Rural Management Human Resource Management

Rural Management
Human Resource Management
Firstt Edition

MoE G
Government of India
Ministry of Education
Editorial Board
Dr W G Prasanna Kumar
Dr K N Rekha

First Edition: 2021

ISBN:

Price: ₹ 750/-

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior
permission of the publisher.

Disclaimer

The editor or publishers do not assume responsibility for the statements/opinions expressed
by the authors in this book.

© Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (MGNCRE)

Department of Higher Education

Ministry of Education, Government of India

5-10-174, Shakkar Bhavan, Ground Floor, Fateh Maidan Road, Hyderabad - 500 004
Telangana State. Tel: 040-23422112, 23212120, Fax: 040-23212114
E-mail : editor@mgncre.org Website : www.mgncre.org

Published by: Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (MGNCRE), Hyderabad
 About the Book
Human Resource Management (HRM) is omnipresent, not confined to companies alone. It is there in
companies, non-profit organisations, Governments and all workplaces. This book opens the doors to the
world of HRM.

It dwells into the past, to find the relationships between two classes – employers and employees. It
presents the study of how once upon slaves, were transformed to become human capital. It explains
the concept of HRM and its evolution over the times. It details how HRM, from being a tiny part of
administration, has become an important function by itself and became ubiquitous in all kinds of
organisations.

It presents how today’s HR manager has become the face of an organisation by looking at various roles
he/she has to don - advisor, counsellor, spokesperson, conscious keeper, change agent, motivator,
arbitrator, brand ambassador to name a few. It explains various functions of HRM right from
procurement of employees to the integration of their goals with objectives of organisation.

The book covers a full section on Human Resource Planning (HRP) – why and how it is done, the
challenge it faces due to various factors both internal and external, various techniques for forecasting
demand and supply. And in the process, various solutions to deal with excess manpower without
resorting to retrenchment and shortage of manpower without going for recruitment were explored.

Reading continues to make an anatomy of a job, dissecting it into micro-level activities and recording
both physical and mental energies required for performing all activities. It explains how that exercise
would lead to designing or enriching a job to make it interesting and motivating. It goes into detail on
how Recruitment and Selection are to be done in a scientific manner to find a right person for a right job
at right time, the primary objective of HRM. And for both processes it prescribes some Do’s and
proscribes some Don’ts.

Book touches on various aspects like Strategic HRM, Human Resource Information System (HRIS),
Artificial Intelligence based technologies and benefits accrue from them. About a dozen case studies are
incorporated to make the readers to practise the concepts. The activities and exercises would help in
going into further readings.

I thank Mr. V Krishna Rao, Consultant ETA Engineering Pvt Ltd for contributing to this book and for his
outstanding insights. Also, I would like to thank MGNCRE Team members for extending their extreme
support in completing this textbook.

Dr W G Prasanna Kumar
Chairman MGNCRE

301

403 Human Resource Management i MGNCRE

 Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction to Human Resource Management 8-50
1.1 Evolution of HRM
1.2 Concept of HRM
1.3 Functions of HRM
1.4 Role and status of Human Resource Manager
1.5 Strategic HRM
Chapter 2 Human Resource Planning 51-98
2.1 Concept of HRP
2.2 Stages of HRP
2.3 Long Term and Short Term Human Resource Plans
2.4 Strategies for dealing with Surplus and Deficiency of manpower
2.5 Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)
Chapter 3 Job Analysis 99- 143
3.1 Job Analysis
3.2 Importance and benefits of Job Analysis
3.3 Job Analysis process
3.4 Job Description and Job Specification
3.5 Other aspects of Job
Chapter 4 Recruitment 144- 188
4.1 Concept of Recruitment
4.2 Factors affecting recruitment
4.3 Sources of recruitment
4.4 Recruitment metrics
4.5 Alternatives to recruitment
Chapter 5 Selection 189-226
5.1 Importance of Selection
5.2 Stages of Selection
5.3 Selection Tests
5.4 Selection Interviews
5.5 Other aspects of Selection

List of Tables
1.1 Difference between PM and HRM 20
1.2 Differences between Human Relations and Human Resources Approaches 21
1.3 Operative Functions of HRM 28
3.1 Comparison between Job Description and Job Specification 127
3.2 Comparison between Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment 139
4.1 Direct Expenses and Overheads in Recruitment and Selection 168

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403 Human Resource Management ii MGNCRE

List of Figures
1.1 Evolution of HRM 9
1.2 The Journey of HRM : Different Eras 9
1.3 Evolution of HRM: Organisational scope in different time periods 15
1.4 HRM Process 17
1.5 Two definitions of HRM 19
1.6 HRM in brief 19
1.7 From PM to HRM 19
1.8 Changes in Managements’ Philosophies 20
1.9 Maslow’s need hierarchy 21
1.10 HRM Objectives Classification 22
1.11 Scope of HRM 24
1.12 Extended scope of HRM 24
1.13 Functions of HRM 25
1.14 Activities of Organising Function 26
1.15 Activities of Staffing Function 27
1.16 Activities of Directing Function 27
1.17 Controlling Function 28
1.18 Job Analysis 29
1.19 Organisation Objectives and Operative Functions of HRM 31
1.20 Dave Ulrich HR Competency Model 33
1.21 Roles of HR Manager 34
1.22 External Factors Affecting HRM 37
1.23 Strategic HRM - Integration of HRM with Organisation Strategy 41
1.24 Main Functions of SHRM 42
1.25 Approaches to SHRM 45
2.1 Core of HRP 52
2.2 HRP Features 53
2.3 Anatomy of Human Resources 54
2.4 Questions answered by HRP 55
2.5 Importance of HRP 57
2.6 Factors affecting HRP 58
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403 Human Resource Management iii MGNCRE

2.7 Objectives of HRP 61
2.8 Process of HRP 62
2.9 Environment Study 62
2.10 Organisation Policies and Objectives 64
2.11 Techniques for HR Demand Forecasting 65
2.12 Inflows and Outflows Method of HR Supply Forecasting 69
2.13 Markov Chain 70
2.14 Why HRP at Macro Level? 74
2.15 Types of HRP 74
2.16 HRP Long Term & Short Term 75
2.17 Types of Long Term HR Planning 75
2.18 Skill Inventory Evaluation 77
2.19 Solutions after computing Skill Inventory 78
2.20 Measures in Net Surplus Manpower Case 81
2.21 Measures in Net Deficit Manpower Case 85
2.22 Various Plans generated by HRP 86
2.23 Barriers to HRP 87
2.24 Sub systems of HRIS 92
2.25 Training Module of HRIS 94
2.26 Levels of HRIS 94
3.1 Questions which are part of Job Analysis (Set I) 101
3.2 Questions which are part of Job Analysis (Set II) 102
3.3 Questions which are part of Job Analysis (Set III) 103
3.4 Important Terms in Job Analysis 104
3.5 Job 105
3.6 Job Analysis Process 106
3.7 Job Analysis – Broad Groups of Factors of Study 106
3.8 Job Analysis – Information Categories 107
3.9 Outputs of Job Analysis 108
3.10 Benefits of Job Analysis 111
3.11 Performance Appraisal 112
3.12 Job Analysis Process 114
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403 Human Resource Management iv MGNCRE

3.13 Models of Questionnaires used in Job Analysis 117
3.14 Job Analysis Tools 119
3.15 Job Description and Job Specification 121
3.16 General Contents of a Job Description Sheet 121
3.17 Relationships among Jobs 123
3.18 General Contents of Job Specification Sheet 125
3.19 Job Characteristics Model of Hackman and Oldham 132
3.20 Steps in Job Design 136
3.21 Job Design Approaches 137
4.1 Selection Funnel 145
4.2 Recruitment Meaning 146
4.3 SHRM to Job Specification. What Next? 146
4.4 Recruitment Process 148
4.5 Factors affecting Recruitment (Internal) 150
4.6 Factors affecting Recruitment (External) 153
4.7 Inter linkages among External Factors which affect Recruitment 154
4.8 Sources of Recruitment 154
4.9 Internal Sources of Recruitment 155
4.10 Merits and Demerits of Internal sources of Recruitment 157
4.11 External Sources of Recruitment 158
4.12 Merits and Demerits of External sources of Recruitment 162
4.13 Recruitment Metrics 166
4.14 Other Recruitment Metrics 172
4.15 Alternatives to Recruitment 176
5.1 Selection Process I 191
5.2 Selection Process II 191
5.3 Analysis of Results in Selection Process 192
5.4 Job performance, Selection criteria and Predictors 196
5.5 Effect of adding Predictors in Selection Process 197
5.6 One possible result of adding Predictors in Selection Process 197
5.7 Various stages of Selection Process 198
5.8 Employment Tests Categories 205
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403 Human Resource Management v MGNCRE

5.9 Types of Proficiency Tests 205
5.10 Types of Psychological Tests 206
5.11 The Big Five Personality Traits 207
5.12 Types of Interviews 211
5.13 Various combinations in a Selection Process 218
5.14 Characteristics of a Psychological Test 219
5.15 Types of Validity 219
5.16 Common Selection Interview Questions by Areas 221

List of Boxes
1.1 International Labour Organisation (ILO) 14
1.2 HR Practices in Tata Steel 16
1.3 Case Study: But Neelam is paid more than Me 32
1.4 Advertisement for HR Manager 36
1.5 Case Study: Noble Paper Industry 39
1.6 SHRM Practices in WIPRO Ltd. 44
1.7 Case Study: Jay Engineering Works 46
2.1 Advertisement for Manager HR for a Pharmaceutical Company 60
2.2 Case Study: Emerald Toys I 71
2.3 Lupin Ltd. HRP Initiatives 79
2.4 Forbes Marshall HRP Initiatives 80
2.5 Case Study: Emerald Toys II 88
3.1 Example of a Department Structure 109
3.2 Typical Questions from PAQ (Position Analysis Questionnaire) 116
3.3 Example of a Job Analysis Questionnaire 120
3.4 Job Description of Accounts Assistant Job 124
3.5 Job Specification for Marketing Manager (Telecom Company) 126
3.6 Case Study: Chaya’s Dilemma 128
4.1 Notice Period 148
4.2 Case Study: XL Eduneeds I 163
4.3 Joining Time 167
4.4 Case Study: XL Eduneeds II 173
4.5 Case Study: XL Eduneeds III 179
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403 Human Resource Management vi MGNCRE

4.6 Example I of a Job Post (Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.) 181
4.7 Example II of a Job Post (IBM) 182
5.1 Lateral Recruitment 195
5.2 Case Study: XL Eduneeds IV 203
5.3 Typical question in 16PG Questionnaire 208
5.4 Case Study: XL Eduneeds V 209
5.5 Halo Effect 212
5.6 Case Study: XL Eduneeds VI 215

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403 Human Resource Management vii MGNCRE

 Chapter 1 Introduction to Human Resource Management

Organisations are built with people. For organisations, people are key assets. While replenishment is
possible for all others, it is difficult in case of human resources. As such Human Resource
Management (HRM) plays an important role in any organisation. Every person is different from
another person. Relations vary. Behaviours fluctuate. It is not uncommon to find ‘Possibility of
synergies’, ‘Dynamic environment’, ‘Outpouring of emotions’ and many more in organisations. With
all these, HRM is emerging as a vibrant function and it is becoming an integral part of every
organisation.

In this chapter, the evolution of HRM over centuries is explored. The concept of HRM, its functions
and an array of roles expected out of a human resource manager are discussed at length. It
concludes with a study on Strategic Human Resource Management, which organisations are trying to
adopt.

Objectives
• To explain how HRM has evolved and its importance
• To familiarise concept, features, objectives and scope of HRM
• To explain the functions of HRM
• To familiarise the role, duties and responsibilities of a HR Manager
• To comprehend on the strategic HRM and how it acts as a game changer.

Structure

1.1 Evolution of HRM

1.2 Concept of HRM

1.3 Functions of HRM

1.4 Role and status of Human Resource Manager

1.5 Strategic HRM

Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.

Richard Bronson

403 Human Resource Management 8 MGNCRE

1.1 Evolution of HRM
Everyone wants to know the concept of HRM. Instead, we will see the evolution of HRM first.

We will dwell on the past and study the relationships between two sets of people in different eras. It
will help us to understand better as the concept has undergone many changes.

Human
Employees resources
Labour

Servants

Slaves

Figure 1.1 Evolution of HRM

In brief, that was the evolution of relationship or to say the evolution of treatment one set gives to
the other set. Started with ‘Slaves’ (who can be beaten, purchased or sold), treatment moved
upwards to ‘Servants’ (who can be ill-treated). The treatment progressed and started looking at
other section as ‘Labour’ (a force en masse), further improved to treat them as ‘Employees’
(required workforce) and graduated to recognise them as ‘Human resources’ (an asset to be
possessed). The evolution took centuries. And the process goes on and moves to the next stages
of treating employees as ‘Human Capital’. Figure 1.2 shows some distinguishable eras in this
evolution.

Prior to BC Ancient Era Medieval

Era

Social Responsibility Era Industrial Revolution

Trade Union Era
Era

Human
Scientific Management Era Human Relations Era Resources Era

Figure 1.2 The Journey of HRM: Different Eras

HRM started along with others like trade and commerce. Existence of HRM dates back to 1800 BC.
The Hammurabi (6th king of Babylon) Code of laws has prescribed minimum wages for labourers, ox
drivers, sailors and others. Kautilya’s Arthasastra (300 BC) mentioned many aspects of HRD.

Ancient and Medieval eras of civilisation mostly used to have the village or self-sufficient unit culture
wherein farmers and craftsman used to live on their own. Engagement of other persons by

403 Human Resource Management 9 MGNCRE

 “I bought you with so much money. I am giving food, clothes, accommodation. You need to
complete all the tasks. You need to obey. Whatever, I say, is the rule.”

craftsmen was predominantly for teaching or passing on the skills and relationships were akin to
teacher and student or a master and pupil. Since all these were few in numbers, there used to be
substantial availability of workforce. These are slaves and they were available plenty in number.

Slaves were like goods. One can buy and sell them. Landlords, big businessmen, rulers and their
local representatives or self-proclaimed independent chiefs of a tribe or of a region - all used to
purchase and maintain the slaves. The tasks for slaves used to be hard including domestic works,
agriculture, construction, carrying heavy loads, sailing boats. In return slaves get food, clothes and
accommodation. There was no monetary payment. Rules used to be stringent. The non-followers
and run-aways used to get harsh punishments. Slaves system continued for centuries almost up to
early 19th Century and was abolished by the Governments.

The relationship was Master and Slave.

Medieval Era

After some centuries landlords started engaging serfs. Serfs are poor peasants who do not have any
land of their own. This was slightly better. Serfs had their own accommodation. It could be in the
middle of the fields but better than the servant quarters of the land lords. Works used to be
confined to domestic works, agriculture, cattle rearing and no heavy works. Landlords used to be
slightly better since they used to help in times of distress.
“You can live in that place and take this money. In return, you till my land and raise crops. You and
your family need to do all the domestic works. I will give you food and clothes. I am also giving you
land. You can do farming but keep paying rent for that. “

Unlike slaves, serfs cannot be sold. But still, the freedom used to be elusive since paying back the
monies to the landlords was almost an impossible proposition. The arrangement used to be
continued for generations almost perpetually. System used to be prevalent in India also in some
variants (bonded labour in rural areas) virtually till the end of 19th Century.

The relationship was Master and Slave. But masters used to have some concern for the slaves’
difficulties. Serfs, unlike slaves, used to have some freedom and authority on the land leased in.

403 Human Resource Management 10 MGNCRE

Then came the big bang.

Industrial Revolution Era

The first Industrial Revolution started in the middle of the 18th century. It brought the Labour.
Remember Adam Smith, father of the Economics who advocated for maximisation of wealth through
his book ‘Wealth of Nations” -‘Maximisation of wealth’ and ‘Maximisation of profits’. Opportunity of
making goods through the machines has started. The merchants and big landlords entered the fray
and they constructed the factories. And to run them, they were in need of manpower. They started
hiring manpower by straight employment (no fixed tenure) or by entering into contracts for fixed
periods. The contracts were usually associated with advance payments. They used to get manpower
mainly from rural areas and also from faraway lands.

Merchants also used to induce the craftsmen to produce more goods and supply to them. The
craftsmen responded by increasing production through engaging labour. Some of them, instead left
their crafts, closed their cottage outfits and joined the workforce to engage in the production on the
machines at merchants’ factories. Most of the artisans, who could not compete with the pace of the
machines in producing goods, finally joined the workforce at factories. Merchants became
industrialists and owners of the factories. Craftsmen became labour.

Contracts used to be almost with unilateral terms and conditions. And the contracts need to be
adhered to. Employers used to extend the contracts by offering incentives so that they do not lose
the experienced labour. For all others, it was hire and fire. All labour, including the contracted ones
were subjected to strict supervision and control with severe punishments for indiscipline and
misconduct.

The scenario: Paltry wages, More number of working hours, Pathetic and dangerous workplaces,
Insecure employment. Employers started engaging supervisors and Managers to control these
labour. Most of the time, the primary relation used to be between Managers or Supervisors and
Labour. Since it is strict wage payments for the labour, no human touch was present.

The relationship was between Owner/Boss with full authority and subordinates or to say, Master
and Servant.

Trade Union Era

Slowly labour started to form groups. But these attempts were failed since Courts also did not
support such adventures as per the prevalent statutes. The Governments also used to put a nelson’s
eye as they get taxes from the trade and it was, after all, a free market. But the labour was
increasing in numbers over the years did not relent in their efforts. They realised that individually
they are weak but collectively, they have strength. They have started forming associations. Around
1880’s trade union movement started and picked up strength by the close of the 19th century.
Governments began enacting many labour acts mostly for labour safety. Employers also started
realising the winds of change. They have perforce, started improving the working conditions in
terms of reduced number of working hours, creating some amenities at the workplaces etc., They
also started looking into the human aspect since they understood that hire and fire approach would
not work forever.

The relationship was between Owner with constrained authority and workers.

Social Responsibility Era

Along with the 20th century, social responsibility thoughts and concepts also entered. Employers, out
of increasing pressures from the Governments and Trade unions, and also because of the feel of the
social responsibility started a humane approach. They have slowly started introducing welfare

403 Human Resource Management 11 MGNCRE

measures, apart from improving working conditions and some employers even provided housing
through building colonies for workers. This social responsibility used to be there in some of the
employers much before the concept penetrated the society. Robert Owen, called as the ‘father of
personnel management’ was one such. He was an industrialist from Scotland and made many
changes including reducing long working hours (used to be 13-15 hours a day), minimising
employment of children, starting of first adult night school for workers, and building housing
colonies for workers.

The Relationship was between a responsible (or even a father figure) owner and workers.

