CH-4 Designing and Analyzing Jobs – Human Resources Management in Canada : Chapter Notes

This document contains Chapters 4 to 6 PART TWO: MEETING HUMAN RESOURCES REQUIREMENTS CHAPTER 4 DESIGNING AND ANALYZING JOBS LEARNING OUTCOMES • Define job design and explain the difference between a job and a position. • Describe the industrial engineering, behavioural, and human engineering considerations involved in job design. • Explain the six steps in job analysis. • Describe four basic narrative methods of collecting job analysis information and three quantitative methods. • Explain the difference between a job description and a job specification. • Discuss why and how the concept of a job has been changing. CHAPTER SUMMARY In the first section of the chapter, organizational structure is briefly described, as is the purpose and role of an organization chart. This is followed by a detailed explanation of job design, including industrial engineering, behavioural, and human engineering (ergonomic) considerations. The nature of job analysis is explored next, including an explanation of the uses of job analysis information and the steps involved. The qualitative and quantitative methods of job analysis are described, and why the HR professional may choose a particular method. Job descriptions and job specifications are then discussed in detail. The chapter ends with an exploration of current trends in the nature of work design and how businesses are responding to managing in a changing environment. LECTURE OUTLINE • This chapter introduces the activities involved in designing and analyzing jobs. • The design and analysis of jobs is essential because it provides the foundation for most other human resources management activity. • An organization consists of one or more employees, who perform various tasks. The relationships between people and tasks must be structured in such a way that the organization can achieve its goals in an efficient and effective manner. Organizational structure refers to the formal relationships among jobs in an organization. Figure 4.1 provides examples. • Designing an organization involves choosing a structure that is appropriate, given the company's strategic goals. There are three basic types of organizational structure – bureaucratic, flat, and boundaryless. See Figure 4.2. • Bureaucratic structure • Top-down management approach • Many levels, and hierarchical communication channels and career paths • Highly specialized jobs with narrowly defined job descriptions • Focus on independent performance • Flat structure • Decentralized management approach • Few levels and multi-directional communication • Broadly defined jobs, with general job descriptions • Emphasis on teams and customer service • Boundaryless structure • Joint ventures with customers, suppliers, and/or competitors • Emphasis on teams whose members may cross organizational boundaries Job design is the process of systematically organizing work into tasks that are required to perform a specific job. An organization's strategy and structure influence the ways in which jobs are designed. Jobs are created primarily to enable an organization to achieve its objectives. • Industrial Engineering Considerations – The field of industrial engineering has influenced job design. Its main emphasis is on improving efficiency and simplifying work methods. While important, too much emphasis on these may result in human considerations being neglected or downplayed. What may be improvements in job design and efficiency from an engineering standpoint can sometimes prove to be physiologically or psychologically unsound. Thus, to be effective, job design must also provide for the satisfaction of human psychological and physiological needs. • Behavioural Considerations – By the mid-1900s, reacting to what they viewed as the "dehumanizing" aspects of pigeonholing workers into highly repetitive and specialized jobs and other problems associated with overspecialization, various management theorists proposed ways of broadening the numbers of activities in which employees engaged. Techniques used to motivate workers included: Job enlargement involves assigning workers additional tasks at the same level of responsibility to increase the number of tasks they have to perform. Also known as horizontal loading, job enlargement reduces monotony and fatigue by expanding the job cycle and drawing on a wider range of employee skills. Job rotation involves systematically moving employees from one job to another. Although the jobs themselves don't change, workers experience more task variety, motivation, and productivity. The company gains by having more versatile, multi-skilled employees who can cover for one another efficiently. Job enrichment is defined as any effort that makes an employee's job more rewarding or satisfying by adding more meaningful tasks and duties. Also known as vertical loading, job enrichment involves increasing autonomy and responsibility by allowing employees to assume a greater role in the decision-making process. A logical outgrowth of job enrichment and the job characteristics model has been the increasing use of team-based job designs, which focus on giving a team, rather than an individual, a whole and meaningful piece of work to do. Team members are empowered to decide among themselves how to accomplish the work. • Human Engineering Considerations – Effective job design must also take physiological needs and health and safety issues into account. Human engineering or ergonomics seeks to integrate and accommodate the physical needs of workers into the design of jobs. It aims to adapt the entire job system – the work, environment, machines, equipment, and processes – to match human characteristics. Doing so results in eliminating or minimizing product defects, damage to equipment, and worker injuries or illnesses caused by poor work design. • Job Characteristics Model • Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham, illustrated in Figure 4.3. This model proposes that employee motivation and satisfaction are directly linked to five core characteristics: Skill variety – The degree to which the job requires a person to do different tasks and involves the use of a number of different talents, skills, and abilities. Task identity – The degree to which the job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work; that is, doing a job from beginning to end with a visible outcome. Task significance – The degree to which the job has a substantial impact on the lives and work of others – both inside and outside the organization. Autonomy – The amount of freedom, independence, and discretion the employee has in terms of scheduling work and determining procedures. Feedback – The degree to which the job provides the employee with clear and direct information about job outcomes and effectiveness of his or her performance. • These core job characteristics create the conditions that enable workers to experience three critical psychological states. A job with characteristics that allow an employee to experience these three critical states provides internal rewards that sustain motivation. The benefits to the employer include high-quality performance, higher employee satisfaction, and lower absenteeism and turnover. Job Analysis is the procedure firms use to determine the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of each job, and the human attributes (in terms of knowledge, skills, and abilities) required to perform it. Once this information has been gathered, it is used for developing job descriptions (what the job entails) and job specifications (what the human requirements are). • Use of Job Analysis – Job analysis is sometimes called the cornerstone of HRM. As illustrated in Figure 4.4, the information gathered, evaluated, and summarized through job analysis is the basis for a number of interrelated HRM activities. Human Resources Planning – Knowing the actual requirements of jobs is essential in order to plan future staffing needs. When this information is combined with knowledge about the skills and qualifications of current employees, it is possible to determine which jobs can be filled internally and which will require external recruitment. Recruitment and Selection – The job description and job specification information should be used to decide what sort of people to recruit and hire. Identifying bona fide occupational requirements, and ensuring that all activities related to recruitment and selection are based on such requirements, is necessary for legal compliance in all Canadian jurisdictions. Compensation – Job analysis information is also essential for determining the relative value of and appropriate compensation for each job. Job evaluation should be based on the required skills, physical and mental demands, responsibilities, and working conditions – all assessed through job analysis. The relative value of jobs is one of the key factors used to determine appropriate compensation and justify pay differences if challenged under human rights or pay equity legislation. Performance Appraisal – To be legally defensible, the criteria used to assess employee performance must be directly related to the duties and responsibilities identified through job analysis. Labour Relations – In unionized environments, the job descriptions developed from the job analysis information are generally subject to union approval prior to finalization. Such union approved job descriptions then become the basis for bargaining over wages, performance criteria, and working conditions. Once approved, significant changes to job descriptions may have to be negotiated. Training, Development, and Career Management – By comparing the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that employees bring to the job with those that are identified by job analysis, managers can determine the gaps. Having accurate information about jobs also means that employees can prepare for future advancement by identifying gaps between their current KSAs and those specified for the jobs to which they aspire. Job Design – Job analysis is useful for ensuring that all of the duties having to be done have actually been assigned, and identifying areas of overlap. Also, having an accurate description of each job sometimes leads to the identification of unnecessary requirements, areas of conflict or dissatisfaction, and/or health and safety concerns that can be eliminated through job redesign. Such redesign may increase morale and productivity and ensure compliance with human rights and occupational health and safety legislation. • Steps in Job Analysis • Identify the use to which the information will be applied. • Review relevant background information such as organization charts, process charts, and job descriptions. • Select the representative positions and jobs to be analyzed. • Analyze the jobs by collecting data on job activities, required employee behaviours, working conditions, and human traits and abilities needed to perform the job, using one or more of the job analysis techniques described in this chapter. • Review the information with job incumbent(s) and with the immediate supervisor. • Develop a job description and job specification. Job Analysis Methods include: • The Interview – The interview is probably the most widely used method for determining the duties and responsibilities of a job. Three types of interviews are used to collect job analysis data: individual interviews with each employee; group interviews with employees having the same job; and supervisory interviews with one or more. The major advantage is the fact that interviewing allows the incumbent to report activities and behaviour that might not otherwise come to light. This technique's major disadvantage is the potential for distortion of information, whether due to outright falsification or honest misunderstandings. • Questionnaires – Having employees fill out questionnaires to describe their job-related duties and responsibilities is another good method of obtaining job analysis information. The major decision involved is determining how structured the questionnaire should be and what questions to include. A questionnaire is a quick and efficient way of