MODULE 3

1
MODULE 3

• Recruitment, Selection and Development of
  Administrative Employees

2
Where have we been?

• Where have we been?
• Basic management principles
• Systems view of management
• Functions of management
• Skills required by managers
• Definition and functions of administrative
  management
• Responsibilities of administrative manager
• Change in administrative management and skills
  required to cope with change
• Telecommuting and the virtual office

3
Where to now?

• Human Resource Management relating to
  administrative staff ie
• Within the context which has been set in the
  first two modules we now look at
• Recruitment
• Selection
• Training and development of administrative
  employees

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Components of Human Resource Management

• Human resource Planning
• Recruitment
• Decruitment
• Selection
• Orientation
• Employee Training
• Compensation and Benefits
• Performance appraisal
• Career development
• Industrial relations
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.2 (fig 3.1)

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Environmental constraints
Identification and selection of competent
employees
Human resource planning
Recruitment
Selection
Decruitment
Adapted and competent employees with up-to-date
skills and knowledge
Orientation
Training
Competent and high-performing employees who are
capable of sustaining this high performance over
the long term
Satisfactory industrial relations
Performance Appraisal
Career Development
Compensation and benefits
Environmental constraints
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3 Objectives of Human Resource Management

• Figure 3.1 portrays the three objectives of Human
  Resource Management as
• Identification and selection of competent
  employees.
• Adapted and competent employees with up-to-date
  skills and knowledge.
• Competent and high performing employees capable
  of sustaining high performance over the long
  term.
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.3 (fig 3.1)

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Human Resource Management working within
environmental constraints

• Government laws and regulations
• Union policies (Collective Bargaining and
  Enterprise Agreements)
• Equal employment opportunities
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.3

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Legislation affecting Personnel Decisions

• Racial Discrimination Act, (1975)
• Sex Discrimination Act, (1984)
• Human right and Equal Opportunity Commission Act
  , (1986)
• Commonwealth Employees Rehabilitation and
  Compensation Act, (1988)
• Industrial Relations Act (1988)
• Disability Discrimination Act, (1992)
• Workplace Relations Act, (1996)
• Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act,
  (1999)
• Refer Study Guide, p. 3.4

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Planning Administrative Staffing Needs
HRM Component 1

• The three steps to planning administrative
  staffing
• Assessing current administrative staff resources
• Assessing future administrative staffing
  requirements
• Developing a program to meet future
  administrative staffing needs
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.5

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Assessing current administrative staff resources
PLANNING STAFFING NEEDS (1)

• HUMAN RESOURCE INVENTORY
• Informs the admin manager as to the talents and
  skills available amongst admin staff
• Employees fill out forms providing information
  relating to
• Education
• Training
• Prior employment
• Languages spoken
• Capabilities
• Specialised skills

• JOB ANALYSIS
• Determines the type of person needed to fill each
  job
• Defines -
• Jobs within admin area
• Duties of person fulfilling the job
• Minimal knowledge, skills and abilities required
• Personal attributes considered desirable

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JOB ANALYSIS

• Determines type of person needed to fill each job
  through
• Observation
• Interviews
• Structured questionnaire
• Technical conference
• Employee log

Traditionally missing for admin work
Provides a basis for
JOB DESCRIPTION
JOB SPECIFICATION
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Uses for Job Analysis

• determine relative worth of jobs
• ensure companies do not violate equal pay for
  equal work
• aid supervisor and employee in defining duties
  and responsibilities of each employee
• provide justification for existence of the job
  and where it fits into the rest of the
  organisation
• determine recruitment needs and information
  necessary for employment decisions
• serve as the basis for establishing career
  development programs/paths
• serve to convey to potential job applicants what
  will be expected

Visit the following website and then complete
Activity 3.1
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Job Description and Job Specification
See Handouts

• Job description
• A statement of what a job holder does, how it is
  done and why it is done covers job content,
  environment and conditions of employment
• Job specification
• A statement of minimum acceptable qualifications
  needed to perform a job successfully also
  referred to as person specification ie identifies
  the knowledge, skills and abilities needed to do
  the job effectively.

