Chapter 15: Human Resources Management

Employees: The Key to Success

Human Resources

  • HumanresourcesHuman resources$$Human resources$$ are the people employed in a business, commonly referred to as personnel.

  • Managing human resources is not the same as supervising workers.

  • HumanresourcesmanagementHuman resources management$$Human resources management$$ is the process of finding, selecting, training, and evaluating employees.

Meeting Staffing Needs

  • A jobdescriptionjob description$$job description$$ is a detailed outline of the duties, qualifications, and conditions required to do a specific job

    • The job might also require a certain level of experience and education.

    • It could be part-time, full-time, permanent, or temporary.

  • To attract and keep good employees, businesses must offer competitive compensation.

    • CompensationCompensation$$Compensation$$ is pay and benefits.

  • Pay can be in the form of a wage or a salary.

    • A wagewage$$wage$$ is an amount of money paid to an employee on an hourly basis.

    • A salarysalary$$salary$$ is a fixed amount of pay for each week, month, or year.

  • Benefits are extra compensation that workers receive such as health and life insurance, sick leave, holiday pay, and retirement plans.

  • Retirement plans provide employees with money after working at a company for a certain number of years.

  • Some companies offer pension plans.

    • A pension plan is a retirement plan that is funded at least in part by an employer.

  • A profit-sharing plan makes an annual contribution to an employee’s retirement fund when the company makes a profit.

  • Another type of retirement plan is a 401(k).

    • With a 401(k), employees set aside a percentage of funds from each paycheck to go into their 401(k) investment account.

    • Many employers match a percentage of an employee’s contribution to a 401(k).

  • Human resources managers often work as recruiters.

  • RecruitmentRecruitment$$Recruitment$$ means actively looking for qualified people to fill a job

Considering Job Applicants

  • After recruiting job applicants, a human resources manager has to decide which one to hire.

  • There are four steps to selecting the right person or candidate for the job.

    • First, the recruiter must review each candidate’s application and/or résumé.

    • An application is a form companies give to potential employees to complete.

    • It lists their work experience, education, skills, and references.

    • A résumé is a worker’s summary of academic and work history.

    • Reviewing the application and résumé leads to the screening step.

    • Screening is a system of selecting suitable people for a job

    • The next step is for the human resources manager to interview qualified candidates.

    • An interview is a meeting in which a recruiter asks an applicant questions to see if the applicant is right for a job.

    • Many companies test job candidates as part of the interview process.

    • Testing helps companies make sure that job candidates have the right skills and character for a job.

  • The human resources manager’s final step before hiring a new employee is to check the applicant’s background and references.

  • A backgroundcheckbackground check$$background check$$ is the process of verifying certain information provided by a job applicant

  • A referencereference$$reference$$ is someone who comments on a job applicant’s character and qualifications for a job

Developing and Retaining Employees

Developing Employees

  • OrientationOrientation$$Orientation$$ is the process of helping new employees adjust to a company.

  • New employees usually need some training for the specific job they were hired to do.

    • On-the-job training involves learning a new job by actually doing it.

    • GrouptrainingGroup training$$Group training$$ involves teaching several employees in a class.

  • Job rotation moves employees to different tasks or departments to help them gain experience.

    • Job rotation also prevents boredom and increases morale.

    • Morale is the general level of confidence or enthusiasm felt by a person or group of people.

  • Soft skills refer to personality traits and personal abilities such as social skills, language skills, personal habits, and friendliness.

    • Soft skills complement hard skills, which are the technical requirements of a job.

  • A performanceappraisalperformance appraisal$$performance appraisal$$ is an evaluation of how well an employee is doing a job.

  • Employees are evaluated periodically.

Changes in Employee Status

  • A promotionpromotion$$promotion$$ gives an employee a higher-level job with more authority, responsibility, and pay.

    • Promotions are also given on the basis of seniority.

    • Seniority is the status given to an employee based on rank or length of service.

  • A transfertransfer$$transfer$$ is a move to another job within a company, usually at the same level and pay.

  • SeparationSeparation$$Separation$$ is leaving a company for any reason.

    • A voluntary separation occurs when an employee resigns or retires.

    • When an employee voluntarily leaves, an exit interview is given to pinpoint why the employee is leaving.

    • Involuntary separations include layoffs and terminations.

    • A worker may be fired or terminated if he or she breaks rules, becomes unable to perform at the expected level, or cannot get along with others.

    • If the company needs to downsize, employees might be laid off.