Scientific Management Era

Around the same time almost, scientific management principles made inroads. Taylor, the author of
scientific management based on the principles – scientific working, harmony, and cooperation
developed Time and Motion studies which brought in higher productivity. Time studies were used
to arrive at the standard time of completing a job. The Motion studies eliminated wastage of
workers movement in the workplace. Better tools and scientific techniques for doing job and
incentives for higher productivity through differential piece rate system, were suggested. (In
differential piece rate system worker who produces normal production gets higher piece rate than
the worker whose production was below standard). Clear-cut division of work and harmonious
relations were stressed upon. Taylor’s principles were followed and many of the tasks of workers
were standardised. The production lines and layouts were changed. Some of the inventions were
moving or rotating platforms. Instead of all workers working on individual items, the total job was
split into activities. One man picks the chassis and puts one part and the second one fixes another
part and the third one may tighten the screws and so on. Piece rate of wages concept also stepped
in and the idea was increasing productivity. For minimum wages, workers had to produce
prescribed number of items. Owners knew that they could increase production by looking after
workforce better and employees knew that they have to work productively. Supervision was at its
maximum level.

The relationship was between an expectant owner and a skilled worker.

Women factory workers at the Colt Manufacturing Company making barrels for the M19111

In this period only, the First World War started. The first world war accelerated changes in the
development of personnel management, with women being recruited in large numbers to fill gaps
left by men going to fight, which in turn meant reaching an agreement with trade unions about

1
Image Source: Industry in Connecticut during World War
Ihttps://library.ccsu.edu/dighistFall16/exhibits/show/industry-ct-ww1/women-in-the-factories

403 Human Resource Management 12 MGNCRE

accepting unskilled women into craftsmen jobs. This also led to appointment of Welfare Secretaries
(Officers) for the protection of women and girls. Though the trade unions and statutes of
Parliaments improved lot of things, workers detested the scientific management principles of the
shop floor. It induced monotony as the same task has to be performed many times during the day
with the same precision. There was no human touch. Workers were getting specialised of doing the
same task and in a way their job has become mechanised.

And for a worker turned craftsman, it has become intolerable as it was killing his skills totally. Karl
Marx captured the feelings of workers. The second kind of alienation, Marx identified was the
workers’ lack of control over the activity of production and its process. Hitherto, they were making
the units as a whole, and though it used to take more time, it used to give satisfaction as the whole
process and the total activity was under their control. Since workers did not have any say on the
production or its process, they were getting estranged from the job.

The relationship was between Calculated Owner and mass of workers akin to ‘appendages to
machinery’

Human Relations Era

The scientific management continued for about two to three decades. Around 1920s, management
researchers started making detailed studies on human factor at work. Harvard Business School
studies from 1924 to 1932 at Hawthorne plant of Western Electric Company made key contribution
to the human relations approach. These and other studies suggested the importance of human
relations and working conditions at the workplace. During this period, International Labour
Organisation (ILO) was started. It was created in 1919 as part of the Treaty of Versailles (ending of
World War I). It was ‘to reflect belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished only if it
is based on social justice’. (See box 1.1 for more information on ILO).

Image STOP CHILD LABOUR illuminated in the windows of the ILO headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland2.

Close to these studies, behavioural scientists and industrial psychologists started making studies and
gone beyond the management researchers. Maslow’s need hierarchy was one notable contribution.
Maslow categorised workers’ needs into five tiers i.e., physiological, safety, social, self-esteem and
self-actualisation and said that workers would go through their needs one after another. Other
behavioural scientists had concluded that to get the best out of a person which is self-actualisation,
all other needs to be fulfilled. Further studies concluded that apart from economic rewards, job
security, social and psychological needs fulfilment, recognition were the motivating factors. They
also pointed out that collective interest and informal groups influence the attitude towards the
work. They made many a suggestion like creating healthy atmosphere at workplace, giving
operational freedom for work (almost against the Taylor’s scientific principles, taking cognizance of

2
& 3 Source: ILO website https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/history/lang--en/index.htm

403 Human Resource Management 13 MGNCRE

the workers’ feelings), requirement of constant motivation, and better treatment of subordinates.
Many vital concepts like Job enrichment (making job interesting), Management by Objectives (MBO
– Involving employee in goal setting exercise) were the results of these studies. All the studies
concluded in unison that workers should be treated as human beings. With the result, working
conditions were improved.

The relationship was between Employer and Employees (equal human beings). Refer Box 1.1 (ILO)

Box 1.1 International Labour Organisation3

The driving forces for the ILO's creation arose from security, humanitarian, political and economic
considerations. The founders of the ILO recognized the importance of social justice in securing peace,
against a background of the exploitation of workers in the industrialising nations of that time. There
was also increasing understanding of the world's economic interdependence and the need for
cooperation to obtain similarity of working conditions in countries competing for markets. Reflecting
these ideas, the Preamble of the ILO Constitution states:
• Whereas universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice;
• And whereas conditions of labour exist involving such injustice, hardship and privation to
large numbers of people as to produce unrest so great that the peace and harmony of the
world are imperilled; and an improvement of those conditions is urgently required;
• Whereas also the failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of labour is an obstacle in
the way of other nations which desire to improve the conditions in their own countries.
The process resulted in a tripartite organisation, the only one of its kind, bringing together
representatives of governments, employers and workers in its executive bodies. The Organization has
played a role at key historical junctures – the Great Depression, decolonisation, the victory over
apartheid in South Africa and today in the building of an ethical and productive framework for a fair
globalization.

Human Resources Era

The era of human relations continued. The role of welfare offices expanded to personnel managers.
Later part of 20th century (1980s) has seen many changes in the business. Business has become
global and rapid technological changes were taking place. Diversity of labour increased in terms of
ethnicity, gender and race. The educational background of workers had increased. Mobility of
people had gone up. Managements started concentrating on motivation of employees. After
Maslow, there were many researchers and industrial psychologists who developed various theories
which had influenced the thinking of the managements. Notable among them are: Frederick
Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory classified different factors into Hygiene (necessities) and
Motivators placed between esteem and self-actualisation needs of Maslow. Douglas McGregor’s
Theory X and Theory Y dealt with perspectives of Managers on workers which helped training of
Managers.

Rensis Likert’s Participative Decision Making Theory created four distinctive management styles viz.,
Exploitative Authoritative (manager doesn’t have trust in decision making capabilities of
subordinates), Benevolent Authoritative (Managers only should take decisions and workers should
comply), Consultative (Manager doesn’t have complete confidence in subordinates’ decision making
capacity, and takes inputs from them through consultation and makes final decisions) and
Participative (managers have complete confidence in workers abilities and encourage them to be
active in decision making). And the welfare state slowly evolved into considering employees as
assets and that was the beginning of the era of human resources management, the present era.

403 Human Resource Management 14 MGNCRE

In India
Prior Independence, though predominantly an agricultural economy, developments of the world had
ripples in India also. India was one of the founder members of the International Labour Organisation
(ILO) in 1920s. Two Institutions –The Indian Institute of Personnel Management (IIPM) in Kolkata,
National Institute of Labour Management (NILM) in Mumbai were established. There were many
industries established prior Independence. There was not much industrial unrest in this period. One
of the reasons was founders of some of these companies were benevolent and caring and also were
nurturing talents of employees. (See the box 1.2 for HR practices of Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd
(TISCO), presently Tata Steel). The Royal Commission of Labour in India (1929-31) recommended
appointment of labour officers in industries. The Bombay Mill Owners Association appointed labour
officers on their own to settle disputes. During Second World War, these officers’ role is changed to
Welfare Officers who were looking after working conditions, establishment of canteens, arranging
rations, and providing medical facilities.

After Independence, a lot of legislative support was rendered for the safety and welfare of the
workers. India is one of the few countries to bring many acts for workers’ welfare. Massive outlay
provided for industries in the Second Five year Plan resulted in establishment of many Public Sector
Undertakings which acted as Model Employers. ‘Though not widespread, the Indian industry was
also open to adopting tools and techniques that could help improving efficiency and productivity.
For example, in 1961, with full cooperation from the trade union, the Indian Aluminium Company
Ltd. conducted a plant-wide work study at its Alupuram, Kerala plant. This lead to defining the work
output, staffing pattern, and productivity linked incentive scheme. The establishment of
management training institutes and business schools like XLRI and the IIMs helped the industry to
imbibe modern management principles and thought.’ (SreeRamarao, 2009).

While legislature provided checks and balances, from 1970s the shift was moved from welfare
towards efficiency. By 1980s and 1990s it graduated to human values and productivity and into the
present HRM of today of treating employees as resources. Figure 1.3 would depict the evolution of
HRM.

Figure 1.3 Evolution of HRM: Organisational Scope in different time periods3

3
Source: https://hrdictionaryblog.com/2012/10/28/evolution-of-human-resource-management/

403 Human Resource Management 15 MGNCRE

 To Do Activity
About 70 Companies were established before Independence in India Like Century Textiles, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing,
Indian Hotels, Alembic Pharma, TVS Group, Kesoram Industries, Birla Corporation, Raymond etc., Find out whether any or
some of them have good record (like functioning without any strikes for decades)and study their HR practices.

Box 1.2 HR Practices in Tata Steel

Human Rights, Labour and Environment – all these issues are inter dependent and the human being is
central to each one. Good human relations are essential for the success of any organisation. Tata
Steel has achieved a pre-eminent position in the Indian industry primarily through maintaining good
relations with its employees and other stake holders.

Tata Steel established steel plant in the heartland of tribal belt (Jamshedpur, Jharkhand), started
operations from 1911. At that time working conditions were deplorable all over the world. Mahatma
Gandhi even visited London to express his solidarity with workers’ movement there. But Tata Steel
was always proactive in workers welfare. It can be seen from the following Table, that the Company
was decades ahead of the legislation in employee welfare measures.

Welfare Measure Introduced in Legislation in India Enforced

Tata Steel from

8 hour working day 1912 Factories Act 1948

Free Medical Aid 1915 Employees State Insurance Act 1948
Welfare Department 1917 Factories Act 1948
Works Committees 1919 Industrial Disputes Act 1947
Leave with Pay 1920 Factories Act 1948
Institute for Training 1921 Apprentices Act 1961
Bonus 1934 Bonus Act 1965

Management principles are always people oriented. Post World War I, when prices of essentials shot
up, Tata Steel purchased them in bulk and ensured workers got them at cheaper rates. It has also
established thrift and credit societies which have eliminated money lenders. Joint Consultation
Councils were set up at works level, department level and management level.

It has pioneered in training. For technical training for employees, company established Jamshedpur
Technical Institute (JTI). Wide variety of training programmes from literacy to advanced metallurgy
and engineering were offered. Training was also imparted to Public Sector Steel Companies. JTI was
established in 1921, when there were no noteworthy training institutes in India. For managers,
training was from Tata Management Development Center (TMDC).

System of Joint Consultations, a participative management system was established decades ago. There
was always an endeavour to improve the quality of the life of the people within 50 km radius of its
production facility.

Barometer Last strike in Tata Steel was in 1928.

Source: Ramesh (2016)

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1.2 Concept of HRM
In simple words it’s managing people. Concept of HRM can be elaborated from the definitions. Also
refer Figure 1.4 The National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM) of India has defined human
resource/personnel management as “that part of management which is concerned with people at
work and with their relationship with an enterprise. It’s aim is to bring together and develop into an
effective organisation of the men and women who make up an enterprise and having regard for the
well-being of the individuals and of working groups, to enable them to make their best contribution
to its success”.

According to Edwin Flippo, “ Human resource management is the planning, organizing, directing and
controlling of the procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance and
separation of human resource to the end that individual, organisational and social objectives are
achieved”.

Objectives HRM

Procurement Development Integration

Fulfillment of Objectives

Figure 1.4 HRM Process

There are many definitions of HRM and these two are taken, to understand the concept. The NIPM’s
definition gives the crux. Firstly we are talking of HRM in relation to an enterprise and secondly, we
are talking about the people at work with an enterprise. The definition brings the aim of HRM as
making an effective organisation with the people by taking care of their well-being. The concept of
HRM is driving the organisation to work for the well-being of human resources so that the
individuals as a group will give their best contribution to the organisation.

We have seen in the HRM evolution, the change in the relationships between the employer and the
employee. We can say the change was for the better. While it used to be only authority at one side
and all responsibility on the other side, it changed into sharing of responsibilities on both sides.
Definition is saying that HRM is that part of management, to develop an organisation which will
enable the people to make their best contribution. The task of enabling the people (through taking
care of their well-being) is the responsibility of the organisation. The change or improvement in
relationships has come through this shift or sharing of responsibilities. The definition of Edwin
Flippo is on the process of HRM and basically talking about procurement and development of human
resources so that individual and organisation objectives are achieved. It means identifying correct

403 Human Resource Management 17 MGNCRE

people for a job, recruiting and developing them so that, in turn, they will make the organisation to
achieve its objectives. In a way it is to say that putting right people at the right job. This is the main
objective.

According to Narang M (n.d.), HRM is that art of management process which develops and manages
the human element of enterprise considering their resourcefulness in terms of total knowledge,
skills, creative abilities, talents, aptitudes and potentialities for effective contribution to the
organisational objectives. Look at the definitions once again. Are they both conveying same
concept, wording different or are they giving divergent views?

Looks to be different, aren’t they?

They are not. Both of them are conveying the same concept but bringing in two different facets.
One is dealing at macro level and the other one at functional or micro level. One is describing it as a
function. Other one is defining it as a process. Both are relating to ‘managing the people’

NIPM definition is on managing people on a broad (macro) level. It is describing HRM as taking care
of the people in an enterprise; harness their energies and making them focused on organisation’s
goals and in the process achieving their individual goals. Remember Maslow’s need hierarchy of
categorising workers’ needs in the order starting from physiological, safety, social, self-esteem and
up to self-actualisation. If you treat goals (since they are manifestation of needs) in the place of
needs, you will find that the HRM is managing employees, through supporting them in achieving
their goals of self-esteem and self-actualisation and orienting those goals so that they become
congruent with organisation’s goals. It describes HRM as a constant activity or to say defining HRM
as a function.

Flippo’s definition is again on managing people through different activities or different phases of the
same activity. It is talking about planning (for specified manpower), recruiting the manpower and
maintain them through fair compensation for their employment, be with them till their separation
from the organisation (through resignation or superannuation) and dealing with them to see that
individual and organisational objectives are achieved. This definition is also about synchronising the
objectives of an individual and those of organisation. It is describing HRM as that of one which puts
a system in place or defining HRM as a process.

One definition is bringing out a structural dimension of HRM. It puts HRM as an author of a Flow
Chart -a Flow Chart of activities and a Flow Chart from beginning to end of a process. It is saying that
HRM is managing people in a structured way. The structure through which an organisation achieves
its objectives through the people it nurtured and developed.

Other definition is on the vision dimension of HRM. It is describing HRM as a function which looks
beyond a structure or a function with vision - a function or process or activity of enabling people. Or
it describes HRM as a function of enabling people with a vision to make them building blocks for
organisation’s success. In other words, it puts HRM as a continuous activity with long term
objectives.

The two definitions are not contradicting. They are complementary to each other. HRM is for
effective utilisation of the human resources i.e. people. And HRM is facilitating for the peoples’ and
organisation's goals achievement in a way that both will occur simultaneously.

The HRM is:

• Planning for manning positions.
• Spotting and recruiting the human resources
• Managing the people in an organisation.

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 Structure
Vision

Macro Function Micro Process

HRM HRM
(NIPM) (FLIPPO)

Figure 1.5 Two definitions of HRM

• Developing, maintaining and utilising the human resources.

• Motivating the workforce.
• And in the process tuning individual goals to the frequency of the organisation’s goals.
(Refer Figure 1.6)

Planning for
staffing
Individual
goals Spotting &
≈Organisation recruitng
objectives

Motivating Managing
workforce people
Developing,
maintaining &
utilising
manpower

Figure 1.6 HRM in brief

Progression of HRM

Personnel Human Relations Human Resources

Management Management Management
Figure 1.7 from PM to HRM

While studying evolution, we have seen how the treatment of human beings has undergone changes
in different eras. Similarly HRM has also undergone many changes over the period of time and
evolved into the present version. Started with a minuscule part of administration, function has
grown to consist of a division by itself. ‘Personnel Management’, progressed to ‘Human Relations
Management’ and graduated to Human Resource Management (Figure 1.7). It was insignificant in

403 Human Resource Management 19 MGNCRE

the beginning as part of the administration and just used to enrol the owner-selected personnel.
And slowly the recruitment and other functions were started getting delegated from owners to
down below managers.

This development has come, because of change in the philosophies of managements on workforce,
which is depicted in Figure 1.8. The labour which was treated as a ‘commodity’, upgraded to be
treated as a factor of production. Then the productivity improvements through welfare measures
stepped into.

Labour is like a Workers

Labour is like Various needs
commodity productivity
any factor of of workforce
which can be production or will improve are to be
bought and with welfare
machine tools taken care of
sold measures

Figure 1.8 Changes in the Managements’ philosophies

Though the words Personnel Management (PM) and HRM are used interchangeably, there are
differences between them. There was a transformation in the concept, consequent to the changes
in the management philosophies and external factors like legislation. The evolution of the concept
can be seen by observing some key differences between PM and HRM, given in Table 1.1. For the
sake of convenience, the Human Relations approach and Human Resources approach are treated as
the same.
Table 1.1 Differences between PM and HRM4
Basis of Comparison PM HRM
Activities Routine Strategic and with purpose
Communication Indirect (mostly through circulars, one to Direct (meetings, phone calls,
many)like “It is hereby informed that ---“ or mails, sms). Communications can
“I am directed to ----“ start with a ‘hi’ even
Job Design Division of labour (calculation of total Changing according to the
quantum of work and divide by standard potential, Making designs for
work output) groups
Approach Mostly framing rules and procedures Making suggestions
Employment Contracts Standard or through collective bargaining Individual negotiations
(Pay) (with unions)
Outlook All are labour/employees Individuals are different
Attitude Giving fair price for employee’s time and Investment
expertise.

The passage from PM to HRM was via the stage of Human Relations Management. It was according
to the gradual change in the managements’ philosophies. Contributions of various theories
(mentioned in the previous section) also can’t be ignored. It was almost similar to the progression in
the Maslow’s need hierarchy (Figure 1.9). The present day concept can be better understood by
distinguishing between Human Relations approach and Human Resources approach. Table 1.2 gives

4
Source: Inputs from article “Difference between Personnel Management and Human Resource Management”
by Aline Sampras (https://www.hrmexam.com/2019/05/17/difference-between-personnel-management-and-
human-resource-management/)

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 Self
Actualisation

Esteem

Belongingness

Safety

Physiological

Figure 1.9 Maslow’s Need Hierarchy

some key differences. To put in simple words HRM is spotting the talent in the employees, nurturing
them and harnessing the potential out of them.

Table 1.2 Differences between Human Relations and Human Resources approaches

Human Relations Human Resources

Attitudes People need to feel belong, be liked and In addition they have desire to contribute
toward people be respected. effectively and creatively.

People want to feel a useful part of the Workforce is capable of exercising more
company/work group/department. creativity, initiative and responsibility than
their present jobs allow.

