HR Planning, Recruitment, & Selection

• Human resources planning


  Both a process and a set of plans to assess the future supply of, and demand for, human resources and provide mechanisms to eliminate gaps
• HR planning process

  1. Situation analysis or environmental scanning

  2. Forecasting demand for human resources

  3. Analysis of the supply of human resources

  4. Development of action plans
• Situation analysis and environmental scanning

  • The strategic plan must adapt to environmental circumstances
  • HRM is one of the primary mechanisms an organization can use during the adaptation process
  • Without an effective HR plan to support recruitment and selection, it is impossible to move fast enough to stay competitive
  • The problems associated with changing environments are greater today than ever before; success now depends on being a "global scanner"
• Forecasting demand for employees


  1. Estimating how many employees will be needed

  2. Estimating what kinds of employees will be needed
• Quantitative tools for forecasting

  • Expert estimates
  • Trend projections
  • Statistical modeling
  • Unit-demand forecasting
• Expert estimate


  One or more "experts" provide the organization with demand estimates based on experience, guesses, intuition, and subjective assessments
• Delphi technique


  Elicits expert estimates from a number of individuals in an iterative manner, with estimates revised based on knowledge of the other individuals' estimates
• Nominal group technique (NGT)


  Individual estimates are generated, followed by group brainstorming to generate one group decision that is preferred over any individual decision
• Trend projection


  Develops a forecast based on a past relationship between a factor related to employment and employment itself
• Statistical modeling and multiple-predictive techniques

  Uses sophisticated forecasting and modeling techniques to relate factors like sales, gross national product, or discretionary income to employment
• Markov chain analysis


  Develops a matrix to show the probability of an employee's moving from one position to another or leaving the organization
• Regression analysis


  A mathematical procedure that predicts the dependent variable on the basis of factors (independent variables)
• Unit demand forecasting


  Unit managers analyze their current and future needs person-by-person and job-by-job, and headquarters sums the unit forecasts to get the corporate employment forecast
• Analyzing the current supply of employees

  Identifying the skills, abilities, experiences, and training employees currently have
• Skills inventory


  A list of name, characteristics, and skills of the people working for the organization, useful for career planning, management development, and related activities
• Action decisions in human resource planning

  Comparing the supply and demand forecasts to determine what action should be taken to eliminate any discrepancy
• Action decisions with a shortage of employees

  Filling shortages with present employees working overtime, training/promoting present employees, recruiting less-skilled employees, or recalling previously laid off employees
• Action decisions in surplus conditions

  Possible solutions include attrition, early retirements, demotions, layoffs, and terminations
• Human resource information systems (HRIS)

  An integrated approach to acquiring, storing, analyzing, and controlling the flow of information through an organization, which can greatly increase efficiency and response times of human resource activities
• Recruitment


  Organizational activities that influence the number and types of applicants who apply for a job and whether the applicants accept jobs that are offered
• Recruiting process


  Finding employees and then matching them to the tasks to be performed
• Internal recruiting


  Using skills inventories to identify internal applicants for job vacancies, and job posting and bidding
• Inside moonlighting


  Using current employees to take on additional short-term work, often with bonuses
• External recruiting


  Using methods like walk-ins, media advertisements, e-recruiting, employment agencies, special events, summer internships, and college recruiting
• Realistic job previews (RJPs)


  Providing pertinent information about the job, including unattractive features, to give applicants a full picture
• Alternatives to recruitment


  Using overtime to avoid the cost and permanence of recruiting additional employees
• Recruitment


  1. Recruiter visits campus to interview candidates and describe the organization

  2. Brochures and other literature about the organization are distributed

  3. Ads may be run or seminars conducted
• Realistic Job Previews (RJPs)


  When recruiters provide realistic expectations about the job, turnover of new employees is lower
• Most recruiters give general, glowing descriptions of the company
• Recruitment is more effective when RJPs are used


  • Pertinent information about the job is given, without distortion or exaggeration
  • Most jobs have unattractive features; the RJP presents the full picture
• Alternatives to Recruitment


  • Overtime
  • Outsourcing
  • Temporary Employment
• Overtime


  • Organizations avoid the cost of recruiting and having additional employees
  • Provides employees with additional income
  • Potential problems include fatigue, higher accident rates, and increased absenteeism
  • Continuous overtime often results in higher labor costs and reduced productivity
• Outsourcing


  • Involves paying a fee to a leasing company or professional employer organization (PEO) that handles payroll, benefits, and routine human resource management functions
  • Especially attractive to small and midsize firms that might not be able to afford a full-service HR department
• Temporary Employment

  • One of the most noticeable effects of the downsizing epidemic and the labor shortages of the past two decades
  • Relatively low labor costs
  • Easily accessible source of experience labor
  • Flexibility in responding to the demand for workers
  • The cost advantage stems from the fact that temporary workers do not receive fringe benefits, training, or a compensation and career plan
  • A disadvantage is that these workers do not know the culture or work flow of the firm
• Selection


  • The process by which an organization chooses the person or persons who best meet the selection criteria for the position available
  • Decisions about whom to hire must be made efficiently and within the boundaries of equal employment opportunity laws
  • All selection programs attempt to identify the applicants who have the best chance of meeting or exceeding the organization's standards of performance
• Selection Criteria


  • Any effective selection system requires an understanding of what characteristics are essential for high performance
  • The characteristics should have been identified during job analysis and accurately reflected in the job specification
  • The goal of any selection system is to determine which applicants possess the knowledge, skills, abilities, and KSAOs dictated by the job
  • The system must be able to distinguish between characteristics that are needed at the time of hiring, acquired during training, or developed after a person is on the job
• Categories of Criteria


  • Education
  • Experience
  • Physical characteristics
  • Other personal characteristics
• Formal Education


  • A common, cost-effective way to screen for cognitive, motor, physical, and interpersonal attributes
  • For certain jobs, the employer may require education in a particular area of expertise
• Experience and Past Performance

  • Past performance on a similar job is the best indicator of future performance
  • Employers often consider experience a good indicator of ability and work-related attitudes
  • The organization must have a rational basis for defining what "relevant experience" means
• Physical Characteristics


  • In the past, many employers used physical characteristics as a criterion
  • Employers were more likely to hire and pay better wages to taller men; flight attendants and receptionists were hired on the basis of beauty