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Transcript of Human Resource Management
Table of Contents
Upfront: Who Benefits From This Book?
The Labor Market: A Preview
Chapter 1: What Truly Competent Managers Know
Chapter 2: Metrics and HR Programs
Chapter 3: HR and Total Quality Management
Chapter 4: Guiding Statements Provide Focus and Clarity
Chapter 5: Job Analysis is Job #1
Chapter 6: Job Descriptions & Specifications
Chapter 7: Employee Recruitment
Chapter 8: Interviews & Reference Checks
Chapter 9: Employee Orientation
Chapter 10: Employee Training
Chapter 11: Employee Motivation, Coaching
Chapter 12: Counselling and mediation
Chapter 13: Employee Retention
Chapter 14: Performance Evaluation
Chapter 15: Progressive Discipline and Termination Processes
Chapter 16: BONUS: How to Maximize Your Job Search Effectiveness
Appendix: SKAP Audit:
HR in a Nutshell: Making Good Managers Great!
ISBN: 978-0-9731137-6-1, FIRST EDITION
Copyright 2013 by Steve Bareham and Summa Publishing
Information in this book is provided for informational purposes; examples are general
guidelines only. This book is sold with the understanding that neither the author, nor publisher, is
engaged in rendering professional advice. Much of the content is based on personal experience
and anecdotal evidence. Although the author and publisher have made every reasonable attempt
to achieve complete accuracy, they assume no responsibility for content errors or omissions. Use
information as you see fit and at your own risk. Your particular situation may closely parallel
examples illustrated, but there may also be significant differences requiring that information and
recommendations be adjusted accordingly. All rights reserved.
About the author
Steve Bareham worked in management capacities in
journalism, public relations, and marketing for 25 years before
joining the teaching staff at Selkirk College, Nelson, B.C., in
1994. Through the ‘80s, he gained valuable insights about
human resources management while working with an
organizational psychologist. At the time of writing, he is the
administrator of the Golf Club Operations Online Certificate
Program (GCOOL) and teaches human resources, business
communication, and marketing to resort, hotel, and golf
management students enrolled in Selkirk’s School of
Hospitality and Tourism.
Upfront: Who Benefits From This Book?
• business owners who manage staff
• managers, and aspiring managers, who wish to boost career advancement potential
by gaining additional human resources knowledge
• post-secondary management program students (vital information and short!)
• anyone interested in an HR career who wants to learn, quickly, what’s involved
• researchers needing succinct human resources information
• staff working for anyone who reads the book and who takes its premises to heart by
applying them—good human resources practises make everyone happier because
people are hired correctly in the first place, they know how to do what they were
hired to do, and progressive communication channels are firmly in place from the
start of the HR program to the end!
y belief is that every business or organization that employs more than five
people should have a human resources management program in place. This
isn’t to say that small employers need a full-fledged HR department, rather that
at least one person on staff should be educated and trained to plan and implement HR processes
such as those described in this book.
Further, even though one person may assume responsibility for HR oversight, every
manager who supervises any number of people should be required to study and understand time-
proven human resources strategies and tactics in the interest of good employee morale and high
productivity,
The words “program,” “processes,” “strategies,” and “tactics” are used advisedly in the
foregoing.
Managing human resources effectively over time requires specific process knowledge
and, as such, is not something that comes naturally to anyone. By definition, process must be
learned, and human resources is like any other discipline in this regard—study and practise are
necessary.
M
Yes, some people function well enough because they have natural aptitudes for dealing
constructively with people. Typically, these managers are empathetic, they listen and
communicate well, they have good intuition and they exhibit common sense. These are all
valuable managerial assets, and people who possess them have great foundations on which to
build, but holistic human resources management processes that deliver positive, predictable
results must be built on more than good interpersonal skills.
Combine strong personal skills with knowledge about planning, application and ongoing
fine tuning, and you have the best of all worlds in a manager.
Providing that important initial step—process knowledge—is what this book is all about.
Significantly, it seeks to provide essential information succinctly for people who have
neither the time nor the inclination to wade through a 700-page textbook. Unquestionably, such
textbooks contain enormously helpful information, but they tend to be written in academic
language that many people find tedious and overly technical. I can attest to the intellectual
heaviness of many HR texts since I’ve used them to instruct college-level management courses.