obtaining information from a large number of employees, and is less costly than interviewing hundreds of workers, for instance. However, developing the questionnaire and testing it can be an expensive and time-consuming process. • Observation – Direct observation is especially useful when jobs consist mainly of observable physical activities. On the other hand, observation is usually not appropriate when the job entails a lot of unmeasurable mental activity. Nor is it useful if the employee engages in important activities that might occur only occasionally, such as year-end reports. Direct observation and interviewing are often used together. • Participant Diary/Log – Another technique involves asking employees to keep a diary/log or a list of what they do during the day. This can produce a very complete picture of the job, especially when supplemented with subsequent interviews with the employee and his or her supervisor. The employee might, of course, try to exaggerate some activities and underplay others. However, the detailed, chronological nature of the log tends to minimize this problem. • Quantitative Job Analysis Techniques – Although most employers use interviews, questionnaires, observations, and/or diaries/logs for collecting job analysis data, there are many times when these narrative approaches are not appropriate. For example, when the aim is to assign a quantitative value to each job so that they can be compared for pay purposes, a more quantitative job analysis approach may be best. The position analysis questionnaire and functional job analysis are two popular quantitative methods. • Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) is a very structured job analysis questionnaire. It provides a quantitative job score on six dimensions for job requirements: decision making, skills, physical activity, operating vehicles/equipment, and processing information • Functional job analysis (FJA) rates the job on responsibilities pertaining to data, people, and things, from simple to complex. The technique also identifies performance standards and training requirements. • The National Occupational Classification (NOC) and Job Analysis: • A product of systematic, field-based research by the former Occupational and Career Information Branch of HRDC. • An excellent source of standardized information, containing comprehensive descriptions of approximately 25 000 occupations and the requirements for each. • The NOC listing for Specialists in Human Resources is shown in Figure 4.8. • To provide a complete representation of work in the Canadian economy, the NOC classifies occupations in Major Groups based on two key dimensions – skill level and skill type. The Major Groups, which are identified by two-digit numbers, are then broken down further into Minor Groups, with a third digit added, and Unit Groups, at which level a fourth digit is added. Within these three levels of classification, a Unit Group provides the actual profile of an occupation. • One benefit of NOC is that it has helped to promote a greater degree of uniformity in job titles and descriptions used by employers. This has facilitated the exchange of information about salaries and benefits for compensation administration purposes, and about labour supply and demand in HRP. • A job description is a written statement of what the jobholder actually does, how he or she does it, and under what conditions the job is performed. There is no standard format used in writing job descriptions, but most include the information in Figure 4.9. • Job identification – this may contain several types of information – title, department or location, job status (eligibility of overtime pay), NOC code, pay grade level. • Job summary – summarizes the general nature of the job, listing only its major functions. • Relationships – the job holder’s relationship with others outside and inside the organization. • Duties and responsibilities – presents a detailed list of the job’s major duties and responsibilities. • Authority of incumbent – defines the limits of the jobholder’s authority, including his or her decision-making authority, direct supervision of other employees, and budgetary limitations. • Performance standards – indicates the standards the employee is expected to achieve in each of the job description’s main duties and responsibilities. • Working conditions – this section generally includes information about noise level, temperature, lighting, degree of privacy, frequency of interruptions, hours of work, amount of travel, and hazards to which the incumbent may be exposed. • Job specifications (human qualifications) may also be included. • When writing job descriptions for the first time or updating them to keep them current, the NOC and its accompanying Career Handbook can be extremely helpful. • Writing Job Descriptions that Comply with Human Rights Legislation – Human rights legislation requires employers to ensure that there is no discrimination on any of the prohibited grounds in any aspect or terms and conditions of employment. Some points to consider when writing job descriptions: • job descriptions are NOT legally required, but are highly advisable. • essential job duties should be clearly identified in the job description. Indicating the percentage of time spent on each duty and/or listing duties in order of importance are strategies used to differentiate between essential and nonessential tasks and responsibilities. • when assessing suitability for employment, training program enrolment, and transfers or promotions, and when appraising performance, the only criteria examined should be KSAs required for the essential duties of the job. • even when an employee cannot perform one or more of the essential duties due to reasons related to a prohibited ground, such as a physical disability or religion, reasonable accommodation to the point of undue hardship is required. • Job specification – Writing the job specification involves examining the duties and responsibilities and answering the question, “What human traits and experience are required to do this job?” • Both skill and effort factors should be considered, as well as the human implications of the working conditions. Much of this information can be gleaned from the job analysis questionnaire. • For entry-level jobs, identifying the actual physical and mental demands is critical. A physical demands analysis (Figure 4.10) identifies the senses used, and type, frequency, and amount of physical effort involved in the job is often used to supplement the job specification. • Two approaches to writing job specifications are judgment and statistical analysis. The judgmental approach is based on educated guesses of job incumbents, supervisors, and HR managers. The statistical approach is more legally defensible. • Qualifications must be justifiable. • Actual physical/mental demands critical for entry-level jobs • Approaches to writing specification: Judgment or on Statistical Analysis. The judgmental approach is based on educated guesses of job incumbent, supervisors, and HR managers. The statistical approach is more legally defensible. • Tools that managers can use to identify potential personality-related job requirements – The Personality-Related Position Requirements Form (PPRF) is a new survey instrument designed to assist managers in identifying potential personality-related traits that may be important in a job. The PPRF uses questionnaire items to assess the relevance of such basic personality dimensions as agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability to the job under study by asking whether specific items – such as “adapt(s) easily to changes in work procedures” – are “not required,” “helpful,” or “essential.” The relevance of these personality traits can then be assessed through statistical analysis. • Over the past few years, the concept of the job has been changing quite dramatically. • Several factors – eg. globalization, competition, deregulation, political instability, demographic changes, and trends toward a service society and the information age – have contributed to challenging this concept. In order to compete, organizations have to be responsive and flexible. • Jobs are becoming broader, and more and more firms are moving toward new organizational configurations as required to meet these challenges. • Organizations have responded in several ways: flatter organizations, work teams, boundaryless structures, reengineering, and e-business. These changes have resulted in management layers being reduced, workers being empowered to make more decisions, supervisory checks and controls being reduced, workers becoming collectively responsible for overall results rather than individually responsible for just their own tasks, employees working with suppliers and customers and even competitors to pool resources, and formally distinct jobs being integrated and compressed into enlarged and enriched ones as a result of reengineering. • Most firms continue to use job descriptions and rely on traditionally defined jobs. • More and more firms are moving toward new organizational configurations, ones built around jobs that are broad and that may change every day. • Instructor may want to introduce the topic by discussing the current organizational structure at the university/college. • First half of the class – lecture and then engage the students by working on a case – Linking Job Analysis and Pay (page 104). • Latter half of the class – complete lecture and consider discussing with the class some of the critical thinking questions found on page 103. • Consider asking the students what types of jobs they have held and how they can relate the work that they did to the job characteristics model. Was the work enriching? DISCUSSION BOX SUMMARIES WORKFORCE DIVERSITY: Accommodating and Utilizing the Aging Workforce (page 74) Older workers score high on job skills, loyalty, reliability, and capability to change and adjust. With a comprehensive disability management program in place, it is not very difficult or costly to accommodate these workers. The article provides some suggestions for accommodating older workers. ========================================================================== ENTREPRENEURS AND HR: A Practical Approach to Job Analysis and Job Descriptions (page 94) Providing tools for small businesses so they too can analyze their jobs effectively. This box lists the steps to take and the resources that small businesses can draw on. ========================================================================== STRATEGIC HR: IKEA Canada (page 100) The traditional meaning of a “job” as a set of well-defined and clearly delineated responsibilities is changing. IKEA recruits unique individuals who share corporate values of togetherness, cost-consciousness, respect, and simplicity. IKEA provides a free and open work environment, balanced with expectations that employees assume responsibilities for their actions. ========================================================================== ETHICAL DILEMMAS If an organization restructures and adopts a team-based design, how should employees who can’t work effectively in teams be dealt with? (page 73) A transfer to another job or department is one possibility, although if the entire organization has moved to a teambased design, this may not be an option. If there are no jobs within the firm to which the employee can be transferred, corrective action will be required. Before taking such action, however, the employee concerned should be offered training in teamwork skills, since such skills are not innate and must be learned. If such training has already been provided, this individual should be offered additional training. All training provided should be carefully documented. If, following completion of such training, his or her teamwork skills are still inadequate, the supervisor should meet with the employee privately to: • inform the individual about this inadequacy • indicate the firm’s expectations and the underlying reasons for them • explain what is needed to meet the expected standards and offer to assist the employee in attaining these standards • specify a date by which improvement must be evidenced