Visit the following websites and then prepare a
position (job) description for an administrative
position which you have designed
http//www.job-analysis.net/G051.thm and
http//www.job-analysis.net/G908.htm
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Assessing future admin staffing requirements
PLANNING STAFFING NEEDS (2)

• Gauged by examination of organisations
  objectives and strategies
• Determined by
• Demand for organisations products
• Degree of organisational restructuring

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Developing a program to meet future staffing needs
PLANNING STAFFING NEEDS (3)
A COMPLEX TASK
Different personal attributes
Increased skill requirements
Constant change
Obsolete skills
Increased autonomy
Increased task ranges
Upskilling
Down-skilling
Need for administrative manager to be aware of
changes taking place in admin work and with
likely future trends
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Recruitment/Decruitment
HRM Component 2

• Recruitment..the process of locating, identifying
  and attracting capable applicants
• (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg and Coulter, 2000)
• Decruitment techniques for reducing the labour
  supply within an organisation
• Eg firing, layoffs, attrition, transfers, reduced
  work-weeks, early retirement

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Sources for Job Candidates

• Internal Search
• Advertisements
• Employee Referrals
• Public Employment Agencies
• Private Employment Agencies
• School Placement
• Temporary Help Services
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.7 (fig 3.2)

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Internal v External Recruitment
INTERNAL
EXTERNAL

• ADVANTAGES
• Cheaper than external recruitment
• Provides a worker whose strengths and weaknesses
  are already known
• Ensures continuity of employment
• Promotes loyalty to the organisation
• Builds morals
• Motivates employees to achieve better performance

• ADVANTAGES
• May introduce different perspectives and varied
  experiences to rejuvenate an organisation
• May reduce complacency amongst current employees
• May be cheaper than training a professional
• May help avoid political appointments in the
  organisation

What are the disadvantages of each type of
recuitment?
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Time to think!

• What is the best recruitment strategy according
  to Robbins et al? Why?
• How is the recruitment process being affected by
  information technology? See an example of a
  recruitment website.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of
  computer technology for organisations seeking
  potential job candidates

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Efficient Selection of Administration Staff
HRM Component 3

• Efficient selection of administrative staff is
  crucial because
• An administrative unit cannot run efficiently
  with inappropriate abilities or attitudes amongst
  staff
• Recruitment and training is costly and
  time-consuming and therefore important that the
  best applicant/s is chosen
• High staff turnover reflects poorly on those
  responsible for staff selection and is highly
  disruptive to the administrative function
• Inappropriate staff selection can lead to unhappy
  and inefficient employees
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.9

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Time to think!

• What factors traditionally formed the basis for
  selecting administrative staff?
• In what ways has the basis for selection of
  administrative staff changed?
• What has caused the change in the basis for
  selection of administrative staff?

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Steps in the Selection Process

• Receipt of letter of application, application
  form and resume/curriculum vitae
• Shortlisting of applicants
• Interview of shortlisted applicants
• Reference checks
• Letter of offer sent to successful applicant
• Refer Study Guide, p. 3.10

May also involve preemployment testing such as
intelligence tests, aptitude tests, achievement
tests, personality and psychological tests and
interests tests
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The Selection Interview

• The following steps will help ensure a successful
  selection interview
• Structure a fixed set of questions for all
  applicants
• Have detailed information about the job for which
  applicants are interviewing
• Minimise any prior knowledge of applicants
  background, experience, interests, test scores or
  other characteristics
• Ask behavioural questions that require applicants
  to give detailed accounts of actual job
  behaviours
• Use a standardised evaluation form
• Take notes during the interview
• Avoid short interviews that encourage premature
  decision making.
• Refer Selected Reading 3.1, p. 40 (Table 11-5)

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Developing Administration Staff
HRM Component 4

• The two principal activities involved in
  developing administrative staff
• An effective, induction/orientation into the
  organisation
• Ongoing training and developmental activities
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.11

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The purpose of induction

• To ensure that the new recruit quickly becomes a
  capable staff member
• To ensure that the new recruit is destined for a
  long and productive stay with the organisation

