus strat, HR strategy and talent philosophy Filling vacancies or Short term to fill vacancies as soon as possible hiring for long term - Get qualified ppl to fill vacancy careers - If there is a high turnover rate - Training costs unlikely to be recovered if new hires leave quickly Long term careers - Hire ppl with both potential and desire to eventually be promoted - Employees will take advantage of training and career advancement opportunities - Invest in staffing systems for entry level positions as these will become the company’s future leaders - Low turnover = company invests more money and time in developing employees for LT careers Firm’s commitment to A firm can proactively recruit a diverse mix of ppl and strive to diversity incorporate diversity into its workplace OR passively let diversity happen on its own - Managing diversity through staffing is a better choice - Well managed heterogeneous groups outperform homogenous groups in problem solving, innovation and creative solution building - Orgs benefit from diversity bc their customer bases are also diverse - Diverse employees are able to better understand and negotiate with different suppliers and customers An org’s staffing strategy reflects its commitment to diversity - Orgs that proactively seek diversity are likely to establish relationships and create a culture of inclusion Applicants and emp Assets= the staffing focus is on managing costs and controlling the as assets or investors asset - Goal tends to focus on the acquisition and deployment of labour as cheaply and quickly as possible  - Low cost approach = jobs where high levels of skill not needed and high turnover is not disruptive/ expensive Investors (rather than expenses)= staffing focus is on establishing mutually beneficial relationship in which employees are recognised as investing their resources in the org in exchange for a ROI - Investors can choose not to invest/ discontinue their investment= must be as attractive as possible to potential and current employees - Goal is to give them a return on their personal investment Firm’s commitment to A focus on maintaining high ethical standards is more likely to explain ethical behaviour to applicants that its hiring process, communication with candidates are more frequent and delays are minimised Less focus on ethics= emphasis hiring expediency and low recruiting and staffing costs at the expense of building trust with its applicants and employees  9 elements of staffing strategy Core or flexible - Core= longer-term, regular employees who are central to what WF the organisation does or produces - Company retains them for longer - Flexible= temporary, leased, part-time or contract workers or independent contractors employed for shorter periods by firms as needed - Allows company to adjust quickly to volatile changes in demand for its p/s = decreasing the likelihood it will have to lay off its core workforce when demand shifts again Internal or - Internal = a preference for developing employees and promoting external WF from within to fill job openings - Retain long term employees who have long standing relationships with their customers and good understanding of company - Hiring ppl with potential and capability to perform well in training and development programs and can assume leadership positions later - External = a preference for filling jobs with new employees hired from outside the organisation - Continually acquire fresh talent with skills on new trends - Could potentially undermine strategy= increase turnover if there is no room for growth - Requires paying a premium to acquire talent Hire or train and - Companies unable to pay competitive wages to attract skilled develop needed workers = train skills - Jobs that are unique to an organisation where skilled workers don't exist= hire - No training and development budget= hire and hit the ground running Replace or retain - Orgs can choose to try minimise turnover or accept when talent? turnover happens and hire replacements as it occurs - Letting turnover occur - Receiving more frequent fusion of talent and ideas (good for fast changing indus) - When there is an abundant supply of qualified ppl = replacing is less expensive than retaining - Retaining workers  - Loyal and committed workforce with better understanding of company operations - If talent is difficult to find Proactive or Proactive= done before situations/ issues arise reactive staffing - Proactive diversity= recruiting from sources known to be diverse and tracking diversity goals - Better than reactive response eg. hiring discrimination - Identify situations that could be problematic and improve them before they become problems - Talent oriented staffing (proactive) - Recruiting and even hiring without a specific job opening - Pursue scarce talent constantly - Encourages to identify where its future skills gap are going to be in advance of its actual needs - Inject a continuous stream of talent into the staffing pipeline to ensure there are always qualified ppl in various stages of the hiring process reactive= done in response to situations/ issues - Wait and see approach - Job oriented staffing (reactive) - Hiring to fill a specific job opening What levels of - Hire only highest ability