HR – Planning and Recruiting

HR – Planning and Recruiting Tehzeeb Sakina Amir HRM-session 5 Spring 2011-MBA

Main contents • Personnel Planning and forecasting • Recruiting job candidates – recruiting options • Developing & using application forms

The Recruitment and Selection process Common HR way: Decide what positions to fill through personnel planning and forecasting Build a pool of candidates – internal or external Have candidates complete application forms and initial screening Use of selection tools like tests, physical exams etc Decide who to make an offer to, by having the supervisor interview the candidates

Planning and Forecasting • Employment or personnel planning – The process of deciding what positions the firm will have to fill and how to fill them • Employment planning should come out of the strategic plans of the organization: setting up new plant, entering new markets, reduce costs etc. • It will influence the type of positions need to be filled or eliminated

Planning and Forecasting • The area of concern: • To fill the openings from within the firm or outside. • Each option produces its own personnel plans • Employment plans must be based on basic forecasts of three things: • Personnel needs • Supply of inside candidates • Supply of outside candidates

Forecasting Personnel Needs • The traditional approach - on revenue basis • More comprehensive approach would be: • To consider projected turnover rate • Decisions to upgrade or downgrade products or services • Technological changes • Financial resources

Forecasting Personnel Needs • Trend Analysis –study of a firm’s past employment needs over a period of years to predict future needs • It provides an initial working ground as employment needs change over time and employment levels rarely depend upon passage of time • Other factors can also affect staffing needs

Forecasting Personnel Needs • Ratio Analysis – A forecasting technique for determining future staff needs by using ratios (say between sales volume and number of employees needed) • It assumes that productivity remains about the same! • If productivity change then ratio change

Forecasting Personnel Needs • The Scatter Plot – a graphical method used to help identify the relationship between two variables • If we can forecast level of business activity, we can estimate for personnel needs as well.

Drawbacks • Assume that firm will continue with existing structure & activities • Focus exclusively on projected sales volume & historical personnel relationship • Support outdated compensation plan where manager’s reward increases with the number of staff reporting to him and do not reveal managers who expand irrespective of company’s strategic needs. • Rest on ‘non-productive’ idea of increasing staff as inevitable • Tend to validate and internalize existing planning processes and ways of doing things despite of changes

Computer based forecast • It enables HR manager to utilize maximum number of variables while making staff forecasts • Determination of future staffing needs by projecting sales, volume of production, and personnel required to maintain the volume of output, using software packages • Can also study cause and effect relationships! Managerial judgments!!

Forecasting the supply of inside candidates • Determining the current skill level of the employees, identifying the potential employee and which employee would be most suitable for the projected opening! At times it is OBVIOUS!!! • The other times, managers use QUALIFICATION INVENTORIES • Manual or computerized records listing employees’ education, career and development interests, languages, special skills, training courses and so on to be used in selecting inside candidate for promotion. • Help to determine which employee is available for promotion or transfer

Manual Systems • Manual Systems -A Personnel Inventory or Development Record are some manual devices • Personnel Replacement Charts – Company records showing present performance and promotability of inside candidates for the most important positions • Position Replacement Card – a card prepared for each position in a company to show possible replacement candidates & their qualifications. • Show their present performance, promotion potential and training

Computerized Information Systems • Use of Computerized data for promotions/transfers etc • Enter & Update data on every performance appraisal • Various packages software systems are available, where at the time of need, enter the position’s specifications (education, skills) , the system produce a list of potential candidates • Coding is done on basis of work experience, product knowledge, industry experience, formal education

Keeping the Data Safe • Danger of data theft…very sensitive issue • HR Manager must guard the privacy of the employees: • Perform background checks to whoever access the data • Trusted worker only!! No outsiders • Perform random checks on existing employees • Limited access

Forecasting the supply of outside candidates • Employer may want to forecast the availability of outside candidates • Low unemployment rates means less availability BUT High unemployment rate does not ensure availability too! (skilled workers) • Economic projections also indicate the way employment would go

Effective Recruiting • Employee Recruiting – finding and/or attracting applicants for the employer’s open positions. • Effective Recruiting is increasingly important • Irrespective of high or low unemployment rate • Recruiting effectiveness (complexities) • Recruitment efforts must be in line with company’s strategic plans (how, when, what) • Select the method which is best suited for the job opening • Success of recruitment also depend upon ‘non-recruiting issues!!’ • Simultaneously pre-screening candidates • Firm’s own image affect recruiting results

Centralized recruiting Pros – in-line with overall strategy Reduces duplication Spread recruitment cost over more departments/locations Builds recruitment experts Produces synergies De-centralized recruiting Pros - - more viable for blue-collar jobs, where local population is preferred Retail & service sectors also prefer decentralized recruiting Recruitment Function

Measuring Recruiting Effectiveness • The question is what to measure and how to measure: • In what to measure case, how many applicants did we generate through each of our recruitment source? • quantity but also quality…… • In how to measure each recruiting source effectiveness, use of pre-screening selection devices (a work sample test) or testing the job knowledge of the candidate can be the indicators of a better pool of talents. Applicants may be few but of high quality. • GE Medical – ‘Multigenerational staffing plan’ to go with each of its products’ ‘multiyear product plan’ • Recruiters meeting, employees’ referrals doubled up,

The Recruiting Yield Pyramid To calculate number of applicants they must generate to hire required number of new employees New hires 50 Offers made 2:1 100 Candidates interviewed 3:2 150 Candidates invited 4:3 200 Leads generated 6:1 1200

Internal Sources of Candidates • Current employees or promotions from within are at times best sources of candidates: • You know ins and outs of the current employee • More committed person • Increased morale of workforce • Less orientation & training required (perhaps) • Drawbacks of hiring from within: employees applying and not getting the job may get ‘disconnected’, feeling of rejection, biases etc

Internal Sources of Candidates • Finding them: • Job posting – publicizing the open job to employees • Personnel records • Skills banks • Rehiring - those who have left the company • Less training / orientation required • Check what they were doing when they left the company • Wrong message to existing employees!

