The STAFFING Process

Transcription

1 Laurea in Economia Aziendale Economics and Management A. A Course: Human Resource Management Prof.ssa Anna Comacchio Project Work 2 The STAFFING Process TRIVELLATO SPA Alessandro Viaro...Mat Riccardo Muscarella...Mat

2 Content 1 What is Staffing?...page 03 2 Human Resource Planning...page 04 3 The Staffing three stages...page Recruitment...page Online Social Networks...page Selection...page The H.Bloom case study...page Induction...page 08 4 Conclusions...page 10 5 References...page 10 2

3 1. What is Staffing? Staffing is a process in HR management, which is made up of three main stages 1) Recruitment 2) Selection 3) Induction The recruitment stage is the process of generating a pool of candidates for a specific job in the organization, the selection stage is the process of making a hire- no- hire decision regarding each applicant and the induction stage is the process of integrating the new employee into the company (and his job). These three stages take place only after defining the organization s staffing needs, which is called the human resource planning. HR Planning in terms of staffing is the process an organization goes through to ensure that it has the right amount of workers that best fit into the position in order to achieve its goals and to implement its strategies. 3

4 2. Human Resource Planning Human Resource Planning is a process that identifies the current and future human resources needs to obtain organizational goals. It can be considered as a link between the Human Resources management and the overall strategic plan of the organization. The objective of HR planning is to ensure the best ratio between employees and jobs, avoiding manpower shortages or surpluses. The three key elements of the HR planning process are: 1) Forecasting labor demand 2) Analyzing present labor supply 3) Balancing projected labor demand and supply The HR plan needs to be flexible enough to meet short- term staffing challenges, while adapting to changing conditions in the business and its environment over the longer term. During the process of HR planning, particular needs might arise: for example, if the Workforce Stock is higher than the Demand, some policies may be applied (i.e. pay cuts, reduced hours, work sharing, inducements to quit, layoffs, etc.). The same thing applies to situations in which abundance of Workforce Demand exceeds the Stock: the organization may start additional training processes, use part- time workers, promote, etc. To forecast labor demands and supply, tools such as Regression analysis and Ratio analysis may be used to examine the predictions of workplace size and to examine historical ratios involving workforce size. Also, projections may be made basing on different existing data: for example, the number of rooms in a hotel can be used to assess the right number of housekeepers. 4

5 3. The Staffing three stages 3.1 Recruitment The recruitment stage is the process of generating a pool of qualified candidates for an available job position. The main aims in recruiting are to evaluate the effectiveness of different labor pools, to increase the pool of applicants at minimum cost, to encourage self- selection by means of a realistic job preview and to meet social and legal obligations. Encouraging self- selection means to present a job preview as realistic as possible to skim the number of unsuitable candidates that will apply. This can mainly be done through the clear presentation of requirements, qualification and a fair and clear preview of what the ideal candidate will have to do. The sources of recruitment can be internal or external, and partners can help organizations in sourcing candidates. Internal sourcing refers to the practice of finding candidates for the available position(s) inside the organization itself, while external sourcing can be split in two types: informal and formal. Informal external sourcing comprises referrals from current employees or from customers whilst formal external sourcing comprises print advertisement, headhunting, internet advertising, college recruiting and help from external partner agencies (such as Adecco, Manpower, etc.). Sourcing in the external labor market can provide qualified applicants and a fresh perspective, but can lead to difficulty in assessment and may be detrimental to the organizational climate. Sourcing in the internal labor market, on the other hand, can be less costly, can reinforce the climate inside the organization but reduces the likelihood of finding new ideas and the introduction of innovation. 5

6 The actual act of sourcing candidates can be split in two clearly defined techniques: primary sourcing and secondary sourcing. Primary sourcing is the use of techniques with limited to no presence of individuals in any easily accessible public forum. It requires direct contact for the uncovering of candidate information via primary means (such as telephone calls). Secondary sourcing is about the identification of candidates through the search in public forums, for example: forums, blogs, alumni groups, social networks, personal webpages, etc Online Social Networks Using social networks as a source for recruiting has lots of advantages: it is efficient, relatively inexpensive and it provides a greater pool of potential candidates. An increasing number of companies and organizations use social networks to recruit people, other than just LinkedIn alone. In fact, Facebook provides headhunters with much more than just a brief curriculum: it gives much more information on the personality, ambitions and skills of a person. These personal characteristics are useful in identifying the right individual since (as we are going to discuss below) the right candidate is not always the most qualified on paper, but also has an aligned view of values, goals and norms of the organization. These attributes are not easily perceived through the reading of a CV or through an interview, due to this lack of accuracy conducting an in- depth search through social networks is becoming more and more common. These attributes can be summarized as the so- called big five traits: - Extroversion - Agreeableness - Consciousness - Emotional Stability - Openness to experience 6

