Human Resource Planning Essay

Organisations such as Boots undertake human resource planning to determine a course of action, which helps them to function more efficiently by having the right labour, in the right place, at the right time and cost. Human resource planning was known as manpower planning. It has been defined as: â€Å"The activity of management which is aimed at coordinating the requirements for and the availability of different types of employees† Boots need to forecast their manpower needs, both in terms of the number of employees needed and the types of skills and qualities required. It is also important to monitor and assess the productivity of the existing and available workforce and recognise the impact of technological change on the way in which jobs are carried out. Boots human resource planning team also needs to be able to identify and analyse the factors influencing and shaping the labour markets from which the organisation recruits staff to satisfy its manpower needs. Human resource specialists have to work within these labour markets to acquire sufficient resources to meet the productive needs of Boots. Influences On Human Resource Planning Recruitment and Selection One of the most important jobs for the human resources manager in Boots is recruiting and selecting new employees. Without the right employees the business will be unable to operate efficiently or serve its customers properly or make any profits. With the proper recruitment and selection techniques, Boots can make as sure as possible that they can achieve these objectives. Boots may need to recruit for several of reasons. The growth of Boots can generate additional demand and therefore create a need for extra labour. External influences such as technological developments can change job roles within the organisation, creating a need to recruit new people with specific skills. Alternatively, vacancies can be created through resignation, retirement and dismissal. The Recruitment Process Job analysis Job description Person specification Finding suitable candidates Choosing the best person Taking references Making appointments Training and Development An important part of manpower planning is the continual review, identification and update of training and development. Factors such as the introduction of new technology or new working methods can create training needs that have to be met if Boots is to remain competitive. In recent years there has been growing employer awareness that training can play a significant role in developing a flexible and multi-skilled workforce. Boots organise training and development programmes for several of reason: * To motivate employees and increase job satisfaction, thereby reducing absenteeism and labour turnover * Reduce wastage and accident rates by creating a consistent performance across the work force * Develop the skills of existing employees to cope with labour shortages * To establish the most effective and efficient working methods in order to maximise productivity and remain competitive * Reduce employee’s resistance to change, perhaps deriving from the introduction of new equipment and the application of new technology. Performance Management Boots needs to manage the performance of its employees effectively if it is to remain competitive. This means that there must be effective management control exercised at both individual and organisational level. A range of processes and techniques need to be in place, which allow individual employees to know how well they are doing, and for managers to be able to monitor how well their subordinates are performing. Performance monitoring provides information, which is of value for identifying future training or promotion opportunities, and areas where insufficient skills or knowledge could be deemed a threat to an employee’s efficiency. Managers exercise control at an individual and organisational level through: * Planning by setting objectives and targets * Establishing performance standards * Monitoring actual performance * Comparing performance against targets * Rectifying mistakes and taking action. The Performance Management Process Labour Turnover The labour turn over ratio is used to measure the total number of employees leaving an organisation in a given period of time, usually a year. It is calculated in percentage terms using the formula Number of employees leaving over specific period x 100 Labour turnover = Average number of people employed It is important that labour turnover is continuously measured by Boots to warn of potential problems so that management can take appropriate action. Replacing employees disrupts efficiency and creates recruitment and training costs. For a business to meet the objectives of its manpower plan, it is important that it minimises labour turnover. A high labour turnover is bound to affect the quality and level of output as well as incurring manpower costs associated with the recruitment and training of labour. Labour Stability Index The labour turnover ratio is a rather general measure. A more subtle indicator is the labour stability index, which is calculated using the formula: Number employed with more than 12 months service x 100 Labour stability = Total number of staff employed one year ago This index denotes stability because it emphasises those employees that stay rather than leave. Age Structure The information on the age structure of the workforce – analysed by different categories of employees – is useful for several reasons. It will highlight a potential staff shortage problem that might be caused by a large number of employees all reaching retirement age during a relatively short period of time in the near future. It might show that a particular age group dominates certain positions within the company, frustrating the promotional aspirations of other employees A detailed analysis if the age structure of the workforce of Boots, when linked to skill audits, can also be of considerable value when deciding upon the allocation of training opportunities. For example, boots short-term objective might be to train all employees to use a new form of computer technology by the end of the year. When deciding who should receive training, Boots needs to know which employees already possess the required skills and which employees are nearing retirement age, as training people who are shortly to leave the company would not be