Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organization development, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication, administration, and training."
Recruitment:
"Process of identifying and hiring best-qualified candidate (from within or outside of an organization) for a job vacancy, in a most timely and cost effective manner. It is a process to locate the sources where from the required human resource can be available and attract them towards the organization."
Selection:
"Selection is the process of choosing the most suitable person out of all applicants. According to Thomas "Selection is the process of differentiating between applicants in order to identify those with greater likelihood of success in the job."
Selection procedure
The selection process consists of various steps. At each stage facts may come to light which may lead to rejection of the applicant. Steps involved in the selection are,
* Preliminary interview: - Initial screening is done to weed out totally undesirable/unqualified candidates at the outset. It is essentially a sorting process in which prospective candidates are given necessary information about the nature of the job and the organization.
* Application blank: - Application form is a traditional and widely used device for collecting information from candidates. The application form should provide all the information relevant to selection.
* Selection test: - A test is sample of some aspects of an individual's attitude, behavior and performance. It also provides systematic basis fro comparing the behavior, performance and attitudes of two persons.
* Employment interview: - An interview is a conversation between two persons. In selection it involves a personal, observational and face to face appraisal of candidates for employment.
* Medical examination: - Applicants who have crossed the above stages are sent for a physical examination either to the company's physician or to a medical officer approved for the purpose.
* Reference checks: - The applicant is asked to mention in his application form the names and addresses of two or three persons who know him well.
* Final approval: - The short listed candidates by the department are finally approved by the executives of the concerned department. Employment is offered in the form of appointment letter mentioning the post, the rank, the grade, the date by which the candidate should join and other terms and conditions in brief.
Job Analysis:
Job analysis refers to various methodologies for analyzing the requirements of a job.
Job analysis is a systematic way to gather and analyze information about the content (- concerned wit the responsibilities and tasks an employee performs) and human requirement of jobs, and the context in which jobs are performed. The main purpose of conducting job analysis is to prepare job description and job specification which in turn helps to hire right quality of workforce in the organization. The general purpose of job analysis is to document the requirements of a job and the work performed.
METHODS OF ANALYZING JOB:
Interview - Job holders discuss their positions with a job analyst who then prepares a draft description for the agreement and approval of the job holder and that person's supervisor.
Observation - The job analyst watches the individual performing the job and takes notes describing the duties performed. The method is most appropriate for lower-level, repetitive cycle duties.
Questionnaires and Worksheets - The most frequently used method of collecting job analysis information. These can be ambiguous and difficult for a typical employee to complete. Employees may be unwilling or unable to provide accurate responses.
Secondary Data - The use of survey data on similar jobs or benchmarked positions at comparable institutions.
Job Description :
Job description indicates the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a job. It identifies what is done, why it is done, where it is done, and how it is done. It sets out the nature of the relationships between a specific position and other positions within and outside the organization and outlines the areas of the position's expected contribution to the achievement of divisional or overall organizational goals.
TRAINING:
"Training is the process of increasing the knowledge and skills for doing a particular job. It is an organized procedure by which people learn knowledge and skills for a definite purpose. It basically bridges gap between job requirement and present competence of an employee."
Differentiate between Training and Development:
"Training is a short-term process utilizing a systematic and organized procedure. It imparts knowledge, skills and aptitude to perform required job.
On the other hand development is a long term process which includes philosophical and educational concepts".
COMPENSATION AND BENEFIT:
"Compensation is a systematic approach to providing monetary value to employees in exchange for work performed. Compensation may achieve several purposes assisting in recruitment, job performance, and job satisfaction."
Literature Review
Traditionally, performance evaluation is considered to be a process that is limited between a supervisor and his employee. But this concept no longer exists in successful organizations. Since it involves certain biases and favors as supervisors have the power to reward and punish. Lopez (2008) defined the purpose of evaluating a performance as the determination of the worth or merit. It helps in understanding how competent an employee is, his areas of development, training needs and area of interest. In order to reduce the biases, and with the increased focus on teamwork, collaboration and employee development, information regarding employee is gathered from various sources through different tools to ensure that the information provided during the entire evaluation process is accurate and precise.
One such tool of measuring employee's performance is 180 degree. It is a limited process that involves favoritism, biases and discrimination. According to Finkelstein (2004), supervisors usually rate their employee as average except in extreme case. This demotivate employees from performing better and causes resentment.
