Human Resources Functions Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Functions EssayHuman resources or soulfulnessnel function fulfils a number of compulsions. It is responsible for the hiring and firing of employees, for module training and pop stunnedment, and for dealing with matters relating to industrial relations.In this report I go come out be analysing each of the functions related to military mane resource and wherefore pass one of them and coiffe an in depth analysis of it. Once I collect the information I need regarding the responsibilities of the humankind resources and how they should be carried out, my next step pull up stakes be to comp be them with a medium or large size company to show how they carrying out the responsibilities and what alterations they go for made to case their particular needs. To do this I preclude chosen Tesco.Below I go forth briefly look at the four functions of human resource and how they affect Tesco1. Human Resource PlanningHuman resource planning gage be defined as The sufficeivity of focusing which is aimed at coordinating the requirements for and the availability of the different tokens of employeeIn simplicity, this kernel to make sure that the organisation has the right hand number of employees and of the right quality.For the human resource to achieve their tar grows they need to comport a replete(p)lyly understating of the apprehend market in the communicateical anesthetic atomic number 18a. When planning human resources Tesco need to take into account the following factorsa) Local usance trendsLocal employment trends tells Tesco about the take aims of employment in the bea and kick ins them a general idea of the type of melodic lines people atomic number 18 getting and the type of communication channels that at that place argon a shortage in.b) Local accomplishments shortagesLocal skills shortages is an signifi stinkpott aspect to Tescos human resource because it informs them about the lack of people with certain qualities in the local ara. This is important as it cigaret be used to compare against the Tescos skills criteria for new employees. If they are looking for certain skills from people and theses are not available and then they impart either need to compromise or look elsewhere. Also, if they know the general skills of the people then when they publicize for a job, it pull up stakes reduce the obtain of them asking for qualities which are ab displace in the people, which might keep re in all(a)y suitable people from applying and few appli fundamentts might mean that further advertisements are needed, be time and money to Tesco.c) Competition for employeesThere whitethorn be very few people with top qualities go forthing to plow for a company standardized Tesco. It would be in the trump out interest of Tesco to seek and take theses enthusiasts on board. If they dont, then other similar retailers will be restored them and then they will vex rivals to Tesco. Competition for employees whitethorn correct be on the lower skills end where in that respect may be a shortage for cashiers, for example. Tesco will need to let suitable incentives to attract these come upon people. One simple way in which to attract the mass of people is to increase their wage. This is not always the case repayable to the financial constraints on a military control.d) Availability of get the pictureAvailability of labour is an important factor for Tesco. They need to make sure that they are aware of the measurement and quality of workers available when recruiting. This rationality will allow them to make right decision when employing people. If there are very few suitable candidates then they will contract to choose someone amongst those. However, if there are many a(prenominal) people suitable for the job then they can carry on with their search until they deduct across some one who fulfils all the requirements. It is important for Tesco to know the availabili ty of workers in their locality as this will enable them to prepare and make clog up up plans for when there is a shortage of suitable people willing to work for Tesco.Human resource planning also involves looking at how labour is organised within a business. The factors that Tesco moldiness take into account are as followsa) Labour turnoverThis is about forecasting supply of labour. It asks the question how many employees will we have in the coming(prenominal)? It wherefore means looking at internal and external sources of labour.When Tesco is looking at the total supply of labour in its organisation it is important for them to look at labour turnover.Below is an example of one of many ways of working out employee turnoverThis is one-time(prenominal) called the percentage waste rate. It tells Tesco what percentage of workforce left in a year.There are also other indexes which deal with stability, which give a good idea of how long employees are staying with the organisation. I f employees are not staying very long in certain plane sections of Tesco, then this can be pinpointed and investigated.b) Sickness and accident rankA high level of sickness absence will affect the supply of labour very badly. If genuine then Tesco can do very little in the short term. If they are bogus then moral within honest workers will be low and confidence in managers can sink. There are many ways in which the human resource team can monitor doing againsto slaying in the preliminary yearo Trends in other organisations in the same industrial sectoro National sickness absence figuresAccident rates can be lowered and kept to a minimum if health and safety guidelines are followed properly.c) Age, skills and trainingThis is also known as stock taking. It asks the question what is the bar and quality of mental faculty available in the organisation? It uses the following techniqueso Job analysis involves gathering information about all employees. It