Certified Landscape Professional Exam Study Series

Transcription

1 Human Resource Training Module Certified Landscape Professional Exam Study Series Professional Landcare Network and Canadian Nursery Landscape Association Developed by McTavish Resource & Management Consultants Ltd.

2 Copyright 2004 by ALCA and CNLA Copyright renewed 2005 by PLANET Professional Landcare Network 950 Herndon Parkway, Suite 450, Herndon, VA (703) (800) landcarenetwork.org and CNLA Canadian Nursery Landscape Association 7856 Fifth Line South, RR 4, Milton, ON L9T 2X8 (905) (866) canadanursery.com All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America

3 Table of Contents Learning Objectives Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Introduction to Human Resource Management The Role of Human Resource Management Components of the Human Resource Department The External Environment and Human Resource Management Strategic Implications Human Resource Planning Effective Recruitment and Hiring Practices Identify Company Hiring and Skill Needs Job Analysis Job Descriptions Recruiting Restraints to Recruiting Recruitment Methods External Recruiting Internal Recruiting Selecting Role of the Job Application Form Resumes and Cover Letters Pre-Screening Interview Testing Detailed Interviews Sample Interview Questions Offer of Employment iii

4 Effective Recruitment and Hiring Practices This section of the training manual deals with the manager s strategy in the development and implementation of effective recruitment and hiring practices. Effective recruitment and hiring is a critical function in any company. Often, owners and managers do not realize the costs experienced by a company related to employee turnover, training new employees, and lost productivity and efficiency. This is particularly true if the employee leaves in the first six to 12 months. A couple of statistics illustrate these costs. Section 2 It is estimated that it takes 13.5 months for the average employee to reach 100 percent efficiency on the job. Existing employees lose time while training a new employee (on average 14 percent of the supervisor s workday is spent training a new hire). Other costs that must be considered with new hires are Cost of recruitment agencies; Advertising; Cost of management personnel reviewing resumes and conducting interviews; Time lost in orientation; Lost time due to insufficient staffing. Recruitment is the exercise of finding and attracting capable applicants to apply for company vacancies. The whole recruitment process begins when a potential vacancy has been identified and finishes when that vacancy is filled. Typically, the responsibility for recruitment lies with the manager of the area where the vacancy exists; however, the human resources department or a delegated person may play a vital role in the process on behalf of the organization. In a small landscape business, this responsibility generally falls on the shoulders of the owner. In a larger organization, the human resources department may simply act as a consultant to the manager or may conduct, on behalf of the manager, the recruitment process. An important function for human resources personnel, regardless of the role they play, is to monitor the recruitment process to ensure consistency in the process and adherence to any collective agreement and/or legislation that may shape how the recruitment process is to be conducted. In a small business, it is the owner who needs to understand the process. 9

5 o10 Human Resource Training Module The recruitment function often does not exist in an organization or managers take it very lightly. Consequently, the cost to hire and train an employee is very high. Even in a wellmanaged recruitment process, the average cost to complete a recruitment and selection process may be approximately 60 to 100 percent of the first year s salary. It stands to reason that the higher the skill level desired and/or the shallower the existing labor pool, the higher the associated costs. Costs included in the process are those resulting from both direct and indirect expenses. Direct expenses are generally easy to identify and typically include advertising, long distance telephone calls, application review, interview preparation, interview time, training and orientation programs, and the administrative functions required to process paperwork on a new employee. Indirect costs are generally not as obvious and are typically overlooked. Indirect costs may include lost business opportunities as a result of the vacancy, loss of production time, lower quality of work produced during the initial employment stages, and higher error rates as well as the effect on the performance of other employees. Once an organization has completed its human resource planning, it must decide how to fill any gaps within the organization. There are two broad approaches that exist to remedy any gaps within an organization. Openings can be filled either internally or externally. Internally, the organization will rely on a combination of succession planning, training, and development in conjunction with an internal recruitment process. To fill openings externally, an external recruitment plan is created. To always promote from within is a good general rule because it motivates the existing workforce. This policy is dependent on having existing talent. We previously stated that the average cost of recruiting one employee is between 60 to 100 percent of the first year s salary when you total the direct and indirect costs of the process. The steps in effective human resource planning and management, of which recruitment and hiring are a key part, are shown in Figure 1.

