2.1 Introduction to human resource management

What is human resource management?

It is the management and development of employees and managers to meet a businesses objectives

Name some functions of human resource management?

Workforce planning, training and development, pay and renumeration, employee welfare, recruitment

What is workforce planning?

Anticipating the human and staffing needs of the business

What are internal and external factors that influence workforce planning?

• Demographic change

• Change in labour motility

• Immigration

• Flexitime

• Gig economy

How does demographic change influence workforce planning?

Birth rate, migration rate, retirement age, ageing population (shortage in labour supply and those working may be slower, need more training)

How does change in labour mobility influence workforce planning?

This is how flexible labour is in terms of geographical mobility or occupational mobility. Being flexible in geographical mobility means relocation costs, culture clashes and lost ties to friends and family

Being flexible in occupational mobility means having to retrain, employees that are highly specialised find it difficult to find jobs

How does immigration influence workforce planning?

During specific on-peak seasons, more immigration occurs, increased standard of living and employment opportunities increase workforce

What is flexitime?

It is when workers can decide their own working hours, as long as they finish certain tasks at a deadline. The two types are:

• Teleworking (travelling to different places and working online)

• Homeworking (working online from home)

What are advantages of flexitime?

• More committed to family

• flexible working hours - more autonomy

• No time lost in commuting

• lower rates of absence

What are disadvantages of flexitime?

• more distractions

• may get too comfortable and not produce work at good quality

• Huge reliance on technology - vulnerable if it breaks down and elderly may not easily adapt to it

• Social isolation

• Management and monitoring is more difficult (employee appraisal)

• Lack of career development opportunities

What is a gig economy?

Jobs where workers only sign a short-term contract. These are part-time jobs which have high labour turnover rates, such as delivery guy. These are jobs in the service sector

What are advantages of a gig economy?

• lower costs for business

• workers can have better work-life balance

• Collect experience from various different fields

What are disadvantages of a gig economy?

• lack of regular income and job security

• no professional career path

• for business, high rates of labour turnover may be bad for reputation

• burnout is common, when gig workers work multiple jobs