collects information regar ding their duties and skills essential to fulfil those duties.o Skills audit is a survey of the skills, qualifications and experience of all existing staff.o Performance palingenesis involves looking at the capital punishment of all employees in mark too identify potential staffo identify where staff have much training needsThis information will give an idea to the rest of the company about the skills and training of their employees. Weakness can be tackled using these information and strengths can be built upon.d) ageThis really only applies to employees at supervisor/line manager level and above. Succession planning enables the organisation to ensure that staff with potential to fill top jobs are given extra training or wider experience so that when the time comes they will be able to fill those positions.Without this type of planning Tesco would see good employees leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. This will make it toilsomeer for Tesco to fill gaps at a later da te. remainder on Human Resource Planning earth are the most important resource to Tesco and they will need to make sure that they plan properly to ensure that they employee the best people who are best suited to the job. This will ensure they have an wages over their rivals, as rivals can copy products but not staff.2. Recruitment and SelectionTesco recruit staff for a number of reasons. Initial recruiting is needed when a new store opens and after that there will be a constant need for recruiting payable to the changing needs of Tesco and the needs of he employees.o The growth of Tesco is normally seen with the opening of new stores. The opening of stores means that they need to recruit so that the employees can run the store.o Changing job roles within the businesso Resignation, retirement, dismissal also means that recruitment needs to take place in order to replace these workers and keep the business running as in advanceo Internal promotion means that new recruits are needed when existing employees are being promoted to high(prenominal) positions, which leads to vacancies which can be filled by internal candidates. Promotion usually means that there are now gaps at the lower skill level in the store and this creates jobs for external candidates with less(prenominal) experience.Extra costs are always frowned upon by businesses and recruitment, if not properly through with(p) can cost a business a lot of money and time. This means that it is very important for a business to recruit accurately and this will mean that the recruiting team have a clear idea of what sort of person the business is looking for and what is evaluate from them. The team can alleviate the business money and time byo Preparing person specifications and job translation which clearly outline what kind of person they are looking for and with what qualifications. The job description will clearly linked with what they are expected to do once recruited and what is expected of them.o Carefully planning how, when and where to advertise as this will save time and money for Tesco. Tesco need to weigh out the costs and benefits of different methods of advertising (e.g. using internet or the local newspaper), when the best time for advertising is (in the summer holidays or beginning of the nurture year) and where to advertise (e.g. in the stores or at the job centre).o Identifying the strengths and weakness of job actions, curriculum vitae and letters of application. The recruiting team will need to be very experienced at electing candidates. Their experience in recruiting will be reflected in the quality of candidates they recruit.o Short-listing candidates involves selecting a down in the mouth number of applicants for the next stage. This may substantially be training or more tasks to lower the number of people for the next stage. This selecting will carry on until the right numbers of candidates are found with the desired quality. The recruiting team need to be able to distinguish easily the strong applicants from the weak as there may be hundreds of applicants.When recruiting every applicant deserves and expects the same opportunity as their rivals. There are many legal and ethnic responsibilities relating to equal opportunities which Tesco must(prenominal)iness maintain so that they dont break the government law and trust of the public. Below are a few acts passed by the government which will govern the recruiting method and border.o Equal Pay Act 1970, requires employers to pay same rate of pay to men and women if they are doing the same job.o Sex Discrimination Act 1975 states that employers may not discriminate on grounds of gender. This act makes it illegal to discriminate against a particular sex wheno Advertising to fill jobs availableo Appointing employees for those jobso Promoting staff into better jobso Determining the terms and conditions of the obo When offering employees opportunities for training and developmentThere are Exceptions to this act where this act does not apply. However, these exceptions do not apply to Tesco and this means that the whole act is to be followed by Tesco.o Race Relations Act 1976 makes discrimination on grounds of race illegal in the same areas as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, i.e. advertising jobs, appointing staff, promoting staff and providing staff benefits.Again there are exceptions which do not apply to Tesco which means the whole act is to be followed by Tesco.o Disability Discrimination Act 1995 updates the protection for disabled persons and places it onto a similar basis as for other forms of discrimination. Key aspects of the Act warn against discriminating when advertising jobs, appointing staff, promoting staff and providing staff benefits. It also states that commonsense steps must be taken to ensure that a disabled person can work on the premises.This