Kind and Manager’s basic task is to make each worker Manager’s basic task is to create an
amount of believe that he is useful and important part of environment in which his subordinates can
participation organisation. contribute their full range of talents in
fulfilment of organisation’s objectives.

Manager should be willing to explain his Manager should allow and encourage his
decisions and discuss his subordinates’ subordinates to participate in routine and
objections to his plans. On routine matters he also in important decisions.
should encourage his subordinates to
participate in planning.
Expectations Sharing information and involving in decision Overall quality of decision making and
making will satisfy basic needs of performance will improve.
belongingness and recognition.
Satisfying these needs will improve morale Subordinates will exercise responsible
and reduce resistance to formal authority. self-direction and self-control in
accomplishing objectives.

High employee morale will improve Subordinate satisfaction will increase as a

performance. It will reduce friction and make by-product of improved performance and
manager’s job easier. the opportunity to contribute creatively.
Source: Miles R.E. (1965)

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Features of HRM
• It is a continuous process.
• It needs to change (and changes) according to the times and also brings changes in the
organisation as per the needs.
• It is omnipresent. It is not restricted to companies but is also necessary for non-profit
organisations, and covers all levels of employees.
• It is a service function and multi-disciplinary.
• It is people-centric and develops team spirit.
• It is integrated and follows regulations religiously.

Objectives of HRM
As per NIPM, the primary objective of HRM is to ensure the availability of right people for right jobs
so as the organisation’s goals are achieved effectively. Flippo’s definition goes a step further and
talks about achieving of individual, organizational and societal objectives.
We may classify the objectives as shown in Figure 1.10

Societal objectives

Organisational
objectives

Functional objectives

Personal objectives

Figure 1.10 HRM Objectives Classification

Societal Objectives: HRM should be socially responsible. It should keep society’s expectations in
mind. For instance, when the Governments give concessions for establishment of industries, they in
turn, expect employment generation for the local people from the industry. Or at times, Society may
impose restrictions on the employment or some other issues.

Organisational Objectives: HRM concept is organisation’s effectiveness and success. Manpower

planning, recruitments and other activities should reflect this concept.

Functional Objectives: HRM should cater to the needs of the organisation. While organisational
objectives take long term goals into account, the functional objectives consider the short term and
immediate requirements of the organisation.

Personal Objectives: HRM is for development of Organisation through development of individuals.

It should extend support to the individuals achieving their goals which will increase the effectiveness
and hence the usefulness to the organisation. Training of employees is one example.

Some Important objectives of HRM are:

• All ‘Rights’ - To recruit right type of personnel to the right jobs at the right time
• Achieving organisation’s goals through recruitment, development and motivation of
manpower

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 • Keeping working place in clean and healthy state both in physical and figurative terms Job
seekers would be interested to join, when they get feedback of an organisation like “it’s
clean, no politics”, “it’s a very healthy atmosphere there Your talent will be appreciated” ---
• Providing facilities and opportunities for development of employees
• Creating belongingness in the employees and driving away favouritism, nepotism and
inequalities in all the decisions
• Taking care of safety and welfare needs of the employees
• Maintaining good industrial relations and keeping peace and harmony
• Effective utilisation of the skill sets of the employees
• Social responsibility
• Encouraging and ensuring employees in achieving their individual goals and tuning them to
organisational goals
The list is only a gist of the objectives of HRM. We will learn more of them in studying functions and
role.
HRM aims to achieve both efficiency and justice, neither of which can be
pursued successfully without the other M.W. Cumming (1989)

Scope of HRM
It looks simple. Isn’t it? It is just ‘managing the people’. But it is not. In fact, it has a vast scope. It is
expanding day by day. The scope used to be attending problems of low wages or safe working
conditions in earlier days. Now the problems that HRM is expected to solve, have increased
manifold.
Look at these:

Both are right in

their own way.
What to do?

“Dear HR. I don’t like my

“You said challenging assignment but
team leader. He doesn’t like
never told me that people can keep
me either. Then why don’t
calling at 11 pm even. If this is the
you change the team?”
way, my wife will divorce me”

These are just a few examples. The scope of HRM is extensive and defining an exhaustive scope is
not possible. However, we will try to understand the scope in broad terms. NIPM has specified the
scope of HRM in three key aspects (Figure 1.11).

Personnel Management – Manpower planning, Recruitment, Induction, Training and Development,

Compensation, Transfers, Performance appraisals, Layoffs, Retrenchment, Productivity

403 Human Resource Management 23 MGNCRE

Employee Welfare – Cleanliness, Ventilation, Proper lighting, Safety and Security, Medical facilities,
Accidental insurance/compensation, Canteen and recreation facilities, Removing workplace hazards
or providing adequate safety measures, Employee Counselling

Industrial Relations- Cordial relations with Unions, Disciplinary proceedings, Collective bargaining,
Dispute settlement mechanisms

It is only taking the Personnel Management aspect into consideration. But when we take present
day HRM, the scope expands to conflict resolution, 360° appraisals, building of teams, training and
development.

Personnel Management Employee Welfare Industrial Relations

Manpower Planning Cleanliness & Ventilation Cordial relations with
Recruitment & Induction Safety & Security unions
Training & Development Medical Facilities
Transfers Accident Collective bargaining
Perfromance appraisals Insurance/Compensation Disciplinary proceedings
Layoffs & Retrenchment Canteen & Recreation faciities Dispute settlement
Productivity Employee Counselling mechanisms

Figure 1.11 Scope of HRM

Conflict Resolution

3600 Appraisal

Building of teams

Many more aspects

Figure 1.12 Extended Scope of HRM

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Both the scope and objectives are listed in brief and will be better understood when we learn other
aspects of HRM.

Let us not forget the usual debate.

HRM: Is it a science or an art?

It is a science because it involves processes, principles, and experiments. You recruit a person with
an expectation that he/she will become a big asset to the organisation. If the person succeeds, it’s
good. Or if the person proves to be, though got good talent, a misfit in the organisational culture, it’s
a failed experiment.
Definitely, HRM is an art since managing people is an art.

Is it Science or Art or Both or None? Give a thought.

1.3 Functions of HRM

Having learnt the concept, objectives and scope, let us study the functions of HRM (Figure 1.13). You
can consider functions as processes. Processes established for fulfilment of organisation’s goals and
objectives such that they will be in tune with them. HRM functions are of two categories -
Managerial and Operational. Managerial functions are common for all managers irrespective of
department. Operative function set is HRM-specific. Managerial functions are Planning, Organising,
Staffing, Directing and Control. Operative functions are Procurement, Development, Compensation,
Maintenance, Motivation and Integration.
Managerial Functions
• Planning
• Organising
• Staffing
• Direction
Functions of HRM • Control

Operative Functions
• Procurement
• Development
• Compensation
• Maintenance
• Motivation
• Integration

Figure 1.13 Functions of HRM

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Managerial Functions
Most of the day-to-day activities of shop floor managers would involve these functions. Other
managers’ activities also involve these functions but with less frequency.

Planning
Remember budgets. Budgets are plans. Plans are documents describing where the organisations
would like to move on to in terms of sales, strength, and dealer network etc. “By the end of next
year our Bank will have branches in all Tier III Cities of Southern region” is a Goal or Target or an
objective statement. Planning is deciding what is to be done to achieve that target. Planning is future
oriented. It involves forecasting. All other functions will be dependent on this. According to the
objective, activities and procedures will be finalised and specific numbers will be forecasted.

For instance, if the Bank wants to open and increase the branches in all tier III Cities in South India
say 200 in numbers, it means they would be requiring about 1000 people to run these branches.
After deducting existing strength of people who can be sent to some of the branches, balance
manpower are to be recruited. Planning involves deciding numbers as per the levels (Managers,
Tellers, and Executives), program of recruitment month-wise and rules for recruitment. It would be
a manpower budget for next year and preparation of the same is planning.

Organising
Once a plan is made next activity is putting men and material in place and that is what Organising. It
is an activity of deciding structure and allocation of jobs to individuals. It involves:
• Giving specific tasks to individuals.
• Establishing Departments/Divisions/Sections job wise.
• Giving authority and specifying responsibilities to each individual.
• Establishing communication channels and deciding authority structure (flow).
• Setting up a system for coordination.

Departments/Divisions Specifying authority and

Assigning specific tasks
establishment responsibiility

Authority structure &

System for coordination
communication channel

Figure 1.14 Activities of Organising Function

Staffing
It is putting manpower in the positions/jobs. Activities include deciding what kind of people are
required (qualifications/experience/skills), recruitment, deciding compensation (salary), induction,
training and development, establishing standards for performance (targets), evaluating the
performances and other related activities.

403 Human Resource Management 26 MGNCRE

 Recruitment

Perfromance Deciding
appraisal compensation

Training &
Induction
Development

Figure 1.15 Activities of Staffing Function

It may be noted that though it is a common managerial function, staffing is done by HR department
in general and other managers will specify the numbers and desired skills. In case of highly
specialised jobs, the concerned departmental managers will undertake this function. For instance,
design specialists for Industrial Boilers would be fewer in numbers and in such cases, the concerned
departmental head would be involved in staffing function.

Directing
To put it simply, it is telling others what is expected out of them in a formal way. Directing function
aims at getting willingness and cooperation from others (basically groups) to achieve the goals and
involves:
• Getting work done by subordinates
• Establishing a two-way communication channel with them
• Motivating subordinates by giving them incentives, appreciating their efforts etc.,
• Keeping the morale. It is one of the important tasks of HR Manager. Giving equal
treatment to all is a must and showing concern for their problems would increase
morale. Training and Development programmes or even a day’s outing to a picnic spot
boost the morale.

Getting work Establishing

done by Two way Motivation
subordinates communication

Keeping Morale
high

Figure 1.16 Activities of Directing function

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Controlling
It is a process of efficiency checking. It involves:
• Setting the standards of performance
• Measuring actual performance
• Comparing with the standards
• Taking remedial steps for correcting. Remedial steps include counselling, training or even
punitive measures as per the analysis on a case-to-case basis.

Controlling is important because without that organisation cannot achieve continuous improvement.

Setting standards of performance

Measuring actual performance

Comparing with standards

Taking correctve action

Figure 1.17 Controlling Functions

Operative Functions
Now let us study the Operative Functions of HRM. As mentioned earlier, these are HRM specific.

Table 1.3 Operative Functions of HRM

Procurement Development Compensation Maintenance Integration
Job Analysis Career Planning Job Evaluation Employee Industrial
Health Relations
Recruitment& Employee Training Performance Motivation Discipline
Selection Evaluation
Placement and Executive Salary HR records Grievance
On-boarding Development Administration Addressing
Socialising Job rotation Incentives and HRIS Dispute
Statutory Settlement
Benefits Mechanism
Collective
Bargaining

Procurement
It is manning the positions or filling vacancies both present and future. It comprises the activities of:
• Job Analysis: It is a systematic process of gathering all information about the job (Refer figure
1.18). The first set Job description is knowing all about, what is expected out of the person and
other details like location, to whom he/she has to report, working conditions (including
timings), duties and responsibilities, hazards involved (for example mining, chemical and
pharmaceutical industries, construction projects involve hazards) etc., The second set Job

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 specification is setting specifications for the person based on the job description in terms of
skills, educational qualifications, and experience. HR Managers should not forget the last two of
the job specification box – Emotional characteristics and Sensory demands. You can’t put a
person in customer service if he/she is confrontational or argumentative. “Sensitive for public
issues”, “self-injurious” are some of the emotional characteristics to be looked into. Y

You are injured by a metallic object or fallen on a public road and you go to a hospital. Before
starting the treatment, the first question they ask you is whether you are sensitive to penicillin.
This is also similar. In hospital, they will ascertain explicitly but in recruitment you have to find
implicitly. Some jobs need sensory demands. For instance, if you are recruiting a chemist, you
need to make a note of a key sensory demand ‘smell’. The same is for a coffee taster, aroma
being a key attribute.
•
•
• metallic object or fallen on a public road and you go to a hospital. Before starting the
Job Analysis
treatment the first question they ask you s whether you are sensitive to penicillin. This is also
All information about a Job
similar. But in hospital they will ascertain explicitly but in recruitment you have to find
implicitly. Some jobs need sensory demands. For instance if you are recruiting a chemist, you
need to make a note of a key sensory demand ‘smell’. Same is for a coffee taster, aroma being a
key attribute.
Job Description Job Specification

• Job Title and Location • Qualification and

• Job Summary Experience
• Job Duties • Skills and Training
• Reporting To • Responsibilities
• Working Conditions, • Emotional
Hazards Characteristics
• Machines to be used • Sensory Demands

Figure 1.18 Job Analysis

• Recruitment and Selection – This is a core function of HRM. Recruitment can be internal or
external. In the Internal recruitment chance is given to the existing employees for filling a
position. In the external recruitment advertisements will be given in print or electronic media.
Following a pre-determined process (written test and/or interview) persons are selected.
• Placement and On-boarding are part of the induction of person into the Organisation. He/she
will be introduced to all concerned (welcome mail is used commonly in multi-locational
organisations particularly), in-house training is provided if required, and finally placed on the
job.
• Socialising – Process of making employee to mingle with everyone.

Development
Development refers to the training and development of employees and it is a core function of HRM.
Development of employees would translate into the development of the organisation.
• Career Planning – Process of establishing career objectives of employees. This function of
HRM helps employees to set goals and help them for promotions.

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 • Employee Training – It would ensure continuous skill development of employees. The
training can be on the job (by seniors or good instructors in the industry) or off the job
(through classroom lectures, shows or simulation exercises).
• Executive Development – Programmes through which competencies of the executives are
improved. It would also give exposure to different areas for them. Example: Finance for non-
finance executives.
• Job Rotation – This will enable workers breaking their monotony and also improve their
skills. It will also facilitate employee development as well as development of organisation as
organisation will have multi-skilled employees.

Compensation
It is the determination of pay and benefits of employees and is one of the principal functions of
HRM. HR Managers should ensure fair and equitable wages to all employees.
• Job Evaluation – It is the assessment of various jobs in relation to their importance for the
organisation. Factors like exposure to hazards (or hazardous materials), risks of the job, and
odd hours of working should be given due weightage.
• Performance Evaluation – Employee’s performance against the standard or set performance
needs to be evaluated which is important for decisions on increments, training and
development needs.
• Salary administration – A key function of HRM. It should follow the calendar of payments of
statutory dues like PF (contributions to Provident Fund), ESI (Contributions to Employees
State Insurance Corporation) and Professional Tax by due dates. A system should be in place
for payment of wages/ salaries on a fixed date every month.
• Incentives and Statutory Benefits – While benefits include PF, ESI, Insurance, Gratuity etc.,
HRM should ensure that better performers should be rewarded monetarily or through
perquisites.

Maintenance
There is an axiom related to HRM. “It is easy to recruit, but difficult to retain an employee”. This
function of HRM is for ensuring retaining all skilled and experienced employees. If you lose a key
employee, all the expenditure in terms of training imparted, will become wasted and if the losing is
to one of your competitors, it would be a double blow because other organisation will get returns on
your investments. And remember, your counterparts in other organisations always try to lure your
key employees (like you do). High employee turnover is not good for any organisation and HRM
through ‘maintenance’ needs to minimise it.

Maintenance is through:

• Employee Health–Apart from healthcare, ensuring good working conditions at workplace is

critical. In case of factories, the provisions of the Factory Act 1948 are to be ensured.
• Motivation – Giving positive feedback to employees needs to be practised as it motivates
them. Encouraging employees to participate in the decision making would ensure their
complete cooperation and acts as a good motivator.
• HR Records – It is a must to keep the records of all employees. It is useful for discharging
other functions and also will gain the trust of employees.
• HRIS – Human Resource Information System. It is an MIS (Management Information
System) and will help HR Managers in performing effectively.

Integration
It is mainly for good relations between Employees and Management. This is also one of the key
metrics of HR.

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 • Industrial Relations – Dealing with Unions. Organisation’s image is dependent on this
function.
• Employee Discipline – It is required for any Organisation and HRM should evolve a system
for this, which is common for all.
• Grievance Addressing – HRM should ensure a mechanism for redressal of disputes. Most of
the time, they will be small and petty ones only, but if they are not redressed, they will
become big disputes.
• Dispute Settlement Mechanism - For this also HRM should devise a mechanism for amicable
settlement. For factories, provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 should be ensured.
• Collective Bargaining – It is a process in which Management and Unions will collectively
decide on wage increases, employment conditions, dispute settlements and HR Manager,
being a management representative plays a key role.

The common thread behind all the operative functions is the process of achieving the objective of
making human resources available and integrated so that they will make the Organisation to attain
its objectives, as shown in Figure 1.19.

Organisation Recruitment, Career Planning

Objectives Selection Compensation

Well-being Retention
Fulfillment
Integration ?

Turnover
Start Again

Figure 1.19 Organisation objectives and operative functions of HRM

Proper discharge of operative functions would result in retaining of an employee which is the
desired outcome. We will be learning in detail on some of these functions in other Chapters. You
can have a feel of HRM functions in the case study presented in Box 1.3.

1.4 Role and Status of HR Manager

At the outset, let us try to capture what is untold in the books.

“Friend, Philosopher and Guide”.

This is how employees refer to a good HR Manager.

HRM is an integral part of any organisation. Gone are the days where HRM status used to be an
insignificant part of Administration. Now you will find the positions of Vice President (HR) or
Director (Personnel) in all big organisations. This change has come along with the evolution of HRM
concept which we have discussed in previous sections. We will start with a look at a model on the

403 Human Resource Management 31 MGNCRE

roles of HR Manager. Dave Ulrich in his book “Human Resource Champions” developed following
model and suggested in big organisations HR functions should be split into four segments.

Box 1.3 Case Study: But Neelam is paid more than Me

Kamala Menon joined the Imperial Bank of India training division four years ago. She is
pleased with the trainers and administrative staff in her division. After she joined, the
training division started getting good name and caught the attention of higher ups in the
Bank.

The Imperial Bank of India is the largest Private Sector Bank in India. It has Insurance,
Mutual funds, Credit Cards and Housing finance arms apart from the regular bank which
itself is quite big in terms of branches and business volumes. It’s presence in nook and
corner of India that too even in villages and working for more than 99 years made it very
popular and customers flock to it when compared to any other bank. It recruits thousands
of employees every year and the training division caters to all employees.

On Monday morning, Administrative assistant Poonam Kaur, came to see her. Kamala liked
Poonam. Poonam is efficient and once a program is designed she takes care of everything
of administering it. Kamala even started giving her small assignments connected to training
like collection and classification of basic course material from online video classes and
others.

Poonam placed a job transfer application in front of Kamala. Kamala was surprised to see
that. She thought that Poonam liked her job. Kamala looked over the form and said “So
you want to apply for new policy assistant post in the Insurance division?” But Why”.