individuals= vv difficult which skills do we - Appropriate for some orgs that rely on knowledge workers need where? to create new product - More strategic to identify attributes that are difficult to change through training and that effectively differentiate among applicants and to hire ppl who already possess them - Hire the traits and train the skills - Current skills are insufficient with rapidly changing market Which jobs to - Not all jobs warrant equal investment in recruitment/ staffing focus on - A company’s key jobs are those that in some way create value for the org by contributing to the generation or retention of clients’ business or creation of new capabilities or products for the org - Company must identify with jobs are critical to obtaining its CA - Focusing on better staffing the identified positions should help the company execute its business strategy and enhance CA Is staffing an - The investments made in recruiting, staffing and retaining investment or cost employees can lead to financial returns in terms of higher performance and productivity, stronger future leaders, lower  training costs and lower recruiting and staffing expenditures due to fewer vacancies - Investing in recruiting can generate a greater number of higher-quality job applicants who are interested in joining and contributing to the company - Likely to lead to a good return if the new system results in the consistent hiring of star employees - BUT costs are still important but it is necessary to make the required tradeoffs where necessary Centralised or - Centralised staffing decentralised - A situation in which all staffing activities are channelled staffing through one unit  Employment and the Law Legal context, job analysis and competency modelling Discrimination Discrimination Discrimination simply means to ‘distinguish between’ although it has a negative connotation in practice and law. - discrimination” means any act or omission, including a policy, law, rule, practice, condition or situation which directly or indirectly-imposes burdens, obligations or disadvantage on; or withholds any benefits, opportunities or advantages from, any person on one or more of the prohibited grounds Indirect - includes neutral conduct which impacts disproportionately on an individual or on specific groups such as - Use of inappropriate tests - Inappropriate test results - Setting unrealistic selection criteria - Use of inappropriate selection methods - Inconsistency in questions asked during interview - Media selection in advertising for applicants - Pre Employment medical examinations and use of this info - Not considering or inviting internal applicants - Employer will have to prove that they did not discriminate, not - even intentionally Direct - treating less favourably of an employee on some irrelevant ground - Unless you can substantiate that certain requirements, specifications or exclusions are based on inherent requirements of the job or due to AA - Eg. family responsibility, marital status, age, bilingualism, conventional dress, specific cultural fit, sex, race, disability, religion - Focus of the act or emission of the employer and effect on individual - Intentional - Implementing anti-discrimination provisions includes considering changes in the job’s incumbents circumstances, such as when they don't meet the og qualifying criteria anymore Unfair Unfair discrimination IS prohibited: - The Employment Equity Act (Republic of South Africa, 1998, p.14) prohibits unfair discrimination by stating that: - “No person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly, against an employee, in any employment policy or practice, on one or more grounds, including gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, family responsibility, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, HIV status, conscience, belief, political opinion, culture, language and birth.” - that it does not constitute unfair discrimination to use selection instruments that demonstrate predictive validity to distinguish between, exclude or show preference for any applicant - “It is not unfair discrimination to take affirmative action measures consistent with the purpose of this Act, or distinguish, exclude, or prefer any person on the basis of an inherent requirement of a job.” Conditional The Employment Equity Act, 55 of 1998, Chapter 2, Section 8: ‘prohibition’ of - 8. Psychological testing and other similar assessments of an testing employee are prohibited unless the test or assessment being used - (a) has been scientifically shown to be valid and reliable; - (b) can be applied fairly to all employees; and - (c) is not biassed against any employee or group. Inherent The requirements must be an intrinsic element of the job which the job requirements cannot be performed without. Burden of proof Chapter II of the Employment Equity Act (Republic of South Africa, 1998, p. 16), under the heading “Burden of proof”, paragraph 11: - Whenever unfair discrimination is alleged in terms of this Act, the employer against whom the allegation is made must establish that it is fair. The Constitution states: - When prima facie evidence of unfair discrimination is shown the defendant must establish that it is fair [discrimination] Implications