MHA 702 Test 2

What are the typical HR activities?

Typical HR activities:

- Employment or recruitment

- Compensation and benefits administration

- Employee relations

- Labor relations (if unions are present)

What are the frequent HR activities?

Frequent HR activities:

- Employee health & safety

- Training & development

- Security

- Child care

- Award & recognition programs

- Equal employment opportunities/Affirmative action

What are the infrequent HR activities?

Infrequent/Occasional/Outsourced HR activities:

- Risk management

- Executive compensation administration

- Organizational development

- Employee assistant programs

- Outplacement services

- Payroll

What tasks are included in a different perspective of HR?

Tasks completed by HR categorized in groups based on how they relate to the organization

- Employee acquisition

- Support or maintenance

- Retention

- Seperation

Define employee acquisition & the associated tasks/costs.

- Employment & recruitment activities (representing the organization at job fairs and professional meetings, placing job advertisements etc.)

- Pre-employment testing

- Checking & verifying references

- Initial organizational orientation

Define employee support / maintenance.

- Tasks, programs, benefits, and incentives for employees, managed & distributed/implemented by HR and managers/supervisors.

Examples:

- Compensation & benefits administration

- Personnel policies & procedures

- Performance appraisal programs

- Disciplinary & corective programs

- Coordinating grievances (unions)

- Personnel record keeping

- Worker's Compensation program

- Disability Programs

- Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)

- Labor Relations (unions)

- Parking

- Employee health clinic

- Cafeteria

- Savings & investment programs

When do department managers and HR managers meet, communicate, and collaborate?

- Employment

- Employee Relations

- Labor Relations (if unions present)

- Training & Development (sometimes)

- Compensation, benefits, safety, employee health, payroll

- Security, parking, child care, risk management, & other HR concerns

Describe what tasks and costs can go into employment efforts.

Costs: clerical time (exit interview), outplacement services, severance pay, unemployment compensation, position value of output loss, new employee is not as efficient, new employee orientation, training, & development, badge, equipment, handbook etc.

Less obvious expenses:

- Attending job fairs

- Developing recruitment literature

- Pre-employment physical / other tests

- Travel / relocation fees for execs

- Recruitment agency fees

Who administers benefits and who answers questions about employee benefits?

HR administers benefits. Line managers should also be able to answer basic questions about benefits.

Who administers compensation and who answers questions about compensation?

Payroll administers compensation. Line managers & HR managers can also answer questions about compensation and they should.

What are the differences in HR and the remaining organizational departments? (Regarding edu/training, background, management style etc.)

Topics: Background & Qualifications, Staff Managers, Management Style & Approach, Expectations, Orientation & Training, Participation, Employee Empowerment, Control

HR Managers:

- Varied education & background (soft sciences)

- Require less supervision of daily tasks for employees who require additional help

- View each other as more equals within the dept. (other than chief of HR)

- Expectations less clear and defined

- More employee empowerment, less control, more participation & input in decision-making process

Line Managers:

- Educated in area of clinical expertise (hard sciences)

- May require more supervision over employees who do not have a lot of education or training yet

- Supervise in downward orientation

- Expectations are more clear and defined

- Less employee empowerment, more control, less participation & input in decision-making process

Describe the different reward assumptions for line managers and HR managers. (this relates to retention practices as well)

Line managers:

- Believe employees want cash rewards over everything else

- Think money is the only thing that's important to their employees

HR managers:

- Understand that different things motivate different people

- Good employees may be motivated by a good culture, additional benefits, programs (ie. short-term leave support/pay), activities, perks, child care, parking, tuition assistance etc.

Describe the different training & development outlooks for line managers and HR managers.

Line managers:

- Focus on the product / result

- Do not delegate a lot

- May say that value employee input and participation, but thier actions say otherwise

HR manager:

- Values the person, not just the employee/title

- Values training & development for the personal & professional aspects

- Encourages input and participation

- Utilizes suggestions & perspectives when working on something

What makes every supervisor an HR resource / manager of HR?

- Every manager needs to be an HR resource for their employees & answer basic questions about compensation, benefits, and other employer-provided programs such as EAP or FMLA.

- Managers being able to answer basic HR questions for their employees helps the employees feel supported as well as makes HR's job easier.

- Managers need to be able to resolve relatively minute employee relations issues while knowing when to get HR involved as soon as needed.

Why do heterogenous work groups exist and what does that mean?

- Teams of employees with a broad range of backgrounds in education, training, and personal/professional development.

- The manager may need to be able to cater to many different kinds of people's needs and different amounts of direction to complete tasks required.

Examples: Food services & Radiology.

Describe the different opinions on employee participation and input for line managers and HR managers.

Line Manager:

- Doesn't value employee input and participation when not requested

- Manager would rather do the work themselves so it's accurate

- Rarely delegates work to the new employee

- Values the product more than the person, although they claim the opposite

HR Manager:

- Values employee input & participation

- They focus on employee training & development as people, not just as employees or their role/title

- They believe diverse ideas and collaboration is more productive and increases the value of an output rather than 1 single manager producing work

Describe the difference between a people-centered and production centered management approach?

People-centered management:

- Employees willingness to work maintains their output

- Work can be irregular and varied

- Outputs are not identical

- Outputs can't be scheduled

- Jobs cannot be rigidly defined because of demand variability

- Employees control the process

- Disruption would NOT be immediately noticed.