Internal Sources of Candidates • Succession Planning –the ongoing process of systematically identifying, assessing and developing organizational leadership to enhance performance. It involves three step process • Identify firm’s future key positions needs • Creating & assessing candidates (identify potentials internally and externally) & providing them developmental experiences • Selecting those who will fill-in

Outside Sources of Candidates • Recruiting via internet – on line jobs, job sites, ads on their own sites, keyword searches on resume database sites (hotjobs.com). Social networking sites – linkIn.com • Advantages • Cost effective • Generates more responses (9 times more applicants) & quicker too • Longer lifespan • Disadvantages • Selected people use internet • Unsolicited and irrelevant job applicants • May end up deluged with resumes • Using Applicant Tracking Systems – on line systems that help employers attract, gather, screen, compile, and manage applicants for e.g resruitsoft.com

Outside Sources of Candidates • Recruiting via internet – Designing Internet Ads and Systems • Should be • User friendly, easy to use format & forms • Less confusing & time consuming • Attractive enough with compelling words/phrases • Attention catching • Ensure privacy • Effective feedback system • Should avoid • Use of abbreviations • Poor job descriptions • Too much of graphics/links/complicated forms

Advertising • Two main areas: • The advertising medium • Target your ads to reach your prospective employees • Innovative ways for specialized jobs • The ad’s construction • AIDA - Attention, interest, desire, action • Attention – use key words/phrases • Interest – nature & aspects of the job • Desire – highlight needs & desires like traveling, challenging etc • Action – ‘call today’ ‘post your resume online too” or ‘walk in” • These ads can be used to develop employer’s image as well

Recruiting Options Temp Agencies Headhunters College Recruiting Outsourcing/offshoring Referrals and Walk-Ins

Temp Agencies • Hiring contingent or temporary workers through temporary help employment agencies • Also known as part-time or just-in-time workers • Not limited to blue-collar or clerical jobs but also temporary CEOs • Direct hire or through agency • Benefits & Costs • Want for higher productivity and Less expensive to recruit & train • Agency fee adds to the cost, less commitment

Areas of concern Employers’ treatment Job insecurity Lack of insurance & benefits Misled about job assignments Underemployed Feeling of alienation HRM responsibilities Invoicing Time sheets Temp-to-perm policy Recruitment of and benefits for temp workers Equal Employment Opportunity statement Job description information Temp Agencies

Outsourcing/Offshoring • Outsourcing / offshoring jobs is gaining popularity • Main issues: • Potential for political instability • Cultural misunderstandings • Security & privacy concerns • Dealing with foreign contracts, liability, legal systems etc • Special training needs (language/accent) • Expected cost saving may not materialize • Anxiety of own work force

Headhunters • Executive recruiter or Headhunters • Key executive & technical positions • Two types of executive recruiters: • Contingent • Retained • Technology and specialization are changing the trend of executive recruiters search business • Pros and Cons • Irreplaceable, save time & cost, ensure confidentiality, highly potential employees are ‘hunted’, fee can be insignificant • Need to be told explicitly what kind of person is required and why, misleading information can result in disasters

Headhunters • Guidelines for HRM • Make sure the recruiter is capable of a thorough search • Meet the individual who will actually handle your assignment • Know their charges (hidden costs) • Never solely rely on them!

College Recruiting • Sending a representative to screen applicants and create a pool • Management trainees • It is expensive and time consuming • Ineffective or untrained recruiters! • On-campus recruiting goals • First - to determine if the candidate is worthy of further considerations • Second – attract good candidates • Other things to be taken care of are the selection of college/university and the College career centers • On-site visits • Internships

Referrals and Walk-Ins • An important recruiting option is ‘Employee Referral’ • Firm posts job openings on intranet, bulletin boards etc • At times rewards are offered for referrals which turn into successful hiring. • Pros and Cons • High quality candidates are generated, accurate information, the new employee will come with a more realistic picture, cost effective approach, • If firm rejects the referrals then morale of the employee could go down, can be discriminatory • Walk-Ins

Task 1: Analyze the given advertisement to the group in the light of the guidelines discussed in the class List down the strengths and areas of improvements that you have found in the given ad. Task 2: A RUN-of-the-mill ad would be given to the group Restructure / redesign the ad in the light of the discussion. Ad construction – AIDAmarks 5 and time:30 mins

Developing and Using Application Forms • Purpose • Judgments on basis of education & experience • Draw conclusions about applicant’s progress and growth • Draw tentative conclusions about applicant’s stability based on previous work records • Use the data in the application and predict the success possibility of the applicant on the job

HR – Planning and Recruiting