of - Unequal opportunities in the workplace unfair labour - Unfair recruitment and selection processes and procedures practices - Barriers to employment, promotion and development - Misuse of resources - Affect the manner in which individuals are treated at work - Toxic organisational culture - Decreased productivity, retention, engagement, effectiveness  Typical interview and selection process Job analysis Study of the manner in which a job is performed to a required standard - Valid selection criteria are produced Develop accurate job profile = determine its dimensions and essential functions - predict best candidate for the study - Identifies knowledge, behaviours and motivations needed for success - Must choose valid selection criteria - List minimum job related behaviours - Will provide documentation to justify the process undertaken to identify job criteria and substantiate requirements - Discrimination must be based on the inherent requirements of the job in order to be fair - Specify discriminatory criteria Int/Ext advertisement Job requirements are provided in a clear and non-discriminatory manner, with as much info as possible being provided - Appropriate and accessible To ensure accessibility = population targeted for advertising as well as the media used should be as broad as possible - Internal R+S policy= undertake internal advertising as an initial exercise before opening up to external applicants Indirectly discrim if vacancies are not extensively advertised throughout the employer organisation as well as on general public media basis - Adverts should inform whether applicants are required to participate in certain selection procedures (exams/tests) Receipt of CV Applications are screened to determine which candidates are to be screening retained in the selection system - Looking beyond education but also taken experience into account - Regarding applicants in same light as employees requires skilled scrutiny of CVs in accordance with selection criteria relevant for the position - Non discriminatory= job criteria established prior to applications - Applications should be comparable in same standard format for presentation of CVs should be issues - All qualifications should be noted as having value Shortlisting Thinking critically about prospective candidates Interview Conduct in legal, fair and defensible manner - Questions not compromise or be asked in discrim manner - Clearly phrased and qualified - Consistent with different candidates - Based on the job developed from the job analysis and based on the essential job requirements - Prohibits questions that might imply discriminatory bias - Explain reasoning behind sensitive questions - Follow dimensionally based structured interview - Reduce risk of unintentionally straying outside boundaries of job-related criteria - Ensures interview is constant with all applicants Simulations Relevant to actual job Psychological May be implemented if in accordance with legislative requirements assessment - Use of reliable and valid instruments - When administered properly= provide valuable info to measure cognitive ability, problem-solving ability, motivational fit and technical knowledge - Same assessment must used for all candidates or it would be unfair labour practice by not giving equal opportunities = discriminatory - Psych assessment should provide info abt whether person has the abilities and skills to do job, if they have interest in the job, and if they can adjust to demands of org Reference checks Verifying info given by the applicant - Done by communicating with previous employers or referees cited by the applicant criminal/credit check If relevant to the position Selection decision Most suitable candidate is selected Job offer Medical check Any provisions which are relevant, such as job-related medical checks are specified Can be required after conditional job offer is made and if all potential applicants who receive the offer are examined - Company’s medical examiner should know the requirements of the job so examination are appropriate and job specific and consistent with business necessity - Info obtained must remain confidential Letters of regret Sent to unsuccessful candidates - If job-related (in line with legislative requirements)  Pillars of a legally defensible selection and assessment system Job related targets Job criteria identified through objective job analysis - Provides selection criteria for evaluating applicant - System must measure dimensions needed for good performances Job related Components of job must be job related components - If system includes a component unrelated to the job= selection system unreliable Consistency in What are job requirements? handling applicants Minimum requirements must be established to comply with non-discrim provisions Distinction to be made between minimum/essential and ideal/desirable Selection system applied uniformly to all Advertising platform To ensure accessibility = population targeted for advertising as well as the media used should be as broad as possible - Internal and external - Recruitment through the internet JOB ANALYSIS Beginning of JA Job - Grouping of tasks, duties & responsibilities that constitutes the total work assignment for employees - Building block of an organisation - Changing nature of jobs - KSAOs Job analysis - Process of studying jobs in order to gather, analyse, synthesise, and report information about job requirements and rewards - Define and describe dimensions needed for success in a position = predict best candidate for the study - Identifies knowledge, behaviours and motivations needed for success Multiple uses - Attracting prospective employees - Developing compensation systems - Designing compensation systems - Evaluation  - Selection (job description, job specification etc) Key terms Task statement - Objectively written descriptions of the major tasks of the job Task dimensions - Group of task statements (duties) - Level of importance indicated KSOAs - Knowledge , Skills, Ability, and Other characteristics - Level of importance indicated Outcomes Job description - Outlines the typical job duties and responsibilities - Job family, job title, job summary, task statements, dimensions, importance indicator, job context, date job analysis was conducted Job specification (person specification) - Outlines the essential and desirable criteria for the person doing the job - Job family, job title, job summary, KSAOs, importance indicator, date job analysis was conducted Methods of - Prior information, Observation, Interviews, Task questionnaire, collecting data Committee or task force, Combined methods  Competency-based job analysis Intro A job analysis method that identifies the necessary worker competencies for high performance - Competencies → characteristics necessary for high performance Describing a job in terms of the measurable and observable behavioural competencies an employee must exhibit to do a job well. - Writing a job based on competencies not on duties. Reasons for popularity - Provides specific and observable characteristics - Executives supportive of the type of job analysis - Aligns jobs with organisation’s mission and goals Goals - Develop job requirements that extend beyond the specific job itself - Design and implement staffing programmes focused around competencies as a way of increasing staffing flexibility in job assignments - Easier to adapt job to the changing organisational context Model 1: SHRM Society for HRM Competency Model - Communication, relationship management, ethical practice, consultation, leadership and navigation, global and cultural effectiveness, critical evaluation, business acumen, HR expertise and knowledge Model: Great Eight  Recruitment vs selection Recruitment Selection recruitment= accessing + no contract Selection = choosing + contract - Accessing the sources of HR - Choosing the most suitable candidate through interview and tests commences when a genuine vacancy has been identified and ends when a list of The selection process then takes over. The candidates has been built from the applications are examined and sifted until a applications that have resulted from making a shortlist of the most suitable candidates is vacant position known produced, after which the final elements of - recruitment means 'searching for and the process are activated, including obtaining potential job candidates in arrangements for assessing the candidates. sufficient numbers and quality so that - The selection process ends when a the organisation can select the most suitable candidate has been given appropriate people to fill its job needs. and has accepted an offer of employment Challenges of R+S - Legal compliance - Globalisation - War on talent - Global economic crisis - The local context  Advertising Traditional New - Newspapers - linkedin/indeed/glassdoor - Magazines - Social media - Telephone - Google - Radio - Online job boards - Television - Company career websites - Job fairs What is included in the job advert Dos Donts - Accurate info - Inaccurate info - Info abt salary - Contradictory info - Keep private bc of competitors - Discriminate - Room for negotiation - abusive/ inappropriate lang - Location info - Don't advertise on platforms that that - Remote or not won't be accessible to target grp - Job description - Person specification - Org culture info - Relevant into that will attract targeted group of applicants - Goals of recruitment process Prehire Post hire - Filling a certain number of vacancies - Attracting individuals who will perform. - Attracting applicants with particular - Attracting individuals who will remain characteristics (educational in the organisation background, nationality, gender, race - Retaining good employees Sourcing Identifying and locating high potential recruits → analysis of different possible sources of recruits to identify those best able to meet the firms staffing goals Types of job seekers - Active job seekers - Semi-passive job seekers - Passive job seekers - Highly skilled, head hunting Recruitment sources Internal locate people who currently work for the company who would be good recruits for other positions - it offers opportunities to existing employees, especially those whose current positions have become vulnerable to redundancy, perhaps owing to technological change or a restructuring programme. - To some employees a new position might be more interesting and/or more challenging, or it might be a more senior position