Another tool used to decrease the biases and to make sure information gathered during the evaluation process is accurate, is 360-degree performance evaluation. It involves multiple sources of information gathering. Jackson & Schuler (2000)defined this process as an evaluation process that involves multiple raters including supervisor, subordinates, peers and employees. Other names used for 360-degree evaluation, according to Koebelin (1999), are multi-rater feedback, multi-source feedback, full-circle appraisal and group performance.
Among one of the benefits of a proper evaluation system is to increase the satisfaction level of employees. They have the right to know the basis and criteria on which they are being evaluated. According to Staw, Sutton, & Pelled, (1994), only positive emotions can help employees have favorbale consequneces. They will be able to perform better. Each day will bring new and better out of the employees. It can help employees gain work achievement, job enhancement and better social environment. With the changing time and advancement in technology, just like customers are gaining importance, issues related to employees has captured the attention of many researchers. Abbot (2002) highlighted the importance of changing market trends and employees role under such circumstances. According to her, companies who understand their employees, their training needs as an individual and as well as a professional, can survive in the longer run.
Job satisfaction is the major area of concern in management for many years. Hawthorne studies (1959) is among one of the early work on this issue. Later on this area gained popularity and many researchers and scientists extended the research to study its importance and different consequences that effect the satisfaction of employee at work. Job satisfaction of employees is a very crucial factor at all managerial level in an organization if efficient and effective outcomes of organization are to be achieved.
Work satisfaction is a term used to describe happy and contented employees. According to Heathfield (2002), employees are happy and contented only when their desires and needs at work are fulfilled. If employees at ork are satisfied, it will automatically lead to higher motivation, efficient and effective means to achieve goals andimproved morale.
Locke (1976) in his Affect Theory defined job satisfaction as what personnel wants and what he gets from his job. Employee attaches different value to different aspects of his job according to his own discretion. Judge (1998) in his dispositional theory explained about employee's satisfaction at work as that people have "innate dispositions" that is the basis of having tendencies toward an assured level of satisfaction. Hackman and Oldham (1959) in his theory Job Characteristics Model states that there exist five important job characteristics: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. These characteristics have huge impact on three significant psychological situations: experienced meaningfulness, experienced accountability for outcomes, and information of the actual results that effect work outcomes, job satisfaction, absenteeism, work motivation, etc.
Some crucial factors that affect the work satisfaction level of employees includes the organizational culture, commitment level, motivation and morale, recognition, work itself, roles and responsibilities, advancement and growth, job security and some demographic factors.
Employees are considered to be an integral part of any business. According to Hunter (2005), an organization has as much potential as its employees have. If employees are productive and know their work well, the organization will develop and vice versa. Employee productivity, as defined by Sward (2007) is all about efficiency and effectiveness. Both needs to be present in the work to constantly improve employee performance. If either of these are missing, employee will not be considered productive since his work is not up to the standard or requirement that is being set by the management.
According to Tatje & Lovell (1999), increase in profits of an organization is a sign of increased employee productivity. No organization can survive the market competition if its employees are not competent enough to handle posititvely the market dynamics. According to Endogenous Growth Theory, for sustained growth in today's market place, innovation is an important factor. And for innovation productivity relationships matters.
Bruce (2006) presented few techniques to encourage every employee to work hard and to be more productive. According to her, if employees are given some empowerment, they will be more productive since they will consider themselves accountable for the task assigned. It is also important to understand the force that drives people. Employees should be treated more like a partner. They should know the outcomes and end results of the situation and the value attached with it. Employees should know who their competitors are, their strategies, products and services that they are offering. Employees should be encouraged to take positive risk. Link between performance and motivations should be made clear. Rewards and recognition should be made clear. Incentives and morale boosters should be offered to employees from time to time. Employer should trust his employee. Trust is the key for better and healthy relations.
Four learning approaches have been described by Dorsett (2006). According to him, learning process of each individual is different. Employer should take time to understand how each employee process information that comes to him from differnet sources and how he creates linkages between them. Appreciation, and criteria for recognition and rewards should be made clear. The productive employees should be given chance to learn new techniques and tools to perform better and increase their output efficiently and effectively. When employees are empowered to perform tasks on their own. They do better. employers should provide their employees such opportunities and then closely monitor their activities and the amount of participation in a team.
Employee perrformance is highly dependent on his morale and motivation level. According to Neely (1999), work productivity is highly linked to employee morale. If employee is not willing to work for the organization, he will not perform upto the standard or required expectations. The unwilling attitude will cost an organzization a lot. Employee must focus on how to raise the employee morale. One important element is employee development. If an organization meets the needs of an employee, he will be highly satisfied thus resulting in increased motivation and morale.