So, the goal here is to provide only must have information in plain language that can be
quickly digested in brief, manageable sections arranged logically and sequentially. Those
wishing to go deeper can continue studies in ways of their own choosing.
The fact that you’ve read even this far suggests that you care about managing people, so
the next section reveals what managers must know to be truly competent. Chances are that
you’re already up to speed in many of these knowledge/skills areas, and if so, you have a
valuable treasure trove of marketable knowledge and skills. Make note, though, of the ones that
you can’t check off as “done”; these should be part of your ongoing professional development
plan.
The Labor Market: A Preview
any companies struggle to develop and retain a skilled workforce. This
challenge, thanks to rapidly shifting demographics, will be even more difficult
in the years to come.
It’s well known that the Baby Boomers (born from 1946-1964) are the largest generation
in our nation’s history, while the next generation, Gen-X, (1965-1977) is one of the smallest.
Generation Y, also known as Millennials (1978-1994), also figure largely into the labour mix.
As the baby boomers begin to phase into retirement, companies are already experiencing
challenges to replace them with two generations of workers with different skills, attitudes, and
expectations.
What exactly does the labor scene look like?
Statistics Canada notes that the number of workers nearing retirement rose significantly
between 2001 and 2006. In 2006, workers aged 55 or older made up 15.3 per cent of the
workforce, up from 11.7 per cent five years earlier. Within 10 years, not only will retirees
outnumber newcomers to the work force, they'll also likely outnumber children, Stats Can warns.
“We see a trend where children are on the decline and seniors are on the increase; these
two lines will cross in about 10 years,” said Rosemary Bender, director general of social and
demographic statistics for Statistics Canada.
At the moment, the number of young people entering the work force hovers just above
the replacement rate of people retiring. By comparison, the 1960s had two new workers for every
retiree. As the boomers near retirement, the new-worker ratio will inevitably drop below
replacement levels.
Most demographic and economics experts suggest that employers need to start thinking
and planning now to avoid staff shortages. One of the most common ideas is to keep baby-
boomers in the work force longer. At the same time, it will be necessary to plan carefully to
ensure not only that boomer skills keep pace with a changing world, but that they also pass their
knowledge and skills on to the next generation to avoid a brain trust vacuum.
The working population is also aging rapidly. In 2009, baby-boomers, range between
ages 44 and 63. Indeed, this pre-retirement age group grew by 28%, a rate of growth more than
five times the national average. In contrast, the population aged 15 to 24 increased by only 5% in
the same period.
The 2006 Census shows that there are barely enough young people entering the working
age group to replace those approaching retirement; just 1.1 persons 15 to 24 for every person
aged 55 to 64, compared with 2.3 in 1976. As well, projections show that in about 10 years,
Canada may have more people at retirement age than people at the age where they can begin
working. An aging working-age population presents considerable challenges for Canadian
employers who will have to adjust to a high rate of employee turnover, employee retention,
health of older workers and continuous training of employees.
Garth Whyte, of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, recently told CTV-
TV that his members are feeling the effects of labor shortages, even before the workforce begins
to shrink due to demographics. “It's a tidal wave that's been coming at us for a couple years, and
it's fast approaching. It's approaching in terms of time, but it's also approaching from west to
east."
M
The number of member businesses that say a labor shortage is an important issue to them
has gone from 40 per cent to more than 50 per cent in the past decade, he said.
Not only that, business owners themselves are aging and planning to quit. "They don't
have succession plans," he said. "So not only is there a shortage of labor, there is a shortage of
entrepreneurs."
Morley Gunderson, an economist at the University of Toronto, said the issue of Canada's
aging workforce isn't new. "…the labour market and employers will probably adjust and adapt
reasonably well." For example, the trend to early retirement has reversed itself since the mid-
1990s, he said. Jackson said pension plans are weakening, which will keep some people in the
work force past age 65.
Companies will have to learn how to best utilize the talents of their older workers,
perhaps by offering flexible schedules and part-time work, Gunderson said. Strategies that
companies and governments can adapt to address today's worker shortages should also help with
the long-term problem, he said.