enhancing their terms and conditions and providing an opportunity to raise the level of their contribution - recruiting from the internal labour market heads off the costs associated with recruiting externally; - It demonstrates to the workforce that the organisation regards upward internal movements as opportunities to develop its employees and encourage them to take on further responsibility. Promotion/Succession management Transfers Demotion Retired employees Retrenched employees External The external labour market can be viewed on four different levels: - local, regional, national and international. - Further important considerations include the related costs compared with the potential benefits to the organisation of using particular markets, especially the international market. target people outside the firm - Advertisements Campus recruitment Resume databases Placement agencies Outsourcing/consultancies Previous employees Employment exchanges Employee referrals Some sources - faster/cheaper are: - Better at acquiring people who fit the corporate culture and work processes - Better at acquiring high-quality people - Better at acquiring people less likely to leave - Better at acquiring people with previous work experience - Better at generating large numbers of hires - Better at generating professional hires - Better for long term needs - Better for hiring in non core competency areas of the company - Better for finding diverse applicants - Better for finding people not actively looking for a job Creating a - Profile desirable employees to identifying promising sources sourcing plan - Perform ongoing recruiting source effectiveness analyses by tracking Why assess - Get the right fit {Job-person fit & organisation-person fit} employees - To make more accurate hiring decisions - To determine training and development needs - To prevent underperformance - To avoid negligent hiring claims {background checks} - To understand our employees {interests, aspirations etc.} - Because recruitment and selection is costly - Return On Investment - Support talent philosophy & HR strategy - Ensure legal compliance Checking social network sites What companies are looking for: - Drinking & drug use - Inappropriate photos or info - Poor communication skills - Bad mouthing colleagues or employer - Lying about qualifications - Discriminatory remarks - Criminal behaviour Non- traditional Sourcing non traditional applicants applicants - Workers with disabilities - Older workers - Unconventional career paths - Unemployed workers  Types of fit Person- job fit Potential of an individual to meet the needs of a particular job and the potential of the job to meet the need of the individual 4 important points about person job match - Jobs are characterised by their requirements and embedded rewards - Interpersonal skills, autonomy, commision - Individuals are charcterised by their level of qualification and motivation - Few interpersonal skills, need challenge and autonomy Dimensions of fit - Intelligence - Job related skills and competencies and job knowledge - Previous experience - Personality related to performing job tasks Person- The fit between individual’s values, beliefs and personality and the organisation fit values, norms and culture of the organisation - Applicants often assess how well they think they might fit into the org in addition to how well they match job requirements and rewards The focal point of staffing is the person/job match and the job is the bulls eye of the matching target Dimensions of fit - Alignment of one’s personal motivations and the organisation’s purpose - Values - Goals Person-group fit The match between individuals and their work groups, including supervisors Dimensions of fit - Teamwork skills - Expertise relative to other team members - Conflict management style - Preference for team based work - Communication skills - Personality related to working with others Person- vocation The fit between an individual’s interest, abilities, values and personality fit and their occupation Dimensions of fit - Aptitudes - Interests - Personal values - Long term goals  Evaluation methods How are they used Employers use tests to measure a wide range of candidate attributes, including cognitive (mental)abilities, motor and physical abilities, personality and interests, and achievement. Tests of cognitive abilities Intelligence tests, such as IQ tests, are tests of general intellectual abilities. They measure not a single intelligence trait, but rather a range of abilities, including memory, vocabulary, verbal fluency, and numeric ability. - Stanford Binet, Wechsler test, Wonderlic Aptitude tests: Measures of specific mental abilities - Aim to measure applicant’s aptitudes for the job Test of Motor and Measuring dexterity,strength, manual dexterity, and reaction time (for physical abilities instance, for machine operators or police candidates). - Stromberg Dexterity Test - the speed and accuracy of simple judgement as well as the speed of finger, hand, and arm movements. Measuring Personality and interest inventories are sometimes used as predictors personality of intangibles such as motivation and interpersonal skills - Hired based on non performance= usually the result of personal