Human Resources PDF

role of human resource management strategic role of human resources ○ Human resource management is the process of managing the relationship between the employee and employer Employers ○ Have control over the place of work and processes adopted by...

role of human resource management strategic role of human resources ○ Human resource management is the process of managing the relationship between the employee and employer Employers ○ Have control over the place of work and processes adopted by employees ○ Mitigate issues and challenges in the workplace that may decrease productivity or detract employees ○ Provide incentives to retain or attract employees ○ Use KPIs to measure the effectiveness of employee performance Employees ○ Under the control of the employer ○ Generate revenue for the business ○ Training required to develop their skills ○ Legal right to be treated ethically and fairly interdependence with other key business functions Operations ○ The need for more or less employees, due to outsourcing or automation ○ Retraining/education and amendments to organisational structure due to new technology and operational processes Marketing ○ Staff with a diversity of skills design, promote, price and distribute a product ○ Staff must be motivated and competent to meet the needs and wants of consumers Finance ○ Businesses must take into account the cost of wages, staff acquisition and training ○ Redundancy of employees to reduce labour costs through outsourcing or automation outsourcing 𑁋 human resource functions ○ Businesses outsource its human resource functions so that they can focus on core business activities ○ A contracted HR company assists the business in managing and growing their workforce in the background ○ HR functions that are outsourced include: recruitment, induction, leadership training, mediation, outplacement, payroll  𑁋 using contractors 𑁋 domestic, global Domestic contractors ○ Outsourcing business functions within the business’ country of operation ○ Alleviates costs and the need to hire additional employees for administrative tasks ○ New ideas and advice from HR professionals to improve HR management ○ Greater control through accessibility to communication platforms with the contractor ○ Attractive for small-medium businesses who do not have the time or internal resources to undertake audits, payroll management and compliance reports to the standard of larger companies Global contractors ○ Outsourcing business functions offshore ○ Desirable for businesses who are under pressure from global competitors ○ Enables a business to enter and familiarise themselves with a new overseas market ○ Process outsourcing - e.g repetitive and easily documented work ○ Project outsourcing - larger tasks completed long term key influences stakeholders 𑁋 employers, employees, employer associations, unions, government organisations, society Employers ○ Exercise control over employees ○ Oversee human resource management in the workplace ○ Increasing responsibilities due to legal obligations e.g workplace dispute resolutions ○ Influence the training, development and satisfaction of employees, thereby influencing business performance Employees ○ Have greater autonomy and responsibility in the workplace ○ Their rights for pay, working conditions and contract negotiations are protected by trade unions ○ Businesses must retain highly-skilled staff by offering rewards, incentives and a flexible work-life balance Employer ○ Protect the interests of employees and the industry associations ○ Provide employers advice on matters such as discrimination, awards and unfair dismissals, contract negotiations ○ Also offer forums and training programs about leadership and management to employers Trade unions ○ Made up of employees in an industry ○ Legally advocate on behalf of employees to improve their pay and working conditions and workplace dispute resolutions ○ Employees pay a small fee to become a member of a union Government ○ The courts have judicial power to resolve cases regarding organisations workers’ rights and disputes ○ The Federal Court resolves issues under the Australian Industrial Law ○ The Fair Work Commission settle workplace disputes, listen to appeals and contribute to the formulations of agreements and awards, have the jurisdiction to fine employees and employers Society ○ Media, protests and strikes expose issues surrounding HR ○ Communities advocate for their right to have optimal safety and wellbeing at work ○ Rising unemployment due to offshore subcontracting and automation is not well received by communities and media due to increasing unemployment ○ Advocate against discrimination and unethical treatment legal 𑁋 current legal framework 𑁋 employment contracts Common law ○ Under common law, both employees and employers have basic obligations in a working relationship ○ Employers: providing work, duty of income, paying income and expenses, abiding by industrial legalities ○ Employees: obey lawful and reasonable commands made by their employer, use care and skill in their work, act in good faith of their employer Minimum ○ Ten National Minimum Employment Standards which employment infer the basic working conditions for all employees in standards Australia aged 18 and over ○ Provide a safety umbrella for employees who are vulnerable and have a low socioeconomic status ○ E.g 38 hours max of work a week, entitlement to annual and parental leave, flexible working arrangements, public holidays Minimum wage rates ○ Decided by the Fair Work Commission and reviewed annually ○ Increased to $21.38 an hour from 1st July 2022 ○ Employees’ base rate of pay is determined by: award/agreement that covers the