HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

UNIT :3

Recruitment policy

Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employers and stimulating them to apply
for jobs in the organisation. The efficient operation of the enterprise and its future depends upon
recruitment policy.

Recruitment Policy

A good recruitment policy should have the following considerations.

Recruitment should be made by central institute. Every department should send its
requirement.

Recruitment should be made according to posts fallen vacant.

Vacancies must be approved by competent authorities.

Recruitment should be based upon competence and ability of the applicant.

Recruitment should be made by approved and appropriate source.

Employees should be clearly told about the nature of work, remuneration and other
service conditions.

Recruitment should be made by competent and experienced employees, so that they may
ask questions ascertain their suitability.

Recruitment should be fair and free from any favor and pressure.

There should not be false assurance given to candidates about promotion, wages and
other amenities, because in future, if the assurance is not met the employee will lose his
interest in the work.

Recruitment policy should be elastic, clear and comprehensive, so that necessary

improvement and modification can be made as per the real situations.

Sources of Recruitment :
The various sources of recruitment are generally classified as internal source and external source.
(a) Internal Sources : This refers to the recruitment from within the company. The various
internal sources are promotion, transfer, past employees and internal advertisements.

(b) External Sources : External sources refers to the practice of getting suitable persons from
outside. The various external sources are advertisement, employment exchange, past employees,
private placement agencies and consultants, walks-ins, campus recruitment, trade unions, etc.
The following external sources of recruitment are commonly used by the big enterprises:

1. Direct Recruitment: An important source of recruitment is direct recruitment by placing a

notice on the notice board of the enterprise specifying the details of the jobs available. It is also
known as recruitment at factory gate. The practice of direct recruitment is generally followed for
filling casual vacancies requiring unskilled workers. Such workers are known as casual or badli
workers and they are paid remuneration on daily-wage basis. This method of recruitment is very
cheap as it does not involve any cost of advertising vacancies.

2. Casual Callers or Unsolicited Applications: The organisations which are regarded as good
employers draw a steady stream of unsolicited applications in their offices. This serves as a
valuable source of manpower. If adequate attention is paid to maintain pending application
folders for various jobs, the personnel department may find the unsolicited applications useful in
filling the vacancies whenever they arise. The merit of this source of recruitment is that it avoids
the costs of recruiting workforce from other sources.

3. Media Advertisement: Advertisement in newspapers or trade and professional journals is

generally used when qualified and experienced personnel are not available from other sources.
Most of the senior positions in industry as well as commerce are filled by this method. The
advantage of advertising is that more information about the organization job descriptions and job
specifications can be given in advertisement to allow self-screening by the prospective
candidates. Advertisement gives the management a wider range of candidates from which to
choose. Its disadvantage is that is may bring in a flood of response, and many times, from quite
unsuitable candidates.

4. Employment Agencies: Employment exchanges run by the Government are regarded as a

good source of recruitment for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled operative jobs. In some cases,
compulsory notification of vacancies to the employment exchange is required by law. Thus, the
employment exchanges bring the jobs givers in contact with the job seekers. However, in the
technical and professional area, private agencies and professional bodies appear to be doing most
of the work. Employment exchanges and selected private agencies provide a nation-wide service
in attempting to match personnel demand and supply.

5. Management Consultants: Management consultancy firms help the organisations to recruit

technical, professional and managerial personnel They specialise middle level and top level
executive placements. They maintain data bank of persons with different qualifications and skills
and even advertise the jobs on behalf their clients to recruit right type of personnel.

6. Educational Institutions or Campus Recruitment: Jobs in commerce and industry have

become increasing technical and complex to the point where school and college degrees are
widely required. Consequently big organisations maintain a close liaison with the universities,
vocational institutes and management institutes for recruitment to various jobs. Recruitment from
educational institutional is a well - established practice of thousand of business and other
organisations.1t is also known as campus recruitment. Reputed industrial houses which require
management trainees send their officials to campuses of various management institutes for
picking up talented candidates doing MBA.

7. Recommendation: Applicants introduced by friends and relatives may prove to be a good

source of recruitment. In fact, many employers prefer to take such persons because something
about their

8. Labour Contractors: Labour contractors are an important source of recruitment in some

industries in India. Workers are recruited through labour contractors who are themselves
employees of the organisation. The disadvantage of this system is that if the contractor leaves the
organisation , all the workers ,employed through him will also leave That is why this source of
labour is not preferred by many businesses, organizations. Recruitment through labour
contractors has been banned for the public sector units.

9. Telecasting: The practice of telecasting of vacant posts over T.V. is gaining importance these
days. Special programmes like Job Watch, Youth Pulse, Employment News, etc, over the T.V
have become quite popular in recruitment for various types of jobs. The detailed requirements of
the job and the qualities required to do it are publicized along with the profile of the organisation
where vacancy exists. The use of T.V. as a source of recruitment is less as compared to other
sources.