6 Human Resource Training Module 11 o Figure 1: Steps in Human Resource Management Develop a business plan, including human resources plan Carry out job analysis and job design, including job descriptions Recruit target your recruitment campaign to the right group(s) Select Orient and Train Evaluate Performance Compensate Reward Identify Company Hiring and Skill Needs Effective hiring and recruiting requires the company to have a clear vision, mission, and business plan. These give the recruiter a clear understanding of the short-term and long-term goals of the company, which lead to the determination of the type of employee that needs to be hired. Even in the case of short-term hires, it is important that the employee fit into the culture of the company. The recruiter needs to be completely aware of the company s overall strategy. Thus, he/she must Be well aware of the corporate mission, goals, and direction; Be well aware of the corporate culture (beliefs and values); Know the short-term goals (especially for seasonal hires in the landscape industry); Know the long-term goals for planning, training, and development. In order to have effective human resource management (including recruiting, hiring, orientation, and training), companies must have information about External challenges to the company (government regulations, labor force changes, new technology, the economy); Internal factors, such as the kind of work that is to be carried out within the company and the talent needed to do the work. To determine what type of work is being carried out within the company and the skills and attributes the employee needs to carry out this work, a job analysis should be conducted.

7 o12 Human Resource Training Module Job Analysis Good job analysis assists the manager in Planning for present and future human resource needs; Determining the training and development needs of existing employees; Developing fair compensation packages that are based on the actual work done; Developing performance goals; Redesigning jobs and job descriptions to match what the employee is actually doing; Matching job applicants to job requirements; Improving productivity. The first step in a good job analysis is to have an understanding of the company in terms of its purpose, inputs (people, materials, and procedures), and outputs (products or services). Effective job analysis also requires an in-depth understanding of the horticultural environment in which the company functions. For example, a landscape construction company competing in the commercial construction area will have different external factors affecting it compared to a landscape construction company that is focused on residential design and build. The following are the steps included in a job analysis. Understanding the Past What are the historical hiring practices, including selection criteria and attrition rates? Human resource professionals often carry out a Markov analysis, which is simply a tool that tracks the patterns of personnel within a company over a specified period of time. However, a simple spreadsheet is just as effective for a small and medium business environment. (See Table 1.) Table 1: Analysis of Lead Hand to Supervisor s Position Lead Hand Landscape Construction Foremen Landscape Maintenance Foremen Supervisors 10 lead hands 5 construction foremen 7 maintenance foremen 3 supervisors 7 left 2 left 5 left 1 stayed 3 stayed 2 stayed 1 stayed 2 left 1 moved up to supervisor 1 moved up to supervisor

8 Human Resource Training Module 13 o If the trend in Table 1 is maintained, the company must plan to replace two supervisors, seven lead hands, and nine foremen in the next five-year period. With this type of information, management may want to determine what has caused the turnover, what type of internal training is needed to move internal personnel into more senior positions, and what type of external recruiting may be needed. Management can then plan appropriate remedies to the human resource management subsystems in order to begin to shift the organizational culture. Analysis of the Present Analysis of the present is the primary function of the job analysis. The steps in a job analysis are shown in Figure 2. Figure 2: Phases of Job Analysis and Application of Information General familiarity with organization and work carried out Job Identification Data collection Instrument design (See example of data collection instrument) Data Collection } Collection of Job Analysis Information Applications Job descriptions Job specifications Job design Compensation design Attract, retain, and motivate Recruitment and hiring, training, job redesign. } Application of Job Analysis Information

9 o14 Human Resource Training Module Job Analysis Data Collection The following outlines the typical areas in which information needs to be collected while carrying out a job analysis. Summary of Job Analysis Areas and Applications 1. Duties and Responsibilities Briefly explains the purpose of the job, what the job accomplishes, and how the job is performed. 2. Human Characteristics and Working Conditions This information provides data about the people who are presently doing the work. It often uncovers particular skills, abilities, licenses, certification, training, education, experience, and other characteristics that jobholders need, which becomes valuable information if a position needs to be filled. Job environment information improves the understanding of the job. Working conditions may explain the need for particular skills, training, and knowledge (e.g., the ability to work long hours during peak landscaping seasons in poor weather conditions). Job analysis should also identify how jobs relate and complement each other within the larger organization to prevent redundancy and excess employees. Both conditions result in excess costs associated with human resources. The information acquired in numbers 1 and 2 will allow you to write a job description for the position. 3. Performance Management Performance management systems are important in today s organization. They help to build effective employee/employer relationships over a period of time. Employees get ongoing feedback, coaching, and development as well as more information about what is expected of them and the results of their efforts directed towards established goals. This is normally known as the performance appraisal, which should be done at least once a year. It is important to think of the employee/employer relationship in terms of a life cycle. Today s employees leave jobs at an unprecedented rate employees will average five to seven careers, moving through various jobs within each career. The question then becomes, how do employers manage relationships effectively in order to enjoy a long and prosperous relationship for

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