Poonam said “I found in job posting that the New Policy assistant position in Insurance
division is graded as Pay band 6, two grades higher than my job”. She continued “You know
my friend Vandana Sen works over there. She told me that most of the time the policy
assistant reads novels after copying some tables. I also understand that not much work in
that position as our existing policies sell like hot cakes”. Poonam added, “Look Madam, you
know how hard I work. I could not fathom why I should work in a job graded at PB4, while
others work less and yet be paid more. The job requirements for that job are bit higher than
mine, but still I can manage”.

Kamala knew that the new policy position in Insurance division requires additional skills and
responsibilities beyond Poonam’s current job. It requires lot of studies, understanding of
statistics, and constant watch on competitors’ products. She knows that given Poonam’s
mental abilities, she will be behind all others unlike her present star performer status and
will repent. Since Poonam is efficient and nice, Kamala doesn’t want to lose Poonam. Also
because Kamala is convinced that Poonam is taking a wrong step in her career.

If you are in Kamala Menon’s position, what will you do with Poonam Kaur’s request for
transfer and how you will respond to her salary complaints?

This case is prepared from the concept of the case “How come they make more than me”, found in
“Fifty case studies for Management and Supervisory Training” by Alan Clardy, Ph.D.,

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 Figure 1.20 Dave Ulrich HR Competency Model

You can see movements (of thought process) on two scales. One is from Day-to-day to Future.
Second is from processes to people. The two scales or two axes provide four quadrants or sectors.
The present day processes have administrative focus. You are talking of a rule or a usual activity.
But when you are talking of a process in the future, basically you are going to design, and it would be
strategic. Administrative expert becomes strategic partner (or a partner for developing strategies).
Similarly, when the shift is from process to people, for today it is championing employee cause but
for future. it would be an agent of change. After all to become a Change agent (in employees) you
need to become an Employee champion in the first place to gain their confidence.

One employee has come late to office and you enquired. Whatever be the explanation, you would
be telling him, “Rule is rule, you have to come on time to office, don’t repeat”. But when the same
thing, while reporting to your GM/Head you will be telling “His child is not well and that is why he is
delayed. Generally he comes on time”. That is the shift from processes to people. When talking to
the employee your emphasis is on the process, but when reporting, you played it down (his late
coming) and moved towards people on the scale. There may not be a gap of even half an hour
between the two conversations, but nevertheless the shift or movement from one side to other side
happens. Given this backdrop, and considering other inputs we will list out the major roles of HR
Manager (Figure 1.21).

Advisor–for making good HR policies and procedures, that will change the attitude of the employees
considering long term objectives of the organisation and the importance of human resources. HR
Manager advises in legal matters for petty cases both by the organisation and against the
organisation. Big companies, MNCs have a separate legal department to deal with all legal matters.
Other Companies either have legal consultants on retainership basis or engage them on case to case
basis. Generally HR Manager will coordinate with those consultants and advise management. Also
advises the management on right or wrong, has merits or not, just or unjust in matters of discipline,
selection and others, based on his capacity of discriminating what is correct and what is not correct
and sound opinion.

Spokesperson - Of the organisation with media /Police or any statutory authorities in cases of crime,
accidents. In all such cases, HR Manager will act as sole representative of the organisation/top
management. Also assumes role of spokesperson of employees before top management when they

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 are unorganised/could not present their problems. He/she will try to reason out and try to convince
management for redressal or solution. Also assumes the role of spokesperson of the top
management, in negotiation with Unions on the matters of Strikes, Layoffs, Lockouts and others.
He/she will be the spokesperson in dealing with the Society in general, on various issues (if any) like
pollution, Corporate social responsibility etc.,

Advisor Negotiator

Counselor
Spokesperson
HR MANAGER

Compliance
Conscious keeper
Officer
Communicator
Motivator
Change agent
Executor
Strategist Firefighter Monitor

Development Welfare
agent Officer Arbitrator

Brand Record Keeper

ambassador

Figure 1.21 Roles of HR Manager

Counsellor – For illiterate or less educated workers for their personal problems or other information
like children education, medical insurance, and savings

Negotiator/Mediator – With the trade unions for employee issues of compensation, bonus,
disciplinary proceedings, and disputes; negotiator role is important as HR manager has to convince
both sides on give and take approach.

Compliance Officer – Of the Organisation before statutory authorities of PF, ESIC, and Labour
All the correspondence and filing of periodical returns (submission of information on specific issues
to the authorities as per Acts) will be done by HR Manager. Big organisations employ Company
Secretaries who will be responsible for the compliance with all statutory issues or some
organisations will engage Company Secretary Firms. In the absence of such arrangements, HR
Manager has to assume the role of compliance officer. In any case, the responsibility of compliance
of all the labour statutes rests with HR Manager only.

Conscious keeper - For the Organisation in cases of exploitation of labour, environmental issues

For instance, suppose organisation is not paying statutory minimum wages or not paying heed to
pollution caused by its construction/working mechanisms. In all such cases, HR Manager will explain

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the consequences of wrong or short-sighted approaches and convince the management on correct
path. Also in cases of social responsibility, HR manager will persuade management for undertaking
activities expected by the society say construction of a park, providing drinking water facility, and
adoption of a school.

‘Many Hats to wear’

Communicator – of all the policies, changes in the policies, hard decisions like layoff in the cases of
recession/stiff competition/ sudden loss of big customers etc., HR Manager will see that all are
effectively communicated and see that everyone is explained.

Motivator – to the employees by encouraging them directly, or through activities of morale boosting

Change agent – In the competitive world, organisations can survive only when all employees are
adaptive to changes. HR manager will act as an agent of change in convincing employees for
changing their attitudes, beliefs, and working styles.

Strategist - while preparing the organisation towards SHRM

Executor – HR Manager will see that all the employee policies are formulated (to avoid favouritism)
and put them into action.

Firefighter – in cases of disputes and in cases of any problems from outside

Beyond all these there is an untold role of a humanist, showing empathy for employees’ problems,
emotions, allaying their concerns, and ignoring small mistakes. Apart from the above, different roles
would be there in exercising functions and discharging responsibilities as HR manager. Briefly, they
are:

Welfare Officer – HR Manager may suggest providing facilities like canteen, recreation room,
transportation, quarter’s facility, and children school fees reimbursement. All these would have a
long term impact on employees and motivate them.

Development agent– HR Manager organises training and development programmes for improving
the skills and competencies of employees which will help the organisation to achieve higher
productivity. Also formulate policies for career development.

Monitor – in exercising control function and implementation of policies.

Arbitrator – in resolving conflicts between employees or between employees and management.

Ego clash is one of the major factors in these conflicts. HR manager will solve by reasoning out to
both parties before they become big or blow out of proportion.

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 Brand Ambassador –Through presenting the organisation’s strengths, facilities and benefits for
prospective employees

Record keeper – HR Manager keeps all records of all employees and preparing a good database
which will enable retrieving desired information quickly. In any Organisation there would be a
constant demand for information and records. An employee may ask for a particular month’s
payslip. Or management wants leave record of a particular employee during certain period.
Database of all the CVs of applicants present and past including the rejected ones is maintained for
use in future requirements.

As can be seen, the roles would be many and only some are listed here. An advertisement released
by IT Company for HR manager is given in Box 1.4 indicates role and responsibilities or the
expectations from HR Manager.

Box 1.4 Advertisement for HR Manager

We are Hiring for: Hyderabad Branch Experience: 8+
As a HR manager you will be the one to ensure we have a happy and productive workplace where everyone
works to realize our established mission and Vision. Promoting corporate values and shaping a positive
culture is a vital aspect of a complete HR manager job specification.

Responsibilities: -
Developing and implementing HR strategies and initiatives aligned with the overall business strategy. -
Planning, organizing and controlling the activities and actions of the HR department. - Bridging
management and employee relations by addressing demands, grievances or other issues. - Manage the
recruitment and selection process. - Ensure legal compliance throughout human resource management. -
Oversee and manage performance appraisal system. - Maintaining and revising the company’s handbook
policies and procedures. - Recommending new policies, approaches, and procedures. - Maintaining Records
and Reports. Requirements: - Proven working experience as HR Manager which encompasses HR
operations, Generalist role, Talent Acquisition, On - Boarding, Induction, Strategic Planning, Training &
Development, compensation & Benefits, organizational development, etc. - People oriented and results
driven. - Excellent active listening, negotiation and presentation skills. - Knowledge of labour law and HR
practices. - Good leadership and management skills. - The ability to handle disciplinary issues appropriately.

Should be good in Microsoft office (Word, Excel, Power point, Access etc.) - Should be a strategic planner
and a diplomatic thinker. The ability to stay calm in busy and stressful situations is essential - Should be
confident and assertive. Should be well behaved and have a pleasant personality. - Bachelors/Master s
Degree (preferably in HRM)

To Do Activity

From the above mentioned job advertisement assign each responsibility to a role.

Find out any new role for any of the responsibilities and describe?

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External Factors - The discussion on the role of HR Manager would not be completed without
considering the external environment. Broadly following are the external factors working.
Social Factors - like changes in the lifestyle. We will discuss on one of the fallouts of the social
factors (work-life balance) a little later.
Legal Factors – Law of the land and all statutory rules of Governments.

Technological Factors – Apart from communication, many aspects of technology have bearing on
HRM. Artificial Intelligence and Robotics are bringing many changes. For example, usage of Robots
for underground drainage cleaning has started. With the innovations in the communication you can
have virtual offices also.

Economic Factors – In a recession phase of an economy, many alternatives like outsourcing of

services etc., need to be considered by HRM.

Figure 1.22 External factors affecting HRM5

Challenges for HRM

The external environment throws many a challenge. Some of the important challenges faced by
HRM are:

Cost cutting – Whatever be the state of economy, in the competitive environment, cost cutting is
always insisted. The cost control should be without a compromise on quality. Employee costs
including recruiting costs and maintenance costs are high and at times you may think of outsourcing
a function of work as a solution. But that may bring different issues like losing control (and quality),
sharing confidential information to outsiders etc., Finding a cost effective solution in these

5
Source: Open Text books for Hong Kong (Chapter on Role of Human Resources – 1.2.11 Awareness of
External factors) http://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/32611

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constraints is a challenge. Training and Development involve costs. But lack of training may prove
to be much more costly. For instance, some of your front line salesmen are arrogant and
argumentative. Replacement costs are high and you are also not sure of new recruits. (Known devil
is much better. Isn’t it?). Imparting training to change their attitudes and behaviours may prove to
be cheaper in the long run.
Diverse and more educated workforce – Diversity (of cultures, languages etc.,), higher education
(consequently aspirations will increase) and size of the workforce are some of the challenges.
Ethics – Some organisations do not follow ethical practices. Conflict between personal and work
ethics poses challenges. Apart from the above a new challenge is coming up. Now the people
(employees) are moving higher up in the Maslow’s need hierarchy and aspiring for work-life balance.

Work-life balance is the balance between the time and energy spent on work and other aspects of
life. More on work, family suffers and vice versa. Employees are aspiring for the proper balance and
it is a challenge for HRM since practically it is not possible considering organisation’s goals and time
constraints of fast track projects. At the same time, it is also one of the goals of HRM to have a
happy workforce which will help organisation. It is always not possible to adhere to 9 to 5 timings. In
the service sector, breakdown calls can come at any time and downtime could be very costly for
customer and you can’t say NO in such cases. And in global working it is further complicated. Your
closing time may be just the start of business hour for your customer. And if you are operating a call
center for a different country, then you have to follow their clock, not yours.

Nevertheless, HRM needs to find solutions wherever possible. Offering flexible timings, WFH (Work
From Home), following a strict no disturbance after work hours, revising the focus on the outcome
rather than the number of hours, relook at workloads (does the organisation have sufficient
numbers for a given quantum of work?), giving compulsory breaks during the day, forcing
compulsory vacations more frequently, running highly subsidised canteens offering tasty and
healthy food ( so that employee’s/spouse’s time is saved), arranging a crèche nearby for the needy,
offering restaurant coupons for whole family, corporate outings are some of the alternatives HRM
to explore so that employees’ stress will be relieved and they will have work-life balance.

Issues relating to work-life balance and the solutions thereof are all mostly related to white-collar
jobs and generally for organisations operating in cities. HR Manager’s role is necessary for blue-
collar jobs as well and also in organisations operating in mofussil towns or tier II or III cities. To
understand the role of HR Manager in such cases, solve the case study in Box 1.56.

6
Source: Based on discussion thread started on 3rd January 2018 in citehr.com (anonymous)
https://www.citehr.com/594249-case-noble-paper-unions-demands-evaluate-unions.html

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 Box 1.5 Case Study: Noble Paper Industry
Noble Paper industry is situated in a backward zone of Raigad district. It employs about six
hundred employees. The firm was founded in 1988. Throughout the first six years from its
foundation, it did neither make any profits and nor did it pay any statutory bonus. But to sustain
with other neighbouring firms, this firm paid an ex-gratia payment once every year to its
employees at a flat rate of Rs. 2,000 per employee. The firm began to pay statutory bonus since
the payment of Bonus Act become applicable. Additionally, the firm decided to stop the practice
of ex-gratia payment. Employees, through the trade union, started protesting.

After an extensive round of discussions when the union realised that the management was
determined on not giving ex-gratia, it suddenly announced a strike. Officers were threatened
and the employees behaved with them violently. Production had completely stopped. The firm
suffered heavy losses. The Management approached Labour Court and requested to declare
strike as illegal. The Court declared the strike as illegal since 14 days' notice was not given.

Some attempts were made by the local leaders to resolve the dispute, but the management was
not agreeable now. The Management decided to remove the recognition that was accorded to
the Union as per the provisions under the related law. As a result of this step, the doors of
negotiations and compromise between Management and Union were permanently closed.
Further, the deadlock has deteriorated as some of the office bearers of the Union have
threatened the Management of terrible consequences, unless they fulfil the Union's demand
instantly.

If you are appointed as HR Manager of Noble Paper Industry at this juncture, how are you going
to solve this impasse? Notes: Read the provisions of Payment of Bonus Act (1965).
Better results would be obtained by discussing through a ‘role play’ in class.
Issues (which are not limited) include; Role of Union in asking for ex-gratia payment apart from
bonus and calling for a flash strike, management’s step of derecognising Union.

To Do Activity
Discuss on Work from home (telecommuting). Is it really helpful? You need to weigh different
factors like customer requirements, effect on other employees who need to attend office,
belongingness, effect on family of employee, savings in time and energy in commuting, and
economies in office spaces. List of factors is only indicative. The debate needs to be
comprehensive.

To Do Activity
Can you generate a similar debate on offering flexi hours to employees? Can you suggest any other
measures other than the listed ones to mitigate the stress of employees and offer a work-life balance?

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1.5 Strategic Human Resource Management
Suppose you have a Company which is in the business of say white goods. (Refrigerators, Washing
Machines, Air Conditioners). Your Company is making one of them. And you have a lot of
competition. You want to increase sales of your product. All the sales promotion schemes, say
‘scratch card’ (get a lucky prize when you scratch the card attached to the unit), ‘Add On’ (buy this,
you will get say Microwave oven free) and whatnot. All are tried and exhausted. Still, the sales graph
is almost flat.
You have to try something new. You want to be one up than your competitors. You need a strategy.

The white goods example is taken as it’s a happening industry. Something new keeps coming up. If
you take washing machines, first there are only bare washing machines, then driers attached, then
one integrated automatic for washing and drying and so on. In Air Conditioners, started with bare
units, then star rated air conditioners, then VRF (variable refrigerant models in which compressor
will cut off after a certain temperature), Inverter models and goes on. And in refrigerators, with
freezer space, then separate freezer compartment with separate door, then three doors with higher
volume and latest ones with all features and of a mammoth capacity resembling a mini supermarket
in your home.

Simultaneously there are different offerings. Warranty first one year, then three years, then five
years for major parts. Free or with nominal service charges for other parts for one, two, three years
and it goes on.

First set consists of Innovations (new offerings). Second set is of enhancements in the product or
service. These have given the competitive advantages to one company. They only have, which others
do not have. (Subsequently others had to incorporate, to be in the business). Competitive advantage
will arise out of innovation, product enhancement or cost reduction. This means these organisations
were able to offer something which others could not. They have some asset with them which others
do not have.

Patric M. Wright and Gary C. Mc Mahan concluded that competitive advantage can only occur in
situations of firm resource heterogeneity and firm resource immobility. Given resource
heterogeneity and firm resource immobility and satisfaction of the requirements of value, rareness,
imperfect imitability, and non-substitutability, a firm’s resources can be a source of sustained
competitive advantage.

Heterogeneity refers to the variety characteristic of a resource. Immobility refers to the inability of
competing firms to obtain resources from other sources. In other words, it means if an organisation
has a resource which is varied and which cannot be obtained by competitors from the market, the
first organisation has a competitive advantage. Human Resource is one important asset for an
organisation. And it fits to the asset mentioned because all other kinds of assets will be available to
others and cannot have characteristic of variety. If an organisation has committed and competent
human resources then it has a competitive advantage. Strategic Human Resource Management is
one of the strategies used to get competitive advantage using important asset of human resources.

That is your game changer.

Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is a combination of Strategy and Human Resource
Management (HRM).

To put it simply it is an organisation’s strategy to achieve its objectives through its people. It stems
out from the organisation’s belief in its people and recognition that human resources are key assets.
Strategic Human Resource Management is aligning HR strategies with business strategies. According
to Prof Gary Dessler “Strategic Human Resource Management means formulating and executing HR

403 Human Resource Management 40 MGNCRE

 systems i.e., policies and activities that produce employee competencies and behaviours the
organisation needs so as to achieve its strategic aims”.

Business HRM in Business HRM strategic

Strategy Strategy Formulation integration in
Formulation Business Strategy
• HR Strategy Formulation
• HR Involvement

HRM Strategic
Integration
Business Overall HRM
Instrument
Strategy Strategic
Integration in
HRM strategic Business
integration in Strategy
HRM in Business Strategy
Business business
Implementation
Strategy strategy
Implementation • Recruitment and Selection implementati
• Performance Management on
• Training and Development
• Reward and Compensation
• Employee Relations

Figure 1.23 Strategic HRM – Integration of HRM with Organisation Strategy

Source: Chanda & Shen (2009)

According to Storey (1995), “Strategic Human Resource Management is a distinctive approach to

employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic
deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce, using an integrated array of cultural,
structural and personnel techniques”.

It means that an organisation uses Human Resource Management with different techniques. These
include:
• Personnel techniques, like hiring, promoting and rewarding of employees;
• Structural techniques, like organisational design; and
• Cultural techniques, like building and maintaining high-performance work cultures.

The goal is to obtain competitive advantage. In a global economy getting required materials,
machinery and technology is not a problem. Any organisation in any nook and corner of the world
can procure them. But the difference among organisations is the workforce. It is workforce quality,
skill sets, hard work and commitments which make the difference. When two competing
organisations with the same stature, equal in all aspects like possession of superior technologies,
captive or committed availability of materials, same geographical advantages and same in all
aspects, the cutting edge to the topper is provided not by technology but by the workforce. The
skill sets, capacities and speed are provided by the workforce out of their experience, sincerity and
commitment.