10. Raiding : Raiding is a technical term used when employees working elsewhere are attracted
to join organisations. The organisations are always on the lookout for qualified professionals, and
are willing to offer them a better deal if they make the switch. There are always some employees
who are professionally very competent, but dissatisfied with something or the other in the
organisation. They form the easy group to attract. The other group is formed of those who are
equally competent but are quite satisfied with their present position. To attract them, the
organisation has to offer a very lucrative package of perquisites. Whatever may be the means
used to attract, often it is seen as an unethical practice and not openly talked about. background
is known. When a present-employee or a business friend recommends someone for a job, a type
of preliminary screening is done and the person is placed on a job.

MERITS OF EXTERNAL SOURCES

1. Qualified Personnel: By using external sources of recruitment the management can make
qualified and trained people to apply for vacant Jobs in the organization.

2. Wider choice : When vacancies are advertised widely a large number of applicants from
outside the organization apply. The management has a wider choice while selecting the people
for employment.

3. Fresh Talent: The insiders may have limited talents. External sources facilitate infusion of
fresh blood with new ideas into the enterprise. This will improve the overall working of the
enterprise.

4. Competitive Spirit: If a company can tap external sources, the existing staff will have to
compete with the outsiders. They will work harder to show better performance.

DEMERITS OF EXTERNAL SOURCES

The demerits of filling vacancies from external sources are as follows:

1. Dissatisfaction among Existing Staff: External recruitment may lead to dissatisfaction and
frustration among existing employees. They may feel that their chances of promotion are
reduced.

2. Lengthy Process: Recruitment from outside takes a long time. The business has to notify the
vacancies and wait for applications to initiate the selection process.

3. Costly Process: It is very costly to recruit staff from external sources. A lot of money has to be
spent on advertisement and processing of applications.

4. Uncertain Response: The candidates from outside may not be suitable for the enterprise.
There is no guarantee that the enterprise will be able to attract right kinds of people from external
sources.

Recruitment Process in HRM:

Recruitment of human resources is a process as it passes through series of steps. It requires

identifying human resource in terms of number, qualification, skills and experience. It is
important to determine the source of human resources and methods of recruitment them. It
consists of following steps:

1. Assessment of human resources requirement:

At the beginning of recruitment process, human resource management should work out for
determining the human resource requirement. Human resource department should determine
exact number of employees with required minimum skills, qualification, experience and
additional qualities. For this, human resource department should assess the number of current
employees, their skills, experience, qualification and expertise and compare with actual
requirement. Demand is the shortage in current number of employees, their skills, experience and
qualification.

2. Identification of Source of HR supply:

After identification of exact number of human resource required at different positions, human
resource management should identify the possible source of HR supply. There can be internal
and external source of human resource supply. If the number of employees required is less, the
skills, qualification, experience and abilities of employee matches with the requirement and there
will be no effect in regular operation, internal supply becomes appropriate. Otherwise, external
source should be selected.

3. Announcement of job vacancies:

After identifying appropriate source of supply, human resource management should proceed for
vacancy announcement. If the source of supply is internal, it can be announced through personal
memos, notice-board or through supervisors. But, if the source of supply is external, vacancy
should be announced through mass media. Depending upon the recruitment budget, urgency of
recruitment, organizational image and its culture, media for vacancy announcement are
electronic media, internet, print media, etc. Vacancy should be announced with providing certain
time period. It should be so attractive that maximum qualified candidate should apply at large
number.

4. Collecting application forms:

This is the last step in recruitment process. At this stage, application forms from interested
candidates are collected. As per the recruitment policy or media used for recruitment, printed
application or applications through mail are collected. This stage gets completed with
termination of recruitment period mentioned at the vacancy announcement. The important issue
is that if the applications are not from appropriate candidates, it should be re-advertised.

Methods of Recruitment in HRM:

Methods to motivate suitable candidates to apply to the announced vacant post are methods of
recruitment. There are two types of sources for recruitment methods which are discussed below:

A. Internal methods:

If the recruitment process is limited within the organization only, it is called internal method of
recruitment. This means, this is the method which recruits and wish to fulfill vacant posts by
employees already existing in organization. In this method, suitable employees are encouraged to
apply to the vacant post. There are different methods under external method of recruitment as
follows:

i. Promotion:

Promotion is the method of recruitment in which employees are encouraged to accept the higher
level responsibilities. If employees are highly qualified, capable to handle new and higher order
responsibilities, promotion is the best way of recruitment. This is the best way to reward
employees which helps to encourage both promoting and other employees. Promotion helps to
increase the job satisfaction of employees and hence management can maintain the tenure.
Normally, promotion is popular to the managerial positions. After promotion, roles,
responsibilities, authority as well as salary and benefits of employees will be changed.

ii. Transfer:

Vacant post can be fulfilled by transferring employees from one job station to another station. It
is simple method of recruitment. After transfer of employee's roles, responsibilities, authorities,
salary and facilities in general, remain same. But on the basis of organizational requirement, very
rarely, job responsibilities may also be changed. Transfer is suitable if the skills manpower at one
station is excess and at other it is less.

iii. Job posting:

Under this method, vacancy announcement is made for free competition with existing employees
of organization who fulfill minimum required qualification, skills, experience and expertise.
Vacant post, location, pay scale, required qualification and skills are clearly mentioned in that
notice and posted to each employee or notice board of the organization. All interested employees
can apply for the position within the recruitment period.

iv. Employee referrals:

Supervisors regularly observe performance of employees at work. They clearly identify who are
performing below average, average and above average the standard. If any post will be vacant,
they nominate best performing employee for the post even from another department. This
method of nomination employee from another department is called employee referral. Only
qualified and best performer will be suggested by this method. But, in practice, there may be
biased recommendation in favor of nearest and dearest employees in comfortable, prestigious
and growth oriented posts.