cost effective. I am going to be covering the areas that surround Boots in Brent they are: > Alperton > Barham > Sudbury > Sudbury Court > Preston > Tokynton > Wembley Central (where Boots is based) Ward % Under 8 years % Under 15 years Working Age (16 – PA) % Pensioner age % 85 and over Alperton 14.1 20.9 67.8 11.7 1.1 Barham 18.7 19.3 64.4 15.6 1.3 Preston 11 18.1 64.1 17.8 1.6 St Raphael’s 16.6 28.6 60.5 10.9 0.6 Stonebridge 13.1 21.8 66.1 11.1 0.7 Sudbury 9 20.1 64.7 15.9 1.1 Sudbury Court 11.7 20.4 67.9 11.7 0.7 Tokyngton 12.1 20.8 65 14.2 1.1 Wembley Central 13.2 22.2 66.2 11.6 0.7 This data shows the percentage of people’s age in each ward. As you can see looking at the data Wembley central employ 66.2% of working people being the third highest ward. Therefore in this area where Boots is located there would be a lot of workers working there. The data also shows the percentage of pensioners, in Wembley central the percentage of pensioners is low. This means businesses in Wembley central do not employ old people as there isn’t many old people in this area as there are in Preston where majority of pensioners live. Boots would look at recruiting people that who are young, as they want young and active staffs. They would employ young people so they can gradually train them as they go along. By doing this Boots can offer a better service to there customers. Ward Total Unemployment Rate Estimated Rate for Black Groups Alperton 12.3 15.1 Barham 11.7 9.6 Preston 10.3 13.8 St.Raphaels 22.8 27.5 Stonebridge 23.1 27.3 Sudbury 10.7 14.7 Sudbury Court 8 10.6 Tokyngto 12.7 15.5 Wembley Central 13.8 15.2 This data shows the unemployment rates in Brent and the estimated rate for black groups. Unemployment rates for Black and Asian groups were higher than for White groups. White unemployment rates were 10.9% whereas black unemployment rates were 16.5%. While there are no up-to-date unemployment figures by ethnic group, there is no reason to suppose that the differential between white and other ethnic groups has lessened significantly. Based on this assumption, the data above, estimates black unemployment rates in January 1996 compared with the rate for the whole population. This has been estimated by calculating the differential rate in unemployment between the black and other ethnic groups and all groups, then applying the difference to the January 1996 unemployment figures. For example black and other ethnic groups unemployment rates were 22.7% higher in 1991 in Alperton ward than for the white population. This percentage difference is then applied to the current rate. The resulting figure is intended to give a broad estimate of the likely unemployment rate for the black and other ethnic groups. The data shows that the lowest unemployment rate is in Preston ward and the highest rate is in Stonebridge. In Wembley central where Boots is based it looks like an average of unemployment members. This means that in this area there aren’t many unemployed people as the area is very busy due to businesses operating in the area and competition with other businesses occurring. As a result of this businesses will need to recruit more people. For example if Boots were to employ more staff the business will be doing more work, the more work they do the more customers they get. % In Education Rank in Brent Persons (18 +) qualified Rank in Brent Alperton 60 23 12 20 Barham 71 14 15 14 Preston 71 13 18 11 St. Raphael’s 54 28 7 30 Stonebridge 54 27 9 27 Sudbury 74 9 19 9 Sudbury Court 74 8 27 1 Tokyngton 65 19 10 26 Wembley Central 71 11 13 15 These data shows the percentage of pupils in education in each ward. It also shows the percentage of people that are already qualified in Brent. As you can see that Sudbury Court have the number 1 rank in Brent whereas Wembley Central have the rankings of 15. % In Education Rank in Brent Persons (18 +) qualified Rank in Brent Alperton 60 23 12 20 Barham 71 14 15 14 Preston 71 13 18 11 St. Raphael’s 54 28 7 30 Stonebridge 54 27 9 27 Sudbury 74 9 19 9 Sudbury Court 74 8 27 1 Tokyngton 65 19 10 26 Wembley Central 71 11 13 15 Those wards which have high proportions of the population qualified to a level above GCE â€Å"A† level are those wards which have the highest proportions of people in professional and managerial occupations. This tells us that Sudbury Court has the most workers with qualification. Weekly average earnings (Full Time à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½) 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 Greater London – Males 214.7 255 312.6 383.1 434.4 467.3 Greater London – Females 142.8 169.3 208.2 258.9 308.6 336.5 Brent – Males 204.1 242.4 283.3 338 381.2 402.1 Brent – Females 120.1 159 172.5 225.8 267.9 282.7 This data shows the average weekly earnings (from 1984-1994) for male and females in Brent and Greater London. We can see from the data that from 1984 the males weekly earnings have increased as the years have gone on. The female’s earnings have also increased as the years have gone by, but not the same amount as the males. Some females argue that they are getting unfair pay, as their earnings do not match the males when they are working the same hours and the same jobs as them. If females feel neglected in the workforce they seek the equal opportunities for advice. We can see by looking at this graph that the level of males earnings in 1994 in Brent have increase, so has females earnings. However female’s earnings are not as much as males earning. Recruitment And Selection The first stage of recruitment is to conduct a detailed analysis of the job, which may involve questioning the current jobholder or observing the jobholder at work. The information gathered is carefully recorded and analysed. Further information might be obtained through discussions with the jobholder’s manager of supervisor. When the job analyst gathered all this information, it should be written down in a summary report setting out what the job entails. This report is called job description. It contains two types of information. It describes the tasks of the job and describes the behaviour necessary to actually do these tasks. This is what a job description summary looks like: Job Description Job Title: Sales Assistant Directly responsible to: Store manager Directly responsible for: No one Contact with: Managers, other sales assistants, personnel department, other stores and customers Job outline: To help meet customer’s requirements by providing them a high quality service to ensure they remain satisfied. To be able to deal with customer complaints, request and offer advice when required. Job responsibilities: you need to maintain up-date knowledge of all products ranges and developments. As a company representative a professional, polite and sensitive manner should be adopted at all times. Whenever possible the company’s own brand products should be promoted over those of its competitors. Job requirements: all customer’s orders must be processed correctly using the company system as soon as the order is received. Overall an individual target must be met. Complaints must be dealt with politely and immediately. A person specification, which is also known as a personnel profile, describes the characteristics and skills, which a person needs to be able to do the job to the required standards. There are many ways to set out this information. This is what a person specification looks like: Person Specification Physical appearance: Smart personal appearance, clear, articulate speech Achievements: Five GCSE’s at grade C or above. No previous experience required, however it would be an advantage. Specific skills: Good communication skills. Ability to listen to problems and offer practical suggestions. Willingness to learn. Competent with money. Interests: Any position of social responsibility or participation in team related activity Personality: Polite, pleasant and cheerful, ability to deal calmly with aggravated customers and to cope under pressure. Good team worker Personal circumstances: Reliable person, good time-keeper, living locally and willing to do additional overtime work during holiday periods. The next stage of the process is to attract only those people who fit Boots person specification. Therefore Boots need to advertise for a staff and it is important to advertise in the right areas. It is important to think about the type of people it is trying to attract and the publications they read. The advertisement should be done a well clearly and noticeable. The advertisement should also make it quite clear how any interested person should apply, and state whether applicants need to submit a copy of their curriculum vitae. Once Boots has attracted applicants who match the person specification, the next stage is to gather information on each applicant. The main sources of information are: 1. Application forms 2. Curriculum vitae 3. Interviews The purpose of an application form is to gather information about the candidate that will give definite clues about personal attributes, qualifications, experience, etc. Boots make decisions about which candidates to short list by comparing the information on application forms to the person specification. The completed application form is regarded as part of a candidate’s contract of employment. It is important that no false claims are made or any deliberate misinformation is included, otherwise the contract of employment could be void. A curriculum vitae (CV) is a document usually initiated and prepared by a job seeker. It serves a similar purpose to an application form. The CV includes the job seekers personal details, education, qualification, work experience, interest and ambitions. In addition, the CV should include any other information that would be likely to persuade a prospective employer to consider granting and interview. This is how a CV looks like and should be presented. (See next page) Curriculum Vitae Name: Salma Ahmed Address: 50 Tudor Court South Wembley Middlesex HA9-6SE Telephone: 0208 900 9018 Home) 07958172964 (Mobile) Date of Birth: 20/11/1985 Marital status: Single Nationality: British Occupation: Student Education: Preston Manor Sixth Form Centre Carlton Avenue East Wembley Middlesex HA9 8NA Sep 2002-2004 Qualifications: GCSE French B Maths C Art C English Literature A English Language B Science C/C History C DT C Personal Profile: I am a very hard working person. I like meeting deadlines and I am very reliable. I like working as a team as my communication skills are very well developed. I can work independently as well as in a team and work to the best of my ability. Work Experience: Business: Insight UK (Computer suppliers) Position: I.T. Assistant Address: Alperton House Bridgewater Road Wembley Middlesex HA0 1EH Start: 04/06/01 Finished: 15/06/01 Duties & Skills: During my experience at insight my duties were to deal with technical trouble and solving them. I had to do mail orders and general office duties including filing, faxing, photocopying and other duties that were required Achievements: Throughout my five years at Preston Manor, I have achieved many duties and responsibilities. I was a prefect where I had to help out the school with any events or forthcoming events. I was also a member of the school council committee. I took part in many school activities and extra-curricular activities such as basketball, football and cricket. I had entered for a poem competition and the poem was published in a book called â€Å"kaleidoscope†. Interests: In my spare time I make myself useful. I like to stay healthy and fit, l play lots of sports such as football and basketball. I also play snooker. I am sociable too as I go out with friends to different places. At home I enjoy reading books and listening to music. I take a lot of interest in computing and learn to develop my knowledge on it at home with computer books. I also use the Internet regularly everyday as I find it very interesting and take a big interest in this too. Reference: Are available upon request The structure of the selection interview depends on the nature of the vacancy and the size of the Boots. For some jobs, applicants may be interviewed just once on a one to one basis. Other jobs often interview an applicant several times before they employ them or dismiss them. This is and example of the types of questions that may be asked during an interview at Boots: 1. Why did you apply for this job? 2. Tell me more about you’re past experiences? 3. Why did you leave your last job? 4. From your CV I can see that you have developed your skills, what are your strength and weaknesses? 5. In Boots you may have to deal with annoyed customers, how would you deal with the situation? 6. Give me an example of a situation you have faced? 7. How well do you think you can contribute to the success of Boots? 