    • A layoff occurs when there is not enough work for all employees.

  • TurnoverTurnover$$Turnover$$ is the number of employees who leave an organization and are replaced over time


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Chapter 15: Human Resources Management

Employees: The Key to Success

Human Resources

  • HumanresourcesHuman resources are the people employed in a business, commonly referred to as personnel.
  • Managing human resources is not the same as supervising workers.
  • HumanresourcesmanagementHuman resources management is the process of finding, selecting, training, and evaluating employees.

Meeting Staffing Needs

  • A jobdescriptionjob description is a detailed outline of the duties, qualifications, and conditions required to do a specific job
    • The job might also require a certain level of experience and education.
    • It could be part-time, full-time, permanent, or temporary.
  • To attract and keep good employees, businesses must offer competitive compensation.
    • CompensationCompensation is pay and benefits.
  • Pay can be in the form of a wage or a salary.
    • A wagewage is an amount of money paid to an employee on an hourly basis.
    • A salarysalary is a fixed amount of pay for each week, month, or year.
  • Benefits are extra compensation that workers receive such as health and life insurance, sick leave, holiday pay, and retirement plans.
  • Retirement plans provide employees with money after working at a company for a certain number of years.
  • Some companies offer pension plans.
    • A pension plan is a retirement plan that is funded at least in part by an employer.
  • A profit-sharing plan makes an annual contribution to an employee’s retirement fund when the company makes a profit.
  • Another type of retirement plan is a 401(k).
    • With a 401(k), employees set aside a percentage of funds from each paycheck to go into their 401(k) investment account.
    • Many employers match a percentage of an employee’s contribution to a 401(k).
  • Human resources managers often work as recruiters.
  • RecruitmentRecruitment means actively looking for qualified people to fill a job

Considering Job Applicants

  • After recruiting job applicants, a human resources manager has to decide which one to hire.
  • There are four steps to selecting the right person or candidate for the job.
    • First, the recruiter must review each candidate’s application and/or résumé.
    • An application is a form companies give to potential employees to complete.
    • It lists their work experience, education, skills, and references.
    • A résumé is a worker’s summary of academic and work history.
    • Reviewing the application and résumé leads to the screening step.
    • Screening is a system of selecting suitable people for a job
    • The next step is for the human resources manager to interview qualified candidates.
    • An interview is a meeting in which a recruiter asks an applicant questions to see if the applicant is right for a job.
    • Many companies test job candidates as part of the interview process.
    • Testing helps companies make sure that job candidates have the right skills and character for a job.
  • The human resources manager’s final step before hiring a new employee is to check the applicant’s background and references.
  • A backgroundcheckbackground check is the process of verifying certain information provided by a job applicant
  • A referencereference is someone who comments on a job applicant’s character and qualifications for a job

Developing and Retaining Employees

Developing Employees

  • OrientationOrientation is the process of helping new employees adjust to a company.
  • New employees usually need some training for the specific job they were hired to do.
    • On-the-job training involves learning a new job by actually doing it.
    • GrouptrainingGroup training involves teaching several employees in a class.
  • Job rotation moves employees to different tasks or departments to help them gain experience.
    • Job rotation also prevents boredom and increases morale.
    • Morale is the general level of confidence or enthusiasm felt by a person or group of people.
  • Soft skills refer to personality traits and personal abilities such as social skills, language skills, personal habits, and friendliness.
    • Soft skills complement hard skills, which are the technical requirements of a job.
  • A performanceappraisalperformance appraisal is an evaluation of how well an employee is doing a job.
  • Employees are evaluated periodically.

Changes in Employee Status

  • A promotionpromotion gives an employee a higher-level job with more authority, responsibility, and pay.
    • Promotions are also given on the basis of seniority.
    • Seniority is the status given to an employee based on rank or length of service.
  • A transfertransfer is a move to another job within a company, usually at the same level and pay.
  • SeparationSeparation is leaving a company for any reason.
    • A voluntary separation occurs when an employee resigns or retires.
    • When an employee voluntarily leaves, an exit interview is given to pinpoint why the employee is leaving.
    • Involuntary separations include layoffs and terminations.
    • A worker may be fired or terminated if he or she breaks rules, becomes unable to perform at the expected level, or cannot get along with others.
    • If the company needs to downsize, employees might be laid off.
    • A layoff occurs when there is not enough work for all employees.
  • TurnoverTurnover is the number of employees who leave an organization and are replaced over time