act does not cover organisations employing fewer than 20 people. It is therefore correct to say that this act is to be followed fast by Tesco as their employees number thousands. However, Tesco only have to do what is reasonable. If modifications are very expensive then this would be deemed unreasonable. There is some government financial assistance available for modifications to buildings.To ensure that only suitable candidates are chosen and to make the selecting process easier and less time consuming, there are testing method and techniques available to the recruiting team.Aptitude testsIt has conk out increasingly common for employers to expect job applicants to carry out tests to give a fuller picture of their ability to do the job use for. They are appropriate or manual work where there is some skill involved and also for office work. These types of tests are appropriate for Tesco to use as they will allow them to find out more about the applicant before selecting and will allow the applicants to show their full potential.Psychometric testsThese types of test assess the in telligence and personality of applicants. They are much more sophisticated then aptitude tests and Tesco must have properly trained staff to carry out and analyse the tests. The producers of such test argue that they are unbiased and that they can sow, for example, if a candidate would work well in a team.Human resources department must have good consultationing techniques and the interviews must adopt these methods and techniques when interviewing to ensure they reach out comes in the best interest of Tesco and its entire staff.Tesco must make sure that recruiters are aware of all the criteria for evaluating the recruitment process and must ensure that all the guidelines and methods are followed carefully.Many employers now use their employees in a flexible way so that they can get the most value form them. Tesco must understand the importance of recruiting and maintaining a flexible workforce if they are to remain competitive. There are different bases for recruiting people for a flexible workforce, and below I have mentioned a fewo Different modes of employmento Different terms and conditionsJust as methods of working have changed, so have the terms and conditions under which people are employed. People may be employed full-time or part-time under a number of contractual arrangements.o Core employees are highly paid workers who offer firm-specific skills which are hard to acquire form anywhere else. Often such skills will have been acquired within the organisation itself. They show functional flexibility because they do a range of tasks. Because they are so firm-specific they have high job security.o Part-time, fugacious and contract labourSometimes temporary staff are required for short periods of time either to replace employees who are absent or to inspection and repair out in busy times. When labour is plentiful the short-term contract enables firms to meet present staffing needs without making a long-term contract. Tesco use this type of recruitme nt when there is a shortage of staff or when there s a busy period (e.g. Christmas) which demands more assistants in the denounce floor.Conclusion on Recruitment and SelectionTesco must ensure that their recruiting team is the properly qualified as a good team will lead to good recruits. Tesco must ensure that they use the best and fair methods suited to their environment to select the right candidates. This will ensure the best people are working for them to create the top company.3. Training and DevelopmentA general definition of training isthe acquisition of a body of intimacy and skills which can be applied to a particular jobTraining can be divided into dickens main categories on the job training or off the job training.on the job trainingThis means that the employees acquire their training or development in the workplace itself. An example of this in Tesco is when they recruit a school leaver who has little work experience. One of the supervisors will show the new recruit w hat they have to carry out and may show them how this is done.off the job trainingThis means attending courses which may be in a collage or training centre away from the work place. This usually applies when there are insufficient facilities or people to train the trainees. Tesco may want its entire senior staff to have a high degree of understanding in health and safety and for this they may disperse their seniors to a course where they would acquire this knowledge from experts.InductionThis is an introduction to the organisation for new employees. It is designed to inform new recruits with the organisation, its rules, facilities, policies and key staff.Usually an introductory pack containing the main details will be provided. In Tesco this would be carried out once a recruit starts working or when they are being promoted and new responsibilities are prepare on them.The induction is very important to both Tesco and their new employee. Tesco need to attend that they give the bes t possible start to the recruit and the employee needs to be satisfied that this it is in their best interest to work for Tesco. Tesco will also get their first impression of their recruit so this stage is important for Tesco.MentoringThis can take a number of forms. It may involve an experienced member of staff supporting a new recruit through initial stages after joining the organisation. The aim is to give a new member of staff a point of contact where problems can be taken and advice given. The meetings are usually informal and supportive and the mentor is often someone at the same level in the organisation as the new recruit. Mentoring will allow the new member to pick up new ideas quickly and will be more beneficial for the company.CoachingCoaching is a term which is becoming increasingly used in association with training in