8. Do you have any references? Before we finish do you have any questions? These are questions that maybe asked by the interviewee to the applicant. During this type of interview, which would be face to face, the applicant must show that they are willing to carry out this job at high standards and are able it impress the interviewee with skills and experiences that have been achieved During the interview the interviewee would usually mark the applicant(s) on a checklist, which would be created to see whether the applicant is right for the job. This is how a checklist would look like: After this process is done the Human Resource department then work out who is perfect and suitable for the job. This is the type of recruitment process that Boots would use. Often other jobs are advertised in the local newspaper and when the people see them they send off a letter of application, as they have no application forms or they never received any. A letter of application is simply a letter asking for the job and explaining why the writer is suitable for it. The letter will be structured in any way the writer thinks is appropriate, and this very fact makes it a useful selection method. If the letter is badly structured, poorly expressed and full of spelling mistakes, it could indicate that the applicant is not suitable for a clerical or administrative job, which requires neat well-structured work. On the other hand, a poorly structured letter, which is nevertheless imaginative and interesting, could indicate that the applicant may be suitable for the job. On the next page is an example of a letter of application. This job place was found in the local newspaper for a job at Chorospan Ltd. John Bates Personnel Director Chorospan Ltd Preston Manor Reginal Road Carlton Avenue East Chester Wembley CH2 7KB Middlesex HA9 8NA 10 January 2003 Dear Mr. John Bates, Post of Personnel Assistant: I am interested in applying for the job of personnel assistant advertised in the Wembley Observer on 9/01/03. I am presently studying for the Advanced Vocational level in Business at Preston Manor Sixth Form College, which I will finish at the end of June this year. My qualifications and educational details are in the curriculum vitae attached. I am very interested in personnel work and I did two weeks work experience at Action.com, (which now is known as Insight UK) in London in June of last year. I am also studying a personnel unit on my course, which has increased my interest and understanding in personnel work. I am available for an interview at any time convenient for you, apart from the dates of January 27 and January 30. Yours Sincerely Amit Patel Training And Development Programme Training is the acquisition of a body of knowledge and skills, which can be applied to a particular job. The resources devoted to training can create substantial costs. It is important that training needs are correctly identified and the desired standard of skill is established. The training programme needs to be administrated efficiently and evaluated – the results achieved by employees that received training should be compared with the standard of performance it was hoped to achieve. Nowadays most large organisations like Boots employ professional training officers to run training programmes for employees. In a large manufacturing or services company, for example, the training manager will have teams of training instructors to teach all kinds of courses to employees. Even in small businesses several types of training will still be necessary Training can be dived into two main categories: ‘on the job’ training or ‘off the job’ training. ‘On the job’ training This means that the employee acquire their training or development in the workplace itself. For many people they enjoy the direct link with their job and can see more clearly how relevant the training or development is to the performance of that job ‘Off the job’ training This means attending courses, which may be in a college or a training centre away from the workplace. This type of training is important to an employee’s career development as well as being an integral part of training a training programme. There are various types of training: Induction Training Induction is the process of introducing new employees to the organisation and its way of life and culture. Employers use induction training as a means of introducing new employees to the organisation and ensuring they have necessary information and skills to perform their tasks to the required standard. Induction training can help to minimise labour turnover among new recruits by ensuring that they are made to feel welcome and are fully aware of what the job entails. Induction training provides new employees with information about: > The organisations policies and objectives > Future career opportunities > Pay, training and fringe benefits > Health and safety > The organisational structure and layout > The requirements of the job > Colleagues and managers Good induction training programmes successfully balance the amount of information that needs to be conveyed with the length of time employees can sustain their concentration. Mentoring Mentoring schemes are used by businesses both to develop good working relationships between employees and to provide employees with the opportunity to learn new skills. Employees are allocated a mentor, usually an older or more experienced existing employee, whose role is to advise and answer their concerns. The employee benefits from advice on issues such as career development and managing change. The mentor benefits from an increase sense of responsibility and the opportunity to pass on their personal knowledge. For some professional and senior posts, it has been found that mentoring is more effective if the mentor comes from an external organisation. The mentor would be expected to have a wide range of professional skills and experience and be able to offer independent advice and support. Coaching Coaching involves regular informal meetings between a mangers and an employee, which allow discussion of the employee’s performance in relation to the achievement of any objectives or targets. These informal performance assessment sessions enable a manager to identify an employees strengths and weaknesses. Coaching provides managers with a means of both assessing an employee’s suitability for promotion and analysing the way an employee has