Production-centered management:

- Work is highly repetitive, many units of output are similar, output can be scheduled with some accuracy, & jobs can be defined in detail.

- Disruption would be noticed immediately

Why is manager / supervisor visibility & availability important?

A managers / supervisors visibility / availability...

- Increases employee trust, loyalty, belonging, production, retention, efficiency etc.

- Increases effective communication amongst a team

- Reduces employee relations issues

What is a genuine open-door policy?

- A genuine open-door policy is when the leaders words and actions align and they are true to their word.

- The leader is visible and available when needed.

- The leader has or makes the time to discuss the matters that are brought to their door.

Why is it easier for a first-line manager to connect with their team?

- Because a first-line manager can SOLVE many of the problems that enter an open-door policy.

- Higher management has to refer the problem back down to the first-line manager or an HR manager.

- This is why a true open-door policy is beneficial to first-line managers.

What does 'show, don't tell' mean and regarding what in HR?

- Supervisors should show others their leadership styles and traits rather than talking about them.

- Successful managers do not talk about their leadership styles

- Subordinates deduce their manager's leadership style through their actions and behaviors

- This has to do with a leader's perception among their employees, whether it's a true or false perception doesn't matter because to the perceiver, perception is reality.

Describe the importance of individual manager/supervisor - employee relationships.

- Maintaining 1:1 relationships with employees is "the most effective means of maintaining a labor-intensive department's productive capacity."

- Every employee should have this opportunity, except for the ones that intentionally exclude themselves.

- Increases trust, loyalty, efficiency, production, & culture.

What is the cost of ignored employees?

Ignored employees may...

- Lose a sense of belonging (emotional needs not met)

- Reduce in productivity / efficiency (costly for org)

- Contribute to turnover (direct & indirect)

Costs:

- clerical time (exit interview), outplacement services, severance pay, unemployment compensation, position value of output loss, new employee is not as efficient, new employee orientation, training, & development, badge, equipment, handbook etc.

Less obvious expenses:

- Attending job fairs

- Developing recruitment literature

- Pre-employment physical / other tests

- Travel / relocation fees for execs

- Recruitment agency fees

Explain exempt vs. nonexempt employees regarding the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA).

- Exempt: professional salaried roles (executive / administrator) who are NOT eligible for overtime (1.5x) pay over 40 hours worked in a week.

- Nonexempt: hourly roles (manager/supervisor/employee) who must be paid 1.5x for overtime hours worked after 40 hours in a work week.

What is a position analysis and what must it precede?

- A fundamental activity in human resource management

- Federal regulations and competition have increased the importance of position analysis

- Position analysis gathers info such as tasks, duties, responsibilities, working conditions etc. about a role to create a job description

- Position analysis must precede crafting a job description

What is the role of the position incumbent?

Role: Help create accurate position descriptions

- Assist analysis process by reflecting on their job

- Make a list/diary of duties performed

- Include all activities completed during one complete cycle of duties

- Explain their concept of the job to the analyst

Describe elements of the position description.

- Job identification number

- Job summary

- Section describing principal duties performed

- Job specification section

What are the additional uses for this important multi-use instrument? (position analysis)

Position analysis also helps to...

- Decipher if a job is exempt or nonexempt (FLSA)

- Used as a guide in recruitment and interviewing

- Serves as a guide for orientation & training new employees

- Contributes to compliance w/ legal, regulatory, contractural, and accreditation requirements

Describe the components of the position description.

- Title

- Status

- Summary of duties

- Salary range

- Knowledge required

- Skills required

- Effort required

- Responsibility

- Working conditions

- General statement

What 3 criteria would be true if every position description included "provides good customer service"?

1. The single goal of addressing customer needs is clearly expressed in the program's name: customer service.

2. An organization requires only one customer service program.

3. Customer service is a priority activity that should be shared by all employees.

Sample Position Description - 1

- Job Title: Community Practice Facility Controller

- Unit or Section: Administration

- Department: Finance

- Salary range: (intentionally left blank)

- Basic Function: Plans, directs, and coordinates on an efficient and economical basis, all facility accounting operational activities, including cost, financial, and general accounting, information systems, and general office services.

Sample Position Description - 2

Scope: Work encompasses involvement in a broad rang of accounting activities that are essential to the maintenance of the facility operations and the dissemination of financial information to the board, senior managers, and owners.

Sample Position Description - 3

Summary of Duties:

1. Coordinates all essential accounting functions...

2. Directs the development of methods and procedures...

3. Performs analysis and appraisals...

4. Prepares recommendations...

5. Works closely with the CEO...

6. Directs this operation...

7. Manages the organizational area...

8. Performs other duties and responsibilities...

Sample Position Description - 4

Supervision Exercised:

1. Direct: General supervisors in operational areas (2-3 ppl)

2. Indirect: Other facility supervisors, administrative and clerical personnel (15-20 ppl)

Training and Education:

1. Certified Public Accountant (CPA) required & graduation from an accredited school.

Sample Position Description - 5

Experience:

1. Must have at least five years of experience in accounting with some supervisory responsibility.

Responsibility:

1. Budget of $3,500,000 per year

2. Responsible for all required insurance, hospital, state and federal filings for tax and other financial purposes.