MHR523- notes

Week One Notes

Human Resources Management (HRM)--- Definition

The leadership and management of people within an organization uses systems, methods, processes, and procedures that enable employees to optimize their performance and contribute to the organization and its goals.

Human Resources Management Strategy--- Definition

Integrating the strategic needs of an organization into the organization’s choice of human resource management systems and practices to support the organization’s overall mission, strategies, and performance.

Common Misconceptions about HR

HR is a useless department

HR does not understand business

People go into the field of HR simply because they like “working with people.”

HR crises

Current Business Topics Impacting HRM

Global Economy– HR adjusts policies for international remote workers, ensuring compliance with different labour laws.

Changes in business sectors

Technology– HR introduces an AI-based resume screening system to streamline hiring.

Sustainability– HR leads green initiatives like reducing office waste and offering remote work options.

Talent management– HR develops a mentorship program to retain high-potential employees.

Demographics— HR revises benefits packages to meet the needs of an aging workforce and Gen Z employees.

Week Two Notes

What is a Job

a group of related activities/duties for one or more employees

What is a Position

the collection of tasks/responsibilities performed by one person

What is considered as Work

Tasks or activities that need to be completed

What is considered as a Role

The part played by an employee within an organization and the associated expected behaviours

EG. Frontline employees contribute by providing information that may be known only by the person doing the job (e.g. SME)

Steps in job analysis

1. Review relevant background information

Organization Chart

clarifies chain of command; who reports to whom

does not explain communication patterns, degree of supervision, power, authority, or specific duties

Process Chart

Shows the flow of inputs to and outputs from the job under study

2. Select jobs to be analyzed

Selection is necessary when there are many incumbents in a single job and when several similar jobs are to be analyzed

Driven by: strategy, priorities, objectives

3. Collect data on job activities

Interviews (individual, group, supervisory)

Questionnaires

Observations

Participant diary/log

National Occupation Classification (NOC)

an occupation is a collection of jobs that share some or all of a set of main duties

Note: When conducting job analysis, the objective is to gain a better understanding of the job itself, not to evaluate the qualifications of the current incumbent. Job analysis is not a performance review.

4. Verify/modify data if required

Verify with:

workers currently performing the job supervisors

Increases validity and reliability:

inconsistencies/concerns can be addressed participants will be more honest

5. Write job descriptions and job specifications

Job Description

A document that lists the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job to be performed along with the skills, knowledge, and abilities or competencies needed to perform the work successfully

Job Description must include the following :

Job Identification —

The job identification section generally contains several categories of information.

The position title specifies the title of the job

The department and location are also indicated, along with the title of the immediate supervisor

Job Summary—

The job summary should describe the general nature of the job, listing only its major functions or activities

Relationships —

The relationships section indicates the jobholder’s relationships with others inside and outside the organization

Duties and Responsibilities—

This section presents a detailed list of the job’s major duties and responsibilities.

Authority—

This section of a job description should define the limits of the jobholder’s authority, including his or her decision-making authority,direct supervision of other employees, and budgetary limitations.

Performance Standards/Indicators—

Some job descriptions also contain a performance standards/indicators section, which indicates the standards the employee is expected to achieve in each of the job description’s main duties and responsibilities

Physical Demands Analysis—

Identification of the senses used and the type, frequency, and amount of physical effort involved in a job.

Human Rights Legislation Considerations—

not legally required but highly advisable

essential job duties should be clearly identified

the only criteria examined should be knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the essential duties of the job

when an employee cannot perform an essential duty because of reasons related to a prohibited ground, reasonable accommodation to the point of undue hardship is required

6. Communicate and update information as needed.

communicate to all relevant stakeholders

anticipate modifications

Restructuring

new product development

technological changes

competitors

Problems with Job Descriptions

quickly become out of date

May not contain standards of performance

Poorly written, using vague rather than specific terms

May not address expected behaviours and can be the basis for conflict, including union grievances

BSCVWC

Week 3

Human resource planning

• “Process to ensure that an organization has people available (employed) who have the right competencies and that these people are being effectively utilized in the right capacities in order for the company to achieve its desired objectives”

Steps in Human Resource Planning

Forecast Demand for Resources

Quantitative techniques (looks at numbers)

Trend analysis — The study of a firm’s past employment levels over a period of years to predict future needs.

Ratio analysis — A forecasting technique for determining future staff needs by using ratios between some causal factor (sales volume) and the number of employees required.