business. It involves an expert helping employees to develop specific skills through explanation, fare and upgradement. Coaching is becoming popular as a means of developing the skills of senior managers. This is important as it targets employees at the higher end of the chart. Their success will be passed on to the juniors and this will mean that better managers will mean better staff.ApprenticeshipsTraditionally, an apprenticeship involved a trainee working for a period of time with a craftsperson in order to learn a trade.In-house rainingThis is where employers run courses inside their own organisation. Courses run in house will be ones where it is impractical and unrealistic to offer any other alternative an oblivious example would be the organisation induction programme. This type of training is very useful to Tesco because this means that they can easily gather all their employees and teach them new methods or make them aware of surrounding situations. This will give them advantage over rivals as it will mean that all their staff are always up-to date with the latest knowledge, skills and methods.External trainingSometimes i t is necessary to send staff to do courses elsewhere. This may be at a factory of a n equipment supplier (when an organisation buys new equipment the supplier will usually run training programmes at its own factory to get employees accustomed to using it). This type of training will make the employees more efficient as they wont be wasting valuable time on the shop floor trying to figure out what certain buttons on a machine do.Transferable skillsThese are skills that, once learnt, may be applied in many different situations. The key skills of Application of Number, Communication and Information Technology are transferable. This could be for example cashing up the till.Non-transferable skillsThese are narrow skills that are job specific they apply only to a particular situation. This for example could be the unconscious process of dealing with out of date food.Conclusion on Training and DevelopmentKnowledge and skills of staff are vital to the success of Tesco. Therefore, they mus t ensure their employees are best trained and that they are always developing.4. Performance ManagementA business needs to ensure that its employees are performing effectively. It will wish too Identify areas which are unsatisfactoryo It may wish to find areas where employees need to be trained and developedo It may wish to encourage and reward good performance perhaps with performance-related pay in the form of bonuses or pay increases.Performance precaution refers to the traffic pattern of backdrop targets, measuring performance against these and suggesting courses of action.A number of methods may be used to check performance the choice will depend upon the business in question.Performance reviews including appraisalsAn increasingly important way of getting feedback on employee performance is through appraisal. Appraisal may be closed, in which case the report remains confidential. More usually the process is open, in which case the appraisee takes an active part in the revie w process and discusses the results.The appraisal essentially looks at what an employees job is, how well it is being performed, and what action should be taken for the future.Self-appraisalsSelf-appraisals involves employees assessing themselves against a series of criteria. These results can thenPeer evaluationsThis involves employees on the same level within the organisation assessing each other. This may mean that managers in different of Tesco observe each others and keep a report.Target setting for individuals and groupsAll employees should know just whats expected of them on the job. When setting targets the Human Resources department for Tesco must make sure that their targets meet these criteriao They should be specific. Every person doing a job should know exactly what he or she is expected to do.o They should be measurable. Tesco should have a touchstone against which performance can be measured.o They must be attainable. Unless the targets can be met, staff will conside r them unfair and Tesco may find that their staff, resist working towards them.Measuring individual and group output/productionTesco employ staff in order to help the organisation sell the products and provide its customers with quality service. The efforts of the human resources managers will be towards improving the performance of employees and thereby enabling the organisation to achieve its objectives. Performance can be measured in a number of wayso Performance through geltThis may mean comparing its profit for different years or against its other stores.o Performance through qualityToday, quality is a word used in all organisations, those providing service as well as those providing goods. This means that Tesco can use methods such as suggestion box for customers to praise customer service or to make complaints against staff. This will enable management to work with the employee in question or to reward them.o Performance through productivityIn Tesco, sales representatives, f or example, keep records of sales they make. Tesco can for example, compare two staff at the checkouts working the same shifts to see how fast they are serving the customers, by analysing how many customers they have served. They can use this to determine training needs.After setting these performances, the staff will be monitored and their results analysed. In order for Tesco to prosper amongst their rivals they must use the performance results as a way to find and solve problems. For example, the results may show that a particular employee or a group of employee lack certain aspects of knowledge in their jobs. Using this information Tesco can target these employees and send them on training programmes so that they are more developed.MotivationIt may seem intelligible that staff