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Now think in practical terms. If an organisation has high calibre employees who do not have a match
and are committed to the organisation, then it will have competitive advantage and succeeds. ISRO
(Indian Space Research Organisation) has scaled many heights in the field of space research. Right
from inception, it has invested in people and the people were constantly raising the bar and
achieved one target after another. And it is the people who made all expeditions with much lower
costs when compared to its peers like NASA and European Space Agency and also after facing many
hurdles during sanctions against it. It is also not uncommon in the private sector, companies trying
to sign in key personnel of the competitors.

Process of SHRM
In simple terms, it is:
• making plans indicating where the organisation wants to move or place itself in a period of
time (for instance, ‘Our company should be number one in terms of market share within
five years’ is an objective, quantifying in numbers in terms of volumes as per the highest
market share and devising means to achieve the same is a plan).
• identifying people or start recruitment,
• developing HR systems based on employment policy and
• making HR strategies as per organisation’s strategies .

Various functions of SHRM are indicated in figure 1.24.

Strategic Workforce Planning

•Recruitment and Selection
•Retention Management
•Succession Planning

Performance Management
•3600 Feedback
•Total Rewards
Employee Value Proposition
•Training
•HR Audits

Figure 1.24 Main Functions of SHRM

“You Can Get Capital and Erect Buildings, but it Takes People to Build a Business”
Thomas J. Watson, Founder of IBM

Approaches to SHRM
There are five approaches to SHRM (Figure 1.25)
The Resource Based Approach – It is based on the premise that if an organisation can develop its
human resources so that they can learn faster and implement the learning than competitors, then
the competitive advantage would be achieved. Its aim is creating knowledge capital. In order to
achieve the competitive advantage, organisation has to differentiate its products and services from
what competitors are offering. The HR strategies will be so designed that the organisation will have

403 Human Resource Management 42 MGNCRE

people developed to gain the competitive advantage. It needs revamping recruitment and training
and development functions and also other related functions of compensation and welfare.

Strategic Fit Approach- Aim is achieving a congruent strategy of managing people. The HR strategies
would be made in line with business strategy. In fact, it would be part of business strategy so that all
business plans will have integral HR plans. And all other pieces (HR functions) will fall in line with the
organisation’s line of thinking.
INFOSYS NISSAN

Chairman Emeritus Mr. Narayan Murthy Uses a philosophy called ‘kaizen’ to help its
has emphasised on human capital as employees to always keep striving to make
Infosys’s critical factors for growth. improvements to how they work.
This approach starts during the recruitment
‘People Managers’ were recruited to look stage and new hires are encouraged to keep
improving so that they can stand out.
after the needs of the employees.

High Performance Management Approach–It targets to get the highest performance in terms of
productivity, quality in all deliverables including service to end users –say, on the whole, increase of
net worth of the organisation. The practices include redefining many HR functions and processes. A
well-known definition of a high-performance work system was given by the US Department of
Labour (1993). The characteristics of a high performance work system listed are:
• careful and extensive systems for recruitment, selection and training;
• formal systems for sharing information with the individuals who work in the
organisation;
• clear job design;
• high-level participation processes;
• monitoring of attitudes;
• performance appraisals;
• properly functioning grievance procedures;
• promotion and compensation schemes that provide for the recognition and financial
rewarding of the high-performing members of the workforce.

High Commitment Management Approach – It aims at achieving mutual commitment. It involves

making clear cut career path to the employees indicating performance bars (ladders of growth and
review points), flexible job descriptions which give leeway for HR Manager in selection and to an
employee in working other areas of competence, teamwork with a good communication channel
connecting everyone to everyone, involving employees in every aspect of quality control and merit
based pay systems including incentives.
High Involvement Management Approach – It aims to create a working atmosphere where
employees are treated as partners or equal stakeholders. Employees' voices will be heard on the
matters concerned to them. It would be continuous consultation and a regular dialogue between
management, managers and teams. It would create mutual understanding on all aspects.

Limitations and Barriers

There are limitations to SHRM like, difficulty of attaining and to have continued commitment by all
stakeholders over a long period of time. Following are some of the barriers to adopting SHRM.
• Focus on short term performance in deciding compensation ignoring long term
potential.

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 • Fears for training employees as organisations feel trained employees will look for
better opportunities.
• Conflicts between departments.
• Fear of senior management that subordinates would become a threat to their
positions.
• Limited availability of time and money.
• Presence of strong trade union.
• Employees ‘fear of unknown’.
• Resistance to change.
• Lack of strategic perspective on HR, as HR is treated as a purely administrative
function.
• Lack of vision and technical knowledge of HR department.

Even it has barriers and limitations still SHRM is practised by some organisations by taking necessary
steps overcoming the limitations. One example is WIPRO (See Box 1.6). Some relevant aspects are
presented and what you can observe is how company is treating employees as ‘human capital’ and
measuring results in terms of Intellectual capital, Financial capital, Natural capital and Social &
Relationship capital.

Box 1.6 SHRM practices in Wipro Ltd.

Western India Vegetable Products ltd. was established in 1945, as a small producer of cooking oil
and forayed into computer hardware and software after Azim Premji took over its reins in 1966 and
became Wipro. At Wipro employees are treated as human capital. ‘Our human capital value chain
consists of people strategies which are based on current and future business requirements. Our
policies, processes and systems flow from these strategies which encompass our employee lifecycle.
The outcomes of these people interventions are reflected through our people result indicators,
which directly or indirectly contribute to the intellectual, social, natural and financial capital of
Wipro.”
Learning and Development: Social/Peer Learning – 55,000 plus employees are members of
‘Topgear’ – social learning and crowdsourcing platform. Through this platform 7,841 real-life
project challenges were completed by the employees in FY 2019.
Digital Up-skilling- Enabled over 1,33,000 employees in foundational, intermediate and advanced
digital skills as of FY 2019.
Mentoring networks – platforms launched where employees can find, connect and sustain
meaningful mentoring relationships.
Employee well-being in all aspects is given paramount importance and apart from good
compensation. Wipro has 24 occupational health centers, cafeterias run by vendors certified by
Food Safety Standards Authority of India, 8 in house day care centers and 11 tie ups (for children
6months to 6 years) etc.,
Results: Intellectual capital – 305 patents filed in FY 2019. Till FY 2019, 558 patents granted.
Financial capital – 5.4% revenue increase in constant currency terms compared to FY 2018. Revenue
share of Digital business reached 35% level.
Natural capital – 7,400 employees registered for carpooling in India.
Social & Relationship capital –12,500 Wipro care volunteers contributing 33,000 measures.

Source: WIPRO Limited Annual Report 2018-19

403 Human Resource Management 44 MGNCRE

 Resource Based Approach
- Creating Knowledge capital
- Developing people to have competitive
advantage

Strategic Fit Approach

- HR strategy in line with Business strategy

High Peeformance Management

Approach
- Redefining HR strategies and functions to
get highest performance in terms of
productivity and quality

High Commitment Management

Approach
- Mutual commitment
- Clear cut career paths for employees
- Involving employees in every aspect

High Involvement Management Approah

- Employees are equal stake holders
- Regular dialogue among management,
managers and teams

Figure 1.25 Approaches to SHRM

To Do Activity

Take an example of a capital intensive industry - Airlines, Telecom, Automobiles etc.,

Suggest an approach of SHRM for that Industry. Since it is capital intensive whether
SHRM is useful or not?

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 To Do Activity

Find out SHRM practices in Indian Companies (non-IT and non-Pharma)

From SHRM come back to HRM and solve the case presented in Box 1.7.

Box 1.7 Case Study: Jay Engineering Works

In Jay Engineering Works after a three months strike the work had resumed. However on the very
first day of resumption of work there was a problem on account of shortage of snacks in the first
shift which resulted in a tool down. In the first shift on the day of resumption of work, Samosas
were served as snacks for breakfast. The normal rule was that each workman should take only two
pieces of snacks. However as the Samosas were tasty, the workmen started consuming more than
two Samosas which resulted in shortage of Samosas.

Ashok, a workman who was a very reasonable person and who was considered as very close to the
management, had come late to the canteen. When he found that the Samosas were not available,
he raised a hue and cry and demanded from the Canteen Officer that Samosas should be served to
him and that he would not accept any other snacks except Samosas. The Canteen Officer expressed
his inability to serve Samosas and instead offered to serve biscuits. Ashok declined to accept the
same and once again insisted that he should be served Samosas.

When the Canteen Officer told Ashok that it was not possible for him to serve Samosas, Ashok got
upset and took his grievance to the Union Committee members. The Union Committee members
felt that this was an opportunity for them to win over Ashok to their side. They therefore took up
the case of Ashok with the Canteen Officer. They threatened the Canteen Officer that they resort
to a tool down if the grievance of Ashok was not resolved.
The Canteen Officer expressed his inability to serve Samosas to Ashok, but offered to serve biscuits
instead. Not satisfied with the solution given by the Canteen Officer, the Union Committee
members gave a call for a tool down. The activities of Jay Engineering works came to a grinding
halt.
As a Personnel Manager of Jay Engineering Works how would you handle this case?
(You need to consider all aspects like Canteen Officer’s role, Union’s attitude, workers’ behaviour,
timings etc., and the final solution should see that matters are not precipitated further).

‘JAI
SAMOSA’
WORKS

Source: Based on discussion thread in citehr started by Aashish (2014)7

7
https://www.citehr.com/481048-case-study-industrial-relations.html

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Chapter Summary
Over the centuries HRM evolved, based on human relations between employer and employee and
took many forms before the current form of treating humans as resources. The National Institute of
Personnel Management (NIPM) of India has defined human resource/personnel management as
“that part of management which is concerned with people at work and with their relationship with
an enterprise. Its aim is to bring together and develop into an effective organisation of the men and
women who make up an enterprise and having regard for the well-being of the individuals and of
working groups, to enable them to make their best contribution to its success”. HRM is a process
which develops and manages the human resources of an enterprise and integrates their knowledge
and skills and directs towards the achievement of the organisational objectives. It includes planning
for manning positions.

The process includes spotting and recruiting the human resources, managing the people in an
organisation, developing, maintaining and utilising them, motivating and matching individual goals
with the organisation goals. HRM has managerial and operative functions to perform. Managerial
functions include Planning, Organising, Staffing, Directing and Control. The operative functions
include Procurement, Development, Compensation, Maintenance and Integration of employees with
many sub functions and activities in each of the functions. Dave Ulrich Model of HR Roles gives good
insights on the role of a HR Manager.

In discharging these functions, a HR Manager has many roles to play in the form of an advisor,
spokesperson, communicator, controller, conscious keeper, change agent, strategist, negotiator,
compliance officer, motivator and record keeper. Many external factors work on the operating of his
role. There are many challenges like cost cutting, ethics, dealing with diverse and more educated
workforce and demands like work-life balance from employees. Strategic HRM is a combination of
strategy and HRM and helps the organisations to gain competitive advantage and success.

SHRM process includes making plans in tune with those of the organisation, identifying key human
resources and developing them enabling organisation’s objectives. There are various approaches
like Resource based approach; Strategic fit approach, High performance management approach,
High commitment management approach and High involvement management approach. It has
limitations and barriers, but many organisations are moving towards strategic HRM.

Questions
• “HRM is not simply hire and fire. It goes much beyond”. Give a supporting note explaining
the scope and objectives of HRM.
• Define HRM. What are its features?
• How do you differentiate HRM from Personnel Management?
• Write a brief note on the operative functions of HRM.
• What are the responsibilities of a HR Manager?
• What are the challenges of HRM in dealing with changing lifestyles of employees in general?
• How external factors affect the functioning of HRM?
• Discuss on different approaches for Strategic HRM. Which one do you suggest for a medium
size organisation operating in multi-location?

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 MCQs
1. Directing is one of the important functions of HRM which comes under:
a) Managerial function b) Operative function c) Technical function d) Behavioural function
2. Staffing includes:
a) Workload estimation b) Termination c) appointments and placement d) All of these
3. Managerial functions in Personnel Management can be:
a) Planning, Organising, Directing and Control
b) Recruitment, Placement, Development and Motivation
c) Compensation, Maintenance of employees’ health and employees’ welfare
d) (a) and (b)
4. What are the roles played by HR manager?
(i) Advisory Role (ii) Functional Role (iii) Service Role (iv) Specialist Role
a) (i), (ii), (iii) b) (ii), (iii), (iv) c) (i), (ii), (iv) d) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
5. On the date of joining, employee is introduced to organisation and other employees. This
process is called:
a) Training b) Orientation c) Introduction d) Fresher Welcome
6. Which of these activities are not included in the scope of HRM?
a) Job analysis and design b) Motivation and Communication
c) Safety and health d) Organisation structure and design
7. Organisations need to evolve HR policies as they ensure ----- and ----- in treating people.
a) Constancy and similarity b) Intention and safety c) Consistency and Uniformity d) None of the
above
8. HRM functions are not confined to business establishments; they are applicable to non-business
organisations as well. True/False
9. The term Procurement stands for:
a) Recruitment and Selection b) Pay and benefits c) Training and Development d) Health and
Safety
10. Which is the managerial function out of the following functions of HR managers?
a) Procurement b) Development c) Organising d) Performance appraisal
11.HRM functions aim at:
a) Ensuring that human resources possess adequate capital, tool, equipment and material to
perform the job successfully.
b) Helping organisation to deal with its employees in different stages of employment.
c) Improving organisation’s creditworthiness among financial institutions.
d) None of the above.

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 12. In strategic HRM, HR strategies are generally aligned with:
a) Business strategy b) Marketing strategy c) Finance strategy d)Economic strategy
13. Which of the following is closely associated with SHRM?
a) Efficient utilisation of human resources b) Attracting the best human resources
c) Providing the best possible training d) All of the above.
14. Creating an environment that facilitates continuous and two-way exchange of information
between the superiors and subordinates is the core of:
a) High involvement management model b) High commitment management model
c) High performance management model d) None of these
15. HR Planning, Job analysis, Recruitment, Selection, Orientation, and Induction are few important
functions which come under the heading of ----------- of HRM.
a) Integration function b) Development function c) Maintenance function d) Procurement function
16. What are the objectives of HRM?
i) Societal objectives ii) Organisational objectives iii) Functional objectives
iv) Personal objectives v) Statistical objectives
a) (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) b) (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) c) (i), (ii), (iv), (v) d) All of the above

Exercise
You have seen how the HRM concept has evolved by undergoing many changes during
different eras. Now the concept is moving from Human Resources Management to
Human Capital Management. In this era, employees will be treated as capital. Prepare
a paper discussing on different aspects – Functions of HRM, Roles of HR Manager,
Management’s perspectives, Employees attitudes and others. SHRM may help you.
Proforma Balance Sheet of a Limited Stock Company (shareholders capital plus outside
liabilities are balanced with assets) may also help you. These two suggestions are only
to structure your thoughts and only suggestive. You are free to ignore these
suggestions and start on your own.

References
• Akanksha S (n.d.) Evolution of Human Resource Management.
https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/human-resource-management-
2/evolution/evolution-of-human-resource-management/18873
• Ashwini D (n.d.) What is Strategic Human Resource Management?
http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-management/what-is-strategic-
human-resource-management/32261
• Aswathappa K. (2017) Human Resource Management Text and Cases (8th Ed.) McGraw Hill
Education India

403 Human Resource Management 49 MGNCRE

 • Chanda, A. & Shen, J. (2009). Strategic hrm and hrm strategic integrationIn HRM strategic
integration and organizational performance (pp. 29-71). New Delhi: SAGE Publications India
Pvt Ltd doi: 10.4135/9788132108269.n2
• Gokila L.(2016 January 7)Evolution of Human Resource Management
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evolution-human-resource-management-gokila-lakshmi
• http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/hrm/human-resource-management-meaning-objectives-
scope-and-functions/35229
• Manashree C (n.d.)Evolution of Human Resource Management
http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-management/evolution-of-human-
resource-management-hrm/31460
• Michael A.(2006) Strategic Human Resource Management A guide to action 3rd edition
Kogan Page.
• Miles R.E. (1965)Human Relations or Human Resources? (Exhibit 1) Harvard Business Review
Volume 43(4), July 1965. https://hbr.org/1965/07/human-relations-or-human-resources
• Narang M. (n.d.) Definition of Human Resource Management
http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-management/definition-of-human-
resource-management/31830
• Pravin D. Human Resource Management Pearson
• Shruti B (n.d.) Role of HR Manager in an Organisation
http://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-management/role-of-hr-manager-in-
an-organisation/32217
• Smriti C.(n.d.) Human Resource Management: Meaning, Objectives, Scope and Functions.
• Smriti C.(n.d.)Evolution and Development of HR.
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/hrm/evolution-and-development-of-human-resource-
management-hrm/35234

Answers to MCQs
1) a 2) d 3) d 4) d 5) b 6) d 7) c 8) a 9) a 10) c
11) b 12) a 13) d 14) a 15) d 16) a

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 Chapter 2 Human Resource Planning
Introduction
Strategic Human Resource Management aligns HR objectives with organisation’s objectives to gain
competitive advantage and make organizations successful. To attain this, Human Resource Planning
(HRP) is very important. Even without pursuing SHRM, organisations need Human Resource
Planning, since human resources are key, either looking at them as investments or treating them as
cost centers . Human Resource Planning is of paramount importance for any organisation as it
generates strategies and processes in both cases of excess and deficiency of workforce. The exercise
of HRP goes beyond numbers and does a threadbare analysis of skills and abilities of an organisation.

In this chapter, the concept of Human Resource Planning (HRP) is discussed. Process of HRP and the
stages involved in the process along with different techniques followed are detailed. Levels of HRP,
Long and Short Term plans and various strategies which will be adopted for both cases of surplus
and deficit of manpower are studied. In conclusion, an important tool of HRM, the Human Resource
Information System and its use is introduced.

Objectives

➢ To explain HRP, its need and importance for an organisation

➢ To familiarise Various stages of HRP and techniques used in forecasting of manpower
demand and supply
➢ To provide insights on long term and short term human resource plans
➢ To explain Solutions for organizations in both cases - excess manpower (without resorting to
retrenchment) and temporary shortages of workforce (without going for recruitment).
➢ To familiarize what is Human Resource Information System

Chapter Structure

2.1 Concept of HRP

2.2 Stages of HRP

2.3 Long Term and Short Term Human Resource Plans

2.4 Strategies for dealing with Surplus and Deficiency of

manpower

2.5 Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” Benjamin Franklin

2.1 Concept of Human Resource Planning

You are thinking of going to Europe for your next year vacation. You start collecting information –
Which dates would be convenient for the whole family, When should I book tickets to get a cheaper
fare, Which would be better Hotels or Service apartments, What would be the season there, What
kind of attire I need, Where can I get Indian food, Mode of travel between places -
flight/train/coach/sea or river cruise, Whether to take a package tour or customise it and so on.
You are planning. So does a HR Manager.