employee national minimum wage (covers employees who are not covered by an award or agreement) Enterprise ○ An agreement made between an employer/s and a group agreements of employees within the workplace ○ Must pass Fair Work’s ‘better off overall test’ to ensure that it meets the minimum t&cs of the modern award Awards ○ Legally binding contract that outlines the minimum terms and conditions for employment ○ Usually covers a whole industry, particularly low skilled industries e.g hospitality, retail 𑁋 work health and safety and workers’ compensation Work health and safety ○ Under common law, employers have the obligation to provide a duty of care to employees ○ Must ensure that their workplace is safe and free of hazards that will cause injury or fatality ○ Workplace may be examined by a WH&S officer Workers’ compensation ○ By law, employers are required to take out workers’ compensation insurance ○ Workers’ compensation is administrated by the The State Insurance Regulatory Authority ○ If an employee is injured, workers’ compensation will cover their wage and costs of medical appointments whilst they are unfit for work 𑁋 anti-discrimination and equal employment opportunity Anti-discrimination ○ Several legislations under federal law that protect employees or applicants from discrimination on the basis of age, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, political views, carer responsibilities or prospect of pregnancy ○ Ensures that all employees are treaty equally and fairly in the workplace ○ If complied to, businesses can improve employee satisfaction and performance, harnessing a positive corporate culture Equal employment ○ During the acquisition process, employers should not opportunity choose an applicant based on their characteristics mentioned above ○ Ensures that the best person is selected for the job ○ E.g an employer can not tell an unsuccessful female applicant aged in her late 20s that she was not selected just in case she becomes pregnant economic ○ Demand for labour is determined by the demand for goods and services in the economy ○ High demand and economic upturn → more competitiveness in the job market, high wages offered to retain staff, leads to inflation ○ Globalisation Need to train and manage multiethnic work forces Redundancies Legislation regarding wages + working conditions alter between different countries Ethical issues brought to light ○ Changes in how and what is produced determines how much and what labour skills are required Automation Flexible staffing arrangements technological ○ Need for further training and development so that skillsets and knowledge align with emerging technologies ○ Automation has led to redundancies, loss of industry and increased competitiveness ○ Work from home arrangements - increase employee satisfaction, flexibility and productivity ○ Concern for work-life balance → being unable to switch off technology after working hours social 𑁋 changing work patterns, living standards Changing work patterns ○ Growth in casualisation and part time work (labour fragmentation) ○ Mobility of jobs → employees change jobs more often ○ The aged population and employees who have ESL are immobile in their job changes ○ Rising female participation rate ○ Ageing of the workforce ○ Early retirement as a result of superannuation and  greater income security Living standards ○ Casualisation of the workforce is making high living standards unattainable No pay when sick or on leave No annual leave ○ Outsourcing → loss of employment and industry Loss of income decreases living standards The individual is unable to afford the highest quality of necessities to enhance the standard of living Less taxation being received by the government ethics and corporate social responsibility ○ Practices that are socially, ethically and morally acceptable ○ Ethical frameworks and treatment must be created and exhorted in the workplace: Anti discrimination polices Fair dismissal Minimum wage standards Ethical issues surrounding the use of cheap labour through global contractors ○ Benefits: Staff retention Low absenteeism Reduction in costs Reputability in the community Enhance corporate culture Processes Acquisition ○ Planning → determine internal goals e.g improved customer service and external environment e.g job competitiveness, economy, laws ○ Recruitment → the process of acquiring the right quality and quantity of employees to ensure that business goals are met ○ Selection → culminating information about each applicant and using this to select the applicant with the best equipped knowledge, skills and experience for the job ○ Placement → locating in a position that best utilises the individual’s skills to ensure business goals are met Development ○ Induction: Gives the employee a positive attitude toward the job  and business Builds the employee’s confidence Fosters positive working relationships Informs them of major safety policy and procedures ○ Training → development of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour so that flaws in business performance and culture can be addressed, no training leads to higher turnover as staff seek development at other businesses ○ Organisation development → job rotation, job sharing, broadening job roles and description, self management teams, mentoring and coaching ○ Performance appraisal → Evaluate employee performance, identify areas for mentoring, coaching and leadership development Maintenance ○ The processes involved in retaining staff and maintaining their wellbeing at work ○ Ways to maintain staff: Better communication = better working relationships = better retention Implementing the improvements suggested that employees which are crucial