or further action will have to be taken • explain that his or her employment will have to be terminated if he or she cannot work effectively in teams • document this discussion. If the employee’s teamwork skills do not improve, the supervisor should meet with the individual a second time and document the discussion. The next step, should the individual continue to fail to live up to company standards, will be a paid one-day “decision-making leave” if the firm uses a discipline without punishment approach, or a suspension if the firm uses progressive discipline. The eventual outcome if the individual cannot change his or her behaviour will be termination of employment – regardless of approach. Since some employees clearly require ergonomic aid while others do not, should ergonomic issues be addressed only in the redesign of special-needs employees’ workstations or those of every employee? (page 74) Ergonomic redesign may be required as a human rights accommodation measure. More and more firms, however, are realizing that ergonomically designed workstations can actually save money in the long run, since product defects are eliminated or minimized, as are equipment damage and worker injuries or illnesses caused by poor work design. While there are costs involved, given the following facts, taking ergonomics into consideration in the design/redesign of every employee’s workstation has a lot of merit: • almost one-half of all lost-time injuries are caused by repetitive motion or overexertion • repetitive strain injuries are the greatest single contributor to workers’ compensation claims, and cost the Canadian economy nearly $800 million each year • a recent research study revealed that a majority of employees rank design issues second only to compensation as a reason to accept or leave jobs • Given current demographic trends and the fact that ergonomics has also become a collective bargaining issue, taking ergonomics into consideration when designing or redesigning jobs will no doubt become less optional for many employers in the future In view of the fact that job descriptions are not required by law, and that some organizations have found that they are no longer relevant, would abolishing job descriptions raise any moral or legal concerns? (page 101) A key advantage of having job descriptions is that they help to clarify employer expectations – for both the supervisor and employee. Failure to have job descriptions may mean that there is overlap in job duties and/or that some duties are not assigned to anyone. Having an accurate description of each job sometimes leads to the identification of unnecessary requirements, areas of conflict or dissatisfaction, and/or health and safety concerns that can be eliminated through job redesign. Such redesign may increase morale and productivity, and ensure compliance with human rights and occupational health and safety legislation. Job descriptions and specifications are also the basis for a legally-defensible compensation system (page 88) and for effective training, development, and career management programs (page 88). While job descriptions are not legally required, they are highly advisable. When assessing suitability for employment, training program enrolment, and transfers or promotions, and when appraising performance, the only criteria examined should be the KSAs required for the essential duties of the job. Having a job description also makes it easier to identify accommodation requirements, as required by human rights legislation. Some supervisors and/or small-business owners are reluctant to introduce job descriptions, fearing that employees will refuse to perform tasks that are not specifically listed therein. However, in addition to the issues identified above, another important reason for preparing such descriptions relates to the fact that in some firms without them, employees are expected to perform tasks that are clearly not job related. Preventing such abuse is one of the reasons why a “copy-out clause” such as “other duties, as assigned” should be avoided when job descriptions are prepared. As explained in the text, while duties and responsibilities should be described in sufficient detail so that training requirements and performance appraisal criteria can be identified, and the qualifications outlined in the job specification can be justified, it is generally possible to make it clear that the incumbent may be asked to perform additional related duties, without resorting to such a “cop-out clause.” If not, including a statement such as: “The duties and responsibilities outlined above are representative, but not all-inclusive” may meet the firm’s need for flexibility without sacrificing the quality and usefulness of the job description. KEY TERMS Functional Job Analysis (FJA) A quantitative method for classifying jobs based on types and amounts of responsibility for data, people, and things, as well as the extent to which instructions, reasoning, judgment, and verbal facility are necessary for performing assigned tasks. Performance standards and training requirements are also identified. (page 86) Human Engineering (Ergonomics) An interdisciplinary approach that seeks to integrate and accommodate the physical needs of workers into the design of jobs. It aims to adapt the entire job system – the work, environment, machines, equipment, and processes – to match human characteristics. (page 73) Industrial Engineering A field of study concerned with analyzing work methods; making work cycles more efficient by modifying, combining, rearranging, or eliminating tasks; and establishing time standards. (page 69) Job A group of related activities and duties, held by a single employee or a number of incumbents. (page 69) Job Analysis The procedure for determining the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of each job, and the human attributes (in terms of knowledge, skills, and abilities) required to perform it. (page 75) Job Description A list of the duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships, and working conditions of a job – one product of job analysis. (page 75) Job Design The process of systematically organizing work into tasks that are required to perform a specific job. (page 69) Job Enlargement (horizontal loading) A technique to relieve monotony and boredom that involves assigning workers additional tasks at the same level of responsibility to increase the number of activities they have to perform. (page 70) Job Enrichment (vertical loading) Any effort that makes an employee's job more rewarding or satisfying by adding more meaningful tasks and duties. (page 70) Job Rotation Another technique to relieve monotony and employee boredom, which involves systematically moving employees from one job to another. (page 70) Job Specification A list of the "human requirements" – that is, the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed to perform the job, another product of job analysis. (page 75) National Occupational Classification (NOC) A reference tool for writing job descriptions and job specifications. Compiled by the federal government, it contains comprehensive, standardized descriptions of about 25 000 occupations and the requirements for each. (page 86) Occupation A collection of jobs that share some or all of a set of main duties. (page 86) Organization Chart A "snapshot" of the firm at a particular point in time, depicting the organization's structure in chart form. (page 67) Organizational Structure The formal relationships among jobs in an organization. (page 67) Physical Demands Analysis Identification of the senses used, and type, frequency, and amount of physical effort involved in the job. (page 95) Position The collection of tasks and responsibilities performed by one person. (page 69) Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) A questionnaire used to collect quantifiable data concerning the duties and responsibilities of various jobs. (page 85) Process Chart A diagram showing the flow of inputs to and outputs from the job under study. (page 67) Team A small group of people with complementary skills who work toward common goals for which they hold joint responsibility and accountability. (page 72) Team-Based Job Designs Job designs that focus on giving a team, rather than an individual, a whole and meaningful piece of work to do, and empowering team members to decide among themselves how to accomplish the work. (page 72) Work Simplification An approach to job design that involves assigning most of the administrative aspects of work (such as planning and organizing) to supervisors and managers, while giving lower-level employees narrowly defined tasks to perform according to methods established and specified by management. (page 69) PART TWO: MEETING HUMAN RESOURCES REQUIREMENTS CHAPTER 5 HUMAN RESOURCES PLANNING LEARNING OUTCOMES • Define human resources planning and discuss its strategic importance. • Describe four quantitative and two qualitative techniques used to forecast human resources demand. • Briefly discuss four strategies used to forecast internal human resources supply and four types of market conditions assessed when forecasting external human resources supply. • Describe the ways in which a surplus of human resources can be handled. • Explain how organizations deal with a shortage of human resources. CHAPTER SUMMARY This chapter focuses on human resources planning and its critical importance in helping an organization achieve its strategic business objectives while optimizing its existing human resources. It discusses the key steps an organization should take to effectively plan its manpower requirements. It discusses the key variables to consider when forecasting demand and analyzing supply of labour and the techniques that can be utilized. The role of Human Resources in the planning process is discussed, as are the key strategies that can be employed to balance the demand and supply effectively. The chapter ends with a discussion of alternative work arrangements, including flextime, telecommuting, job sharing, compressed work week, and flexyear. LECTURE OUTLINE • This chapter introduces human resources planning. • This topic is the first step in determining how many personnel will be required in the future. • Human Resources Planning (HRP) is the process of reviewing human resources requirements to ensure that the organization has the required number of employees, with the necessary skills, to meet its goals. • Also known as employment planning, HRP is a proactive process, which both anticipates and influences an organization's future by systematically forecasting the demand for and supply of employees under changing conditions, and developing plans and activities to satisfy these needs. • As illustrated in Figure 5.1, key steps in the HRP process include forecasting demand for labour, analyzing labour supply, and planning and implementing HR programs to balance supply and demand. A fundamental HRP decision when demand exceeds supply pertains to whether projected positions will be filled internally or externally. Another critical issue is what to do when the labour supply exceeds the anticipated demand. As illustrated in Figure 5.2, there are many alternative solutions. Effective HRP helps an organization: • achieve its strategic goals and objectives • achieve economies in hiring new workers • make major labour market demands more successfully • anticipate and avoid shortages and surpluses of human resources • control and/or reduce labour costs • Inadequate HR planning can result in: • Vacant positions creating costly inefficiencies • Mass layoffs requiring severance pay • Simultaneous layoffs and hiring, which reduces morale and productivity and creates turnover • Inability to meet operational and strategic plans • The Relationship of HRP to Strategic Planning – HR planning is an essential component. Strategic plans are created and carried out by people. Thus, determining whether or not people will be available is a critical element of the strategic planning process. • To be a valued partner, HR professionals need to ensure that the organization has the right people at the right time in the right place when the organization requires these