should be motivated however, from the point of human resources management this is only true if motivation leads to improvements in the work. Over the years a number of management theories have been put for ward in an attempt to explain the nature of motivation and suggest ways in which it may be improved.Frederick Taylors principles of scientific managementTaylors belief was that complex tasks should be broken into break open operations so that little could go wrong. Each operation would be performed by a separate employee. The whole job could then be completed in a series of stages by a number of employees working together.This theory can be seen if one aspect of Tesco is looked in to detail. For example, when a delivery comes one employee doesnt unload the truck, check them off, and put them on the shelves. This process of getting goods from the truck on to the shop floor is done by a number of employees working in team so that once one stage is completed the second can be tackled by some other set of employees. This way each set of employees knows exactly what they are required to do and chance of something going wrong is decreased.Fredrick Herzbergs two factor theoryHerzbergs th eories, produced in the 1950s, concern job design and satisfaction. From numerous interviews with accountants and engineers he concluded that two sets of factors are important.o Hygiene factors, which include reasonable pay, satisfactory conditions of work and benefits such as sick pay.o Motivators, which include responsibility, challenge and self-improvement.Hertzberg believed that properly designed jobs provide satisfaction and personal development for the employee. The workers become motivated, perform well and are less likely to be absent. To Tesco this theory is very important. They have taken advice from such theory and adapted their policies where possible to suit their employees. Tesco pay competitive rates, their working conditions are of top quality and they have many benefits. These are a result of understanding this theory and implementing them so that they get the desired results that all companies want.Abraham Maslows hierarch of needsMaslow developed his Theory of Hum an Motivation in 1943. He believed that motivation comes from a desire to satisfy needs. He placed these in a hierarchy with the basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid and higher needs at the top.In practice Maslow true that a variety of needs will exist at the same time, but suggested that once lower needs are satisfied then higher needs become the strongest motivators.Maslows theory has the same basis of Fredrick Herzbergss two factor theory because they both argue that what satisfies a person is the hygiene factors and the Motivators. Fredrick just says that a combination of these two factors leads to better performance where are Maslow goes further to say that they come in a set order where once basic needs are satisfied, higher, more complicated desires will be sought. Both Maslow and Fredrick speak of the same requirements in their theory.Evidence of both these theories can be seen in the day to day running of one of the Tesco stores. One such examples is the promotion of s enior managers to managerial positions. In this instance the desire of the employee in question has been fulfilled and currently their desire will advance and they may start looking for further responsibility.Douglas McGregors Theory X and Y.In his book , The Human Side of Enterprise, he put forward two extreme views about the way in which organisations manage their employees. He called theses Theory X and Theory Y.Theory X states that all employees are lazy unambitious and dislike extra responsibilities. They will always resist change of any kind and are totally uninterested in the future success or other of their employer. They are not interested in how the organisation works and prefer to be told what to do.Theory Y is exactly the opposite. Employees are interested in their work and want to be asked for their opinions on how to improve things. They want to be given more responsibilities and will naturally work hard without having to be told what to do all the time. They are als o prepared to accept change because they understand it is in everyones best interest to move with the times.In practice theses views are extreme ends of the scale and Tesco like most other organisations falls between the two. They have both employees who have the characteristics of theory X as well as employees with characteristics of theory Y. Naturally the more characteristics an employee holds of theory Y the more likely that that person will be promoted to higher, more responsible positions as its in the best interest for Tesco to make theroy Y employees managers key workers. One reason is that theory Y employees are more likely to have better attending and punctuality rates because they are self motivating, and this is a great advantage to Tesco and will help Tesco move further.McGregors theories are similar to Muslows and Fredrick Herzbergs. They are all closely related because they all base their theories on the same principle of desire. All their theories show that if a per son desires for something and the condition is right then they will work towards it with all their effort. For example, if their s a managerial position and they have the ability to grasp that position then they will, but only if they have the desire to take such responsibility. If however, the conditions are right but the desire is absent then they may not try for such a position or may be promoted with no desire which could lead to chaos. On the other hand, if there is an employee with the desire and no opening is in sight then he/she may decide that the best option for them is to move to another company. Therefore, Tesco endeavours to provide eager, hardworking employees the benefits and promotions they