What Truly Competent Managers Know
reat managers have to know a lot, and as the world gets more complicated,
there’s a lot more to know. Competent managers have good understandings of
finance, marketing, sales, information systems, research and development, etc.
But when assembling the hierarchy of what you need to know, I argue that your human resources
knowledge should also be very close to the top, because if you’re a manager with only a
superficial grasp of the holistic HR process, you have an enormous blind spot that can seriously
hamper your career advancement.
I’ve seen managers muddle through for years because they were highly proficient in
specific areas of expertise, but then suddenly everything implodes because they didn’t know how
to manage staff. And when the implosion occurs, it’s invariably ugly. Often, the manager is
caught totally unaware, thinking he, or she, had survived for 20 years and now—blam—my
expertise has been trumped by operational dysfunction and a staff in revolt.
In reality, such people got Peter Principled by being promoted into positions they were
never fully qualified to hold. People without formal HR knowledge and training really shouldn’t
be put in charge of people until they shore up that weakness. Yet, untold tens of millions of
people with no HR expertise have willingly, or unwillingly, been thrown into management roles
where suddenly they don’t know what they don’t know.
How can anyone expect them to be competent? Metaphorically, it’s like expecting an
electrician to wire a house properly with zero training; I wouldn’t want to live in it!
So let’s look at what great managers know and know how to do; look at the unfamiliar
points as development opportunities!
G
Do you know:
1. how to conduct job analyses: these enlighten businesses and organizations about the
requirements of specific staff positions, and when you determine how many positions
are needed and how much time each one requires to do in a given time period, you get
crucial information about precisely how many people are required to staff the
organization—the Goldilocks formula, not too many staff, not too few, and each with
just the right qualifications. Many organizations get this wrong and suffer
accordingly.
2. what should be included in each job description/specification for each person you
employ or manage so you know precisely what to look for in job applicants and so the
person filling the position can perform the job to a high standard in a reasonable
amount of time? Many organizations don’t even have job descriptions and
specifications for those jobs, a fact that explains a lot of performance issues, poor
staff morale and generally cranky workplaces where people are confused about what
they’re supposed to do and about what they’ll ultimately be evaluated on. Good job
descriptions/specifications are perhaps the most important tools a manager can create
and use.
3. the right ways and wrong ways to recruit and shortlist job applicants; do it the right
way and you’ll waste far less time and have far fewer costly failures
4. how job interviews should be conducted to ensure that you get the information you
need? Job interviews are often done horribly; no process here can be disastrous.
5. how to orient new staff to get them off on the right foot? Orientation often means
giving someone a brochure to read and showing them around in a two-hour blur of
introductions. Next the new hire faces days or weeks of frustration trying to figure out
how he/she fits in—bad for morale and a terrible waste of productivity.
6. how the recruitment and selection process, in concert with the job interview and
orientation period, should yield valuable information about training needs (few new
hires have 100% of the knowledge and skills needed to fulfill every job duty and
responsibility). Knowing where gaps exist enables you to spot deficiencies and then
plan training to avoid potentially costly errors and employee frustration.
7. how to structure and conduct performance evaluations; this is another area where a
little knowledge is a dangerous thing. They should be properly planned and structured
so that the people being evaluated leave the room feeling positive. If performance
evaluations are the equivalent of visits to the dentist that don’t result in improved
performance, they aren’t being done correctly.
8. what coaching and mentoring plans look like? These can elevate the morale and
commitment of both new and old employees, but few organizations even attempt
them. It’s a basic rule of human psychology—virtually all people perform better
when they believe their managers care about them.
9. what retention strategies are available and which work better than others? As the
workforce changes in the coming years (retiring baby boomers and more immigrants)
there is going to be fierce competition for qualified staff, so keeping your best people
will be increasingly difficult.
10. how to keep up with the changing socio-economic-technological environment so
employee skills remain current? This isn’t easy in a world with seven billion people
where new products and services emerge daily; if you have competitors, you need to
stay abreast, or preferably ahead.
11. how to discipline employees, when needed, in ways that enable them to redeem
themselves and to continue (or become) valued members of staff? (do it wrong and it
can mean lawsuits)
12. how to terminate someone humanely and in a way that doesn’t end up in court? This
knowledge, too, can save you a lot of time, aggravation, stress, and money, not to
mention perhaps deter an angry dismissed employee from seeking retribution—it
happens.