skills. At the same time, decisions regarding how positions will be filled must be integrated with other aspects of the firm's HR plans – for instance, those pertaining to training current and new employees, appraising performance, and terminating, transferring, or promoting staff members. • External environmental factors – most frequently monitored include economic conditions, market and competitive trends, government and legislative issues, such as new or revised laws and the decisions of courts and quasi-judicial bodies, social concerns related to health care, childcare, and educational priorities, technological changes, and demographic trends. • Elements of effective HRP – Once the human resources implications of the organization's strategic plans have been analysed, there are four subsequent processes involved in HRP: • Forecasting future human resources needs (demand). • Forecasting availability of internal and external candidates (supply). • Planning and implementing HR programs to balance supply and demand • Forecasting – A key component of HRP is forecasting the number and type of people needed to meet organizational objectives. • Managers should consider several factors when forecasting such requirements: the demand for the organization's product or service; projected turnover as a result of resignations or terminations; the quality and nature of employees; decisions to upgrade the quality of products or services or enter into new markets; technological and administrative changes aimed at increasing productivity; and reducing employee headcount, and the financial resources available to each department. Quantitative Approaches • Trend analysis involves studying the firm's employment levels over the past five years or so to predict future needs. The purpose is to identify employment trends that might continue into the future. It is valuable as an initial estimate only, since employment levels rarely depend solely on the passage of time. • Ratio analysis involves making estimates based on the ratio between (1) some causal factor (such as sales volume) and (2) number of employees required. Like trend analysis, ratio analysis assumes that productivity remains about the same. In a changing environment, a forecast based on historical ratios will no longer be accurate. • A scatter plot is a graphical method used to determine whether two factors – a measure of business activity and staffing levels – are related. If they are, then if the measure of business activity is forecast, HR requirements can also be estimated. An example is provided in Figure 5.3. • Regression analysis is a more sophisticated statistical technique to determine the “best-fit” line. • Qualitative Approaches rely on expert judgments. • Nominal Group Technique – involves a group of experts (such as first-line supervisors and managers) meeting face to face. While one of its uses is human resources demand forecasting, this technique is used to deal with issues and problems ranging from identifying training needs to determining safety program incentives. The steps involved include independent idea generation, idea presentation, clarification and open discussion, and private assessment. • Advantages of this technique include involvement of key decision makers, a future focus, and the fact that the group discussion involved can facilitate the exchange of ideas and greater acceptance of results. Drawbacks include subjectivity and the potential for group pressure to lead to less accurate assessments than could be obtained through other means. • The Delphi Technique – While short-term forecasting is usually handled by managers, the Delphi technique is useful for long-range forecasting and other strategic planning issues. It typically involves outside experts as well as company employees, based on the premise that outsiders may be able to more objectively assess changes in economic, demographic, governmental, technological, and social conditions and their potential impacts. Ideas are exchanged without face-to-face interaction, and feedback is provided and used to fine-tune independent judgments until consensus is reached. • As with the nominal group technique, advantages include involvement of key decision makers and a future focus. The Delphi technique permits the group to critically evaluate a wider range of views, however. Drawbacks include the fact that judgments may not efficiently use objective data, the time and costs involved, and the potential difficulty in integrating diverse opinions. • Markov analysis is a technique to track the pattern of employee movements. As illustrated in Figure 5.5, such an analysis shows the actual number (and percentage) of employees who remain in each job from one year to the next, as well as the proportions promoted, demoted, transferred, and leaving the organization. These proportions (probabilities) are used to forecast human resources supply. • Skill/management inventories contain comprehensive information about the skills and capabilities of current employees. • Replacement charts – Visual representations of likely internal replacement employees for each position. Data on each candidate includes age, present performance rating, and promotability status. Summaries include relative strengths and weaknesses in the current position. Succession Planning refers to the process of ensuring a suitable supply of successors for current and future senior or key jobs, so that careers of individuals can be effectively planned and managed. • The succession planning process involves a fairly complicated and integrated series of steps: (1) analysis of demand for managers and professionals by company level, function, and skill; (2) an audit of existing executives and projection of likely future supply from internal and external sources; (3) planning of individual career paths; (3) career counselling; (4) accelerated promotions, with development targeted against the future needs of the business; (5) performance-related training and development; (6) planned strategic recruitment; and (7) the actual activities by which openings are filled. • Forecasting the Supply of External (Outside) Candidates – To project the supply of outside candidates, employers assess a number of conditions: • General Economic Conditions – Unemployment rate serves as an approximate measure of how difficult it will be to acquire new employees. In general terms, the lower the rate of unemployment, the smaller the labour supply and the more difficult it will be to recruit employees. It is important to note, though, that even when unemployment rates are high, some positions will still be difficult to fill, and that unemployment rates vary for different groups, as well as from province to province and one city to another. • National Labour Market Conditions – Demographic trends have a significant impact on national labour market conditions. Fortunately for organizations, these trends are known years in advance of their impact. There is a wealth of labour market information available from government and private sources. Statistics Canada publishes reports on labour force conditions on an annual, monthly, quarterly, and occasional basis. Information is available on: total labour force projections by demographic, geographic, and occupational variables; labour income; census data; and population projections by sex and province. • Local Labour Market Conditions – Local labour markets are affected by many conditions, including community growth rates and attitudes. Anti-business or no-growth attitudes may cause present employers to move elsewhere. The resultant loss of jobs may force residents to relocate to other areas. In communities experiencing such population declines, it is often impossible to attract new business, since potential employers fear future HR supply shortages. The end result is that there are fewer and fewer jobs, and more and more people leaving the local labour market – a vicious downward spiral. Conversely, one reason growing cities are attractive to employers is the promise of large future labour markets. Chambers of Commerce and provincial/local development and planning agencies can be excellent sources of local labour market information. • Occupational Market Conditions – In addition to looking at the overall labour market, organizations also generally want to forecast the availability of potential job candidates in specific occupations for which they will be recruiting. Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) publishes both short-term and long-term labour force projections, as well as a publication projecting domestic occupational requirements (demand) and supply, nationally and provincially, for periods of up to 10 years. • Labour Supply Exceeds Demand – When the internal supply of employees exceeds the organization's demand, a labour surplus exists. The strategies are as follows: • Hiring freeze • Attrition • Buyout and early retirement programs • Job sharing involves dividing duties of a single position between two or more employees. Similar to work sharing, but without a formal arrangement with government regarding EI benefits, is a reduced workweek. Employees simply work fewer hours and receive less pay. The organization retains a skilled workforce, lessens the financial and emotional impact of a full layoff, and yet manages to reduce production costs. The only potential drawback is that it is sometimes difficult to predict in advance, with any degree of accuracy, how many hours of work should be scheduled each week. Some organizations with progressive HR policies are able to find alternative jobs within the organization for surplus and displaced employees. • A layoff, the temporary withdrawal of employment to workers for economic or business reasons, is another strategy used to correct an employee surplus. To ease the financial burden of layoffs, some organizations offer supplemental unemployment benefits (SUBs), which increase income levels closer to what an employee would receive if on the job. SUB programs are generally negotiated through collective bargaining. Benefits are payable until the pool of funds set aside has been exhausted. When employees are no longer required, the employment relationship may be severed. • Termination is a broad term that encompasses the permanent separation from the organization for any reason. Since "termination" is often associated with discharge, some organizations prefer to use the term "permanent layoff" when employees must be separated for economic or business reasons. • Severance pay is a lump-sum payment that is given to employees who are being permanently separated. While legally required in certain situations, such as mass layoffs, severance pay is expected when employees are being terminated through no fault of their own. In addition to pay, severance packages often include benefits continuation for a specified period of time. In determining the appropriate severance package, employers should take salary, years of service, the employee's age, and likelihood of obtaining another job into consideration. To avoid costly court battles, many employers make reference to "ballpark,” "reasonable range,” or "reasonable offer" court decisions. • Labour Demand Exceeds Supply. The strategies are as follows: • Scheduling overtime hours • Hire temporary employees or subcontract work (if not prohibited by the collective agreement). • Transfer involves movement from one job to another that is relatively equal in pay, responsibility, and/or organizational level. Besides improving the utilization of human resources, transfers often broaden an employee's skills and perspectives, thereby making him or her a better candidate for future promotions. New technical and interpersonal challenges may lead to increased motivation and satisfaction. Even when new challenges are minimal, transfers at least offer some variety, which may enhance job satisfaction. • Promotion involves the movement of an employee from one job to another that is higher in pay, responsibility, and/or organizational level. Promotions are usually based on merit, seniority, or a combination of both. • Canada’s Looming Labour Shortage: • Over the next 20 years, the vast majority of baby boomers