B. External methods:

In external methods, it is assumed that acquired employee will be attracted from external labor
market. In case the number of vacancy is large or qualification and skills of employees existing
to organization do not match with new job specification, employees should be recruited
externally. External method of recruitment attracts large number of applicants so that qualified
and more energetic candidates can be selected. To get new and advance knowledge from market,
external method of recruitment is the must. In general, operating level employees are recruited
by using external methods. Following methods can be used under external method of
recruitment.

i. Direct methods:

Top scorers in different universities, colleges and training institutes are directly contacted.
Concerned person from the organization wishing to hire visit to the program directors,
coordinators and / or instructors of such institutions and request to recommend the best
candidates. As per recommendation, they visit to the candidates and request to apply for the
vacant post in their organization or they directly offer the job opportunity. This method is less
costly method of recruitment.

ii. Indirect methods:

Organization can reach to the targeted candidates indirectly through advertisement. Newspapers,
television, audiovisuals are medium of such indirect methods. Advertisement can be blind box
advertisement and want-ad advertisement. In blind box advertisement, name of employer
organization is not given but in want-ad, name of employer organization and its details are
published.

iii. Third party methods:

Organizations may also contract with employment agencies or companies, employment ex-
changer, gate hiring and contractors, unsolicited applicants, trade unions, labor contractors for
recruiting employees. Such organizations or third party provide details of candidates or some
time they provide candidates as well at commission basis.

EFFECTIVE RECRUITMENT PROGRAM

1. Qualified Staff

An effective recruitment and selection program first needs qualified staff. An employment
manager with expertise in developing recruitment processes and proven management skills in
leading recruiters and employment specialists is one such program model. Alternatively, a
generalist human resources manager capable of overseeing both the strategic and functional
aspects of recruitment and selection is another viable program. Recruiters and employment
specialists should have experience in full life-cycle recruiting, from sourcing candidates to post-
hire functions such as orientation, training and employee retention.

2. Legal Compliance
In addition to functional expertise, qualified recruiters, employment specialists and managers
must be well-versed in equal employment opportunity law and, if applicable, affirmative action
provisions. An organizations success may depend on its ability to recruit from a diverse pool of
qualified applicants. Therefore, recruiters and employment specialists must be familiar with EEO
laws, fair employment practices related to recruiting and hiring, and employment eligibility for
work in the United States. The first opportunity at which employers can express their
commitment to equal opportunity is the recruitment and selection stage. This is a critical
component for any effective recruitment and selection program.

3. Workplace Guidelines

Workplace guidelines and policies support recruitment and selection concerning employee
referral, policies for transfers and promotion, rehire eligibility standards and employment
eligibility. A sample workplace policy required for an effective recruitment and selection
program establishes processes for internal transfers and promotions. Guidelines pertaining to
employee tenure, performance and application for transfer or promotions are necessary because
they prevent confusion and add structure to the process for upward mobility among the current
workforce.

4. Pre-Employment Standards

Background investigations, reference checks, work history verification and drug screening are
common pre-employment standards. Certain industries and employment trends slightly affect
criteria; however, basic pre-employment standards function as checks and balances to ensure an
organization makes wise hiring decisions. Candidate testing is included among other criteria for
consideration by human resources and employment managers. Depending on factors such as
positions, the type of industry and cost to administer, pre-employment testing may be a viable
consideration for some recruitment and selection programs.

SELECTION PROCESS

The selection process begins with the job specification. The more dearly and precisely it is done
the less would be the number of qualified applicants. Suppose the purpose is to select
management trainees. If the qualification prescribed is MBA, the number of applicants may be in
hundred. If the qualification is graduation in any discipline, the number of applicants may be in
thousand. Of course, the reputation of the firm, the job content, compensation package, location,
etc. also influence the response to any, recruitment drive. But Job specification does plays an
important role m deciding the quantity and, quality of response from prospective applicants. The
selection process covers the period from the job specification and initial contact with the
applicant to his final acceptance or rejection. The successive stages in the selection process are
referred to as hurdles that the applicants should cross. Not all selection processes, however,
include all these stages. The complexity of the selection process usually increases with the
increase in the skill level and job level (responsibility and accountability) of the position for
which selection is being made. The sequencing of the hurdles also may vary from job to job and
organization to organization.

When a market research firm is recruiting research investigators on temporary basis for a specific
assignment it may ask the candidates to appear for interview along with written application form
in the next two days following the date of advertisement and make job offers immediately after
the interview without any other tests or references.