But, great managers know even more.
Core Executive Qualifications Defined
ore executive qualifications as defined by the U.S. Office of Personnel
Management for the Defense Leadership and Management Program, reveal what
3rd millennium leaders must know and be able to do and accomplish.
Again, as you read and analyze the following pages, make note of the operative words
and phrases that pinpoint specific desirable knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSA’s) that
effective managers and employees should have. You can use these KSAs when selecting people,
but you can also use them to identify where personal training and development is necessary.
Look at them as the ingredients of a career success recipe, as knowledge that can keep things
from falling between cracks.
Key Characteristics of Competent Managers
ability to exercise leadership and to motivate others to incorporate vision, strategic
planning, and elements of total quality management into the full range of the
organization’s activities (learn about strategic planning—great knowledge to have)
encourages creative thinking and innovation (study critical thinking)
able to influence others constructively (crucial managerial skill)
open to change and new information (learn to love change; resistance is futile!)
tolerant of ambiguity, able to adapt behavior and work methods in response to new
information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles
constantly seeks feedback from others and opportunities to master new knowledge
identifies and keeps up to date on key national and international policies and
economic, political, and social trends that affect the organization (be aware of the
world)
understands near-term and long-range planning and determines how best to be
positioned to achieve a competitive business advantage in a global economy
creates a work environment that encourages creative thinking and innovation
C
able to design and implement new or cutting-edge programs/processes.
grasps the essence of new information; masters new technical and business
knowledge
recognizes own strengths and weaknesses; pursues self-development
resilient: deals effectively with pressure; maintains focus and intensity and remains
optimistic and persistent, even under adversity. Recovers quickly from setbacks.
ability to lead: This core qualification involves the ability to design and implement
strategies which maximize employee potential and foster high ethical standards in
meeting the organization’s vision, mission, and goals.
able to promote quality through effective use of the organization’s performance
management system (e.g. establishing performance standards, appraising staff
accomplishments using the developed standards, and taking action to reward, counsel,
or remove employees, as appropriate)
values cultural diversity and other differences; fostering an environment where people
who are culturally diverse can work together cooperatively and effectively in
achieving organizational goals (study diversity planning: The world is headed for 10
billion people by 2050; in four decades, in the U.S., African Americans and Hispanics
will outnumber Caucasians.)
manages and resolves conflicts and disagreements in a positive and constructive
manner to minimize negative impact (study conflict management).
assesses employees’ unique developmental needs and provides developmental
opportunities which maximize employees’ capabilities and contribute to the
achievement of organizational goals; developing leadership in others through
coaching and mentoring.
identifies and analyzes problems; distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant
information to make logical decisions; provides solutions to individual and
organizational problems.
understands and appropriately applies procedures, requirements, regulations, and
policies related to specialized expertise. Is able to make sound hiring and capital
resource decisions and to address training and development needs. Understands
linkages between administrative competencies and mission needs.
representing and speaking for the organizational unit and its work (e.g., presenting,
explaining, selling, defining, and negotiating) to government officials, staff; the
media, clientele, and professional groups; making clear and convincing oral
presentations to individuals and groups; listening effectively and clarifying
information; facilitating an open exchange of ideas.
All of the foregoing, of course, is on top of your day job—nobody said being a great
manager was easy!
Metrics and HR Programs
imply stating that HR is an important organizational function often doesn’t cut
much ice with people in charge of budgets, especially when those people lack HR
knowledge and training. So, it’s smart to be able to articulate benefits in ways that
reveal why an organization is better off with a planned process than without one.
Money-minded people will concur that employees are the greatest asset of any
organization, but in the next breath, they will also note that staff is also the greatest expense. So,
the natural inclination of most finance administrators is to minimize staff numbers and to also
minimize any and all expenses related to staffing, even expenses such as training.