will transition from working life to retirement. • Predicted labour shortage of 1 million people by 2016. • Many employers are setting aside stereotypes and prejudices to attract older workers, Aboriginals, visible minorities. • Flexible Work Arrangements: • Time has become the new currency for compensating employees. • Employers must be aware of the value of flexible schedules for attracting and retaining talent. • Flexible work arrangements can assist organizations in meeting customer needs when and where they need to be met. • Flextime • flextime provides the opportunity for employees to build their workday around a core of mid-day hours • flextime can reduce absenteeism • flextime reduces the use of sick leave for personal matters • flextime can increase receptiveness to change • flextime can be complicated to administer • Telecommuting/Telework • telecommuting involves the use of computers and telecommunications to work at home • it is advisable to have a legal agreement between the organization and teleworker • communication with teleworkers is critical • there are many benefits from teleworking to the worker, the employer, and to society • Alternative Work Arrangements • job sharing divides the duties of a single person between two or more employees • compressed workweeks provide the opportunity to work less than five days of more than eight hours instead of five eight-hour days • flexyear arrangements allow employees to, every six months, choose the number of hours to work each month for the next year • To begin, consider using an article out of the newspaper that discusses HR planning – perhaps a company is downsizing or growing or moving into another country. What types of skills will they need? When will they need these skills? • Deliver the first part of the lecture and then have the students work on the Case Incident – How Much Work Schedule Flexibility is Too Much Flexibility? (page 134) • Deliver the second half of the lecture and discuss critical thinking questions. (page 134) DISCUSSION BOX SUMMARIES ENTREPRENEURS AND HR: Help Wanted: Long-Term Vacancies a Major Small Business Challenge (page 116) Today, fully half of the small-business sector in Canada ranks shortage of labour as a priority issue. Small firms recognize that there is no single solution to this problem and understand that they play a role in helping address the situation. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is planning further research on potential solutions, including tapping underrepresented pools of labour such as Aboriginals, older and new immigrant workers, and those with disabilities. ============================================================================ WORKFORCE DIVERSITY: Hiring Immigrants Makes Good Sense (page 126) Hiring newcomers to Canada is good business according to several leading Canadian companies. Instead of screening people out for their lack of Canadian experience, companies screen them for qualifications and skills, wherever they have gained their experience. Competing worldwide for world-class talent, hiring skilled immigrants that are already here becomes more critical. ============================================================================ STRATEGIC HR: Stemming the Loss of Knowledge (page 130) A number of companies are fully aware of the coming labour shortage, and are preparing for it with innovative programs and policies that will both retain their existing talent bank and attract more individuals with a lifetime of knowledge. This box describes: IBM talking to employees approaching retirement; Direct Energy’s apprenticeship program; Home Depot’s conscious effort to hire older workers; City of Calgary’s programs for retirees to mentor their successors as well as establishing a database of retirees willing to return for contract positions; Merck Frost’s launch of a mentoring program where employees can request a retiree as a mentor. ============================================================================ ETHICAL DILEMMAS Is it ethical to hire and/or promote underqualified target group members simply to meet established employment equity goals and timetables? (Page 114) Hiring and/or promoting underqualified target group members is unethical and not in a firm’s best interests. Doing so may result in poor performance or even termination and replacement, as well as costs that cannot be measured in dollars alone – perpetuation of prejudices and/or stereotypes, the undermining of employee self-confidence and selfrespect associated with inadequate performance, and backlash from other employees. When a quota-based approach is adopted, as in affirmative action programs in the U.S., firms may be tempted to hire and/or promote underqualified or unqualified target group members. Doing so may result in charges of reverse discrimination from white, able-bodied males. How much time, effort, and money should firms devote to helping ”surviving” employees deal with downsizing? Mergers and acquisitions? (Page 129) Based on results of numerous studies, it seems that there are high costs associated with failing to devote sufficient time, effort, and money to helping surviving employees deal with downsizing or mergers and acquisitions. Survivor sickness involves a range of emotions that can include feelings of betrayal or violation, guilt, and detachment. Remaining employees, anxious about the next round of terminations or additional changes, often suffer stress symptoms, including depression, proneness to errors, and reduced performance. It is thus recommended that supervisors provide abundant, honest communication; provide assistance to those being affected; treat those being laid off or terminated, and survivors, with dignity and respect; allow remaining employees to grieve and deal with repressed feelings and emotions; increase their accessibility; help survivors recapture their sense of control and self-esteem; use ceremonies, such as special meetings or small-group sessions, to provide people with a chance to acknowledge the changes and their reactions to them; and reshape the systems to lessen dependency-creating processes. Failing to devote sufficient time, money, and energy to cultural adaptation following a merger or acquisition can result in a collision of cultures, which has high human costs, as well as a negative impact on the bottom line. Is it ethical for an employer to deny employees the right to flexible work arrangements just because managers are concerned about the additional communication required and about losing control over their employees? (Page 131) Most will argue that denying employees the right to alternative work arrangements for these reasons is neither ethical nor in the organization’s long-term best interests. Managers who are inexperienced with alternative work arrangements should receive extensive training. They need to learn how to manage employees with whom they have less face-to-face interaction and understand techniques for ensuring effective two-way communication with such workers. Increasingly, workplaces are being expected to accommodate employee needs, whether as a human rights requirement (such as accommodation of religious holidays or providing a redesigned work station for an individual returning to work following an accident) or to assist their employees to achieve a better work-life balance. Doing so is not just a matter of ethics or legal compliance. It is also essential to attract and retain high-quality employees. The number one driver of employee commitment in the Canadian workforce is management’s recognition of the importance of personal and family life. Family-friendly policies, such as alternative work arrangements, can result in higher morale, better job satisfaction, and lower turnover. Such arrangements not only assist employees in achieving work-family balance, they also assist organizations in meeting customer needs when and where they need to be met. KEY TERMS Attrition The normal separation of employees from an organization due to resignation, retirement, or death. (page 127) Compressed Workweek An arrangement that most commonly allows employees to work four days of more than eight hours instead of the more usual five eight-hour days. (page 132) Delphi Technique A judgmental forecasting method used to arrive at a group decision, typically involving outside experts as well as organizational employees. Ideas are exchanged without face-to-face interaction, and feedback is provided and used to fine-tune independent judgments until consensus is reached. (page 120) Flextime A plan whereby employees build their workday around a core of midday hours. (page 131) Flex year A work arrangement under which employees can choose (at six-month intervals) the number of hours they want to work each month over the next year. (page 132) Hiring Freeze A common initial response to an employee surplus. Openings are filled by reassigning current employees, and no outsiders are hired. (page 127) Human Resources Planning (HRP) The process of reviewing human resources requirements to ensure that the organization has the required number of employees, with the necessary skills, to meet its goals. (page 113) Job Sharing A strategy that involves dividing duties of a single position between two or more employees. (page 128) Layoff The temporary withdrawal of employment to workers for economic or business reasons; another strategy used to correct an employee surplus. (page 128) Management Inventories Manual or computerized records summarizing the background, qualifications, interests, skills, etc. of management employees, as well as information about managerial responsibilities, duties in current and previous position(s), and management training, used to identify internal candidates eligible for transfer and/or promotion opportunities. (page 122) Markov Analysis A method of forecasting internal labour supply that involves tracking the pattern of employee movements through various jobs and developing a transitional probability matrix. (page 121) Nominal Group Technique A decision-making technique that involves a group of experts meeting face to face. Steps include independent idea generation, idea presentation, clarification and open discussion, and private assessment. (page 119) Promotion Movement of an employee from one job to another that is higher in pay, responsibility, and/or organizational level, usually based on merit, seniority, or a combination of both. (page 129) Ratio Analysis A forecasting technique for determining future staff needs by using ratios between some causal factor (such as sales volume) and number of employees needed. (page 117) Reduced Workweek A layoff-avoidance strategy involving employees working fewer hours and receiving less pay. (page 128) Regression Analysis A statistical technique involving the use of a mathematical formula to project future demands based on an established relationship between an organization's employment level (dependent variable) and some measurable factor of output (independent variable). (page 119) Replacement Charts Visual representations of who will replace whom in the event of a job opening. Likely internal candidates are listed, along with their age, present performance rating, and promotability status. (page 123) Replacement Summaries Lists of likely replacements for each position and their relative strengths and weaknesses, as well as information about current position, performance, promotability, age, and experience. (page 124) Scatter Plot A graphical method used to help identify the relationship between two variables. (page 118) Severance Package A lump-sum payment that is given to employees who are being permanently separated. (page 128) Skills Inventories Manual or computerized records summarizing employees' education, experience, interests, skills, etc., which are used to identify internal candidates eligible for transfer and/or promotion. (page 122) Staffing Table A pictorial representation of all jobs within the organization, along with the number of current incumbents and future employment requirements (monthly or yearly) for each. (page 120) Succession Planning The process of ensuring a suitable supply of successors for current and future senior or key