Qualitative techniques (physical)

Nominal group technique — involves a group of experts meeting face to face steps include independent idea generation, clarification and open discussion, and private assessment

Delphi technique —

Forecasting the supply of internal candidates

Skills inventories

Manual or computerized records summarizing employees’ education, experience, interests, skills and so on, which are used to identify internal candidates eligible for transfer or promotion

Replacement charts

Visual representations of who will replace whom in the event of a job opening. Likely internal candidates are listed, along with their age, present performance rating, and ‘promotability’ status

Markov analysis

A method of forecasting internal labour supply that involves tracking the pattern of employee movements through various jobs and developing a transitional probability matrix

Design and Implement Workforce Systems to Balance Demand and Supply Responding to an Oversupply

hiring freeze/attrition

early retirement buyout programs

job sharing

reduced workweek

layoff

termination

leave of absence

During this process some things one might consider

Might lose good employees

survivor syndrome

supplemental unemployment

benefits

severance package

pay

benefits

golden parachute

outplacement assistance

Responding to a Labour Shortage

Internal solutions

Transfer

Promotion

Employee retention

External solutions

Hire full-time workers

Hire part-time workers

Hire contract workers

Outsource

Overtime

Flexible retirement

Establish and Conduct Evaluation

Week 4

Legal Environment

Employer: Right to modify employee work terms for legitimate business needs

Employee: Right to be protected from harmful business practices

Government: Balance needs of employer and employee

Employment law

General Population

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

basic rights for all Canadians

Human Rights Legislation

protection from discrimination

Ordinary Laws

content or context-specific

Workplace`

Employment Standards Legislation

minimum terms and conditions of employment

Collective Bargaining Agreement

Employment Contract

Intentional Discrimination

direct

differential or unequal treatment

indirect (3rd party)

by association

Unintentional Discrimination

constructive or systemic discrimination

embedded in policies and based on criteria not job-related

Discrimination can be….

• Age— Discrimination beliefs and behaviours against people because of their age

• Class— because of social class, generally directed against those poorer

• Ethnicity— because of ethnic differences

• Heterosexism— against gay men, lesbians and transgenders

• Racism— based on one’s race

• Race

• Gender

• Disability

•Harassment — Any conduct or comment that a reasonable person would consider objectionable or unwelcome

Sexual Harassment— Offensive or humiliating behaviour that is related to a person's sex, as well as the behaviour of a sexual nature that creates an intimidating, unwelcome, hostile, or offensive work environment or that could reasonably be thought to put sexual conditions on a person’s job or employment opportunities.

Sexual Coercion — “Harassment of a sexual nature that results in some direct consequence to the worker's employment status or some gain in or loss of tangible job benefits.”

Sexual Annoyance — “Sexually related conduct that is hostile, intimidating, or offensive to the employee but has no direct link to tangible job benefits or loss thereof.”

Other Legal Concepts

Bona Fide Occupational Requirement—- A justifiable reason for discrimination based on business necessity(that is, required for the safe and efficient operation of the

organization) — Or a requirement that can be clearly defended as intrinsically required by the tasks an employee is expected to perform

Reasonable accommodation— The adjustment of employment policies and practices that an employer may be expected to make so that no individual is denied benefits, disadvantaged in employment, or prevented from carrying out the essential components of a job because of grounds prohibited in human rights legislation

Employment Equity-distinct Canadian process for achieving equality in all aspects of employment

Designated groups — Women, Members of visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, and Persons with disabilities who have been disadvantaged in employment

Pay equity— The practice of equal pay for work of equal value,

Gender:

In Ontario, the gender wage gap is 26% (based on 2011 data) for full-time, full-year workers.

Estimates suggest that discrimination accounts for between 10-15% of the gender wage gap.

Other factors: interruptions in career, weaker labour force attachment, caregiving, occupational segregation, educational level and choice, negotiation styles, union coverage, etc.

Ethnicity

Canadian-born visible minorities: Males 17% raw differential, 7.5% adjusted for observable characteristics. Females 8.5% raw differential, and 3.3% adjusted (Hou and Coulombe, 2010).

Immigrants: males' earnings gap of 14%, and females 7% earnings gap in 2010 (Morissette and Sultan, 2013).

Aboriginal Persons: 9-50% raw earnings gap for males; a 7-34% raw earnings gap for females (Lamb, 2013).

Diversity—The combination of organizational policies and practices that support and encourage employee differences in order to reach business objectives

Inclusion— Putting the concept of diversity into action

Optimizing everyone’s background for business success

Voluntary

Inclusive—not the same as employment equity

Need to create an environment for success

Treat people as individuals

Link directly to business objectives

Week 5

Recruiting

Employee Recruitment

“The process of finding and attracting capable applicants to apply for employment and accept job offers that are extended to them.”