1. Initial Screening: The initial screening and/or preliminary interview is done to limit the
costs of selection by letting only suitable candidates go through the further stages in
selection. At this stage, usually a junior executive either screens all enquiries for positions
against specified norms (in terms of age, qualifications and experience) through
preliminary interview where information is exchanged about the job, the applicant and
the, mutual expectations of the individual and the organization. If the organization finds
the candidate suitable, an application form, prescribed for the purpose, is given to these
candidates to fill in and submit.
2. Application Form : The application form is usually designed to obtain information on
various aspects, of the applicants social, demographic, academic and work-related
background and references. The forms may vary for different positions some
organizations may not have any form specially designed instead, ask the candidates to
write applications on a plain sheet.
3. Tests: A test is a sample of an aspect of an individuals behavior, performance or attitude.
It also provides a systematic basis for comparing the behavior, performance or attitude of
two or more persons. Tests serve as a screening device and provide supplementary inputs
in selection decisions. Their value lies in the. fact that they serve additional predictors
intended to make selection decision more apt and accurate.
4. Intelligence Tests: These are tests to measure ones intellect or qualities of understanding.
They are also referred to as tests of mental ability. The traits of intelligence measured
include: reasoning, verbal and non-verbal fluency, comprehension, numerical, memory
and spatial relations ability. Binet-Simon; Standford-Binet and Weshier-Bellevue Scale
are some examples of standard intelligence tests.
5. Aptitude Tests: Aptitude refers to ones natural propensity or talent or ability to acquire a
particular skill. While intelligence is a general trait, aptitude refers to a more specific
capacity or potential. It could relate to mechanical dexterity, clerical, linguistic, musical
academic etc.
6. Achievement Tests: These are proficiency tests to measure ones skill or acquired
knowledge. The paper and pencil tests may seek to test a persons knowledge about a
particular subject. But there is no guarantee that a person who knows most also performs
best. Work sample tests or performance test using actual task and working conditions
(then simulated ones) provide standardized measures of behavior to assess the ability to
 perform than merely the ability to know. Work sample tests are most appropriate for
testing abilities in such skills as typing, stenography and technical trades. Work sample
tests bear demonstrable relationship between test content and job performance.
7. PIP Tests : PIP tests are those which seek to measure ones personality, interest and
preferences. These tests are designed to understand the relationship between any one of
these and certain types of jobs. Interest tests are inventories of likes and dislikes of people
towards occupations, hobbies, etc. These tests help indicate which occupation (e.g.
artistic, literary, technical, scientific, etc.) are more in tune with a persons interests.
Strong Vocational Interest Blank and Kuder Preference Records are examples of interest
tests. These tests do not; however, help. in predicting on the job performance. Besides,
they leave room for faking and the underlying assumptions in the tests could be belied.
8. Projective Tests : These tests expect the candidates to interpret problems or situations.
Responses to stimuli will be based on the individuals values, beliefs and motives.
Thematic Apperception Test and Rorschach Ink Blot Test are examples of projective
tests. In Thematic Apperception Test a photograph is shown to, the candidate who is then
asked to interpret it. The test administrator will draw inferences about the candidates
values, beliefs and motives from an analyis of such interpretation.
9. Other Tests: A vide variety of other tests also are used though less frequently and in rare
instances instances. These include polygraphy (literally mean many pens), graphology
(handwriting analysis), non-verbal communication tests (gestures, body movement, eye-
contact, etc an lie-detector tests.

The following could be considered as thumb rules of selection tests:

(a) Tests are to be used as a screening device;

(b) Tests scores are not precise measures. Use tests as supplements than stand alone basis.
Each test can be assigned a weightage;

(c) Norms have to be developed for each test; and their validity and reliability for a given
purpose is to be established before they are used;

(d) Tests are better at predicting failure than success;

(e) Tests should be designed, administered assessed and interpreted only by trained and
competent persons

INTERVIEW

Interview is an oral examination of candidates for employment. No selection process is

complete without one or more interviews. Interview is the most common and core method of
both obtaining information from job-seekers, and decision-making on their suitability or
otherwise. Organizations may seek to make their selection process as objective as possible.
But interview which is an essential element of the process, by and large still remains
subjective. Interviews usually take place at two crucial stages in the selection process, i.e., at
the beginning and in the end. Interviews can differ in terms of their focus and format. Usually
several individuals interview one applicant. This is called panel interview. Such panels
usually consist of representatives from-personnel and concerned operating units/line
functions. In this method, usually, applicants get screened from one stage to another, at least
in the intial stages. The interviews can be structured or unstructured general or in-depth.
Some times where the job requires the job holder to remain claim and composed under
pressure, the candidates are intentionally objected to stress and strains in the interview by
asking some annoying or embarrassing questions. This type of interview called the stress
interview. Interviewing is both an art and a science.

The effectiveness of the interview as a screening device can be improved by taking care of
certain aspects like the following:

1. The interview should be based on a checklist of what to look for in a candidate. Such a
checklist could be based on proper job analysis. Each critical attribute which the interview
seeks to evaluate may be assigned a specific weight age.

2. It is desirable to prepare a specific set of guidelines for the interview.

3. The interviewers need to train to evaluate performance in the interview objectively. Also,
all interviewers need to develop common understanding about the criteria measures, their
purposes and weight ages.

4. The interviewers may use past behavior to predict future behaviors and obtain additional
information to attempt such linkages more meaningfully.