See the following websites for more information
on recruitment and induction http//www.acas.org.
uk/employment/et_rsw.html http//www.equalitydirec
t.org.uk/chap2/c2_ind.htm
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Advantages of Effective Induction

• Gives new staff a favorable impression of the
  organisation and boosts enthusiasm.
• Establishes a positive working relationship with
  the new staff member and presents a chance to
  explain rules and regulations to avoid future
  misunderstandings.
• Removes apprehension about starting in a new job.
• Reduces time spent ineffectively by providing a
  sensible program to follow for the first few days
  on the job.
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.11 (fig 3.4)

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Items to include in an Induction Program

• General background information about the
  organisation.
• Introduction to lines of communication.
• General industry Information.
• Information on the overall working environment,
  policies, rules, work practices.
• Details of relevant awards and agreements, system
  of pay, superannuation.
• Policy on smoking, alcohol, misconduct, holidays,
  what to do if late or ill.
• A tour of the organisation other departments,
  main functional areas.
• Grievance Procedure
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.12 (fig 3.5)
• Excerpt from Cole, K. (1998)

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Induction to the Department

• Health and safety requirements
• Hours of work, breaks, finishing time
• Time keeping and recording procedures
• Security systems, e.g. fire drills, fire warden,
  location of extinguishers, warning signals
• Amenities wash rooms, lockers, canteen, café
  bar, car park.
• Department tour the work layout
• Review of job description
• Introduction to workmates, leading hands, shop
  steward
• Outline of training to be given
• Pay
• Everything about the employees job
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.12 (fig 3.5)
• Excerpt from Cole, K. (1998)

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Training

• ..providing individuals with appropriate
  experiences and materials which are appropriately
  organised to achieve learning outcomes
• Learning .. changes that occur to behavioural
  patterns and attitudes of employees

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Benefits of training
HRM Component 5

• Direct Benefit
• should help achieve organisational objectives
  through increased productivity, improved quality
  of work and reduced costs.
• Indirect Benefit
• improved skills, attitudes, and work habits of
  employees as well as increasing their knowledge
  and experiences.
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.13

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Other possible benefits of training

• Improved competitive position for the firm
• Better preparation of employees for promotion
• More self-confident office employees (reduces the
  need for close supervision)
• More effective employee performance appraisal
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.13

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Time to think!

• What two (2) factors have resulted in
  considerable change in training and development
  needs of administrative staff in recent decades?
• Odgers and Keeling (2000) state that workers are
  increasingly required to locate, assess and apply
  information as opposed to remembering content.
  Do you agree? If so, provide some examples.
• What do Odgers and Keeling mean by portable
  skills?
• Critically evaluate the possible impact of the
  increasing trend towards protean careers on
  organisational training and development.

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Goals for an Office Training program

• As outlined by Keeling and Kallaus (1996)
• Entry-level (initial) training by which employees
  qualify for entry-job assignments.
• Remedial training to correct deficiencies in work
  habits, attitudes, knowledge, skills or job
  performance.
• Retraining for workers whose jobs have changed or
  become obsolete
• Cross-training to develop multi-skilled workers
• Diversity training to share information about the
  changing demographics of the workforce
• Supervisory training and management development
  (STMD)
• Refer Study Book, p. 3.14

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Principles of Successful Training Programs

• Principle of Commitment
• Principle of Responsibility
• Principle of Planning and Implementation
• Principle of Evaluation
• Principle of Feedback
• Refer Study Guide, p. 3.14

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Keeling and Kallauss training principles
Principle of Planning and Implementation Training
gap needs to be identified together with
detailed objectives for implementing training
Principle of Commitment Needs management to be
committed to learning organisation
Principle of Responsibility Needs management to
be committed to learning organisation
Principle of Feedback Results need to be
communicated to managers and supervisors involved
with trainees
Principle of Evaluation Program should provide
for periodic evaluation and measurement of
effectiveness
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Consolidation of Module 3

• Complete the time to think exercises
• Complete Activity 3.1 and 3.2 on page 3.6of study
  book
• Complete Activity based on Reading on page 3.11
  of study book
• Complete Activity 3.4 on page 3.13 of study book
• Complete Activity 3.5 on page 3.15 of study book