to both competitiveness and corporate culture Monetary or non monetary benefits Responding to requests for a work-life balance Abide by legislation to provide a safe and fair work environment e.g WH&S, provision of leave with pay and worker’s compensation Separation ○ When a business voluntarily or involuntarily leaves a business ○ Dismissal: Summary dismissal → for series misconduct e.g theft Dismissal can also be based off poor employee performance → employers are required to give a written warning and opportunities to improve performance Redundancy due to poor business performance, automation ○ Unfair dismissal When an employee submits an appeal to Fair Work Australia as they believe that their dismissal was harsh, unfair or unreasonable Unfair dismissal can be claimed if: the business has 15 or more employees, has been employed for more than 6 months and if the process dismissal processes e.g paperwork were initiated Strategies leadership style ○ Employees do not appreciate constant supervision of their work which occurs under an authoritarian management body ○ Rather, employees thrive in an environment where communication is open and honest and managers operate with integrity Directive ○ Coercive and immediate compliance from employees ○ Relevant in a crisis ○ Also known as autocratic Participative ○ Democratic ○ Input from other employees encouraged and accepted Visionary ○ Emphasis on long term vision ○ Leaders are firm and motivate their employees through persuasion and feedback Pacesetting ○ Accomplishment of tasks to a high standard ○ Self directed work ○ Relevant to provide excellent and quick results from a highly competent team Affiliative ○ ‘People person’ → prioritises employee wellbeing over work ○ Emotional bonding ○ Relevant to get input from valuable employees, foster a positive corporate culture Coaching ○ Focus on professional growth and development of employees ○ Relevant to help an employee improve performance and advance in their career job design - general or specific tasks ○ The process of designing a job and how it will interact with other jobs and employees ○ Ensures employee retention and attainment of business goals ○ Presented in the form of: Job rotation Job enlargement → broadening job roles and responsibilities, horizontal expansion through adding similar level responsibilities Job enrichment → more challenging tasks  Semi-autonomous work group → small group of employees are in charge of a specific aspect of the transformation process, conduct work with no supervision Cross-functional teams → project teams; report to project leaders upon completion Flexible working arrangement ○ Job analysis → ongoing process wherein the attributes of a job and the skills required are analysed thoroughly, allowing the position to evolve to meet current and future business needs recruitment 𑁋 internal or external, general or specific skills ○ Recruiment is the process wherein a business attracts the a viable quantity and quality of staff to fill job vacancies whilst being cost effective ○ The recruitment of a diverse, inclusive workforce is indispensable to connecting with consumers with different backgrounds and needs, also ensuring CSR Internal ○ Using individuals who are currently employed at the business fill other positions within the business ○ Business is aware of the applicant’s knowledge, skills, working relationships and how they ‘fit in’ to culture ○ Applicant already aware of business practices and has relationships ○ Saves time as there is no need for an orientation ○ Motivates employees through opportunities for career advancement External ○ Using individuals who are not employed in the business to fill vacancies ○ Recruitment process consumes more time and resources ○ New employee will bring new ideas into the business and provide insight into practices of competitors General ○ Flexibility, versatility, positive attitude, communication, teamwork, leadership, ability to work under pressure ○ Foundational to ensuring an employee can aid a business toward achieving its goals Specific ○ Specific skills needed in some positions to meet industry needs, particularly when there are skill shortages ○ Business may choose to either outsource positions or projects that require specific skills or train its own staff ○ By training and developing staff to attain specific skills, businesses can improve performance and retain staff by  providing such opportunities for career advancement training and development 𑁋 current and future skills ○ Training → aims to develop skills, knowledge and attitudes that ensure employee performance can achieve business goals ○ Development → when an employee further enhances its knowledge and skills to align with emerging industry demand and practice ○ Based off business needs, industry demand, skill shortages, changing work patterns ○ Ensures staff retention and a reduction in absenteeism, disputes, injuries and turnover ○ Increases employee productivity and motivation due to opportunities for career advancement and an increase in confidence performance management 𑁋 developmental, administrative ○ Performance management is the systematic process whereby employee performance is measured, evaluated and controlled to improve individual and business performance simultaneously ○ Two objectives: 1. Evaluate individual performance 2. Use that information to develop the individual Developmental ○ The use of data to develop the knowledge and skills of individual employees through periodioc feedback ○ Aids them in overcoming weaknesses and increasing effectiveness ○ Ensures that staff are retained for future leadership roles ○ Increases motivation and productivity through providing