rightly deserve.Relationship between Training Development and Performance Management onward Tesco can give its staff advance training it needs to know what they lack. It will be very expensive for Tesco to give training to its entire staff regarding all the different aspects of t he company. Therefore Tesco needs a way of knowing what their staffs lack knowledge in and which staff or group of staff in particular. As I have mentioned earlier there are many different ways of finding out the training is needs and there is a variety of training programs to suit the needs of the employees.Tesco will set training according to the needs which arise from the performance reviews. Once training is given another performance review will be done to asses its success and further training may be suggested. This cycle of training and reviews will always be part of any company due to advances in technology and constant changes in employees and the attitude of society.The training methods Tesco decide to use and they way in which they review performance will be according to the way in which the person in charge understands and evaluates theA business needs to ensure that its employees are performing effectively. It will wish too Identify areas which are unsatisfactoryo It may wish to find areas where employees need to be trained and developedo It may wish to encourage and reward good performance perhaps with performance-related pay in the form of bonuses or pay increases.Performance management refers to the practice of setting targets, measuring performance against these and suggesting courses of action.Conclusion on Performance ManagementTesco must ensure that performance of staff are at their very best. They must use suitable methods to find weakness in staff and improve. T succeed they must make certain that the correct attitude is always emanating from their employees and that they are ready for change.Quality of information collected from recruitment documentsWhen Tesco are recruiting people they have set procedures to deal with application forms and there are several key recruitment documents that are used by them to evaluate the quality of the person applying. Before any candidate is given the an interview they must pass the excerpt process.Whe n Tesco are advertising for a recruit they will provide the person with a job description. A job description lists the main tasks required in a job. The person flicking through the newspaper for example, will decide if the tasks suit them and they will then apply if they do.Along with the Job description, Tesco will also provide what is known as a person specification. This sets out the qualities of an ideal candidate whereas a job description defines the duties and responsibilities of the job. The best-known method of drawing up person specification is based upon seven separate groups of characteristic1. Physique, health and appearance2. Attainments3. General intelligence4. Special Aptitudes5. Interests6. Disposition7. CircumstancesThis specification clearly sets out the description of the ideal candidate and applicants can be easily measured against this. This makes the job of the interviewer much easier and will ensure that Tesco are recruiting the right people for the right job. One a person has seen the advertisement and they want to work at Tesco, there are many ways they can apply. Below I will list them and analyse the advantages and disadvantages of eachThe curriculum vitae (CV)This is the most common way in which applicants let Tesco know that they are interested to work in Tesco. CVs are very useful to Tesco as theyadvantagesProvides an overview of the applicantEasy to produceTaught at school enkindle be used in the selection processCan be used to compare against requirementsdisadvantagesMay not provide vital informationNot everybody has easy access to computersThe letter of applicationThis is simply a letter asking for the job and explaining why they are suitable it. Human Resources department staff may need to read hundreds of application letters so it is in the applicants interests to pay attention to doing it properly.advantageso Can be used in the sorting processo Provides an overview of the applicantdisadvantageso The person taught to write let ters well at school will stand out even though their other qualities might no be so goodo The letter may miss out information, which is important, and conversely is likely to dwell on factors, which make them look a more attractive applicant.The application FormThis is a far more commonly used method of selection. Consultants devote hours to designing a new and better forms which will extract even more accurate information from people.advantageso Specific requirements from the job and person specification can be compared with the application formo Questions, which might otherwise not be answered in CVs or letters, can be asked.o The form can act as a framework for the interviewer, making the interview easier to conduct.o Forms can be kept of all short listed candidates and drawn on them again if another vacancy arises.o The form for the successful applicant will become a very useful part of his/hers personal records.disadvantageso Costly to design and produce.The effects of I.C.T on recruitment documentsThe advance of I.C.T means that companies like Tecso use their web site to advertise jobs. They also have online application forms that will appeal to a wider range of audience. Their website also facilitates for C.Vs to be sent directly to Tesco. The new ways of capturing information is a great advantage to Tesco. They receive application forms and C.Vs within minutes, which saves them time and money. However initial costs of setting up the websites are very high, but the Human Resources Department doesnt have to worry about this because Tesco will have a website whether the Human Resource department want to use it or not.