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 Indian Telephone Industries, a Public Sector Company, had a phenomenal rise from 1950s to 90’s.
Started with one plant with a few hundreds of employees, its manpower strength rose to 30,000
plus and the number of plants multiplied. But it had to face many problems when people started
preferring mobiles to basic telephones. With huge strength of manpower and lack of demand for its
products, more than 75% of the net worth got eroded. It has become problematic for the company
to sail through in the first decade of this century. After diversification into other areas, it made a
turnaround.
But for the turnaround, the Company could have got wounded up. It could be of the same story for
many other companies. The common issue is workforce in terms of numbers, skills, and attitudes.
Don’t you think that Indian Telephone Industries case could have been better managed? There are
some companies which exhibit continuous growth. Small ones become mammoths akin to rags to
riches stories.

Think it over on how these companies manage their manpower. Is it continuous hiring alone?
Answers for these questions lie in Human Resource Planning. It is also referred to as ‘manpower
planning’ or ‘personnel planning’. The goal is simple. HRM using Human Resource Planning (HRP),
needs to ensure that right number of right kind of people, to be available at the right time to the
organization so that they will contribute to the fulfillment of organisation’s goals (Figure 2.1).

You got a big order and you have to establish a new production line itself. You need to get
machinery. When? Let the first one come in next 2 months and the second one four months later,
after we stabilse the production and quality. Which is better among A,B,C companies? Can we buy
one and run with two shifts or buy two? In finding the answers, what you would be trying is to get
the best utilisation of the assets – machines. Your other assets, human resources are also to be
effectively utilised. And for that also you need analysis and plan.

right
skills

right right
people place

HRP

right right
time cost

right
numbers

Figure 2.1 Core of HRP

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 Definitions
Sharon Pandey and Swapnalekha Basak (2015) have defined “HRP is the process by which the
organisation ensures that it has right number and right kind of people, at the right place at the right
time, capable of effectively completing those tasks that will help the organisation achieve its
objectives.

According to Geisler (2005), “Manpower planning (HRP) is the process – including forecasting,
developing, implementing and controlling, by which a firm ensures that it has the right number of
people and right kind of people, at the right place, at the right time, doing things for which they are
economically most suitable”.

Leap and Crino (1989) have defined HRP as “Human resource planning includes the estimation how
many qualified people are necessary to carry out the assigned activities, how many people will be
available, and what, if anything must be done to ensure that personnel supply equals personnel
demand at the appropriate point in the future.”

All definitions are giving the same objective and defining HRP as a process. Leap and Crino definition
is putting the process as about crystalising the numbers (here also it is right kind of people defining
them as qualified and also right place, mentioning it as appropriate time) and actions for filling the
gap. Geisler definition elaborates the components of the process – forecasting, developing,
implementing and controlling. When we are referring right people, it means people with abilities,
capacities, potential, skill, knowledge, values and commitment.

Futuristic

Perpetual and
Process
flexible being
with many
adoptive to
sub
business
processes
dynamics

Different levels -
HRP Sceintifc and
National. Sectorial,
also uses
Industry, Unit &
grapewine
Department levels

Different Plans to move

tenures - Short, from present
Medium and to future
Long Terms position

Figure 2.2 HRP Features

HRP Features (Refer Figure 2.2)

• It is futuristic.
• It is a process including many sub processes or sub activities taking many aspects into
consideration.
• It is scientific in the sense that it measures qualities and quantities in a scientific manner. At
the same time, it may use gut feelings, grapevine etc., which are not scientific.
• It measures today’s position and indicates action plans to move to tomorrow’s position.

403 Human Resource Management 53 MGNCRE

 • It has different tenures- short term, medium term, long term.
• It operates at different levels – National level, Sectorial level, Industry level, Unit level,
Department level.
• It is a perpetual process and not a one-shot or a limited timeline affair.
• It is flexible and adaptive to business dynamics.

Not numbers alone

HRP looks at these, and goes beyond . It tries to dissect each number into: (refer Figure 2.3).

Values

Aptitude

Creative
HUMAN Knowledge

Ability
RESOURCES
Attitude
Talent

Skills

Figure 2.3 Anatomy of Human Resources

403 Human Resource Management 54 MGNCRE

 What HRP does

What an organisation does in its business?

It converts raw materials or some intermediaries to give a finished product to customer. It mixes
Maida and flours to make biscuits. Or process chemicals to make medicines. Or Services. Customer
wants to construct a mall. Organisation gives full architectural drawings with design of all sub
systems – Electrical, Plumbing, Air Conditioning, Fire Fighting, ---In both the cases it is basically value
addition.

Business increases when the value addition increases. It can be in different terms say quantum,
variety (diversification), additions (moving up value chain) etc.,

HRM through HRP tries to answer the questions:

• Where do we want to go? (Target)

• Where do we stand now?
• To reach the targets what skills are required and in what numbers?
• What is timing in a match with the time frame?
• What numbers and skills are required to tackle separations (resignations, retirements etc.,)?
• How to bridge the gap progressing on the desired time axis?

That is what HRP does in broader terms. It leads to many sub questions. Refer Figure 2.4.

What skill
Is he going to
sets and what
stay or not?
numbers are
required?

What are
the
Why people
are resigning? existing
skill sets?

How much
Will new skills
Training and How to
Do? numbers How to
reduce
Cost? effect
will cost? manpower
changes
cost?

Figure 2.4 Questions answered by HRP

403 Human Resource Management 55 MGNCRE

 We can say that HRP is a mechanism of ensuring match between skill sets and roles as required by
an organisation. The matching can be done through capacity building (training existing workforce) or
talent acquisition.

Grapevine is an informal communication channel. Information flows in different directions

linking almost everyone in an organisation. It passes opinions and rumours which do not move
through formal channels.

Need and Importance of HRP

You are aware of, how people glue to the TV and listen with rapt attention when Indian Finance
Minister presents the Budget for the next Financial Year in the Parliament. Preparation of three to
six months goes into it. In fact, it is a perennial exercise, analysing the differences between the
budget and actuals and making amends in the next budget. So would be the case for all big
companies. But in some organisations budgets are not given much importance and prepared
routinely. “This is also budget and part of the total budget. It is just increasing previous year figures
by 10%. We know how it is done. What’s the big deal about it?”

The awareness of the need and importance of HRP may be missing. The following will indicate the
importance and need. (Refer Figure 2.5)

1. Assessments of future requirements of manpower are always necessary. Lack of required

numbers and skill sets may cost organisations big jobs. Or they may lose out at the pre-
qualification stage itself in case of tenders.
2. It is necessary in the cases of other extreme also. Without the assessments, organisations
may end up with a huge headcount without much business as happened in many
organisations.
3. It is necessary for succession planning. Suppose some heads of divisions are getting retired
in the next few months. If you do not notice and do not appoint successors the divisions
may go rudderless. In fact, this happened many times in cases of Public Sector companies
which continued headless for many months. This will affect the performance of the
Organisation.
4. Every organisation will have employee turnover for one reason or another. It is a common
tendency among junior employees or first-timers to hop from one job to another. HRP will
take into account employee turnover and make organisations to plan accordingly for filling
the vacancies.

403 Human Resource Management 56 MGNCRE

 5. It is the basis for all other functions of HRM like recruitment, selection, training and
development.
6. It is part of regular budgets and interlinked. Without working out corresponding manpower
figures and taking needy actions, other projections of production/sales would remain on
paper only.
7. It is an integral part of strategic plan of the organisation right from the beginning. It gives
inputs on the requirements of human resources for a given strategy, till the end for
implementing the strategy through translating the strategy into processes and actions.

Part of Must for Important in cross

Basis for other expansion and border expansions and
budgets Sales , Strategic
plan diversification M&A
Production strategies

Basis for Selection, Talented work

Training and force creation
Development
ROI on human
resources
Addresseing
Employee Turnover
problem
Effective in
implementig
Succession changes
Planning

More time horizon

Assessments of
Surplus and Deficit HRP and reduced cots

Figure 2.5 Importance of HRP

8. It is a must for diversifying and expansion strategies of an organisation. In diversification

plans, HRP provides key inputs in terms of the capabilities of human resources in the target
areas. In case of expansions, it gives inputs apart from numbers, the availability of resources
at target locations and willingness of existing employees for a transfer to a new location and
allied aspects.
9. In case of plans involving across the border expansions, HRP plays an important role as it
involves filling positions with foreign manpower (dealing with different languages, cultures,
habits) and/or assigning existing manpower to foreign locations (similar considerations).
10. In case of expansions through M&A (mergers and acquisitions) route, HRP’s role will be
much bigger since it arrives at synergies (one plus one greater than two). For instance, if
two banks are getting merged, then loan portfolios of a sector say agriculture or personal
loans of two banks (or branches in a location) can be put under one head. HRP gives key
inputs with its database.
11. HRP is required in creating a talented workforce. Technology is bringing many changes
faster. For instance in IT field, the platforms themselves are getting modified or changed
frequently. With the changes, some technologies may get obsolete. Jobs are getting highly

403 Human Resource Management 57 MGNCRE

 skilled and moving towards higher IQ. HRP Is essential in acquiring talent and developing
existing resources to cope up with technological advances.
12. ROI (Return on Investment) factor brings out the significance of HRP. Organisations make
investments in human resources in terms of compensation, training and development. For
organisations to get ROI, effective utilisation of the resources is a must which is possible
through HRP only.
13. Resistance to change is a common phenomenon. (Change of location, change to a new
department, change to new technology, Change of work culture etc.,). HRP helps in
effecting the changes in a smooth manner as it makes the plans and strategies ahead.
14. In talent acquisition, more choices can be exercised with HRP, as it makes planning ahead so
that ample time would be available for the management in implementing such plans.
15. In terms of costs, HRP brings economies, as planned costs would be lower than the
sudden/emergency costs.

As you have seen in telecom sector (5G is at sight), technology is changing at a much faster rate
and in these times human resources are more adaptive when compared to other resources and
HRP ensures that organisations make the best use of human resources. In cases of economic
uncertainty, it’s the people who are more flexible. For instance, when the world is hit by
pandemic COVID 19, the mode of deliveries is changed like classroom teaching to online
teaching, running virtual offices with employees working from home but connected through
communication tools.

Factors Affecting HRP

HRP is affected by many factors. Some of the important ones are as mentioned in Figure 2.6.

Type and Strategy of Organisation – If the Organisation is a production organisation then planning
would be more difficult and so would be for organisations which offer high-end services. Strategies
like geographical expansion would involve using different databases, and using external manpower
agencies.

Environmental Uncertainties – Business and Political environments. Business environment

uncertainties include whether conducive or restrictive, how it will be changing depending on the
status of economy. Political environment uncertainties include policy changes contemplated if a
different political party comes to power.

Type and Organisational

Strategy of growth cycle
Organisation Environmental
and planning
Uncertainties

Time
Horizons
HRP Outsourcing

Type and Quality of

Forecasting Nature of jobs
Information being filled

Figure 2.6 Factors affecting HRP

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 Outsourcing – Policy of the company on what activities or functions are outsourced. Whether to
develop the human resources in those functions or outsource the activities and what would be the
effects, in either case, is an uncertainty.

Nature of jobs being filled – The HRP will be different for different jobs. If the recruitment is for
trainees/apprentices the planning will be simple and whereas, it is complex for high skilled jobs. The
position or level also plays an important role.

Type and quality of forecasting information –Since the output from HRP depends on the inputs, the
type and quality of information are important. And these forecasting inputs depend on the
databases which are used to generate them.

Time Horizon – HRP process differs for short, medium and long term plans since the available time
dictates the strategies. Organisations with stable business can go for long term plans but
organisations operating in highly competitive environments can go for short term plans only.

There are other factors like:

Level of Technology (and its changes), State of the economy (which gives many indicators including
unemployment level), Stage of Life Cycle of the products which the Organisation making, and Trade
Unions (apart of economic benefits they may also oppose lateral recruitments and press for
promotions to the insiders)

To Do Activity

There are many Indian EPC Companies (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) like Engineers
India Ltd., Larsen & Toubro, Tata Projects, Gammon India, Punj Lloyd, Shriram EPC etc., Find out
HRP activity in these companies and see how it differs with HRP in other companies.

To Do Activity

Collect information and try to analyse Indian Telephone Industries problems from 1995 to 2010 as
far as HRM related ones. The obvious answer of excess manpower may not be the correct one.

The

You can find the importance attached by big companies to HRP in particular and HRM in general
from a recent advertisement given by a famous pharmaceutical company operating from Hyderabad
in Box 2.1. You can make a note of the Functions of HRP (and HRM).

403 Human Resource Management 59 MGNCRE

 Box 2.1 Advertisement for Manager HR from a Pharmaceutical Company
Manager HR Facilitator
Responsibilities
The incumbent will be responsible for meeting core HR deliverables such as staffing,
induction, employee life cycle, talent management for one of the central function across
CTOs. Incumbent will also partner with line managers to drive engagement, retention &
grievance resolution thereby leading to higher productivity.
The incumbent will also be responsible for program management of various manpower
efficiency and productivity related projects across various GMO functions units.
Manpower planning & Talent Acquisition Support
Manpower planning by following org design principles
Support business integrally on manpower planning and budgeting process.
Assess the workforce deployment and gaps; work proactively with recruitment team to fill the
vacancies
Partnering with recruitment in maintaining manning levels to optimum level
Employee Engagement & Retention
Implementation of Employee engagement initiatives
Handling employee queries & grievances
Retention Drive connect programs for HIPOs
Program Management HR Projects
Support initiatives of manpower efficiency in various GMO functions using org design
principles
Support management in taking decisions with respect to talent mobilisation and optimization
Support effective deployment of manpower in different functions as per manpower efficiency
norms.
Track and prepare monthly MIS of the various manpower efficiency projects
Capability Development
Coordinate with business and implement developmental interventions
Coordinate with trainers to conduct relevant sessions, seminars & workshops for honing the
technical managerial skills of business managers
Performance Management & Productivity
Drive all the stages of Performance Management
Explore various ideas on productivity by working closely with line managers
Enable managers at various stages of Goal setting Performance Appraisal & monitor progress
HR Analytics & MIS
Collation and preparation of periodic HR MIS, reports and analysis
MIS support to the Unit HR Lead in the areas of people metrics, reporting, and advanced and
predictive analytics
Discover the underlying reasons for employee attrition and identify high value employees at
risk of leaving
Create, maintain, and ensure quality assurance of key human resources data sets, reports, and
metrics
Organizational Initiatives & Compliance
Support change management at BU Level
To ensure statutory & process compliance
Special Projects at CoE level

403 Human Resource Management 60 MGNCRE

Operating Network
Internal BU HR Head, Cluster HR Lead, Talent Acquisition Team, Organization Effectiveness
team, Administration, L&D
External Partners, Consultants

Education & Experience

MBA HR with 4 8 years of experience in HR domain.

Key Personal Attributes

A strong communicator having high energy level with ability to influence & persuade others
Ability to manage conflicts well, driving the team towards a solution oriented approach
Excellent interpersonal skills. Ability to interact with employees at all work levels including
Functional Heads.
Having strong written and verbal communication skills, such that information is provided clearly
and persuasively

2.2 Stages of HRP

We will list down the objectives of HRP, before we move to the discussion on the stages and process
of HRP (Figure 2.7).

Maintaining the Keep checking the

Running Tranng
required employee cost to Minimising
and
numbers of the organisation imbalances
Optimum Development
human and taking steps caused by
utilisation of programmes as
resources of the such that separations
manpower per the desired
requisite skills organisation gets (superannuations
skill set
as per the needs maximum Return , deaths etc.,)
inventories.
of organisation. on Investment

Keeping updated on
Periodical Keeping a tab on
Meeting staffing the technological
evaluation and employee turnver and
requirements of develoments and
arriving at net taking necessary steps
organisation's making human
surplus or deficit to minimise the same
expanision and resources and
positin and taking and filling up vacancies
diversification plans. organisation
necessary actions. when they arise.
absorbing the same.

Figure 2.7 Objectives of HRP

HRP is part of HRM and is important to HRM in maintaining good industrial relations. HRP needs to
ensure that large scale retrenchments do not happen. Keeping employees trained so that they will
get the skill sets as per market is one way to do it. The process of HRP is as shown in Figure 2.8.

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 Organisation HR Demand
Environment Study
Objectives and Forecast
Policies

Arriving at Net
Action Plan HR Supply Forecast
Surplus/Deficiency
position

Figure 2.8 Process of HRP

Environment Study
It is for studying the external factors as they have bearing on HRP. (Figure 2.9)

Demographic
Factors

State of Social
Economy Factors

Environment
Study
Competitors' Technological
strategies Cahnges

Political
Industry
Environment

Figure 2.9 Environment Study

The study needs to be done mainly on:

Demographic factors - Gender ratio, Literacy/Education levels

Social factors – Working culture, Government regulations

Technology – changes thereof in particular (For instance AI – Artificial Intelligence is making forays
into various industries). Technology level will dictate the requirements of capital and labour.
Political – for any anticipated changes in the policies, Acts etc.,
Industry - trends of growth, saturation levels (supplies reaching or exceeding demand levels) for the
products company producing etc.,

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 Competition – competitors’ strategies in aspects like:
• Compensation levels offered to their employees,
• Expenditure on R&D (you need to match resources – machinery/manpower),
• Quality control (if competitors are offering six sigma quality you will be forced to offer the
same and you need to strengthen your quality control department),

99.73% samples will fall within ±3 standard deviations

from mean. If you are offering ‘six sigma’ quality means
that you are saying probability for a manufacturing
defect/error is less than 0.27%

• Distribution modes (for instance one e-com operator may start engaging their own
manpower for speeding up deliveries instead of depending on couriers, then others need to
either follow or putting equivalent strategies) etc.,
All these have a bearing on the HRP.
Economy –State of the economy in general, per capita incomes, Inflation, Recessionary tendencies,
and employees expectations on salaries
Organisational Objectives and Policies:
HRP needs to be consonant with the Organisation’s objectives and Policies. Depending on the
organisation’s objectives the HRP’s objectives will be formulated. In the study following will be
considered: (Figure 2.10)

• Vacancy filling within or from outside (Policy)

• Whether Organisation is going for high value (but low in numbers) sales or high
volume sales (The sophistication and consequent skill sets required will be different)
• Organisation’s concentration on training and development (Degree of importance
and budget allocation differs from organisation to organisation)
• Policies of employees’ compensation, development, promotions
• Influence of Unions and Organisation’s policies in consultation with them (Unions
may insist recruitment of sons/daughters of existing/retired employees)
• Expansion or downsizing and strategies in both cases
• Philosophy of the management (Innovative/passive/aggressive), support extended
to HR division (in bringing changes/recruitment)
• Budgetary constraints
This study is important as it will give specific answers or specific objectives of HRP exercise. For
instance, a heavy machinery company is working with objective of penetration in a particular market
segment/territory (This strategy is different from the geographical spread strategy). Most important

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 consideration for heavy machinery buyers is the service set up. As such for HRP, it gives objectives
of finding skilled manpower (also by training semi-skilled ones) in a particular territory of required
numbers which may sometimes be challenging also.

