Busman AOS 3, Unit 2 Cards

What is Human Resource Management (HRM)?

The effective management of the relationship between employer and employees so staff performance helps achieve business objectives.

How does strong staff performance help business objectives?

Higher productivity/quality lowers costs and lifts profit, market share and growth.

What is human resource planning?

Developing strategies to meet future staffing needs (how many, which skills/qualifications, when/where needed).

List three things a business plans for in staffing needs.

Numbers of employees; required qualifications/experience; timing and location of roles.

How can HRM directly support making a profit?

By improving productivity, reducing turnover/absenteeism, and aligning skills with goals.

How can HRM support increasing market share?

By recruiting/training staff who deliver better quality/service, attracting/retaining customers.

How can new technology affect staffing?

Requires training/upskilling of existing staff to use new systems effectively.

How else can technology affect staffing levels?

Can reduce headcount via automation, making some roles redundant.

How can technology affect pay rates?

New skills may justify higher pay bands/allowances for trained staff.

How can technology affect work–life balance?

Mobile/remote tech can blur boundaries and increase after-hours contact.

Train existing staff or hire new staff for new tech — one benefit of training?

Cheaper/faster culture fit; retains knowledge and loyalty.

Define job analysis.

A study of each job’s duties, tasks and work environment to determine role requirements.

What is a job description?

A written statement of duties, tasks, responsibilities and reporting lines for a role.

What is a job specification?

The required qualifications, skills, experience and personal attributes for a role.

How are job description and specification related to job analysis?

Both are outputs of job analysis that guide recruitment and selection.

Define job design.

How tasks are organised in a role (variety, sequence, autonomy) to improve motivation and efficiency.

Define job rotation.

Moving employees between tasks/roles periodically to build variety and flexibility.

Define job enlargement.

Adding more tasks at the same level to increase variety and reduce boredom.

Define job enrichment.

Increasing authority/autonomy/complexity to make work more meaningful and motivating.

Sophie’s Salon is hiring — why do job analysis first?

To clarify duties and required skills so her job description/spec match the role and she hires the right person.

Define recruitment.

The process of attracting qualified applicants from which to select the most suitable candidate.

Internal recruitment — one advantage and one disadvantage.

Adv: Cheaper/faster; known culture fit. Disadv: Fewer new ideas; can cause jealousy.

External recruitment — one advantage and one disadvantage.

Adv: Wider pool/new ideas. Disadv: Costly/time-consuming; unknown fit.

Define selection.

Gathering/evaluating applicant information to choose the most suitable candidate.

Job interview — one pro and one con.

Pro: Assess communication/culture fit. Con: Can be subjective; impression bias.

Work testing — one pro and one con.

Pro: Shows real skills under task conditions. Con: Cost/time; may stress candidates.

Psychological/aptitude testing — one pro and one con.

Pro: Standardised insight into ability/personality. Con: Validity concerns; may disadvantage some.

Online selection/screens — one pro and one con.

Pro: Efficient prescreening, scalable. Con: May miss nuance; tech barriers.

Application forms — main purpose.

Standardise key info so applicants can be compared consistently.

Referee checks — main purpose.

Verify claims and past performance/culture fit from independent sources.

Background/medical checks — key caution.

Must be job-relevant and lawful (avoid discrimination/privacy breaches).

Bob (Bunnings) hiring an HR manager — discuss external recruitment (4 marks).

Benefits: wider talent; fresh ideas. Limitations: cost/time; unknown fit/resistance. Link each to store impact (quality of HR, speed, culture).

List the main employment arrangements.

Full-time; Part-time; Casual; Fixed-term/contract.

Define full-time employment.

Usually ~38 hrs/week with full NES/Award/Agreement entitlements (leave, notice, etc.).

Define part-time employment.

Regular hours less than full-time; pro-rata NES/Award/Agreement entitlements.

Define casual employment.

Irregular hours, no guaranteed ongoing work; loading in lieu of many entitlements; limited NES coverage.

Define fixed-term/contract.

Employed for a set period or project with agreed end date and entitlements per instrument.

What are the National Employment Standards (NES)?

The 10 minimum standards for most employees under the Fair Work Act.

List five NES.

Max 38 hrs/week + reasonable OT; Requests for flexible work; 12 months unpaid parental leave; 4 weeks annual leave; 10 days personal/carer’s + family/domestic violence leave.

List the remaining five NES.

Community service leave; Long service leave; Public holidays; Notice of termination & redundancy pay; Casual conversion rights.

Employer expectation: contract of employment — what does this mean?

Employees follow agreed duties, policies/procedures and entitlements per NES/Award/Agreement.

Employer expectation: business loyalty/confidentiality.

No public criticism; protect confidential information and IP.

Define “terms of notice.”

The required notice period an employee gives before resigning (or employer gives when terminating).

Employee expectation: conditions of employment.

Work hours, leave, breaks, redundancy/public holidays per NES/Award/Agreement.

Define remuneration.

Financial payment for work (wage/salary + loadings/allowances/bonuses).

Define work–life balance and give two examples.

Healthy balance of work/personal life; e.g., flexible hours, job share, remote work.

Define job security.

Confidence in continuity of employment (low risk of redundancy/dismissal).

How does meeting expectations affect performance?

Increases job satisfaction/motivation, lowering turnover and boosting productivity.

Legal obligation: OHS/WH&S — core duty.

Provide a safe workplace, training, equipment and systems (Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth)); regulator in Vic: WorkSafe Victoria.

Define Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO).

Fair treatment in employment without unlawful discrimination across the employment cycle.

List key EEO/anti-discrimination laws (Aus).

Vic Equal Opportunity Act 2010; Racial Discrimination Act 1975; Sex Discrimination Act 1984; Disability Discrimination Act 1992; Age Discrimination Act 2004.

Give one example of discrimination risk in recruitment.

Job ad excludes older workers; interview asks about plans for children/marital status.

What is the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA)?

Federal agency promoting workplace gender equality and reporting for larger employers.

Unfair dismissal vs unlawful termination — difference.

Unfair: harsh/unjust/unreasonable. Unlawful: for prohibited reasons (e.g., discrimination, exercising a workplace right).

Define workplace bullying.

Repeated unreasonable behaviour creating a health/safety risk.

Define sexual harassment.

Unwelcome sexual conduct a reasonable person would expect to offend, humiliate or intimidate.

At which stages must legal obligations be observed?

All stages: recruitment, selection, induction, training, performance, termination.

Two consequences of breaching staffing laws.

Fines/compensation orders; reputational damage, low morale and higher turnover.

Purpose of induction.

Integrate new employees quickly into role, culture and safety systems to reduce errors and turnover.

Two common induction methods.

Checklists/site tours; buddy/mentoring and structured training modules.

Two benefits of effective induction.

Faster productivity/confidence; fewer safety incidents and early resignations.

CSR in staffing — give three examples.

Fair wages; safe conditions; inclusive hiring/training for under-represented groups; flexible work for carers.

How can CSR in staffing help a business?

Stronger employer brand, attraction/retention, motivation and customer trust.

Define overseas recruitment.

Hiring workers from other countries to fill skill gaps when local supply is insufficient.

Two issues to manage with overseas recruitment.

Visas/legal compliance; cultural/language onboarding and training.

Give one practical example of good induction.

Buddy shifts + standard videos/checklists + first-week check-ins with supervisor.