Employee morale is defined as a state of person's psychological well-being that is based upon a sense of assurance, usefulness and intention. Or in other words, employee morale refers to the attitude workers have towards the quality of their total work life.
Hompkins (1995) explained five ways through which employeers can help employees increase their morale. First is social gatherings. Although it's a fun activity, but it's a place where employees get to know eachother, their peers, subordinate, and senior people. This is important both for employee and organization's growth and well being. Second is employee recognition. Employees should be provided recognition rewards and certificates from time to time. This help employee morale to boost. Next, organizations can offer scholarship programs for the employees in order to help them continue their education and learn new expertise that will help the organziation in long run. Employees meetings should be held from time to time to disucuss their progress, strengths and weaknesses at work. Employees should be empowered to perform certain task on his own.
In words of Bohlander & Snell (2010), employee turnover is defined as movement of employees out of an organization. Organizations with high turnover rate have to incur an additional cost, not only in monetary terms but also in terms of time, resources etc, of recruiting and training a new employee. Whenever some employee leaves a company, he takes with him knowledge, understanding and experience which cannot be measured in terms of money nor can it be easily recreated.
Many Significant researches have been made in recent years promoting the advantages of using high-involvement human resource practices to enhance employees' levels of skill, motivation and empowerment and to reduce turnover. Among one of the factors of high turnover, one major factor is fairness among employees. As Byrne (2005) explained that in organizations where everybody focuses on his own self interest, and where there is no mutual understanding among teams and employees at different level, intentional turnover is high. Such type of organizations can not do well in the market place because they are not able to retain the employees who have the knowledge of their organization, processes and procedures, rules and general guidelines.
Replacing employees is very costly both in terms of money and time. Dysvik & Kuvass (2010) consider employee turnover to be the major concern of the management today. Replacing an employee is costly. Recruiting and training the employee according to organziational need is another cost that organization has to bear. High level of turnover effects and reduces the quality, consistency and stability of the services/products the organization offers. According to Richer, Blanchard, & Vallerand (2002), beside organizational commitment and job satisfaction, motivation is also an factor that can help reduce turnover if used and communicated properly.
Recommendations & Conclusion
Below are the recommendations that we suggest Organizations in order to help them improve the evaluation process:
Design a clear and accurate job description of employees. Clearly communicate to employees their roles, responsibilities and duties and expectations at work.
A proper orientation should be given to new employee where he is introduced to the existing employees. A guideline should be provided to the employee that describes the general guidelines, policies and procedure of the company as a whole. It should be ensured that the procedures and policies are known to each employee clearly. They should know what the organization stands for and what is expected out of them.
Increase employee's satisfaction. Whatever is at the company's disposal they try to adjust the maximum number of employees with the minimum number of resources at hand. This is a loss for the organization itself because unhappy workers will not provide the required output and hence decrease the overall performance of the organization.
Define the evaluation process clearly to employees. List the factors and communicate effectively to the employees on which employees will be evaluated. There should be no ambiguity among employees about the criteria of the evaluation.
Organizations needs to revise their HR policies. The policies should be clearer and detailed that cover in detail the entire concept of a specific subject matter.
The evaluation process should not be based on only supervisor's feedback. Rather multiple sources of information gathering should be involved in the process. This can help reduce biases and favoritism.
Training needs of employees should be constantly monitored. Employees with up to date skills and knowledge about the market, economy and its changing trend can take the organization to the heights of success.
Rewards should be given to employees when they achieve or exceed their targets or do something extra ordinary.
Regular feedback should be given to employees on how they perform their strengths and weak areas that need to be attention.
Effective performance evaluation system should be implemented. The evaluation process currently is not documented properly and is manual. A proper system should be designed for this process. Proper documentation of the evaluation and feedback forms should be ensured.
A meeting should be arranged between the supervisor and employee both before and after the evaluation. In the meeting before evaluation, the employee should be given a chance to identify his achievements and how he is eligible for promotions or rewards. In the meeting after evaluation, the supervisor should give his feedback and suggestions on improving performance.
company also needs to show a better career growth to employees in the organization. So that they can retain employees in the organization. It can help company to reduce the employee turnover rate and overall performance of the organization will improve.
The HR department must also ensure that the supervisors who do appraisals are given proper training before implementing performance management system to enhance their critical skills.