Vacancy Filling - within or outside

Organisation Policies and Objectives

Organisation Sales - High Value or High Volume

Strategies - Expansion or Downsizing

Training & Development Budget & Importance

Policies - Compensation, Development, Promotions

Influence of Unions

Management Philosophy- Passive/Aggressive/Innovative

Support to HRM

Budgetary constraints

Figure 2.10 Organisation Policies and Objectives

Organisation’s expansion plans can be in different ways like establishing more production lines or
units, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and joint ventures etc., Different ways throw different
challenges for HRP. For instance organisation may want to establish a production unit in a territory
which will give advantages like zero taxes, free/cheap land, concessional power and water, proximity
to raw materials or end customer/distribution points and others. (For instance, you can find some
steel plants near iron ore mines and some near to seaports). But in the selected territory, it may be
difficult to find manpower with required skills or the concessions offered may have riders like
employing local people.
Suppose organisation chooses M&A route. Availability of manpower with required skills will be
there but M&As create a new set of problems. Cultures of the two companies may be different.
Personnel policies could be different. One organisation may have a Union other may not have or
Unions in both companies may have different affiliations. Equating compensation levels may prove
to be a daunting task. There could be resistance from employees (in both companies) who may have
the fear of getting their promotion/development opportunities affected.

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 HR Demand Forecast
The basis for HR demand forecast is annual budget. If the exercise is for more than one year then
the corporate plan, giving turnover projections for the relevant period would be the base. The plan
would be split into activities of each department. In case of manufacturing organisations, the sales
projections will become production plans. For others, the activity-wise volumes will be calculated.
Activities/production levels will be translated into skill wise man h0urs and to man days and finally
to number of employees requirement.
Techniques for HR demand forecasting are shown in Figure 2.11.

Ratio Trend
Analysis
Managerial Regression
Judgment Analysis

Workforce HR Demand
NGT
Analysis Forecast

Flow
Work
Delphi Models
Study
Technique
Technique

Figure 2.11 Techniques for HR Demand Forecasting

Managerial Judgement – A conventional method in which line managers will make a forecast of
manpower needs based on their experience and send to department heads. They will review and
circulate to other departments for suggestions (there will be interconnected departments and also
support function departments) and after collecting suggestions they will send to HR Department.
Finalisation will be done by HR Department or a committee of Heads of Departments. This is a
bottom-up approach and in reverse top-down approach may also be followed. In the top-down
approach, top managers prepare forecasts and review with department heads and final ones will be
sent to HR department.

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 Ratio Trend Analysis –Study will be made to the past ratio of sales/production to number of
workers, and by refining it over number of years, the manpower requirement for projected sales will
be calculated. Depending on the span of control (number of employees under direct control of a
supervisor or manager), the supervisory/managerial positions will be calculated.
Regression Analysis- Regression is a statistical technique used to find relationship between two
variables. One variable will be dependent and other one will be an independent one. Values of
both variables in previous years will be collated.
If Y is dependent variable and X is independent variable then regression line equation will be in the
form of:
Y = a + bX where ‘a’ is a constant and ‘b’ is regression coefficient.
From this, value of Y can be predicted for a given value of X.
For manpower estimates, Y will be the strength of manpower and X is Sales/Production.
Regression Analysis can also be done for multiple of variables. The equation would be in the form:
Y = b1X1 + b2X2 + ---- + btXt.
With this, the Y(manpower requirement) value can be found as a function of other independent
variables.
NGT (Nominal Group Technique)
It is like a group discussion and akin to Brain-storming. A group of members (generally heads of
departments) will be nominated to form a group. Members of the group need to give priorities to
the suggestions circulated by moderator (could be HR person/ a senior-most employee/any other).
Then the discussion will be continued suggestion-wise to come up with the final priority list. A
variant could be asking priorities in writing and process will continue in rounds dropping least
preferred suggestion in each round. The system would be useful for arriving at a consensus on
difficult or tricky propositions.

Flow Models - There are different flow models. These are all mathematical models.

In Markov model, non-overlapping categories (called states) to which individuals can be put are
decided. The number of categories should not be too large but all individuals should be fit in one or
another. States are either absorbing (losses or gains to the Company) or non-absorbing (change in
position due to promotion). Then based on previous data annual movements (called flows) will be
counted for several time periods. Gains are recruitments, and transfers, movement by position
level. Losses will be resignations, retirements, deaths. Then the probability of transition is
estimated based on previous data.
In semi-Markov model, apart from the category, the tenure of individual in a particular category is
also taken into account.
In vacancy model, the probabilities of movements and the number of vacancies will be calculated.
There are both advantages and disadvantages in these techniques. All are extensively based on
historical data and complex to compute.
Delphi Technique – It has some similarities to NGT. In this, questionnaires are sent to an expert
group and their responses are sent to others and the process is repeated with added queries if
required till a consensus is reached. It is more used to find the changing trends in job profiles and
personnel profiles so that to ascertain qualitative information which is used for finding out skills and
type of manpower needed. The manpower forecasts prepared based in the method will assimilate
the changing technologies/techniques and demands of Quality Control.

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 (Technology is machine-driven and technique is skill-driven. Both may induce skill learning and
fallout may be reduction of manpower. On the other hand, if higher degree of quality control is
desired, it requires testing of more samples/close-knit supervision which may translate into
additional manpower).
Work Study Technique- It can be used when a work/job/activity is measurable in terms of labour
requirement (man-hours). Total production is converted into number of man-hours and
consequently to number of manpower, giving allowances for leaves/absenteeism (Taylor’s principles
of scientific management). This is for direct workers. To find out the required numbers of indirect
workers/supervisors/managers, the ratio trend analysis can be combined.
Example:
Planned output (A) 26,000 units
Standard production time (B) 5 hours per unit
Production hours required C = A*B 1,30,000 hours
Per man production hours in a year (giving allowance for 2000 hours
leaves, holidays, absenteeism etc.,) (D)
Required direct manpower = C/D 65 (numbers)

Note on (D) - 52 weeks of 48 hours each is 2496 hours. 496 hours or 62 man days is taken out
considering 12 holidays, 30 privilege leaves and 20 sick leaves.
Workforce Analysis – In this, the existing manpower numbers and skills analysed and arriving at
future levels taking the turnover (resignations) and retirement factors into consideration. Based on
the demand, the future gaps (excess/deficiency) will be identified for further course of action.
There are other techniques like New Venture Analysis. It is basically estimation by analysts based on
other organisations which operate similar activities.
HR Supply Forecast
Looks like a simple one. Isn’t it? We know the present strength and the same will continue if there
are no fresh appointments. Answer may not be that simple. And the same strength estimate may be
valid for tomorrow or may be for next month. Why?
We will come to know. There would be difference in the count. Some employees may retire after
reaching superannuation. And there is a possibility for deaths. Some may resign. And some may be
promoted and some may be trained. “First three are OK, but how the last one features in, since the
count is not changed?”
Remember the basic premise. When we are talking about the numbers, we are talking about the
numbers with given skill sets for a particular job. In case of promotion, it leaves a gap for the job
which the employee was doing as a junior. And the promotion might have been given, to fill a
vacancy arising out of separation of someone. In the case of training, the skill set composition is
changed. You have some skills extra in the CV of the organisation as a whole. (Skill inventory is up).
Supply forecasting gives the numbers which would be available from within the organisation and
from outside. It is also a big exercise.
It involves analysis of:
a) Existing resources
b) Internal Supply

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 c) External Supply.

Existing Resources - In the analysis of existing resources, basically inventory of skills and abilities is
prepared. The inventory both of workmen and managers needs to be categorised so that retrieval
of information is easy. The categorisation can be:
• Age
• Qualifications
• Length of service
• Gender (some jobs may require only females and some may require only males)
• Marital status (to find out the feasibility in cases of requirement of location change- married
employees may not accept location change and they have their own reasons like working
spouse, children education at a crucial phase or admission/already studying in a preferred
school/college etc.,)
• Training undergone and skill sets
• Language (for transfers to different location as for interaction with local people, knowledge
of local language would be useful)
• Function
• Level in hierarchy (Trainees, clerical cadre, junior management, middle management, ---)
• Salary group
• Level of performance
• Memberships in professional associations
• Any special categories like customer preferences (for big projects customers insist particular
employees) and so on.
The categories mentioned are general ones and are only suggestive. Depending on the requirement,
different categories can be made. They need to be used criss-cross. Otherwise, mere categorisation
would not give any information. For instance number of married employees and singles per se will
not convey anything. But if you say “in the design section, number of employees who are married ---
and singles –“, it conveys some information. (For big projects, the design staff may have to stay for
longer periods at project sites which may be in different location. Similarly for short foreign
assignments, deputing singles would cost less for the companies than the married employees).
Different categories will have different uses. For instance, the age distribution would be useful for
imparting training. Though not true always, in general, people at young age would be better
learners. Length of service (with the organisation) may indicate commitment and a lesser chance of
resignation and hence could be a factor in placements of sensitive positions. Other categorisations
on qualifications, skill sets, training undergone, performance level, salary group are self-explanatory.

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 Information will also be useful for decisions on promotions, training and development. Age
distribution and mapping balance service (of every employee till superannuation) with skill sets etc.,
can be done.
Internal Supply: Internal supplies are done through the following methods.
i) Inflows and outflows method: (Figure 2.12)
OUTFLOWS

Promotions out
INFLOWS
PRESENT Transfers out
STRENGTH
Promotions in

Transfers in
+ - Resignations

Dismissals

Retirements

Figure 2.12 Inflows and outflows method of HR Supply Forecasting

The present strength is added with inflows and outflows are subtracted to arrive at strength at a
target time.
ii) Employee Turnover Analysis: Employee Turnover (employees leaving for various reasons) is
calculated as:

𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟

r * 100.
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑛𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟
From the turnover rate, we can find the strength at the target time.

iii) Cohort Method: In this method instead of counting numbers leaving, numbers surviving is
calculated. The method is almost reverse to the employee turnover. It is applicable for
homogenous groups. For instance, a company recruits graduate trainees every year. Say 2010 batch
of trainees is a cohort. At the end of each year numbers of that particular batch (cohort) who is still
with the company is calculated as a percentage of the number of recruits. Generally in the initial
years, the percentage will drop down and will be flattened over a longer period.

BATCH 2021

A cohort is a group of people who share a common

characteristic over a certain period of time. The graduating
batch say 2021 is a cohort. Cohort analysis is a part of
behavioural analytics. It has wide range of business
applications like consumer behaviour and helps to target
groups instead of whole customers.
403 Human Resource Management 69 MGNCRE
 Method is useful for supply calculations. From the patterns of similar cohorts (say trainee recruit
batches of 2017,2016, 2017, ---) if it is found about some 30% are remaining at the end of 6-7 years,
it gives good information in the supply analysis. It becomes a good basis assumption for HR planner
while making the plans. The sizes of the batches and refinements of the training programmes can be
done. (If it is found that 85% are remaining at the end of year 1, then the training programme can
be split into two parts in two years so that expenditure is not wasted). Cohort analysis can also be
done by taking different bases (cohorts). Identification of each leaver to a cohort could be a bit
cumbersome.

iv) The Census Method: Here also the survivor rates are computed. Age of the employee or length of
service is taken as a base. For a particular batch (say length of service 5 years) the survivors at the
end of the first year is calculated as a percentage of numbers at the beginning of the year. To arrive
at the rate for the second year the survival rate of first year is multiplied with second year. And the
process goes for year numbers 3,4,and so on. Since it is based on the assumption that people in the
second year of employment follow the same rate of first year and yields a cumulative curve, method
is not much useful.

v) Markov Chain: In every organisation, employees will be there in different grades and they move
from one grade to the next one gradually. From the patterns, the wastage rates can be
calculated.(Figure 2.13).

Level I Level II Level III Level IV Level V

Leavers

Figure 2.13 Markov Chain

There are other methods like Renewal Models. Remember all these methods are useful for
particular class of employees say ‘Fitter’, ‘Chemist’' etc., Admixing different categories will spoil
skill set inventory.

External Supply: External supplies will be there. Some organisations recruit based on the
requirement. And some organisations recruit as a matter of policy looking at the long term.
Supplies differ from industry to industry. Depending on Company policies these figures can be
computed. Now once the demand and supply forecasts are made next step is arithmetical
calculation to arrive at net surplus or net deficit. (Refer the flow chart of HRP process). Once this
figure is arrived at, the action plan starts accordingly. We will discuss on how the process is useful
for making medium and long term plans and how to deal with the result of the HR plan (surplus or
deficit) in the next sections. Suppose an exercise resulted in Net Surplus. Then the solution could be
Retrenchment. But would it be that easy? There could be legal issues (not confirming to statutory
rules). Even after meeting statutory obligations, retrenchment exercise may still have other
complications. You can find some of them in the case study presented in Box 2.28.

8
Emerald Toys I is modified version of the following case study.
Fischer, A. K., & Murray, M. (2007). Can Ethics And Strategy Co-Exist?A Human Resource Management Case
Study: Journal of Business Case Studies (JBCS), 3(3), 43-48. https://doi.org/10.19030/jbcs.v3i3.4855

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 Box 2.2 Case Study: Emerald Toys I

Emerald Toys is a company based at Jalandhar (Punjab), has about 1500 plus employees on its
rolls. Started in1987 with 23 employees, it rose to the present level and its stock is listed on
National Stock Exchange (NSE). It has three major divisions - Creative Division (Head: Mr. Atul
Srivastava), Manufacturing Division (Head: Mr. Asutosh Mukherjee), Logistics and Service Division
(Head: Mr. Raghava Rao).

Of late Emerald Toys Is facing financial problems since imported products are pushing its sales
down. Though it has a name for quality products, still the company is not able to compete with
imported cheaper ones. Many efforts were made to make up the lost ground but no positive
result has come and the recession economy is not helping eiether. The Board after examining all
aspects has decided to cut payroll.

To decide whom to layoff, CEO (Mr. Debasish Patnaik) called for a meeting with all division heads along
with HR Head (Mrs. Surabhi Vaidynathan)

Debasish: All of you know the deep financial mess we are in. Our sales revenue is down and
expenditure is going up. Our share price is plummeting down. We have decided to cut our employee
expenditure by at least 20% within next one month in order to stay afloat. Though it is a tough
decision and we have concern for our employees, still, it is inevitable. We hope this is a temporary cut
and no more cuts will be required, but we can’t promise that.

Considering the delicate nature of the task we had to put in a united front for layoffs and see that they
are handled fairly. We will lay off the junior most employees and each division will cut 20% staff. I
called this meeting to have an honest discussion and come to a satisfactory position for all divisions
and the company as a whole. Give the feedback on problems you foresee and suggestions.

Asutosh (Manufacturing Head): I can’t agree with one policy as a whole. We have to see the quality of
remaining people. Honestly we need to evaluate all employees and decide who to terminate based on
who is most valuable to the Company.

Surabhi (HR Head): I agree but a month’s time to too short for a fair evaluation. Further productivity
will be lost as everyone will be worried about their reviews and future and they will not be able to
concentrate.

Raghava Rao (Logistics and Service Head): This policy hurts my division. Instead we should terminate
highest paid ones to reach target. That way we will be dealing with lesser numbers and result in
terminating less than 8%. Terminating 8% would be much better than sending 20% out.

Surabhi: But the highest paid are also oldest employees and could be retiring in next 5 years.
Considering their commitments at their age like children higher education, marriages of daughters it
may not be fair to terminate them. They are loyal to the company. But I do agree on the cost
effectiveness of the plan.

Atul (Creative division Head): Against the notion that young are more creative, in my division the
seniors are always coming with new ideas. May be the younger ones need more experience. If we
follow this policy of terminating the senior most, creative division will lose most experienced and most
creative ones. And it would be a disaster to the company, if they are picked up by our competitors.

Surabhi: I agree particularly losing valuable ones. It would be good to lay off juniors and less paid ones.

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 Emerald Toys I (Continued)

Raghava Rao: But getting rid of junior’s means for my department it would be all new hires. And
remember most of them are females whom we have recruited, for correcting imbalances as per the fair
employment policy.

Surabhi: Our quality will suffer either by losing highest paid but the best ones, or by losing large chunk of
lower paid ones. It may not be good for our PR to make large numbers jobless, just to keep few seniors.
May be it would be a good way for each department to handle with selective ones.

Debasish: Each division having a different policy is again a problem because someone will say
favourtism is played. From a PR perspective it would be easier to choose one criteria and defend the
same rather than using different criteria for different departments.

Atul: But it seems to be a practical way of containing the losses.

Debasish: There is a lot to be considered here. I am worried about the consistency of the plan and
how media will react if division policies are adopted. And remember we need to file important
decisions to stock exchange. It is a must that everything be handled in a single defensible manner.

Surabhi: Well……

Debasish: If there are no more suggestions, I will adjourn this meeting. I am afraid I had to take the
final decision. In couple of days we will meet again and I will come up with a decision and how to
handle. All the inputs you have given will be taken into account in the decision making. Thank you all.

If you are in Debasish’s position what would be your decision?

Role Play is one option for the debate.

All aspects are to be considered. Some are:

• Single companywide policy or multiple division wise policies;

• of single or multi division policies and choosing between terminating people close to their
retirement but few in numbers or putting large numbers of new hires out of the job;
• Whether all alternatives for reducing expenditure are considered;
• Handling PR and others.

2.3 HRP Levels and Types

Levels of HRP
So far, we are discussing HRP at organisation (Unit) level. But HRP is also done at different levels
viz., HRP at various levels is done for different purposes by various institutions. Basically, all these
make out demand and supply analysis.
HRP at:
National level – Central Governments take up the exercise of HRP for the entire country. It will help
to make plans for health care facilities, educational facilities, industrial development, and
agricultural development.
For instance, in a National level HRP exercise, if it is found that healthcare professionals are in
shortage, then Government may consider opening more Medical/Nursing Institutes, bringing
different systems of medication (Unani, Ayurveda etc.,) into the fold and similar actions.

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 Sectorial Level – Central and State Governments take up HRP for a sector like agriculture, industry
etc., It helps the Governments for planning resource allocations to the needy sectors. Suppose in a
sectorial study on agriculture it is found that unemployment in agricultural labour is increasing
(usually be the case) then it needs a further analysis on various factors responsible for. Say shrinking
crop area is one factor and it could be because of many reasons like low yields, bad monsoons. The
low yield problems can be addressed through supplies of fertilisers in required quantities and at
affordable prices, research on high yield variety seeds and others. Improvement of irrigation
facilities is a permanent solution since we can’t command monsoons. Or establishing rural based
industries (Like Diary) is one solution as the agricultural labour can be deployed in these. The
solutions based on the deeper analysis will indicate the requirements of resources in that particular
sector.