5. There should be proper coordination between the initial and succeeding interviews.

6. The interview (even stress interview) should be conducted in a related physical setting.

UNIT : 4

Promotion

According to Pigours and Myers, Promotion is advancement of an employee to a better job

better in terms of greater responsibility, more prestige or status, greater skill and especially
increased rate of pay or salary.

Arun Monappa and Mirza S Saiyadain defined promotion as the upward reassignment of an
individual in an organizations hierarchy, accompanied by increased responsibilities,
enhanced status and usually with increased income though not always so.
Conditions of promotions are:

Reassignment of higher level job to an employee than what he is presently performing

The employee will naturally be delegated with greater responsibility and authority than
what he has had earlier. Promotion normally accompanied higher pay. It means in some
cases, the employee perform higher level job and receive the salary related to the lower
level job.

Promotion may be temporary or permanent depending upon the organizational needs and
employee performance.

Types of Promotion:

1. Vertical Promotion

2. Up gradation

3. Dry Promotion

Purposes of Promotion:

To utilize the employees skill knowledge at the appropriate level in the organizational
hierarchy

To develop competitive spirit and inculcate the zeal in the employees to acquire the skill,
knowledge etc. required by higher level jobs.

To develop competent internal source of employees ready to take up jobs at higher levels
in the changing environment.

To promote employees self development and make them await their turn of promotions.
It reduces labour turnover.

To promote a feeling of contentment with the existing conditions of the company and a
sense of belongingness.

To promote interest in training, development programmes and in team development areas.

To build loyalty and to boost morale.

To reward committed and loyal employees

To get rid of the problems created by the leaders of workers unions by promoting them
to the officers levels where they are less effective in creating problems.
 Promotion places the employees in a position where an employees skills and knowledge
can be better utilized.

It creates and increases the interest of other employees in the company as they believe
that they will also get their turn.

It creates among employees a feeling of content with the existing conditions of work and
employment.

It increases interest in acquiring h9gher qualifications, in training and in self development

with a view to meet the requirements of promotion.

It improves morale and job satisfaction

Ultimately it improves organizational health.

Benefits of Promotion

Promotion Principles:

1. it should be consistent in the sense that policy should be applied uniformly to all
employees irrespective of the background of the persons,

2. it should be fair and impartial.

3. systematic line of promotion channel should be incorporated,

4. it should provide equal opportunities for promotion in all categories of jobs, departments
and regions of an organization,

5. it should ensure open policy in the sense that every eligible employee should be
considered for promotion rather than a closed system,

6. it should contain clear cut norms and criteria for judging merit, length of service,
potentiality etc.

7. appropriate authority should be entrusted with the task of making a final decision, it
should contain promotional counseling, encouragement, guidance and follow-up
regarding promotional opportunities, job requirements and acquiring the required skills,
knowledge etc.

Bases of Promotion:
1. Merit as a basis of Promotion: skill, knowledge, ability, efficiency as aptitude as
measured from educational, training and past employment record.

Advantages:

i. The resourced of higher order of an employee can be better utilized at higher level It
results in maximum utilization of human resources in an organization.

ii. Competent employees are motivated to exert all their resources and contribute them
to the organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

iii. It works as golden hand-cuffs regarding employee turnover.

iv. It continuously encourages the employees to acquire

Demerits:

1. Measurement or judging of merit is highly difficult.

2. Many people, particularly trade union leaders, distrust the managements integrity in
judging merit.

3. The techniques of merit measurement are subjective.

4. Merit denotes mostly the past achievements, efficiency but not the future success. Hence,
the purpose of promotion may not be served if merit is taken as the sole criteria for
promotion.

1. Seniority as a Basis of Promotion: refers to relative length of service in the same job
and in the same organization. The logic behind this as a basis of promotion is that there is
a positive correlation between the length of service in the same job and the amount of
knowledge and the level of skill acquired by an employee is an organization.

1. It is relatively easy to measure the length of service and judge the seniority.

2. There would be full support of the trade unions to this system.

3. Every party trusts the managements action as there is no scope for favouritism
and discrimination and judgement.

4. It gives a sense of certainty of getting promotion to every employee and of their

turn of promotion.

5. Senior employees will have a sense of satisfaction to this system as the older
employees are respected and their inefficiency cannot be pointed out.

6. It minimizes the scope for grievances and conflicts regarding promotion

Advantages:

Demerits:

1. The assumption that the employees learn more relatively with length of service is not
valid.

2. It demotivates the young and more competent employees and results in employee
turnover particularly among the dynamic force.

3. It kills the zeal and interest to develop as everybody will be promoted with or without
improvement.

4. Organizational effectiveness may be diminished through the declaration of the human

resources effectiveness as the human resources consists of mostly undynamic and old
blood.

5. Judging seniority though it seems to be easy in the theoretical sense, it is highly difficult
in practice.

Seniority-cum-Merit Promotion:

Ways in striking balance between seniority and merit

1. Minimum length of service and merit

2. Measurement of seniority and merit through a common factor

3. Minimum merit and seniority

Problems with promotion:

Glass Ceiling- Glass ceiling is an invisible barrier to promotion based in race, community,
tribe, nationality, gender etc.