7 3.2 Selection Selection is the process of choosing the right person that will best perform its job out of a pool of applicants. The skills and abilities of the people hired need to be carefully considered since they must be consistent both with the job requirements and the organization s overall approach: person- job fit and person- organization fit. This means that choosing always and only the brightest candidate, is not always a good choice, since his attributes (personality, attitude, etc.) must also be consistent and well aligned with the organization s values, norms and therefore represent the company in every aspect. When selecting a candidate there can be a degree of bias, and an HR manager must always remember not to frame the potential candidates during an interview. There are some tools that can help go through the selection process, like letters of recommendation, ability tests, personality tests, multiple structured interviews, background checks, etc. So it can be said that the prediction of the future performance of the candidate can be made on the basis of both his practical skills and his personality The H.Bloom case study In addition to the theoretical study, I have been looking at the selection process in few firms, and on the whole I found exemplar the evaluation process at H.Bloom. H.Bloom is, as of today, the fastest growing floral and plant service in the world. Their evaluation process is made up of four formal steps: 1) Firstly, there is interaction through e- mail: the correspondence itself allows for basic analysis of the candidate à is the candidate interested in the role? Is he or she responsive? How much time does he or she take to construct a response? 7

8 2) After this first contact, but before setting up an interview, the candidates are asked for a brief phone screen. This allows the company to assess whether the candidate is enthusiastic or not, whether he is articulate or not and to determine briefly why he or she is interested in the position. 3) At stage number three, an interview is set up. The candidate must meet with multiple people (usually from three to five) and the interview lasts from 30 to 60 minutes. During the interview the managers are able to assess if the candidate s profile fits within the values and norms of the company. Also, the main reason for the interview with multiple people is to assess the capacity of the candidate to fit into an existing team. 4) After the interview, the short- list of candidates are given case studies that approximate the actual job. Basing on the position they were offered (financial, floral, marketing) the candidates are given an assignment, which they have to present back to a handful of managers some time later. This makes possible the final distinction from great and merely good candidates. This process became more and more complex as the growth of the firm continued, and now the selection process is as accurate as possible. 3.3 Induction Along with induction goes placement: the process of assigning a specific job to each of the selected candidates. It involves assigning a specific rank and responsibility to an individual. After having selected one or more candidates (and after having placed them), it is time to introduce them to their job and to the environment of the company. I believe the Induction stage is a crucial step in onboarding freshly hired personnel to the organization: an employee is an expensive resource, and from a bad start can generate problems and extra costs. Therefore, an organization needs to integrate the new employee in such a way to enable him to reach standard performance levels as soon as possible. 8

9 Induction is designed to achieve the following objectives: 1) To give new comer necessary general information 2) To build new employee confidence in the organization 3) It helps reducing absenteeism and labor turnover 4) It reduces confusion and develops healthy relations in the organization 5) To ensure that the new comer does not form a negative attitude towards the organization 6) To develop in the new comer a sense of belonging and loyalty Its advantages are: I) It helps to build a channel of communication II) It helps the integration of the new employees III) Helps developing good relations IV) Proves the company is willing to help the new comer The orientation helps the employee in what concerns: - Strategy (how to fit into the organization s goals and strategies) - Organization (details on the organization s history, its products and services, its culture and values - Job (routine of the job and its requirements) - Physical (orientation about facilities, like cafeteria, etc.) - Organization s policies and rules (information for legal compliance and compliance to organizational rules) 9

10 4. Conclusions Organizations are made of people: people with the right skills and the right attributes. Therefore, employees of all levels and of all kinds are (one of) the most valuable assets a firm has and controls. Hence the staffing process and its results are crucial in determining the future performance of an organization. The people that an organization comprises are the link between the entity and the environment in which it operates, i.e. the actual world. This means that the staffing stages, the HR planning process and every single step in introducing the new personnel to the firm must be calculated. The bigger and complex the organization, the bigger and complex is the process of recruiting and inducting people. 5. References Mejia, Balkin, Cardy, Managing Human Resources, 7 th Edition 10