Knowt
HRM Strategy
Hard/soft HRM
Flexible contract
Employee performance test
Management by Objectives, MBO
Use of IT and AI
Hard and Soft HRM
Hard: Cut cost => flexible contract
+ No training cost, no fringe benefit
+ Only pay them as needed
Hard: Ignore Maslow motivation theory, only benefit in short-term
Soft: focus on employee development to reach self-fulfillment and get motivated
- Training cost, often use full time contract
Should use soft approach to key employees and hard on non-necessary ones
Improving employee performance:
Hard: Warnings, pay cut
Soft: Training, quality circle, MBO, two-way discussion on how to do work better
Improve productivity:
Better motivation
Training
Use machine
Increase worker involvement
Increase motivation:
Use different contracts to suit their needs
Leadership style (decentralization)
Teamworking, employees involvement
Bonus
Job enrichment, job rotation
Maslow (recognition)
Training
Contracts
Permanent contract: Work until get fired
Labor cost becomes fixed cost, not vary with production
Temporary contract: Only for a short time
Zero-hours: No minimum hours of work, but employees work when needed
Gig economy (freelance): temporary, flexible jobs where business hires freelance
Flexible, meet high demand without much cost
Test employee performance before give full-time contract
Harder to manage employees, more employees to manage compared to full time. Communication problem, employees keep going in and out
No loyalty + team spirit
Worker may have multiple contracts at once, not always available
Fewer training, incentives
Flexitime arrangement: Worker choose start and end time of working hours (work life balance)
Hold meeting with everyone is difficult
Annualized hours contract: Worker work for specific number of hours per year, but when to work is decided upon demand.
Core hours: When workers must be there
Flexible hours: Time reserved for busier days, called to work by employers
Worker still come to work on certain times and work time varies with demand during seasons
If company exceeds the preset working hours before the end of the year, overtime working hours need higher pay
Job sharing: two workers share a full time job, salary based on their percentage of working hours
Employee cover for other’s absence
Business keep two experience workers, offer full time for both when needed
Work life balance, less stressed, more productive
Harder HRM management
Confusion of who does what
Workers sharing jobs don’t trust each other, reduce satisfaction and demotivating
Compressed hours contract: Work for four days a week, but same hours
Work life balance
Increased work loads during working days, more stressed
Some people want to work shorter period than long ones
Shift work (increase capacity utilization)
Work outside traditional working hours. Can work late or early
Use this cause business work all day, need employees at different shifts to keep business running
Flexible to demand, if falls, one shift can be reduced
Workers can switch shift
Use all machine all day, no waste of resources
Night shift is unhealthy
Measure employee performance: Customer complaints, absenteeism
Management by Objectives MBO
Divide business overall aim into smaller targets for each employees to meet, agreed by employees
Need employee discussion when making targets
Let employee choose their target while still contribute towards business goals
Clear target, help everyone focused on overall business aim
Monitor performance
Setting targets is hard, need constant update if environment or aim changes
IT and AI in HRM
Training: VR
Process candidate CV faster
Chat bot to answer employees questions
Finger print to check in for work, update real time