HR staff and departments are often placed on the debit side of the ledger, i.e. not as
revenue generators like sales and marketing. In the main, HR is seen as costing money, not as
something that can add value. Negative perceptions (fear, distrust) also arise because HR staff:
conduct performance evaluations
change job descriptions
are involved in labor negotiations.
administer benefits plans that are often seen as inadequate, too expensive, etc.
handle payroll—who hasn’t seen mistakes on their cheques!
In my view, it’s unfortunate that HR involvement has been forced, in many organizations,
and for administrative convenience, to accept responsibility for things like benefits, pensions,
payroll, records, policies, regulations, negotiations, handling grievances, and the like. These
involvements often alienate staff from the more humanistic and constructive elements of human
resources and staff have difficulty rationalizing differing perceptions—too bad.
But, wishing that such administration functions had never been merged with HR
management doesn’t do much good at this point—there’s no going back.
S
There is also no way to change the fact that the business world is dominated by people
concerned with quantifiable metrics. Metrics in business refers to things that can be measured to
gauge innumerable performance criteria: return on investment, customer churn rates, employee
productivity, how training costs relate to increased revenue generation, etc. etc.
Metrics are typically categorized: measurements of quantity, quality, time, money and
satisfaction. It’s been said that metrics can change behavior by driving action to change; "what
gets measured gets done" is an oft-repeated phrase that underscores how numbers provide
impetus to direct behavior. Many business-minded managers now link their compensation and
contract renewals to metrics, so these people are totally all in while many HR people are less
so—often much less so!
The disconnect between business types and HR types can be explained, in part, by the
fact that metrics, by definition, are quantifiable, while much of HR is qualitative and having to
do with emotions, subjectivity, etc. Humans are, after all, psychological creatures whose actions,
attitudes, and behaviours, are often difficult to quantify. For example, it’s difficult to quantify
how much impact a motivated, loyal, and productive workforce has on the fiscal bottom line.
Everyone knows the impact is significant, yet it defies quantification. Wringing statistics from
good morale is just plain difficult.
But difficult doesn’t mean it should not be attempted whenever and wherever possible.
Using measurement metrics as catalysts can be an incentive for more HR people to start thinking
of HR in terms of business case fiscal potential, to use the concept of metrics to point thinking
and planning in the right directions, and to zero in on actions that can actually make quantifiable
differences.
There are areas where clear metric linkages can be drawn to bottom lines:
reduced labor costs without negative impacts on productivity or morale
higher productivity from training and education
reduced turnover
lower recruitment and selection costs (compared to comparable organizations)
How many people should be employed?
Perhaps the most obvious and most important metric is to really understand optimal
staffing levels since these link directly to budgets. If an organisation doesn’t know how to
conduct proper job analyses, it’s easy to have too many, or too few, people on payroll, thus
stressing staff needlessly.
Too many employees is a waste of fiscal resources, plus, underutilized staff members
often descend into bad morale because they’re bored, so it’s a double negative whammy.
Alternatively, if the staffing pencil is too sharp, the opposite misjudgement is made and
staff members are overstretched, making it difficult to meet production or service deadlines at
appropriate levels of quality—and staff members burn out.
HR staff can prove their worth in this single area alone if intelligent processes optimize
staffing levels.
Having a process in place that enables the organization to retain trained and skilled staff
also deserves a note. It’s expensive to advertise constantly for new staff, then time is required to
get them in for interviews, to conduct interviews, to make the selections, and to then train where
skills may be lacking, all the while productivity may be less than what is was before with the
staff members who left. High levels of staff turnover are costly fiscally and in terms of time and
morale.
Trained HR staff can report metrics on how many people leave compared to other
organizations, why they leave, and what it costs the organization.
There is also the issue of a rapidly changing labor force as baby boomers will soon begin
to exit into retirement by the millions (90 million in North America). From where will the next
generation of managers come? It’s an issue that requires significant thought and planning and
that clearly falls into the purview of HR.
Several key questions need to be researched, answered and prepared for by HR staff, and
being proactive in these areas will win favor from senior fiscal managers who have foresight:
what will be the most in-demand knowledge and skills in five years or ten?
high demand careers can be very competitive in terms of expected compensation and
availability—how can you plan for that so you are an employer of choice?
how will a changing labor environment fit into training and promotion systems?
can hard-to-find expertise be obtained through consultants or contracts to meet
skills/experience deficits?