jobs, so that careers of individuals can be effectively planned and managed. (page 124) Supplemental Unemployment Benefits (SUBs) A top-up to employment insurance, generally negotiated through collective bargaining, to increase income levels closer to what an employee would receive if on the job. (page 128) Survivor Sickness A range of negative emotions experienced by employees remaining after a major restructuring initiative, which can include feelings of betrayal or violation, guilt and detachment, and result in stress symptoms, including depression, proneness to errors, and reduced productivity. (page 129) Termination A broad term that encompasses the permanent separation from the organization for any reason. (page 128) Transfer Movement of an employee from one job to another that is relatively equal in pay, responsibility, and/or organizational level. (page 129) Trend Analysis Study of a firm's past employment levels over a period of years to predict future needs. (page 117) Work Sharing A layoff-avoidance strategy, introduced by the federal government in 1977, by which employees work three or four days a week and receive unemployment insurance (now called Employment Insurance) on their non-work day(s). (page 128) PART TWO: MEETING HUMAN RESOURCES REQUIREMENTS CHAPTER 6 RECRUITMENT LEARNING OUTCOMES • Define recruitment and describe its purposes. • Explain the recruitment process. • Describe the role of job postings, human resources records, and skills inventories in promotion from within. • Identify twelve methods used for external recruitment. • Explain three strategies used to recruit a non-permanent staff. • Discuss strategies for recruiting a more diverse workforce. • Explain the importance of application forms. CHAPTER SUMMARY Recruitment of the right people is a critical ingredient of corporate health and well-being. This chapter discusses the role that HR plays in ensuring that this result is achieved. It details the steps in the recruitment process and the constraints on the process. It describes the techniques involved in recruiting within the organization, provides a brief summary of its limitations, followed by a comprehensive discussion of recruiting outside the organization. Strategies for recruiting a more diverse workforce are then discussed. The chapter ends with a section on the development and use of application forms. LECTURE OUTLINE • This chapter introduces the topic of recruitment. • Recruitment is a critical HR function because the quality of human resources depends to a great extent upon the quality of its recruits. • Recruitment is the process of searching for and locating an adequate number of qualified job candidates, from whom the organization may select the most appropriate to staff its job requirements. The process begins when the need to fill a position is identified and ends with the receipt of résumés and/or completed application forms. • Constraints on the Recruitment Process • Promote-from-within Policies – Most firms have a promote-from-within policy. Collective agreements often require that jobs be posted internally for a specified period of time before external recruitment can begin, and many organizations have adopted a similar policy for their non-union positions. While this practice has numerous advantages, having such a policy may mean that a recruiter cannot begin to seek external candidates until the period is over, even if he or she is aware that there are no suitable internal candidates. • Compensation Policies – The pay structure and benefits package can pose a constraint, since they influence the attractiveness of the job to potential applicants. Recruiters rarely have the authority to exceed established pay ranges, and may be further constrained by an organizational policy specifying that no one can be hired at a rate higher than the midpoint or other set level within the range. • Employment Equity Plan – Whether legally required or voluntarily initiated, if there is an employment equity plan, it must be consulted, since it will specify the organization's goals and timetables pertaining to the hiring of designated group members. To increase the number of qualified candidates from the designated groups, recruiters often use nontraditional (outreach) strategies. • Inducements of Competitors – Attracting candidates requires recruiters to market the job and organization. Monetary and non-monetary inducements are used to stimulate interest. The types of inducements being offered by the competition impose a constraint, since recruiters must try to meet the prevailing standards or use alternative inducements to overcome limitations. There is a caution to be noted, however. Employers must take extreme care in describing the nature and existence of an employment opportunity to prospective employees. Representations made must be accurate, not misleading, or the firm can be charged with negligent misrepresentation. • Labour Shortages – The emerging labour shortage makes recruiting more difficult. A survey by Hewitt Associates found that recruitment practices will have to undergo “enormous change” over the next several years. Some initiatives are already underway to attract foreign recruits. Filling open positions with inside candidates has several advantages: • employees see that competence is rewarded, thus enhancing commitment, morale, and performance. • having already been with the firm for some time, insiders may be more committed to company’s goals and less likely to leave. • managers are provided with a longer-term perspective when making business decisions. • it is generally safer to promote from within, since the firm is likely to have a more accurate assessment of the person’s skills than would otherwise be the case – inside candidates require less orientation than outsiders. Promotion from within also has a number of disadvantages, however: • employees who apply for jobs and don’t get them may become discontented. Informing unsuccessful applicants as to why they were rejected and what remedial action they might take to be more successful in the future is thus essential. • managers may be required to post all job openings and interview all inside candidates, even when they already know whom they wish to hire, thus wasting considerable time and creating false hopes on the part of those employees not genuinely being considered. • employees may be less satisfied with the accepting of a boss appointed from within their own ranks than a newcomer. • it is sometimes difficult for a newly chosen leader to adjust to no longer being “one of the gang.” • there is a possibility of “inbreeding.” When an entire management team has been brought up through the ranks, there may be a tendency to make decisions “by the book” and to maintain the status quo, even when a new and innovative direction is needed. Promotion from within requires job posting, human resources records, and skill inventories: • Job Posting is a process of notifying current employees about vacant positions. This may involve placing on designated bulletin boards throughout the firm a form outlining the title, duties, qualifications, hours of work, pay range, posting date, and closing. Some firms post jobs in employee publications, have special-announcement handouts, or send out notices by mail. Others now have computerized job-posting systems, such that information about vacancies can be found on the company’s intranet, or is accessible 24 hours a day by calling a specific telephone number. As illustrated in Figure 5.3, there are advantages and disadvantages to using job postings. • Human Resources Records – Human resources records are often consulted to ensure that qualified individuals are notified, in person, of vacant positions. An examination of employee files may uncover: employees who are working in jobs below their education or skill levels; people who already have the requisite KSAs; or persons with the potential to move into the vacant position if given some additional training. • Skills Inventories – Skills inventories are an even better reference tool. Whether computerized or manual, referring to such inventories ensures that qualified internal candidates are identified and considered for transfer or promotion when opportunities arise. Advantages • Provides every qualified employee with a chance for a transfer or promotion • Reduces the likelihood of special deals and favouritism • Demonstrates the organization's commitment to career growth and development • Communicates to employees the organization's policies and guidelines regarding promotions and transfers • Provides equal opportunity to all qualified employees • Candidates are identified and considered for transfer or promotion when opportunities arise Disadvantages • Unsuccessful job candidates may become demotivated, demoralized, discontented, and unhappy if feedback is not communicated in a timely and sensitive manner • Tensions may rise if it appears that a qualified internal candidate was passed over for an equally qualified or less qualified external candidate • The decision about which candidate to select may be more difficult if there are two or more equally qualified candidates • Unless there is a workforce reduction, even in firms with a promote-from-within policy, a replacement from outside must eventually be found to fill the job left vacant once all eligible employees have been given the opportunity for transfer and/or promotion. In addition, all entry-level positions must be filled by external candidates. The advantages of external recruitment include: • generation of a larger pool of qualified candidates, which may have a positive impact on the quality of the selection decision. • availability of a more diverse applicant pool, which can assist in meeting employment equity goals and timetables. • acquisition of skills or knowledge not currently available within the organization and/or new ideas and creative problem-solving techniques. • elimination of rivalry and competition caused by employees jockeying for transfers and promotions, which can hinder interpersonal and interdepartmental cooperation. • potential cost savings resulting from hiring individuals who already have the skills, rather than providing extensive training. • Planning External Recruitment – When choosing external recruitment method(s), in addition to the constraints mentioned earlier, there are a number of factors that should be taken into consideration: • Type of Job – The type of job to be filled has a major impact on the recruitment method selected. For example, most firms normally rely on professional search firms for recruiting executive-level employees. In contrast, local newspaper advertising is commonly used for recruiting other salaried employees • Yield Ratios – Yield ratios help to indicate which recruitment methods are the most effective at producing qualified job candidates. A yield ratio is the percentage of applicants that proceed to the next stage of the selection process. • Amount of Lead Time – The average number of days from when the company initiates a recruitment method to when the successful candidate begins to work is the time-lapse data. Calculating time-lapse data for each recruitment method means that the amount of lead time available can be taken into account when deciding which strategy or strategies would be most appropriate. • A recruiting yield pyramid, such as that shown in Figure 6.4, can be devised for each method by calculating the yield ratio for each step in the selection process. By calculating and comparing yield pyramids for each recruiting method, it is possible to determine which method results in the most new hires for each type of job. External Recruitment Methods • Online Recruiting – This has revolutionized human resources recruiting. It increases the hiring speed, which reduces the cost of vacant positions. The cost of advertising for a position online can be as little as one tenth of the traditional advertising channels. Online recruitment is most often conducted through the use of Internet job boards and corporate career Web sites. Internet job boards are easy, fast, convenient, and allow recruiters to search for candidates for positions. • Print Advertising – Advertising