characteristics, such as attitude, motivation, and especially, temperament Personality tests measure basic aspects of an applicant's personality, such as introversion, stability, and motivation. - Projective: a person taking the test must interpret or react to an ambiguous stimulus such as an inkblot or clouded picture. - Because the pictures are ambiguous, the person supposedly projects into the picture his or her own emotional attitudes about life. - expert must analyse the test taker's interpretations and reactions and infer from them his or her personality. The usefulness of such tests for selection then assumes that you find a relationship between a measurable personality trait (such as extroversion) and success on the job. - Because they are personal in nature, employers should always use personality tests with caution, particularly where the focus is on aberrant behaviour. Reference checks Questions to referees should be carefully phrased and considered similarly to those addressed to applicants= ensure quality of info attained - Opinions of previous employers not appropriate for info - Conducted after completion of in depth interview - Check leads and conduct follow up interviews Other - Skills tests - Integrity tests - Interest Inventories Forms of - Paper and pencil tests administration - Computerised tests - Web-based tests (online) Strongest - Employment interviews (structured) = validity estimate of 0.42 predictors of - Cognitive ability tests= validity estimate of 0.31 performance - Employment interviews (unstructured)= validity estimate of 0.19  Assessment centres - Combination of tasks and activities to assess candidate’s suitability for a job "assessment centre performance shows a unique and substantial contribution to the prediction of future police work success,justifying the usage of such method - Employers use assessment centres for selection, promotion and development - management candidates take tests and make decisions in simulated situations, and observers score them on their performance. - The leaderless group discussion. A leaderless group is given a discussion question and told to arrive at a group decision. - Individual presentations. A participant's communication skills and persuasive­ness are evaluated by having the person make an oral presentation on an assigned topic. - The in-basket. The candidate is faced with an accumulation of reports, memos, notes of incoming phone calls, letters, and other materials collected in the in-basket of the simulated job he or she is to take over. The candidate takes appropriate action on each of these materials Advantages Disadvantages - Makes use of several assessment - Costly tools - Require several observers and raters - Obtain diverse information about - Conducted over a long period candidates - Subjectivity - Simulations used to assess how candidates perform realistic tasks  Testing concerns Legal and - Think critically about the decisions you make with the information ethical obtained from your test considerations - Ensure that the test does not unfairly discriminate - Ensure that results from the test are able to prove whether an individual will be successful at the job or not - Consider privacy rights - Safety concerns {is the testing site situated in a safe environment with ideal conditions for testing} - Access concerns {can candidates gain access to testing site or material} - Supervised vs unsupervised Reliability Refers to the test’s consistency - The consistency of scores obtained by the same person when retested with the identical tests or with an equivalent form of a test. Ways to estimate reliability - Retest estimate: Administer same test to same person at diff times - Equivalent-form estimate: administer equivalent test later - Aptitude test - Internal comparison estimate=Internal consistency: - administer the test and then statistically analyse the degree to which responses to these items vary together. Validity Does this test measure what it's supposed to measure? - "validity refers to the confidence one has in the meaning attached to the scores." In terms of employment: - often refers to evidence that the test is job related - that performance on the test is a valid predictor of subsequent performance on the job. - A selection test must be valid because, without proof o[ its validity, there is no logical or legally permissible reason to continue using it to screen job applicants. Criterion validity - ­demonstrating that those who do well on the test also do well on the job, and that those who do poorly on the test do poorly on the job. - In psychological measurement, a predictor is the measurement (in this case, the test score) that you are trying to relate to a criterion, such as performance on the job. On criterion validity, the two should be closely related. Content validity - showing that the test constitutes a fair sample of the content of a job.  