opportunities for career development and feedback Administrative ○ When data, usually from an annual appraisal, is used to plan HR functions such as training, development, rewards, pay levels, benefits and vacancies ○ Enables managers to identify areas of weakness/need in the business so that employee and holistic business performance can be enhanced  rewards 𑁋 monetary and non-monetary, individual or group, performance pay ○ A rewards system ensures that staff are motivated and retained, encouraging them to exceed preset benchmarks and meet goals ○ How individuals give its employees remuneration depends on its profitability, economic conditions, current conditions/contract of employees and what rewards competitors are offering ○ Performance pay → in order to further improve and reward performance for individuals and groups, remuneration may be through: Profit sharing Gain sharing Share plan Pay increase Commission Bonus Monetary rewards ○ Rewards that have a financial value, usually reflected in pay Non-monetary rewards ○ Rewards that have no financial value ○ Intrinsic → feelings of achievement of satisfaction that the individual experiences from completing the job ○ Extrinsic → provided externally to the job, eg social events, flexible working arrangements Individual ○ Often related to individual performance ○ However, giving an individual a reward may led to conflict and rivalry ○ Bonuses, commissions, promotion, reduced supervision Group ○ Working in teams has made it more difficult to monitor individual performance ○ Employees are dependent on one another to exceed benchmarks ○ Rewarding a team of employees is more viable in improving corporate culture and productivity within teams  global 𑁋 costs, skills, supply Costs ○ High labour costs in Australia and shortage of skilled workers has caused businesses to outsource its operations to be cost effective and thus increase competitiveness ○ Due to high living standards in Australia, employers are faced with the on-costs of superannuation and remuneration ○ Outsource operations to countries such as China and India and/or establish subsidiaries to take advantage of low labour costs Skills ○ Temporary visas are used to attract overseas workers to be employed in jobs which Australians do not want to work in ○ Skill shortage a continual issue for Australia who is aiming to grow economically ○ Expansion overseas requires consideration of which staffing approach a business will adopt (PEG): Polycentric → staff from the host country with parent country staff working in corporate headquarters, reduced labour costs Ethnocentric → only uses parent country staff in its business Geocentric → staff with the most feasible knowledge and skillset for a specific location or role, culminating a body of managers with global experience, increased labour costs Supply ○ Due to global outsourcing and recruitment, there is a shortage of skills within the Australian workforce ○ Although countries like China and India do not have a shortage of workers, its workers tend to be low skilled and thus have insufficient working conditions, arising CSR issues of modern slavery workplace disputes ○ An industrial dispute is when a disagreement arises between an employer and a group of employees, resulting in employees ceasing to work ○ Apparent through: Strikes: workers withdraw their labour for a period of time Lockouts: employers close the entrance to a workplace and refuse to let employees in → used to push employees to agree to/sign something, response to strikes ○ Major causes of disputes include: Remuneration  Working conditions Job security issues Workplace health and safety Management issues BENEFITS COSTS ○ Helps gain management’s attention ○ Publicity will have impinge business to issues which are causing stress, reputation improving conditions for employees ○ Frustration may arise from the and productivity for the business public toward employees and unions ○ Publicity will spread awareness of if strikes, etc disrupt the general issues such as pay and working public conditions in favour for employees ○ Costly, particularly if legal action is ○ Governments can change policies in taken and employers have to pay response to workplace conflict compensation ○ Damage working relationships/corporate culture 𑁋 resolution 𑁋 negotiation, mediation, grievance procedures, involvement of courts and tribunals Negotiation ○ When employees and employers resolve disputes through discussion, eventually compromising a formal or informal agreement ○ Reduces costs Mediation ○ When both parties confidentially discuss the issue in the presence of an objective, unbiased third party ○ Reduces risk of disputes escalating and turning into a legal matter Grievance procedures ○ A pre-established, formal dispute resolution process within a modern award or agreement ○ Outlines steps that the employer and employee must take to resolve issues ○ Provides the obligation for managers to quickly resolve disputes before they become serious Involvement of courts and ○ A last resort, used when negotiations have failed tribunals ○ Involves the Fair Work Commission ○ Conciliation → when a third party is involved in helping two other parties reach an agreement  ○ Arbitration → when conciliation fails, stated in an award or if both parties agree, a third party in a court setting hears both sides and makes a legally binding decision ○ Common law action → when parties make claims for damages or breach of contract, heard in state, territory of the Federal Courts, costly and last resort Effectiveness indicators ○ Indicators are benchmarks used to determine the effectiveness of individual or business performance ○ Are usually compared against