coped with any additional responsibility or extra authority. In House Training This is where employers run courses inside their own organisation. Courses might be held in an ordinary office room or in a smart training centre owned by the organisation. In house training schemes often referred to as on the job training, because it provides training and development to employees using resources within the organisation. The main benefits of using in house courses are: > They are fairly cheap – there is usually no need to employ outside trainers and lecturer > Course content is tailor made for your organisation > Reference and examples to highlight points can be related to your own organisation > Everybody knows one another, so there is no time wasted in having to get to know people The success of in house training schemes is dependent upon the teaching skills of the instructors. Instructors need to possess good communication skills and be able to break down, explain and prioritise each section of a particular task. External Courses Sometimes it is necessary to send staff to do courses elsewhere. This may be with another employer or at a specialist-training centre or at the factory of an equipment supplier. Externally run training schemes are normally used by smaller organisations, as they usually have too few employees requiring training to justify expenditure on specialist training facilities and full-time instructors. The benefits of using external courses are: > They bring together specialist trainers who would never be available to an ‘in-house’ course chiefly because of the high cost > Course members get together from several organisations, and this enables them to learn more about each other and how their respective organisation operate > Trainers place great value on the benefits of being away from the workplace – the course members are in a comfortable and peaceful environment away from any distractions External courses are generally quite expensive because this includes fairly luxurious accommodation in lavish surrounding and the guest speakers are highly paid. This means employers have to think very seriously about the value of such courses to the organisation and they have to carefully identify which staff The National Training System Training and enterprise councils This was first established in 1990. This helps businesses to identify their training need. Sponsored by the government and led by local people, there are some 80 TECs in England and Wales. Their mission is to encourage economic growth through effective training and enterprise. Investors in people TECs are also responsible for assess firms that wish to be recognised publicly as investors in people. The idea behind the initiative is that investing in people is one of the most effective ways of improving business performance. To gain recognition as an investor in people, companies like Boots must meet exacting training standards. Individual learning accounts Individual learning accounts are designed to help individuals manage, plan and invest in their own learning and, therefore, take charge of their career and future. They are sort of a bank account into which the government, the individual and the employer all make a contribution, and the money is used to buy training and education, both now and in the future. Modern apprenticeships Modern apprenticeships provide young people with a means of obtaining a nationally recognised qualification while gaining valuable work experience. This is basically when young people are working and having education at the same time (part time college). National vocational levels NVQs are occupational qualifications based upon an employee’s ability to reach defined levels of skill or competence in carrying out various tasks connected with their particular occupation. The basis for awarding an NVQ is an assessment of an employee’s level of competence, and any necessary underpinning knowledge. Several techniques can be used to help promising employees to develop their abilities and give management a better idea of exactly where the employee’s future may lie: Job Rotation Giving people a range of jobs in rotation widens their experiences and increases their skills. Job Enlargement Giving people extra tasks to do gives management a better idea of the employee’s true capacity, ability and stamina. Job Enrichment Adding more interesting and more difficult tasks to the job. This might be done with a person of very great potential to see just how capable he or she really is. There are so many other courses of trainings that a business like Boots can look into. These are the key aspects of the training and development program. Most of the methods of trainings shown before are some of the trainings that Boots themselves take up on. The other types of trainings Boots could look into to help develop their staffs and train them to offer a better service to the their customers. Human Resource Management: The Potential For Conflict In a large organisation like Boots conflict is inevitable. Basically, the resources that can be devoted to this area are limited and everyone wants a large share of them. The main areas of conflicts are as follows: Department Rivalry Boots does not have unlimited resources to devote to its human resources activities such as training and staff development. The human resources management has the difficult task of deciding who should be given the benefits of those activities and this is also an area where there is huge potential for conflict. Departmental managers will all want to make sure that their departments do not miss out but they cannot all get bigger slice at the cake if the cake is of limited size. Appraisal This is a common feature of most organisation but it is a very difficult area and fraught with difficulties. To some long standing employees, appraisal is simply unacceptable. They hate to think that someone is â€Å"looking over their shoulders† or making decisions on how good they are. Even if all staff are fully trained and happy to accept an appraisal system, there is still some potential for conflict. Staff might have a higher opinion of their performance that their managers and this can lead to disagreements and disputes. There can be suggestions of favouritism or victimisation even in a well – organised systems such as that of Boots. Recruitment And Selection The department that controls selection and