Recruiter

A specialist in recruitment, whose job it is to find and attract capable candidates

Recruiting Avenues: Internal

Recruiting Avenues: External

Constraints on Recruitment

Organizational policies

Promote from within policies

Compensation policies

Employment status policies (e.g., part-time, temporary workers)

International hiring policies

Human resources plans

Internal supply (e.g., skills inventories)

Demand (e.g., ratio analysis)

Diversity and inclusion

EDI programs

Pay equity legislation

Recruiter bias

Recruiter biases (e.g., similar to me bias)

Environment consideration

External factors (e.g., COVID, labour force characteristics)

Job Requirements

Knowledge and skills of jobs

Cost

Cost of recruiting online vs in-person

Inducement

Incentives for taking on a job (e.g., signing bonus)

Recruitment Methods

Direct Inquiries

Employee referrals

Advertising

Social media (LinkedIn)

Private employment agencies

Professional search firms

Educational institutions

Selecting

Employee Selection

A series of specific steps used by an employer to decide which recruits should be hired.

the strategic importance of selection:

quality of human resources determines organizational performance

inappropriate selection decisions are costly

significant legal implications

Steps:

Preliminary Reception of Applicants (eg resume, applications)

Pre-screening

initial screening is performed by HR department

application forms and résumés are reviewed

candidates not meeting the selection criteria are eliminated

remaining candidates matching the job specifications are given further consideration

use of technology is becoming increasingly popular

Employment tests

screening device used by approximately two-thirds of Canadian organizations

assesses specific job-related skills, general intelligence, personality characteristics, mental abilities, interests, and preferences

efficient, standardized methods for screening large numbers of applicants

must be reliable and valid

Cognitive Abilities

intelligence tests

emotional intelligence tests

specific cognitive abilities

Motor/Physical Abilities

Personality and Interests

Achievement Tests

Work Sampling

Management Assessment Centres

Situational Testing

Micro-Assessments

Physical Examination, Substance Abuse Testing ,Polygraphs

Myers Briggs Type Indicator

An introspective self-report questionnaire designed to indicate psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions

Four dimensions:

Extraversion vs. introversion (outgoing vs. reserved)

Sensing vs. intuition (how things are vs. how things could be)

Thinking vs. feeling (decisions based on logical reasoning vs. personal values)

Judging vs. perceiving (rules are respected vs. rules are flexible)

Interviews

Types of Interviews

Degree of Structure

unstructured, structured, or mixed/semi-structured

Content

situational, behavioural

Administering the Interview

one-on-one or panel

sequentially or all at once

face-to-face or technology-enabled

Interviewer Mistakes

poor planning

snap judgments

negative emphasis

halo effect

poor job knowledge

contrast error

influence of nonverbal behaviour

Leading

too much/too little talking

similar-to-me bias

Realistic Job Previews

It involves showing the candidate the type of work, equipment, and working conditions involved in the job before the hiring decision is final.

Reference checks

verify the accuracy of the information provided

Includes:

criminal record check

verification of educational qualifications

verification of previous employment

performance-related references from past supervisors

credit check may also be included

Considerations:

obtain written permission

possible public sources (e.g. Facebook)

qualified privilege

negligent misrepresentation

Reference checks

Contingent Assessments

Medical evaluation

Drug tests

Week 6

Orientation

“A structured process for new employees to become familiar with the organization and their work; critical to socialization”

Socialization

“Is the embedding of organizational values, beliefs, and accepted behaviours”

Purpose of Orientation

part of the ongoing socialization process

helps reduce first-day jitters and reality shock

foundation for ongoing performance management

improved productivity

improved retention levels and reduced recruitment costs

Organizational Socialization

Socialization: “Is the embedding of organizational values, beliefs, and accepted behaviours”

Training

“The acquisition of skills, behaviours, and abilities to perform current work”

short-term efforts to impart information and instructions related to the job

part of the organization’s strategic plan

considered investment in human capital

Training: Instructional Systems Design (ADDIE)

1. Needs Assessment

Task Analysis (new employees)

What competencies do employees need?

break down jobs into tasks and skills

determine where each task and skill is best learned

Performance Analysis (current employees)

What competencies do employees have?

verify any performance deficiencies and determine whether they are best resolved through training or other means

2. Program Design

Instructional goals

Trainee characteristics

Training techniques

3. Program Development

4. Training Delivery or Implementation

5. Evaluation of Training

Trainee characteristics— different ways people can be trained

Learning styles

auditory, visual kinesthetic

Personalize learning

Meaningful material

maximize the similarity of training to the job

motivate trainees

Legal aspects

avoid discrimination

avoid negligent training

Traditional Training Techniques

Classroom training

on-the-job training

job instruction training

Simulated training

E-learning

Special projects or tasks

Conferences

Career Development

Dynamic process

Individuals responsible for own career planning

The organization responsible for supplying information and providing support

Organizational needs linked with individual needs

Creating favourable conditions

Management support

Goal setting

HRM practices

Mentorship