Promotion disappoints come employees

Some employees refuse promotion

PROMOTION POLICY

Every organization need to specify clearly its promotion policy based on its corporate policy.
The policy should contain clear cut norms and criteria for promoting an employee. The
policy should be fair and impartial and should be applied uniformly to all employees without
giving scope for nepotism, favoritism etc. Promotion systems necessitate a twofold balance
between the choice of the individual most suited to fulfill the job role and thus contribute
effectively to the organizations mission, and individuals aspirations for promotional
opportunities, which need to be satisfied. Organizations have adopted a variety of promotion
policies depending upon their culture, size, and business.

Transfer

a lateral shift causing movement of individuals from one position to another usually without
involving any marked change in duties, responsibilities, skills needed or compensation

Transfer is defined as the moving of an employee from one job to another. It may involve
a promotion, demotion or no change in job status other than moving from one job to
another.

Objectives for Transfer:

Transfer can be done on the request of employee due to personal reason like family
problem or health problem.

Due to HR policy which states that one employee can work in department or place for
specific time period

Transfers are common in the organizations where the work load varies timely.

If an employee is not able to do the work or job assigned effectively he can be

transferred to the other job where he can use his skills properly according to his interest and
abilities

Departmental vacancies can be filled with transfer of employees from overstaffed

department.

Employees can be transferred to the position or department with the higher priority
workload.
 Reasons Types of Transfer

1. To meet the organizational requirements Production Transfer

2 To satisfy employees needs Personal Transfer

3 To utilize employees skill knowledge etc

4 To improve employees background by placing him Remedial Transfer

in different jobs of various departments, units etc.

5 To correct inter-personal conflicts

6 To adjust the workforce of one section/plant in other

section/plant during lay-off, closure or adverse
business conditions etc.

7 To give relief to the employees who are Replacement

overburdened or doing complicated or risky work for Transfer
a long period

8 To punish the employees who violate the disciplinary Penal Transfer

rules

9 To help the employees whose working hours or place Shift Transfer

of work is inconvenient to them

10 To minimize fraud, bribe etc which result due to

. permanent stay and conduct of an employee with
customers, dealers, suppliers etc.

11 To increase the versatility of employees Versatile Transfer

(Rotation transfer)

1. Employee initiated Transfer (1) Temporary Transfer (2) Permanent Transfer

2. Company initiated Transfer (1) Temporary transfer (2) Permanent Transfer

3. Public Initiated Transfer

 UNIT : 5

PLACEMENT

Placement is a process of assigning a specific job to each of the selected candidates. It

involves assigning a specific rank and responsibility to an individual. It implies matching the
requirements of a job with the qualifications of the candidate.

THE SIGNIFICANCES OF PLACEMENT ARE AS FOLLOWS: -

* It improves employee morale.

* It helps in reducing employee turnover.

* It helps in reducing absenteeism.

* It helps in reducing accident rates.

* It avoids misfit between the candidate and the job.

* It helps the candidate to work as per the predetermined objectives of the organization.

DEMOTION

Demotion is reverse of promotion. Demotion is the lowering of a rank, reduction in salary,

status and responsibilities.It may be defined as the assignment of an individual to a job of
lower rank and pay usually involving lower level of authority and responsibility.

Demotion is normally used as a punishment for breach of discipline. It brings bad name to
the employee. The juniors supersede a person which brings humiliation. Even the reduction
of pay will adversely affect the budget of an employee.

Causes of Demotion:

Demotion may take place due to the following reasons:

1. Breach of Discipline:

A breach of discipline may attract demotion as a punishment. An organisation can work only
if proper discipline is maintained. A punitive action for such breach may be necessary so that
people do not flout rules, regulation etc. of the company.

2. Inadequacy of Knowledge:
A person may not be competent to perform his job properly. He may not be able to meet job
requirements. In such a situation demotion becomes necessary.

3. Unable To Cope With Change:

Now-a-days, there is a rapid change in technology and methods of work. The existing
employees may not be able to adjust themselves as per the new requirements. It may be due
to lack of education, technical skill, ill health, old age or other personal reasons. Under these
circumstances new persons may be needed to take up such jobs.

4. Organisational Re-Organisation:

Sometimes there may be organisational changes. It may be necessitated by either combining

the departments or closing of some sections or departments. In such situations the number of
positions is reduced and some employees may be posted at the lower positions until
normality is restored. Such demotions are not due to any fault of the employees.

Policy:

Demotion affects employees morale, job satisfaction and relationship with the employer. It
may also turn the employee into mental wrecks. While effecting demotion in the
organisation, therefore, the management should be extremely careful not to place itself on the
wrong side of the fence. Yoder have suggested that a systematic policy on demotion should
contain the following five points:

1. A clear and reasonable list of rules should be framed, violation of which would subject an
employee to demotion.

2. This information should be clearly communicated to employees.

3. There should be a competent investigation of any alleged violation.

4. Once violations are proved, there should be a consistent and equitable application of the
penalty, preferably by the immediate supervisor.

5. There should be provision for review.

Meaning of separation:

Separation of an employee exists when the service of an employee comes to an end because
of one reason or other. Separation arises due to resignation; lay off, dismissal and retirement.