recruitment is in a strong position to reward individuals and give them better salaries or more attractive jobs. In making decisions, the department is never going to please everyone. If Boots decided to appoint externally then this could have caused conflict with all internal candidates. Trade Unions One of the functions of the trade unions or representatives of the staff or any organisation is to gain the maximum pay and the best conditions for the employees. The human resource department have to ensure that salaries and wages are the minimum to attract the best or most appropriate staff. Performance Management And Motivational Theories It is important that Boots measure the performance of their employee’s against their aims and objectives and mission statement. This way they can see whether the company are doing well. This term is known as management by objective, in which the performance of the individual and organisation is consistently being measured against objectives and targets, which have been agrees jointly by managers and employees. The monitoring process requires the measurement of performance and then linking these performance measurements against the achievement of objectives. For individual employees, the monitoring process, is usually complemented by some or all of these review systems: > Appraisal > Self evaluation > Peer evaluation > 360 degree evaluation An appraisal system is used to review the standard of work being undertaken by people within an organisation and to assess the value or contribution of individual employees. Appraisal and performance review interviews are used by employers to: > Reinforce company goals > Identify training needs and career opportunities > Recognise good performance > Review and set new targets The person who appraises is called the ‘appraisor’ and the person being appraised is the ‘appraisee’. It is important that consideration is given during the appraisal interview to the extent to which an employee has reached objectives agreed at an earlier meeting (such as the previous years appraisal). Firstly, the appraisor writes an appraisal report of the appraisee. Secondly, this is discussed with the appraisee at an interview. There are several options available: Self Evaluation Before attending the interview, individual employees might be asked to consider their own view of their performance for Boots. Self-evaluation enables an employee to decide what his or her objectives are and identify training and development needs. The main problem with self-evaluation is that it can be highly biased. Some employees overestimate their performance through a fear of admitting their weaknesses and this is what the appraisor look out for. Other employees under estimate their performance because they do not want extra responsibility or because of false modesty. Peer Evaluation To inform the performance review process, many organisations also look at peer evaluations of the individual. This is based on the idea that the best people to provide feedback on an individual’s performance are those who operate at a comparative level. Obviously this can only be carried out in complete confidentiality, so that the people making the peer evaluation do not feel that there can be any come back. 360 Degree Evaluation This is the most modern approach – it is sometimes called ‘peer appraisal’. In 360 degree evaluation the apraisee is appraised by most of the people they deal with. Therefore a ‘middle manager’ would get appraised by staff working for them, by fellow managers and by their boss. This gives an extremely thorough picture of an employee and it pinpoints strengths and weaknesses very well. However, it takes up much staff time. Nevertheless it is very popular. It is important that Boots employers carry out appraisal interviews every year or every six-month so that they can keep on track how their employees are doing and also check if they are meeting the businesses objective. They can also set new objectives and targets to the employees in this type of interview as the appraisor would have found out what the employees strength and weaknesses are. The benefits of performance appraisal: > It helps to identify training needs > It may reveal other problems > It may untap useful new skills > It improves communication between employees and managers – a few words of encouragement and praise for doing a good job are often highly motivating. Motivation Motivation describes the extent to which an individual makes an effort to do something. Boots are likely to improve performance, in terms of productivity, attendance rates, cooperation and quality, if they can find ways of increasing the willingness of their employees to make even greater efforts at work. Motivation is the force that drives people to satisfy their needs. Human needs are varied and complex, and it is only relatively recently that psychologists have started to analyse how these forces operate and interact in the workplace. During the 1950’s two American researchers, Abraham Maslow and Frederick Herzberg, evolved theories about human needs, which have since helped managers to understand how to encourage people to perform more effectively at work. Abraham Maslow and ‘The Hierarchy Of Needs’ Maslow’s ideas focus on the value of developing self – esteem and of helping people to fulfil their potential. Maslow said that all motivation comes from meeting unsatisfied needs. He stated that there was a ranking of need, which must be achieved in the correct order – from the bottom to the top of a pyramid. Basic physiological needs like food and water are at the bottom and self-actualisation is at the top. The need†¦ Which is achieved by†¦ Self-actualisation: Personal growth and self-fulfilment Esteem: Recognition Achievement Status Social needs: Affection/love Safety needs: Security Freedom from pain and threats Physiological needs: Food, water, and air Once these have been satisfied, increasingly higher level need start to come to the fore in determining what motivates us. When one level of need is satisfied, it decreases in strength and our actions are then dominated by the next level – and so on. Basic physical needs – these include things like food, shelter and warmth Security needs – these can be things like a safe place to live and security of employment. Need for social contact – people need contact with family members, friends and work colleagues. Need for