Interviews - Selection procedure designed to predict future job performance on the basis of an applicant’s oral responses to oral questions Structure Non structured : - no format to follow Structured/ directive: - Questions+ acceptable responses are specified in advance, and the responses may be rated for appropriateness of content. Types of Qs Situational interview - questions focus on the candidate's ability to project what his or her behaviour would be in a given situation. Behavioural interview - ask interviewees how they behaved 'in the past in some situation. Administered? One on one interview - Two ppl meet alone and one interviews the other seeking oral responses to oral inquiries. Sequential interview - Several people interview the applicant in sequence before a selection decision is made. Panel interview - The candidate is interviewed simultaneously by a group/panel Interview by phone - These interviews can actually be more accurate than face-to-face ones for judging an applicant's conscientiousness, intelligence, and interpersonal skills. - perhaps candidates-somewhat surprised by unexpected calls from recruiters-simply give more spontaneous answers. How useful? Studies confirm that the "validity of the interview is greater than previously believed. - With respect to predicting job performance, situational interviews yield a higher mean (average) validity than do behavioural interviews. - Structured interviews, regardless of content, are more valid than unstructured interviews for predicting job performance. They are more valid partly because they are more reliable-for example, the same interviewer administers the interview more consistently from candidate to candidate. - Both when they are structured and when they are unstructured, individual interviews tend to be more valid than are panel interviews, in which multiple interviewers provide ratings in one setting.  Internal vs external assessments Tools used to assess internal candidates are the same as those used to assess external candidates except that: - Assessment tools for internal candidates are used to reinforce the organisation’s HR strategy and the organisation’s image - The assessment tools help identify current employee’s training and development needs Whereas assessment tools are used for external candidates in order to screen and select ideal applicants. Internal assessment methods Assessment centres Multiple tests and measures used to assess candidates’ suitability for the job mentoring/ coaching Programs designed to pair up employees (mentees) with more experienced employees (mentor) who can guide them and help facilitate their professional growth Performance review Evaluations of employee performance Job rotations Evaluations of employee performance Career counselling Process to help employees “know” and understand “themselves” and and development the world of work in order to make decisions about their career, education and life Who should assess internal candidates Choosing and hiring candidates: Decision making strategies When choosing an assessment method - Validity and Reliability - Fairness and adverse impact - Selection utility (ROI) - Practical considerations (eg. usability) - Applicant reactions Determining assessment scores Single predictor Multiple predictor Scores on a single predictor are used to Scores on multiple predictors are used to determine final selections determine final selections - Compensatory Model - Multiple Hurdles Model - Clinical Prediction - Weighting Schemes (assigning different weights/importance to different predictors) - Combined Model - Hiring Standards & Cut-Off Scores The multiple hurdles model How it works - Must pass each predictor before advancing to the next stage of selection - Each predictor is critical to job success - Model does not adopt a compensatory approach Advantages - Can obtain multiple information about applicants - Reduce cost of selecting employees - Applicant pool is reduced making selection easier - More efficient process to aid decision making Disadvantages - Costly depending on the cost & number of assessment tools used - Can be time consuming - Reliability: If any of the assessment tools or procedures used are unreliable this can greatly affect the quality of candidates the organisation selects Combined model: - Begins with a multiple hurdle approach and ends with a compensatory approach - Not all predictors are critical to job success High standards and cut off scores: Score Branding - Use of statistical analysis to identify scores that may not be significantly different - Compromise between top down hiring and passing scores - Allows organisation to hire to candidate while allowing flexibility for Affirmative Action  Employee Relations What is ER - Evolved from the word industrial relations - ER is defined as a study of the relationship between an employer and employee so as to find ways of resolving conflict and to help in improving productivity of the organisation by increasing motivation and morale of the workers. - “the formal and informal, the economic, social, and psychological connection between an employee and his or her employer.” Role of ER - Ensure compliance with SA legislation (e.g. EEA and the Labour manager Relations Act); - Do EE analysis and reporting; - Ensure the organisation is free from discrimination; - Develop ER policies; - Ensure contracts are in line with the BCEA; - Provide advice on cases involving grievances, misconduct and incapacity; - Involved in the retrenchment procedure; - Deal with unfair dismissal cases at the CCMA/BC; - Deal with unions and neg