Types of separation:

i) Resignation: when the employee himself initiates the separation then it is termed as
separation. There are some resignation which are avoidable and others which are
unavoidable. It is the responsibility of the management to look out the real reason of the
resignation. In such a cases the exit interview is better to conduct to find out the reason of
resignation.

ii) Lay off: lay off is generally done to reduce the financial burden of the organization by
temporary removing the surplus employees. This is done due to inability of the employee to
recruit them due to shortage of sufficient resources. Lay off results in a great loss to the
organization as they had to suffer all the expenses of selection, placement and training.

iii) Dismissal: dismissal or discharge means separating the employee from the payroll due
to unsatisfactory performance where the employee fails to perform his duties well and he is
not properly skilled to perform his job or due to violation of organizational rules it means
indiscipline, dishonesty. What ever is the cause of dismissal but it should be done at the last
stage.

iv) Retirement: number of separation in the organization happen due to retirement. There
must be clear rules of retirement there may be compulsory retirement where an employee has
to retire after attaining a particular age. Forced retirement means when a person is found
guilty in the court of law or breaks any service agreement then has to retire forcibly
irrespective of his age. Premature retirement means that the employee becomes disable to
perform the job in that case he may be given the option to take retirement before his
retirement age.

CAREER PLANNING IN AN ORGANIZATION

Career planning is the process by which one selects career goals and the path to these goals.
The major focus of career planning is on assisting the employees achieve a better match
between personal goals and the opportunities that are realistically available in the
organization. Career programmers should not concentrate only on career growth
opportunities. Practically speaking, there may not be enough high level positions to make
upward mobility a reality for a large number of employees. Hence, career-planning efforts
need to pin-point and highlight those areas that offer psychological success instead of vertical
growth.

Career planning is not an event or end in itself, but a continuous process of developing

human resources for achieving optimum results. It must, however, be noted that individual
and organizational careers are not separate and distinct. A person who is not able to translate
his career plan into action within the organization may probably quit the job, if he has a
choice. Organizations, therefore, should help employees in career planning so that both can
satisfy each others needs.

Career Planning vs. Human Resource Planning

Human Resource planning is the process of analyzing and estimating the need for and
availability of employees. Through Human Resource planning, the Personnel Department is
able to prepare a summary of skills and potentials available within the organization. Career
planning assists in finding those employees who could be groomed for higher level positions,
on the strength of their performance.

Human Resource planning gives valuable information about the availability of human
resources for expansion, growth, etc. (expansion of facilities, construction of a new plant,
opening a new branch, launching a new product, etc.). On the other hand, career planning
only gives us a picture of who could succeed in case any major developments leading to
retirement, death, resignation of existing employees.

Human Resource planning is tied to the overall strategic planning efforts of the organization.
There cannot be an effective manpower planning, if career planning is not carried out
properly.

Need for Career Planning

Every employee has a desire to grow and scale new heights in his workplace continuously. If
there are enough opportunities, he can pursue his career goals and exploit his potential fully.
He feels highly motivated when the organization shows him a clear path as to how he can
meet his personal ambitions while trying to realize corporate goals.

Unfortunately, as pointed out by John Leach, organizations do not pay adequate attention to
this aspect in actual practice for a variety of reasons. The demands of employees are not
matched with organizational needs; no effort is made to show how the employees can grow
within certain limits, what happens to an employee five years down the line if he does well,
whether the organization is trying to offer mere jobs or long-lasting careers, etc. When
recognition does not come in time for meritorious performance and a certain amount of
confusion prevails in the minds of employees whether they are in with a chance to grow or
not, they look for greener pastures outside. Key executives leave in frustration and the
organization suffers badly when turnover figures rise. Any recruitment effort made in panic
to fill the vacancies is not going to be effective. So, the absence of a career plan is going to
make a big difference to both the employees and the organization. Employees do not get right
breaks at a right time; their morale will be low and they are always on their toes trying to find
escape routes.

Organizations are not going to benefit from high employee turnover. New employees

mean additional selection and training costs. Bridging the gaps through short-term
replacements is not going to pay in terms of productivity. Organizations, therefore, try to put
their career plans in place and educate employees about the opportunities that exist internally
for talented people. Without such a progressive outlook, organizations cannot prosper.
Objectives

Career planning seeks to meet the following objectives:

i. Attract and retain talent by offering careers, not jobs.

ii. Use human resources effectively and achieve greater productivity.

iii. Reduce employee turnover.

iv. Improve employee morale and motivation.

v. Meet the immediate and future human resource needs of the organization on a timely basis

Career Planning Process

The career planning process involves the following steps:

i. Identifying individual needs and aspirations:

Most individuals do not have a clear cut idea about their career aspirations, anchors and
goals. The human resource professionals must, therefore, help an employee by providing as
much information as possible showing what kind of work would suit the employee most,
taking his skills, experience, and aptitude into account. Such assistance is extended through
workshops/seminars while the employees are subjected to psychological testing, simulation
exercises, etc. The basic purpose of such an exercise is to help an employee form a clear view
about what he should do to build his career within the company. Workshops and seminars
increase employee interest by showing the value of career planning. They help employees set
career goals, identify career paths and uncover specific career development activities
(discussed later). These individual efforts may be supplemented by printed or taped
information. To assist employees in a better way, organizations construct a data bank
consisting of information on the career histories, skill evaluations and career preferences of
its

employees (known as skill or talent inventory).