self-esteem – people gain self-esteem when they feel that their achievements are recognised and rewarded. This may be anything from a few words of praise to tangible things like a new house or car Need for fulfilment – this usually involves some form of personal development, achieving goals or the successful completion of an ambitious project Maslow has contributed much to our understanding of the wide range of needs that working people have. He was one of the first researchers to realise the importance of motivational factors such as: > Enhancing people’s self-esteem > Giving them a challenge > Providing opportunities for personal growth > Giving people extra responsibility Frederick Herzberg and The Two Factor Theory In 1957 Hezberg devised the ‘motivation-hygiene’ theory, which stated that two groups of factors affect employees motivation. He studied thousands of workers to find out what satisfied and what dissatisfied them about their jobs. He discovered, naturally enough, that some things gave employees satisfaction while other things made them dissatisfied. Herzberg called the things that satisfy people job content factors and the things that dissatisfy people job context factors. He said that certain elements in a job motivate people to work harder. Job content (inside circle) normally involves aspects such as achievements, recognition, opportunities from promotion, responsibility and the nature of the work itself. Job content factors are factors within a job that can cause satisfaction. These factors are sometimes known as satisfiers or motivators. Job context (outside circle) includes aspects such as working condition, pay, company policy, organisational structure and administration. They are called job context factors because they are outside the job. Poor job context factors can cause dissatisfaction and can demotivate, but good job context factors are not enough in themselves to provide job satisfaction. Mangers must focus upon some of these factors if they want to increase job satisfaction and motivate employees. As we can see looking at both Maslow’s and Herzberg theories, that these methods will help employers and managers motivate their employee’s to get the best work out of them to keep the company alive. It is important that motivation takes part in all businesses, as motivation is a key aspect of the performance management part of the business. We can now see how businesses like Boots are influenced by these two motivational theories, however there are more theories that cover the whole concept of motivation We can see the main purposes of performance management and why it is so important to large and small businesses like Boots. Performance management plays a big successful part in a business as long as it keeps the employees happy and motivated. Planning The Workforce (Human Resource Planning) There are four main reasons for human resource planning: 1. It encourages employers to develop clear links between their business plans and their HR plans so that they can integrate the two more effectively, for all concern 2. Organisations can control staff costs and numbers employed far more effectively 3. Employers can build up a skill profile for each of their employees. This makes it easier to give them work where they are most value to the organisation 4. It creates a profile of staff which is necessary for the operation of equal opportunities policy Because of the dynamic nature of the modern global business environment, human resource planning is an ongoing process. A business like Boots needs to alter its objectives continuously to take account of: > New technology > Emerging world markets > Green and ethical issues > Workforce demands New Technology The rate of technological change is accelerating. It permeates every aspect of business activity: design, production planning, production control, automated production, warehousing, despatch, transportation, administration systems, management information systems, and so on. Robotics, automation and information technology are still in their early stages of development. As progress continues, the nature of industry and commerce will change even more dramatically. Human resource plans should consider the likely impact of technological change on the type of employees that the organisation will require in the future as well as considering the training implications for existing employees. World Markets International companies are able to exploit world markets, enjoying considerable economies of scale, particularly as transport costs continue to fall in real terms. Worldwide production facilities, automation and access to instant information anywhere in the world are changing the nature of companies. Businesses, which do not deliver quality goods and services on time, are being bypassed. Consumers demand more choice and new products. Product life cycles are shortening and product development time scales have had to speed up. Internet selling has become firmly established and organisations require highly flexible work forces to survive in such an environment. Green And Ethical Issues Businesses have to maintain a good relationship with their customers and suppliers. That relationship can be threatened by bad publicity, and companies need to be aware that they are scrutinised by many pressure groups that seek to publicise unfair or unethical practices. Green peace, for example, protests against environmentally unfriendly practices, and it sometimes targets action against individual companies as well as putting pressure on business as a whole. There have been many examples or pressure groups staging high-profile demonstrations against individual companies and organising boycotts of their products. Workforce Demands Conditions at work have improved enormously, compared to how they were a hundred years ago, but employee expectations continue to rise. Employees demand better working conditions and a better quality of working life. They want to be consulted about matters that affect them at work. They certainly have higher expectations about work than previous generations; people are not likely to be committed and loyal to employers that do not consider their needs and expectation. Human resource plans need to offer suitable training, development, motivation and rewards to satisfy employees and to ensure that those people with the highest skills and expertise are attracted