is one of the most often used recruiting methods. While commonly used media range from television and radio to professional journals, the advantages and disadvantages of which are shown in Table 6.3, newspaper advertising seems to be the most popular. • Private Employment Agencies – Private employment agencies, which are quite widespread throughout Canada, are often called upon to provide assistance to employers seeking intermediate- to senior-level clerical staff, and professional, technical, or managerial employees. Such agencies take an employer’s request for recruits and then solicit job seekers, relying primarily on advertising and walk-ins/write-ins. Private employment agencies serve two basic functions: expanding the applicant pool; and performing preliminary interviewing and screening. To match the employer’s job specifications with the abilities and interests of potential applicants, agencies may perform a range of functions, including: advertising; testing for skills, aptitudes, and interests; interviewing; and reference checking. • Executive Search Firms – Employers retain executive search firms to seek out middle- to senior-level professional, technical, and managerial employees. Paid a fee by the employer, they are typically used to fill jobs for which the pay range exceeds $40 000 or $50 000. • Walk-ins and Write-ins – Individuals who go to organizations in person to apply for jobs without referral or invitation are called walk-ins. Relying on walk-ins is a popular and inexpensive recruitment method used primarily for entry-level and unskilled positions. • Employee Referrals – Some organizations encourage applications from friends and relatives of current employees by mounting an employee referral campaign. Cash awards or prizes may be offered for referrals that culminate in a new hire. Because there are no advertising or agency fees involved, paying bonuses represent a low recruiting cost. Other advantages include: the fact that employees with hard-to-find job skills may know others in their field; the recruits obtained tend to have a positive, yet realistic impression of the organization; and the candidates referred are of high quality (since employees are generally willing to refer only those in whom they have great confidence). Disadvantages associated with employee referrals include the potential of inbreeding and nepotism to cause morale problems, and dissatisfaction of employees whose referral is not hired. Perhaps the biggest drawback, however, is that this method may result in systemic discrimination in workplaces that are not diverse, since employees tend to recommend individuals who have backgrounds similar to their own, in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, and so on. • Educational Institutions – Recruiting at educational institutions is extremely effective when candidates require formal training but relatively little full-time work experience. Most Canadian universities and community colleges have placement centres. Organizations provide such centres with information about their job openings, which is then posted. • Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) – Through various programs, HRDC helps unemployed individuals find suitable jobs and employers locate qualified candidates to meet their need at no cost to either party. The job bank is the largest Web-based network of job postings available to Canadian employers free of charge, as it provides access to over 40 000 jobs with up to 2000 new jobs posted every day. In addition, HRDC now operates the Electronic Labour Exchange (ELE), a computer-based recruitment tool that can match employer job specifications with job-seeker profiles. • Professional and Trade Associations – Professional and trade associations can be extremely helpful when recruiters are seeking individuals with specialized skills in fields such as IT, engineering, HR, and accounting, particularly if experience is a job requirement. • Labour Organizations – Some firms, particularly in the construction industry, obtain recruits through union hiring halls. • Military Personnel – The Canadian military may also provide qualified recruits. Individuals leave the forces on a regular basis. Many have been trained in fields in which there tends to be a skills shortage, such as mechanics and pilots; others have received a university or college education, as well as military leadership training, and are potential civilian managerial employees. Reservists are also potential recruits. • Open House and Job Fairs – An increasingly popular recruitment method involves holding an open house. • Online recruitment is most often conducted through the use of Internet job boards and corporate career Web sites. • Internet job boards are easy, fast, convenient, and allow recruiters to search for candidates for positions in two ways. First, for a fee, companies can post a job opening online and customize it. Job seekers can also post their own resumes on job boards. • Corporate career Web sites are now being used to recruit candidates. Career pages also known as recruiting portals have become the hub of recruitment activity. • Corporate career Web sites have a profound impact on an organization’s recruiting strategy. • They provide a single platform for recruitment that promotes the corporate brand, educates the applicant about the company, captures data about the applicant, and provides an important link to job boards where a company's positions may be advertised. Print Advertising • Media to be used depends on the type of position and the type of candidate. • To achieve optimum results from an advertisement, the following four-point guide, called AIDA, should be kept in mind as the ad is being constructed: • The ad should attract attention. The ads that stand out have borders, a company logo or picture, and effective use of empty white space. To attract attention, key positions should be advertised in display ads, not lost in the columns of classified ads. • The ad should develop interest in the job, by pointing out the range of duties and/or the amount of challenge or responsibility involved. Sometimes other aspects of the job, such as its location or working conditions, are useful in attracting interest. To ensure that the individuals attracted are qualified, the job specifications should always be included. • The ad should create a desire for the job by capitalizing on the interesting aspects of the job itself and by pointing out any unique benefits or opportunities associated with it. Desire may also be created by stressing the employer’s commitment to employment equity. The target audience should be kept in mind as the ad is being created. • The ad should instigate action by including a closing date and a statement such as “Call today” or “Send your résumé today by fax or e-mail” or “Check out our Web site for more information” or “Go to the site of our next job fair.” • Want ads describe the job and its specifications, the compensation package, and the hiring employer. They also provide the address(es) to which applications and/or résumés should be submitted, often including an e-mail address and/or fax number. • While the content pertaining to the job, specifications, and compensation is identical in blind ads, such ads omit the identity and address of the hiring employer. Potential candidates are instructed to forward their responses to a post office box number or a newspaper box number. • Specific situations in which a private employment agency might be used include the following: • The organization does not have an HR department and/or has no one with the requisite time and/or expertise. • The firm has experienced difficulty in generating a pool of qualified candidates for the position or a similar type of position in the past. • A particular opening must be filled quickly. • There is a desire to recruit a greater number of designated group members than the firm has been able to attract on its own. • The recruitment effort is aimed at reaching individuals who are currently employed and might therefore feel more comfortable answering ads placed by and dealing with an employment agency. • To ensure that the agency-employer relationship is positive and to avoid any legal compliance problems, references provided by the agency should be contacted to confirm suitability and professionalism. • Advantages – Such firms can be very useful. They often specialize in a particular type of talent, such as executives, sales, technical, scientific, or middle-management employees. They typically know and understand the marketplace, have many contacts, and are especially adept at contacting qualified candidates who are employed and not actively looking to change jobs (which is why they have been given the nickname “headhunters”). • To broaden their candidate pools, headhunters have now set up online recruiting Web sites. • Executive search firms can keep their client organization’s name confidential until late in the search process and save considerable top management time by looking after advertising, pre-screening of what could turn out to be hundreds of applicants, and doing careful reference checking. • Disadvantages – Executive search firms cannot do an effective job if they are given inaccurate or incomplete information about the job and/or firm. • A few headhunters are more salespeople than professionals, and are more interested in persuading the employer to hire a candidate than in finding one who really meets the job specifications. • Some firms have also been known to present an unpromising candidate to a client simply to make their one or two other prospects look that much better. Recruiting Non-permanent Staff • Temporary Help Agencies – Temporary help agencies provide supplemental workers to cover for vacationing, sick, or on-leave employees. Firms also use temps to handle seasonal work, peak workloads, and special projects for which there are no current employees with time and/or expertise. While the term “temp” tends to bring clerical staff to mind, temps are becoming more and more common in legal work, engineering, computer programming, and other jobs requiring advanced professional training. Temps are agency employees, and reassigned to another employer when their services are no longer required. • Temps provide employers with three major benefits: 1. They cost much less than permanent employees. This relates not only to the fact that temps generally receive less compensation than permanent staff and do not go on the company payroll or benefits plans, but also to savings related to the recruitment, selection, training, and severance costs associated with permanent employees. 