Human Resource Management Notes

PART 2: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM)

What to expect

  • Reading: Waddell et al. (2011), Chapter 9, pages 273-284.
  • After studying this topic, you should be able to:
    • Explain the concepts of HRM, recruitment, and selection.
    • Discuss the interview method and the STAR technique.

What is Human Resource Management?

  • Ensuring the organization has the right number of people with the required knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies at an affordable cost, who are motivated and committed to achieving the strategic aims of the organization.

Activities & goals of Human Resource Management

  • Goal: Meeting HR needs, developing people, and maintaining an effective workforce.
  • Activities:
    • HR Needs: Planning, recruitment, selection
    • Development: Training, performance management
    • Maintaining Workforce: Wages, conditions, industrial relations, Health & Safety, career development, change management

HRM process

  • Starts with the Organization's vision, mission, and strategy.
  • Involves Recruitment, Selection, Orientation and socialization, Performance management, Training, rewards and remuneration

Recruiting employees

  • Activities to develop a pool of qualified candidates to apply for a job.
    • Recruitment can be done internally (within the organization) and/or externally (outside the organization).
  • Recruitment should be a mutual process between the employers and the applicant.
    • Applicant reactions are important.

Recruiting employees: Realistic Job Preview (RJP)

  • Not just 'selling' the best aspects of a job, but providing job candidates with all pertinent information about a job and the organization.
    • E.g., irregular hours, travel, etc.
  • Leads to higher retention and satisfaction.

Typical selection process

  • Application/CV
  • Interview
  • Testing
  • References
  • Analysis & decision
  • Selection: Process to determine the relative qualifications of job applicants and their potential for performing well in a job.
    • Is an applicant qualified for the position?
    • Are they likely to be a good performer?
    • Which applicants will be better performers than others?
  • Selection methods

Interview

  • Most commonly used selection method.
  • The interview serves many functions; e.g., assessing the applicant’s fit with the organization.
  • Whānau interviewing: Bringing others to the interview situation to speak on candidate’s behalf.
  • Panel interviewing

Interview types

  • Structured (asking the same questions from all applicants) & unstructured interviews.
  • Unstructured interviews are not very valid and you Cannot make comparisons between candidates.
  • Structured interviews often include behavioral questions.
    • Reflection of past experience.

Example interview questions

  • "Think about a time you worked as part of a team. What was your role in the team and what made it successful/unsuccessful?"
  • "Tell me about a time you had to deal with a conflict situation?"
  • STAR technique: Explain the Situation – Task - Action - Result