to, and retained, by the organisation. These are factors that have influences on human resource planning. It is important that businesses like Boots think about these factors and how they might work from it and what kind of things the business may have to beware of. Good planning means a successful business. To successfully implement a human resource plan, a manager needs to obtain the cooperation of everybody within and outside the organisation. The human resource manager needs to motivate and enlist the cooperation of customers, suppliers, the manager’s own staff, senior managers and people in the other departments. Manpower Planning And Internal Staffing One of the most important plans the human resource manager makes is the manpower plan. This sets out the number and types of employees that will be required by an organisation in the future. Manpower Planning And The External Labour Market Factor As well as the continuous analysis of the internal staffing resources, manpower planning must also be supported by monitoring, the availability of labour from external resources. If an organisation fails to monitor the pool of potential recruits in the working population at both local and national level then it runs the risk of not being able to satisfy any additional manpower requirements from external resources. Local External Courses When assessing the extent to which future manpower requirements can be satisfied from local labour markets, manpower planning must take account of: > Demographic trends, with particular emphasis on the overall size and age structure of the local working population > Developments in the local transport system that determine the effective catchment area for labour > Unemployment rates, and the availability of workers with particular skills, qualifications and experience. National External Sources Boots must also consider the extent to which it ability to meet its manpower requirements may be influenced by national factors. National policies, demographic trends and developments can affect the ability of the organisation to recruit certain types of labour, and can have implications for salary levels and the conditions of employment. Manpower planning must therefore also take account of: > National demographic trends, particularly any implications for the growth of the working population > Economic trends which affect the demands for different types of labour – in today’s economy, for example, there is greater demand for people with practical science and technology skills and those with customer service skills required in call centres > Education and training trends, such as central government measures, which change the emphasis and structure of university courses and the provision of technical and vocational education in school and colleges > New legislation, including government policies and EU directives on wages and salary negotiations, the role of staff associations and trade unions, equal pay, sex discrimination, employment protection, working time and industrial relations Statistical Analysis There is a great deal of statistical information, from government and private sector sources, relating to the impact of local and the national factors on the labour market. This type of analysis is particularly useful to any organisation drawing up a manpower plan in support of business relocation or the setting up of a new business. Drawing Up The Manpower Plan If an organisation like Boots have identified the strengths and weaknesses of an organisation’s existing workforce and the external labour market factors impacting upon its ability to recruit and retain labour, a manpower plan can then be devised. The manpower must deal with: > Recruitment > Transfers > Redundancies > Training > Productivity > Labour turnover Recruitment A schedule must be produced that deals with the timing or the recruitment programme for the various types and levels of labour. It must set out an approach to tackling any possible labour recruitment difficulties that have been identified by earlier investigations. Transfers The manpower plan needs to cover the future redeployment of existing employees between various jobs, department, sections and locations. The plan covers not only within existing premises but also any transfers involving proposed movements of employees to different geographical locations where organisation operate. Redundancy If some jobs have become obsolete, or the organisation needs to reduce its activities in certain areas, it needs a programme for redundancies. This must cover the timetable and selection procedure for redundancies and/or early retirements, and the determination of redundancy payments and pensions. The plan must also specify how the organisation in tends to assist redundant employees in their search for alternative employment. Training This section of the manpower plan deals with the duration, structure and content of training and apprenticeship courses. It should cover induction and training of young recruits and the training and retraining courses for existing employees. Productivity Recruitment, selection, training and promotion measures are designed to ensure that the best possible people fill existing and future positions. However, they must be supported by actions so that all employees can work more productively. Productivity can also be raised by measures aimed at improving industrial and human relations within the organisation. If employees feel valued and get job satisfaction, they are likely to be better motivated and more productive. Labour Turnover A high labour turnover is bound to affect the quality and level of output as well as incurring manpower costs associated with the recruitment and training of labour. Having identified the avoidable causes of manpower wastage, the plan may suggest some remedies to reduce wastage. Having produced a manpower plan, every effort must be made to ensure that it is continually updated in the light of both internal and external developments that affect the organisations ability to meet its demand for labour. We can see how human resource planning is vital for nearly any business. Planning the workforce is good preparation for creating a tougher and successful workforce, which would then create better services. It is important that Boots also plan their external and internal developments too as it may affect the business to meet their demand for labour.