2. If a temp performs unsatisfactorily, a substitute can be requested immediately. Generally, a suitable replacement is sent to the firm within one business day. 3. Individuals working as temps who are seeking full-time employment are often highly motivated, knowing that many firms choose full-time employees from the ranks of their top-performing temps. • Contract Workers – Contract workers, also known as consultants and freelancers, are employees who develop work relationships directly with the employer for a specific type of work or period of time. Sometimes they are contracted to provide specialized services one or two days a week on a permanent basis. Because contract workers are not part of the company headcount, managers can rely on their services while also honouring company staffing restrictions aimed at reducing payroll costs. Contract workers can often be relied upon to be more productive and efficient than in-house employees, because they can focus on the task at hand and not get involved in countless meetings or organizational politics. They can also provide expertise not available in-house, or a fresh outsider’s perspective. The major drawback of using contract workers is that their commitment to the employer may be somewhat lower than that of permanent staff, and the demands and deadlines of their multiple clients may conflict at times. • Employee Leasing – Employee leasing arrangements typically involve a company transferring specific employees to the payroll of an employee leasing firm or Professional Employer Organization (PEO) in an explicit joint-employment relationship. These employees then become employees of the PEO, which leases these individuals back to the client company on a permanent basis. The PEO maintains the HR files for the leased employees, handles the administration of their pay and benefits, and performs most of the other functions normally handled by a firm’s HR department staff. In return, the PEO receives a placement fee – typically five to ten percent of payroll cost. Recruiting a More Diverse Workforce • Attracting Older Workers – Many employers, recognizing the fact that the workforce is aging, are encouraging retirement-age employees to stay with the company or are actively recruiting employees who are at or beyond retirement age. There are significant benefits to hiring and retaining older employees. These include: the highest job satisfaction of any age group; a strong sense of loyalty and organizational commitment; a strong work ethic; good people skills such as patience, empathy, and helpfulness; willingness to work in a variety of roles, including part time; high potential for successful retraining; and a greater likelihood of staying with the firm. Studies have also shown that since older employees are less likely to get work injuries, and have lower rates of turnover and absenteeism, their employers benefit from significantly reduced costs. • Attracting Younger Employees – Many firms are recognizing the benefits of a multigenerational workforce, and are not only trying to attract older workers, but are taking steps to address the pending shortage of younger employees. • Recruiting Designated Group Members – Most of the recruitment methods discussed can be used to attract designated group members provided that the employer’s commitment to equity and diversity is made clear to all involved in the recruitment process – whether it involves employees asked for referrals or private employment agencies. This can also be stressed in all recruitment advertising. Alternative publications – ones targeted to the designated groups – should be considered for advertising, and linkages can be formed with organizations and agencies (both for-profit and non-profit) interested in or specializing in assisting designated group members. • Reason for using application forms: • candidate comparison is facilitated because information is collected in a uniform manner. • the information that the company requires is requested; it is not simply left to the candidate to include that which he or she wishes to reveal. By asking for work history in reverse chronological order and insisting that dates be provided, for example, gaps in work history may be revealed that are concealed on the candidate’s résumé. • candidates are typically asked to complete an application form while on the company premises, which means that the application form is more likely to be a sample of the candidate’s own work. • the way in which an application form is completed reveals information about the candidate’s ability to organize his or her thoughts, as well as spelling and grammar skills. This can be extremely important for certain positions, such as a secretary, HR manager, or management trainee. • application forms typically ask the candidate to provide written authorization for reference checking. A photocopy of this section can be faxed or mailed to individuals being asked for references, if so requested. • candidates are asked to sign and date their application form, acknowledging that the information provided is true and accurate, to the best of their knowledge. Next to that affirmation, there is typically a statement about the consequences of lying, such as, “I understand that a false statement may disqualify me from employment, or cause my dismissal.” This protects the company somewhat from candidates who falsify their credentials. • many application forms today have a section regarding designated group member status, which candidates are asked, but not required, to complete. • Human Rights Legislation and Application Forms – Human rights legislation in every Canadian jurisdiction prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, religion or creed, colour, marital status, sex, and physical and mental disability. • Age-based discrimination is also prohibited, although the age groups protected differ. There are other prohibited grounds, which vary by jurisdiction. • Application forms cannot ask questions that would directly or indirectly classify candidates on the basis of any of the prohibited grounds. • Employers with operations in a number of provinces have to ensure that their application forms comply with the human rights code provisions in each. • See pages 156–158 for a list of what candidates should not be asked to supply any of the following on an application form. • If there are illegal questions on an application form, an unsuccessful candidate may challenge the legality of the entire recruitment and selection processes. In such case, the burden of proof is on the employer. The Guide to Screening and Selection in Employment in the appendix to Chapter 7 provides helpful hints. • Using Application Forms to Predict Job Performance – Some firms use application forms to predict which candidates will be successful and which will not, in much the same way that employers use tests for screening. • One approach involves designing a weighted application blank (WAB). Statistical studies are conducted to find the relationship between (1) responses on the application form and (2) measures of success on the job. A scoring system is subsequently developed by weighting the different possible responses to those particular items. By scoring an applicant’s response to each of those questions and then totalling the scores obtained, a composite score can be calculated for each applicant. It should be noted that the scoring system is not shown on the application form. Thus, there is no difference in appearance between a WAB and a regular application form (See Figure 6.9). • This is a good class to have a guest speaker – several recruiting firms may be interested in being a guest speaker for this class. • To begin the lecture, suggest you might provide a personal example as to how you were recruited for a position. Perhaps you can find an article in the newspaper to refer to. • Lecture and then do a case – Expansion at Ontario Engineering on page 164. • Complete the lecture and consider engaging the students in a dialogue regarding their own recruitment experiences. DISCUSSION BOX SUMMARIES GLOBAL HRM: Manitoba Renews Program to Recognize Foreign-Trained Engineers (page 139) The Labour and Immigration Department of the Manitoba government sponsors a 12-month Internationally Educated Engineers Qualification Program, featuring an academic component and a paid, work-experience placement with an employer. The one-year program is designed to shorten the typical three-year period a foreign-educated engineer would take to meet Canadian standards. ============================================================================= STRATEGIC HR: Lights, Camera, Recruitment (page 144) In a tight labour market, employers have to pull out all the stops to attract the best candidates. A creative new way for employers to sell themselves is provided by Workopolis, an online career resource. A 30-minute TV show features employers talking about their companies. The show includes a call-in segment for jobseekers to obtain more information about the company, the position, and how to apply. ============================================================================= WORKFORCE DIVERSITY: The Disconnect in Recruiting People with Disabilities (page 155) Employers want to hire people with disabilities, and qualified candidates are available, but putting employers and jobseekers together needs improved coordination. This box describes the need for a new employment strategy to reduce the disconnect that exists among employers, people with disabilities, and the service providers who help these individuals enter the workforce. ============================================================================= ETHICAL DILEMMAS Suppose a manager has already made up his or her mind about who will be selected for an internal position. But an internal job posting and subsequent interviews have shown another equally qualified candidate. Who should be offered this position? (page 140) Many firms have a promote-from-within policy that requires the posting of all jobs within the firm – without exception. If this is the situation, or if the position in question is covered by a collective agreement requiring that all jobs within the bargaining unit be posted for a specified period of time, the manager must post the job. Interviewing all internal candidates when he or she has already made a selection decision is definitely questionable from an ethical perspective, however. If the manager is required by company policy to interview all internal candidates, he or she should ensure that the interviewees are informed at the outset of the meeting that they are not being seriously considered for the position. In the event that another qualified candidate is found, there is a risk that the predisposition of the manager could affect the operational relationship on the job. The manager should be candid with the other qualified candidate and discuss ways in which the interviewee could prepare him/herself for movement into this or a similar position in the future. Is it ethical to keep extending the contracts of contract workers, rather than hiring them as permanent employees, in order to avoid the cost of employee benefits? (page 153) The employer may have to balance between the cost of contract workers becoming full-time employees, and the expectations of other stakeholders including shareholders. Where it is evident that the continued need for the skills and knowledge of a contract worker is necessary for the success of the enterprise, the employer may encourage higher levels of commitment and performance, offsetting the additional cost of bringing the person on as a permanent employee. Otherwise, the employer should clearly apprise contract workers with full-time aspirations of the improbability of such an outcome. KEY TERMS Biographical Information Blank (BIB) A detailed job application form requesting biographical data found to be predictive of success on the job, pertaining to background, experiences, and preferences. As with a WAB, responses are scored. (page 160) Blind Ad A recruitment ad in which the identity and address of the employer are omitted. (page 147) Contract Workers Employees who develop work relationships directly with the employer for a specific type of work or period of time. (page 153) Employee Leasing An arrangement that typically involves a company transferring specific employees to the payroll of an employee leasing firm or Professional Employer Organization (PEO) in an explicit joint-employment relationship. (page 153) Job Posting The process of notifying current employees about vacant positions. (page 140) Nepotism A preference for hiring relatives of current employees. (page 149) Online Recruitment Use of the Internet to aid in recruiting. (page 144) Recruiter A specialist in recruitment, whose job it is to find and attract capable candidates. (page 138) Recruitment The process of searching out and attracting qualified job applicants, which begins with the identification of a position that requires staffing and is completed when résumés and/or completed applications forms are received from an adequate number of applicants. (page 138) Want Ad A recruitment ad describing the job and its specifications, the compensation package, and the hiring employer. The address to which applications and/or résumés should be submitted is also provided. (page 147) Weighted Application Blank (WAB) A job application form on which applicant responses have been weighted based on their statistical relationship to measures of job success. (page 160) Yield ratio The percentage of applicants that proceed to the next stage of the selection process. (page 143) Instructor Manual for Human Resources Management in Canada Gary Dessler, Nina D. Cole 9780132270878, 9780134005447