industry standards or businesses of best practice ○ Help develop strategies to rectify these problems 𑁋 corporate culture ○ Values, ideas, beliefs and expectations shared by staff within a workplace ○ Positive corporate culture ensures that effective working relationships are established and sustained ○ Also improves staff productivity and motivation as staff are comfortable and confident to communicate and collaborate with one another ○ If corporate culture is unwelcoming, staff turnover and the level of disputes will be increased 𑁋 benchmarking key variables TYPES OF BENCHMARKING - PIBB Informal benchmarking ○ Networking, informal discussions, conferences, business visits Performance benchmarking ○ When a business compares its performance of a specific process/activity with competitors Best practice benchmarking ○ Comparing performance levels with a business of best practice, particularly in a specific area Balanced scorecard ○ When a business determines whether it has benchmarking reached its objectives that were established in its strategic plan  ○ Benchmarks aligned with objectives MEANS OF MEASURING BENCHMARKS - HQQ Human ○ Diagnostic tool that enables a business to systematically resource audit analyse and evaluate performance, allowing for problems to be identified and solutions developed to improve performance Comparing specific or macro business performance against industry standards or a business of best practice An externally sourced consultant researches and analyses problems within the workplace and helps the business enact solutions Management evaluates key performance variables Legal compliance analysis → ensures that companies are abiding to legislation and predetermined policy Quantitative ○ Used to measure the effectiveness of HR management measures through numerical figures; profit and cost ○ Frequently undertaken by business who are striving to be of best practice or partaking in quality assurance programs Variances in labour budgets → indicates insufficient determination of staffing needsthrough high staff turnover, absenteeism, wages, overtime Costs of injury/sickness → non-compilance WH&S legislation, lack of training, higher insurance premiums and higher risk of fines Performance appraisals → compared with targets, indicates whether managers have undertaken appraisal rather than effectiveness as this is presented to the individual Percentage of goals achieved → often seen through increasing sales per employee Levels of labour turnover → high turnover = problems with corporate culture, training and development Qualitative ○ Detailed feedback and research on key issues measures  ○ Means of measurement include feedback from management and employees on organisational relationships, corporate culture, leadership ○ Analysis of industrial disputes ○ Feedback from performance appraisals from training, development, rewards, recruitment 𑁋 changes in staff turnover ○ The number and time frame within which staff separate from a business ○ May be unsatisfied with corporate culture, impeding their mental health and making them less productive and motivated at work ○ New opportunities may be pursued elsewhere ○ In order for a business to gain insight into new ideas and changes its organisational structures, some turnover is needed ○ High staff turnover indicates negative corporate culture, poor training and development 𑁋 absenteeism ○ Employee absences on an average day, not including leave ○ High levels of absenteeism indicate workplace conflict and unsatisfactory staff ○ Increases costs as employees may still be getting paid whilst they are not productive at work ○ Business then has to compensate for this loss of productivity e.g extending hours of other employees, which is not cost or time effective 𑁋 accidents ○ More likely in dangerous and physically demanding workplaces e.g construction ○ ‘Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate’ (LTIFR) to determine how accidents impact the loss of days/shifts and therefore productivity ○ Indicate how well the legislative requirements of WH&S are being complied with ○ Accidents may be reduced through regular safety audits, appropriate training and development, provision of safety equipment and non faulty equipment, communicate changes with employees 𑁋 levels of disputation ○ More likely in larger businesses, where working relationships are more impersonal and misunderstandings more likely  ○ Employees should be concerned if grievances are high, as it may be detrimental to business reputation due to media exposure of legal action OVERT EMPLOYEES EMPLOYERS ○ Pickets ○ Lockouts ○ Strikes ○ Stand-downs ○ Work-to-rule (when an employee ○ Dismissals refuses to perform additional duties) ○ Working at a slower pace to decrease productivity and therefore increase customer complaints COVERT EMPLOYEES EMPLOYERS ○ Absenteeism ○ Discrimination ○ Theft or sabotage ○ Harassment ○ Lack of cooperation ○ Lack of cooperation ○ Excluding employees from decision-making input 𑁋 worker satisfaction ○ Usually measured through employee satisfaction surveys → gives insight into how staff feel about their work, management and corporate culture ○ Can be improved by matching the business needs to that of the skills and social likings of the employee to maximise their satisfaction, motivation and therefore productivity ○ Ways to increase worker satisfaction More flexible working arrangements Opportunities for career advancement → training and development, mentoring, promotion Rewards and incentives Consultation with employees in decision making Positive corporate culture → consideration of needs, good communication, affiliative leadership style between levels of management/employees