ii. Analyzing career opportunities:

Once career needs and aspirations of employees are known, the organization has to provide
career paths for each position. Career paths show career progression possibilities clearly.
They indicate the various positions that one could hold over a period of time, if one is able to
perform well. Career paths change over time, of course, in tune with employees needs and
organizational requirements. While outlining career paths, the claims of experienced persons
lacking professional degrees and that of young recruits with excellent degrees but without
experience need to be balanced properly.
iii. Aligning needs and opportunities:

After employees have identified their needs and have realized the existence of career
opportunities the remaining problem is one of alignment. This process consists of two steps:
first, identify the potential of employees and then undertake career development

programmers (discussed later on elaborately) with a view to align employee needs and
organizational opportunities. Through performance appraisal, the potential of employees can
be assessed to some extent. Such an appraisal would help reveal employees who need further
training, employees who can take up added responsibilities, etc. After identifying the
potential of employees certain developmental techniques such as special assignments,
planned position rotation, supervisory coaching, job enrichment, understudy programs can be
undertaken to update employee knowledge and skills.

iv. Action plans and periodic review:

The matching process would uncover gaps. These need to be bridged through individual
career development efforts and organization supported efforts from time to time. After
initiating these steps, it is necessary to review the whole thing every now and then. This will
help the employee know in which direction he is moving, what changes are likely to take
place, what kind of skills are needed to face new and emerging organizational challenges.
From an organizational standpoint also, it is necessary to find out how employees are doing,
what are their goals and aspirations, whether the career paths are in tune with individual
needs and serve the overall corporate objectives, etc.

FIG.1.3 The New Portable Career Path

1.3.5 CAREER PLANNING MODELS

There are many models one may use while career planning. The two main models are

1.3.5.1 Waterloo University Model

FIG.1.5 Water University Model

1.3.5.2 The SODI Career Planning Model

Given the complexity of career development and the fluidity of the world of work, we need
to be able to navigate our career paths with purpose and clarity.

Law and Watts (1977) devised a simple model of career education which has stood the test of
time. This model has been changed slightly to become a career planning, rather than a career
education model and named the SODI model where the last element is implementation
rather than transition learning, and decision learning becomes decision making and
planning.

The model encapsulates four concepts which are:

Self-awareness individual having knowledge about and understanding of their own

personal development. Self-awareness in a careers context involves an understanding of kind
of personal resources (both actual and potential) they bring to world.

Opportunity awareness an understanding of the general structures of the world of work,

including career possibilities and alternative pathways.

Decision making and planning an understanding of how to make career decisions, and
being aware of pressures, influences, styles, consequences and goal setting.

Implementing plans having the appropriate skill level in a range of areas to be able to
translate job and career planning into reality
CAREER MANAGEMENT IN HR

Definitions: Career Management is the combination of structured planning and the active
management choice of ones own professional career.

Lifelong, self-monitored process of career planning that involves choosing and setting
personal goals, and formulating strategies for achieving them. -businessdictionary.com

Career management as a process for enabling employees to better understand and develop
their career skills and interests, and to use these skills and interests most effectively both
within the company and after they leave the firm.

Benefits to the organisation

Well-planned and executed career programmes will benefit both the organisation and the
employees in a number of ways. These include the following:

Staffing inventories. Effective career management will help ensure a continuous supply of
professional, technical and managerial talent so that future organisational goals may be
achieved.

Staffing from within. Because of the many potential advantages of promotion from within,
most organisations like to promote employees when positions become available.
But recruitment from within requires a strong career management programme to guarantee
that employees can perform effectively in their new jobs. Promoting employees before they
are ready to assume their new jobs will result in unsatisfactory performance, as predicted by
the Peter Principle.

Peter Principle: Observation that in an hierarchy people tend to rise to their level of
incompetence. Thus, as people are promoted, they become progressively less-effective
because good performance in one job does not guaranty similar performance in another.
Named after the Canadian researcher Dr. Laurence J. Peter (1910-90) who popularized this
observation in his 1969 book The Peter Principle.

Solving staffing problems. Certain staffing problems may be remedied through

effective career management. First, a high rate of employee turnover may be caused, at least
in part, by a feeling that little opportunity exists within the organisation. Second, recruiting
new employees may be easier if applicants realise that the company develops its employees
and provides career opportunities.
Satisfying employee needs. The current generation of employees are very different from
those of generations past. Higher levels of education have raised career expectations. And
many workers hold their employers responsible for providing opportunities so that those
expectations may be realised.
Enhanced motivation. Because progression along the career path is directly related to job
performance, an employee is likely to be motivated to perform at peak levels so that career
goals may be accomplished.

Employment equity. Guidelines demand fair and equitable recruiting, selection and
placement policies and the elimination of discriminatory practices concerning promotions
and career mobility- Many affirmative action programmes contain formal provisions to
enhance the career mobility of women and other formerly excluded groups, including the
development of career paths and the design of formal T&D activities.