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Planning for and Recruiting Human Resources

32 important questions on Planning for and Recruiting Human Resources

What is human resource planning?

The process of comparing the present state of the organisation with its goals for the future, and seeing which changes in HR must be made to reach those goals

What are the 3 stages of human resource planning?

1. Forecasting
2. Goal setting and strategic planning
3. Program implementation and evaluation

What is the forecasting stage of HRP?

Attempts to determine the supply and demand of human resources to see which areas in the business might get to deal with shortages or surpluses in the future

What are the 3 important forecasting decisions in HRP?

1. Forecasting labour demand
2. Forecasting labour supply
3. Determining labour surplus/shortage

What is trend analysis?

Constructing and applying statistical models for predicting labour demand for the next year, using leading indicators (relatively objective measures from last year)

What is a transitional matrix?

Used in forecasting labour supply. Lists job categories held in one period and shows proportion of employees in each of those job categories for a future period. Should take external trends in consideration as well

What are the 3 most important options for reducing a labour surplus?

1. Downsizing
2. Reducing hours (cut working hours and costs associated)
3. Early-retirement programs

What are the 4 objectives that entail downsizing?

1. Reducing costs
2. Replacing labour with technology
3. Mergers and acquisitions
4. Moving to more economical locations

What are the disadvantages of downsizing?

1. Lower customer-service levels
2. Loss of talent
3. Disrupts social networks through which employees are creative
4. Employee demoralisation, risk aversity
5. Affects company image --> difficulty attracting new personnel

Why would a company pick reducing hours over downsizing?

More equitable way to survive a fall in demand and doesn't require severance pay

What are the 2 most important ways to deal with a labour shortage?

1. Outsourcing and hiring temporary workers
2. Overtime and expanded hours

What are the benefits of temporary workers?

1. Flexibility and efficiency
2. Can be turned to permanent workers if necessary
3. Lower costs due to lack of administrative tasks and financial burdens
4. Employee benefits costs are reduced
5. Training sometimes done by the temp agency
6. Temps can provide valuable insights and and an objective POV

What are the disadvantages of hiring a contractor?

1. Company is not supposed to directly supervise them, and thus can't dictate how many hours should be spend on a project
2. If treated as an employee, legal obligations should bet aken into consideration

What are the disadvantages of outsourcing?

1. Quality control problems
2. Security violations
3. Poor customer service

What are the 4 guidelines for successful outsourcing?

1. Learn whether provider has necessary skills company needs
2. Do not offshore for work that requires tight security
3. Start small and monitor work closely
4. Look for outsourcing opportunities in areas that promote growth

What are affirmative-action plans?

Plans that forecast and monitor proportions of employees that are part of minority groups, and look at the representation of these groups

What is a workforce utilisation review?

A comparison between the proportion of employees in a protected group and the proportion it presents in a relevant labour market

What are the 4 personnel policies that are especially relevant to vacancy characteristics?

1. Internal vs. External recruiting
2. Lead-the-market pay strategies (pay level that exceeds current market level to attract high talent)
3. Employment-at-will policies (if there is no contract stating otherwise, both parties may end employment at any time)
4. Image advertising (create favourable view of company)

What is a due-process policy?

Policy that formally lays out the steps an employee can take to appeal an employer's decision to terminate an employee

What are the most important recruitment sources?

a. Internal sources (job posting)
b. External sources:

1. Direct applicants vs. Referrals
2. Electronic recruitment
3. Advertisements in newspapers and periodicals
4. Public employment agencies
5. Private employment agencies
6. Colleges and universities

What is the difference between direct applicants and referrals?

Direct applicants are people who apply for a vacancy without prompting from the organisation. Referrals are.

What are the advantages of using referrals in recruitment?

1. Lower costs than formal recruitment
2. Less pressure on recruitment system of the organisation

What are the disadvantages of using referrals in recruitment?

1. Limits exposure to new ideas
2. Unfair hiring, nepotism, etc.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of electronic recruitment?

Advantage: Target people that match the company profile
Disadvantage: Large boards do not distinguish between job seekers

What is the difference between public and private employment agencies?

Private agencies are for white collar workers and ask a fee for the referral, and anyone can sign up whether they are employed or not

What is a yield ratio?

Percentage of applicants who successfully move from one stage of the recruitment/selection process to the next. High ratio indicates a fruitful source

What is the cost per hire?

Measure of recruitment success that looks at how much money was spent to fill a vacancy. Low cost indicates fruitful source

In what ways can recruiters have a positive effect on recruitment?

1. Provide timely feedback
2. Should avoid offensive behaviour
3. Recruit with teams rather than individual recruiters

What 2 main aspects do people consider when applying for a job?

1. Attractiveness
2. Possible fit

What is the difference between diffuse and specific cues?

Diffuse cues are about how the environment is, while specific cues are specific statements about the company (about the benefits for example)

What is the wide nets approach to recruiting?

When there are fewer people for the job and you need to work hard to get it filled

What is the wide trawls approach to recruiting?

When there are a lot of people available for low-skilled jobs

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Human Resource Management

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