Industrial level – This is also done by Governments for an industry say automobiles/cement etc.,For
example, in an Industry level HRP exercise if it is observed that diamond-cutting professionals are
more in numbers, but demand is less, the causes would be probed. The lower demand for these
professionals could be out of other constraints and those problems are to be analysed. (For
Diamond cutting industry first, the raw diamonds need to be imported and end products, cut
diamonds or diamond jewelry, will be sold and mainly be exported. Higher turnover and hence
higher employment may be achieved through providing credit at cheaper terms for imports of raw
diamonds earmarked for re-export after value addition and similar measures).

Unit level – for a single Company

Department level- In a Company for departments say sales, finance

Job level – for a particular job level, say automobile engineer/AC mechanic etc.,

The parameters and techniques would be different for the plans at different levels. We will be
concentrating on study of HRP at Unit (organisation) level only.

Why do we need HRP at a macro level?

We have read the utility of the macro level HRP (National, Sectorial and Industry level). Macro level
HRP is needed because of so many factors. Some of them are briefly listed here. You can see the
paradox in some cases.

• Though unemployment on the rise, there could be shortage of specific skilled workforce.
• With the technological changes, situations like redundancies in some skills may arise,
resulting in the necessity of redeployment, retraining and other techniques.
• Demographic changes like changes in workforce in terms of gender, literacy, educational and
social backgrounds etc., do take place and they need to be captured.
• Due to developments in Research and Science, specialisations may be rising, which in turn
may lead to imbalances in skill sets and trained manpower. For instance, the rise of
specialties in medical field may lead to a shortage of general physicians.
• Developments in one field may lead to different situations. Construction of an irrigation
project may result in land ousters. Similarly, establishment of an industry in the forest land
may result in tribal people losing their livelihood.

HRP TYPES

Types of HEP are shown in Figure 2.15. HRP is done primarily for short term (one year) and long
term (5 years and above). For other time periods, also say three years’ time period plans can be

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 made and you can term them as Intermediate plans. These will be either shortened versions of long
term or extended versions of short term plans.

More specilaisations Supply of basic Industries in Tribals and

More opportunities skilled ones will remote areas Locals lose
and More speciliasts decrease create jobs earning
opportunities

Technological Skilled ones in

Big Irrigation Land oustees changes create previous
Projects lose new technologies
create jobs employment opportunities become jobless
(agriculture &
others)

Higher educational Supply for Blue collar

background may jobs and agricultural
demand more white labour may get
collar jobs reduced

Figure 2.14 Why HRP at Macro Level?

TYPES OF HRP

On the Basis of Level On the Basis of Time

span

Macro Micro Long Intermediate Short

Term Term Term

Figure 2.15 Types of HRP

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 Outlook difference between Long term and Short term plans is as shown in Figure 2.16.

• Capacity building
Long Term Plans • Long Term Objectives

• Increasing Efficiency
Short Term Plans • Immediate Goals

Figure 2.16 HRP Long Term & Short Term

Long Term Human Resource Planning: The advantage of long term plans is that you have ample
time even for making a plan and then implementing it. And you also have benefits of refining based
on the changes of organisational objectives which might have been caused by changes in external
environment (Government policies, shift in consumer preferences)

Long term plans focus on achievements for projected future. They include the overall goals of the
organisation. They put focus on process through which strategic objectives are achieved. They aim
for capacity building in terms of numbers and skills.

All the process listed in the previous section is for long term HRP. Starting from environment study,
it involves understanding organisation objectives, making demand and supply forecasting and
arriving at net requirements. In general, long term HR plans are made for net deficit of manpower
because, in case of excess, you need to plan for reducing the manpower, which needs to be started
immediately and then it becomes a short term or intermediary plan.

Apart from the process discussed in the previous section, the process of SHRM also will be applicable
in case of long term plans because in SHRM, you are aligning HR process with the organisational
objectives. Long Term Plans needs HRIS (HR Information System) or a good database which needs
to be updated on a regular basis. In the Long term HRP, the planning would be of two types (Figure
2.17).

Aggregate planning is identifying the requirements of groups of employees (with specific skills)
based on the demand analysis. It is usually done for lower level positions. It could also be for a new
project where more number of employees required. It depends on the time horizon. For instance, a
big project may have demands of different numbers at different stages. It may also depend on
company’s expansion plan.

AGGREGATE
PLANNING SUCCESION
PLANNING

Figure 2.17 Types of Long Term HR Planning

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 Succession planning is to ensure that key managerial
positions are always filled and to see that retirements or
resignations or deaths or serious illness do not create a
void. It involves identifying and developing the
employees so that they would be ready to take up the
higher positions as and they become vacant. Since the
selection would be from the existing staff, it would
reduce the recruitment costs and the risks (in bringing
an outsider for a key position who may not fit in the culture
or fail to deliver).

Succession planning exercise would make managements

realise potential key positions, filling of which is a difficult
and costly affair. It also brings the employees in the
ranks, who have potential to their attention. The exercise
will also identify the weaknesses of the organisation.
It would give good career development to the identified employees and reduce employee turnover.
The identified will be given necessary training, help in acquiring educational qualifications, skill
development. Job rotation will be implemented and also assignment of new projects will be done.
Performance will be evaluated continuously. The grooming plans are to be updated frequently and
if required, replacements need to be planned.

But care needs to be taken since leftover employees may feel bad and may leave also. Ensuring
career development plans for all other employees will address this problem. It may also bring
“Crowned Prince Syndrome”. Managements, instead of a scientific selection, may pick up an
employee who is visible to them and focus on him. Giving him all new and key assignments and
promotions will create dejection among capable employees. Succession planning should also ensure
contingencies. For instance, a groomed employee for a future position may resign. But if the
process is on, it will ensure solutions to such contingencies. Some organisations do not concentrate
on succession planning. But the organisations which do, will grow.

Short Term Human Resource Planning: Short term HRPs focus on immediate future or, say for a
period of one year. Its focus will be on revenues and profitability. They involve processes to show
results within a year. In the short term planning also, employee database and skill inventory are a
must. Projection part will not be there since the net position is (surplus/deficit of manpower) is
already known. We will be discussing the short term plans in case of manpower deficiency only as
this situation requires planning more. Dealing with surplus manpower will be detailed in the next
section.

Short term manpower plans are made for specific projects. There could be situations where it is not
possible to fill a whole job with the existing manpower (complete competency matching not
possible). And these plans are also useful to tackle an unexpected vacancy. Situations like death,
resignation, transfer are sudden which leave no scope for any preparation. For the unexpected
vacancy, temporary arrangements will be made by assigning responsibilities to another person till
alternative arrangements are made. The task boils down to matching requirements with existing
manpower. Short term manpower plans are for matching existing employees with present jobs and
filling vacancies with the existing manpower.

Refer Figure 2.18. The skill inventory analysis will give two possibilities – first, an employee is less
qualified (less skilled) and the second, the opposite, employee is overqualified (more skilled). Exact
matches generally will not be there and if found, those numbers will be taken out from the purview

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 or tried for giving extra responsibilities. Short term manpower plans will be made with some action
points.

Employee less qualified or

Skill Inventory less skilled

Analysis
Employee overqualified
or more skilled

Figure 2.18 Skill Inventory Evaluation

In cases of less skilled employees:

• Providing training and education to improve productivity.

• Counselling and suggesting ways to improve efficiency.
• Making another person assisting the less skilled employee.
• Changing job content (reducing it by removing some of the responsibilities).
• Changing the job – sometimes employee turns inefficient since he/she may not like the job.
• Demotion – Sometimes punitive/disciplinary actions will give desired results.
In case of more skilled employees:
• Job enlargement - Giving additional duties related to the same job.
• Making him/her as an advisor to the less skilled employees.
• Making him/her as a trouble shooter in cases of any problems.
• Assigning activities which are important but not managed well (like quality control).
• Assigning responsibilities of temporary vacancies
• Putting him/her in short projects

Remember the objectives of short term plans are managing with existing manpower and matching
the skill sets to the requirements. Recruitment is to be suggested after running out of all
alternatives. This is because:
• situation may be for a temporary say for a specific project
• recruitment also takes some time. Process takes time and it is highly unlikely for the
incumbents to join the next day.
• Costs are involved.

However, when it is a must, recruitments also will be undertaken taking all difficulties into account.
The unexpected vacancies are anyway to be filled in if it is not possible through job enlargement or
other means. Contractual appointments (senior level, highly skilled jobs) can be made for project
specific assignments. Engaging labour of other industries which are seasonal (like sugar cane
crushing) or agricultural labourers (complete engagement will not be there in agriculture and is
seasonal) can also be considered as these engagements will be temporary only. Outsourcing a part
of the requirement or engaging manpower contractors are some other alternatives.

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 Less skilled
More skilled

Provide Job
Training & Enlargement
Education
Making advisor
Counsellin to less skilled
g on ways
to improve
Making him/her a
trouble shooter
Provide
Assistant Assign
important
assignment
Change s
Job
content or Additioanal
Job responsibilities of
vacancies

Demotion Short
projects

Figure 2.19 Solutions after computing Skill Inventory

Tailpiece: Before we wind up our discussion on long and short term plans of HRP, one aspect is to
be remembered. Employee engagement and career development form part of core texture in HRP.
See the boxes on Lupin (Box 2.39) and Forbes Marshall (Box 2.410) for understanding these core
points.

9
Company website: www.lupin.com, Article by Tanuvi Joe (2018) in Express Pharma
https://www.expresspharma.in/pharma-life/lupin-learn-and-earn-programme-to-train-1000-graduates-by-
2020/
10
Sources: Company website www.forbesmarshall.com,
Interview of Mr. Bobby Kuriakose, Director HR published in Corporate Citizen, Volume 6, Issue No.3 (June
2020) https://www.forbesmarshall.com/NewsDetails/NewsID/194
2012 Case studies on HR best practices by SHRM India https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-
forecasting/research-and-surveys/Documents/SHRMIndiaBestworkplaces.pdf

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 Box 2.3 Lupin Ltd. HRP INITIATIVES

LUPIN Ltd. was founded in 1968 by Dr. Desh Bandhu Gupta. It is based in Mumbai and is recognised as one
of the largest manufacturers of Tuberculosis Drugs.
It has a strategic tie-up with BITS (Pilani), Manipal University and Pune University through which its R&D
wing employees can earn Doctorate Degree from these institutions while working in Lupin. These
employees can pursue their industry specific research concurrently working.
Lupin also runs “Learn and Earn” programme. It has tie up with Yashwantarao Chavan Maharashtra Open
University. Program is for 12th Science students with poor financial background and is offered at 5 facilities.
It is a graduation programme and University confers Bachelor Degree in pharmaceutical chemistry. Lupin
provides hostel facilities, coaching and support apart from giving stipend to the students. Programme
started in 2011 and about 1000 graduates are trained.

To Do Activity

You have seen one example on career development and another one on good hrm practices. Find
out similar practices in other companies. Start can be made with IT and Pharma Companies but do
not stop with these two sectors.

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 Box 2.4 FORBES MARSHALL HRP INITIATIVES

Forbes Marshall Pvt. Ltd. makes steam engineering and control instrumentation products.
It is a venture by J.N. Marshall and Danies Forbes. Started as a trading company in 1926,
established a manufacturing plant in Pune, today it has a plant in U.K. (Subsidiary Codel
International) and presently run by 4th generation.
It has introduced flexi-time in 1992 (first in India). Manufacturing plants are open from
6am to 7 pm and R&D centers are open 24 hours. Except employees engaged in shifts
(small in numbers), other employees can come and go any time and weekly they have to
put in 48 hours. This has reduced absenteeism.
Forbes Marshall adopted a competency based perspective to employee development. Its
competency mapping covered all levels including shop floor employees. The model was
validated by TUV a global certification body.
It has won many awards including “Great Place to work in Asia”, “Great Place to work in
India”

2.4 Strategies for dealing with Surplus and Deficiency of Manpower

In the previous sections, we have learnt the process of HRP and techniques to determine the net
manpower position. In this section, we will discuss the next step of dealing with net position surplus
or deficit.
Net Surplus Retrenchment

Net Deficit Recruitment

Isn’t It? Not necessarily. Before coming to this conclusion, we have to remember something.
Retrenchment is not an easy process and there are labour laws which restrict and prescribing many
conditions in the cases of retrenchment. Though, off late, there are relaxations for SEZs (Special
Economic Zones) and other cases, still various provisions of different laws are to be followed. Social
relationships established during the employment of the people among the organisation, concern for
employees, empathy on situations of job losses etc., also prevent organisations to go for
retrenchment. After all, employees are also stakeholders. Recruitment is also not easier too. At
times the choices are also very limited. For example, environmental specialists dealing with a
particular field would be few in numbers. It also happens that for some positions, not many people
will show interest. Location of the job, climatic conditions, social life, availability of infrastructure
and facilities are among few things people will consider while choosing a job.

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 Dealing with Net Surplus of manpower:

Freeze Hiring
Train Employees in new skills
Say No to Outsourcing
Say Bye to Contractors
Say Bye Bye to Perquisites
Reduce Working Hours
Introduce Pay cuts
Introduce Furlough
Say Bye Bye to Overtime, Incentives & Bonus
Announce VRS
Do Layoff
Look for Sabbatical & other measures
RETRENCH

Figure 2.20 Measures in Net Surplus Manpower Case

1. Reduced Hiring or Freezing the Hiring: In big organisations, various departments would
have regular requirement of manpower. When organisation stops hiring and announces
that the hiring is frozen or stopped, the departmental heads will start exploring alternatives.
They need to see that the jobs are completed without adding headcount. For lower level
jobs, skill requirements will not be many and there would be possibility of replacements
without much difficulty. The total net position surplus means there are surpluses available
somewhere. HR Department can identify the surpluses in other departments who can do
the required jobs. Without adding costs, the departments which require manpower can
have the excess manpower of other departments.

When the hiring is frozen, various alternatives will come out and people will start thinking
ingeniously. Remember the Parkinson’s Law? See the side box. An application of
Parkinson’s Law may come up. In organisations there would be unnoticed redundancies. It is

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 a common tendency to put more than the required manpower on a task and in the absence
of one hand, the work will be completed with the existing ones. The process of the job may
be contrasted by skipping or merging some sub activities without affecting the workmanship
or output. Or the existing workforce may distribute the activities among themselves. Or
slack time (the amount of time a task can be delayed without causing another task to be
delayed) can be utilised.

No

New
Hires

Please
STOP

Freezing the hiring means organisation will not be filling the vacancies. In those cases, the
alternatives will pop up automatically out of necessity.

2. Training in New Skills: As mentioned in the previous point, net surplus may not be common
across all departments. Some departments may have a surplus and some still may have
shortages. In this case, providing training to the surplus workers in new skills would help
redeployment where the shortages are there. In organisations which operate in multi
locations, this case generally happens. Basically, it would be a re-distribution after training.

Training costs will give returns. You will be retaining employees who are familiar with
organisation’s culture, people and machinery. The training will offer flexibility of
redeployment whenever it is required. And skill inventory of the organisation goes up.

3. Cut Outsourcing: Some big organisations outsource support staff or clerical staff and put
regular employees in their core function of production or
development. In some cases, organisations
outsource some of the functions. (Many ITES
companies in India do the outsourced jobs of US
and European Companies). In such cases, the
outsourcing needs to be stopped and put all
activities as in- house and get them done by the
surplus workforce. Training may be required.
This is an important measure since you can’t
retrench with one hand while outsourcing with
the other hand.

4. Remove Contractors: Some organisations

engage contractors/contracting agencies to get

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 some of their jobs done. It is very common for organisations engaged in
construction/contracting works. As in the case of outsourcing agencies, the contractors are
to be removed and the surplus manpower are to be engaged in those activities. In both
cases, the added advantage for the organisation would be more control on all the activities.

5. Cut Benefits, Perquisites Aim is to cut the salary bill. When there is a surplus, organisation
cannot afford paying for benefits and perquisites. For instance, if the organisation is paying
medical insurance premiums for family members, then restrict it only to employees.
Similarly, restaurant coupons. Also, cut expenditure on functions like annual day etc.,

Picnics,
Food
Outings
Coupons

Cultural
Events Leave travel
allowances

Dairies,
Calendars, Gifts Other non-
essential ones

6. Shorten Work Weeks or Working Hours: If it is 40 hours a week or a 5 day week, bring it
down so that expenditure is reduced. In this system, though pay will be reduced, as the pay
per hour or per day remains constant, employees may prefer it rather than pay cuts.
Assurance will be there for employees to get their normal wages once the usual work weeks
or working hours are back, say with a big order. Work from Home options also can be
offered with reduced pay. For employees, it would offer savings in the form of reduced
transport time, reduced conveyance expenditure apart from giving greater flexibility.
Nowadays work-life balance concept is catching up with employees. As such, these schemes
may find takers.

7. Pay Cuts: Though it doesn’t find favour with anyone, people will realise the inevitability.
People will realise that organisation can get new recruits at lower wages in a glut market.
The pay cuts need to be across all levels of employees and will be better if the cuts are more
for higher levels of management. That would convince employees and unions. Cut may be a
small percentage so that it will reduce the resentment. For big organisations, even a small
cut of 5% also makes a big difference in the salary bill.

8. Furlough: It is a temporary leave of absence. Introduce a compulsory furlough of a week or

two weeks. Employees need to compulsorily take off without pay. In return for the
reduction in pay (for this period) organisation would be giving free time to employees.
Unpaid vacations give organisation a reduction in salary bill, and employees their jobs.

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 9. Remove Overtime, Incentives and Bonus: These are all extras to the salary bill which can be
cut. As per the Payment of Bonus Act, organisations need to pay minimum bonus of 8.33%,
but there are exemptions for non-payment and agreement with employees is one such.

Overtime is to be reviewed regularly, even in normal times also. There are many instances
of fraudulent claims. Next shift employee takes sick off so that employee in the shift has to
continue in the next shift and payment to be made at overtime rates (which are much higher
than the normal pay rates and could be in the range of 150% to 200%). And in next instance,
the first employee will reciprocate. With the result, organisation end up paying almost
double the wages for the same work. Once overtime is cut, these frauds will disappear.
And organisation can offer compensatory offs in lieu of overtime.

10. Introduce Early or Voluntary Retirement Schemes (VRS): People nearing retirement will be
attracted. Most of these packages offer basic pay (without allowances like House Rent
Allowance, Conveyance etc.,) for the balance service. It would be a win-win situation for
both organisation and employees. For organisations payouts will be one-time and like a
capital expenditure and savings in the form of allowances, perquisites, and bonus. For
employees apart from getting a lump sum amount, they will get free time which they can
use for any gainful employment. VRS can be offered selectively also like selective grade or
selective division. VR Schemes are to be carefully prepared after studying skill inventory,
employee data base otherwise, organisations may end up losing efficient employees and
deadwood remaining.

11. Lay off: While retrenchment is permanent, layoffs are temporary. If the surplus is for a
shorter period, layoff of employees can be tried. Statutory provisions of the Industrial
Disputes Act, Factories Act would be applicable.

12. Other measures: A sabbatical (Leave for long term) can be planned. This would be useful
for employees who would like to pursue higher studies or work abroad for short
assignments. The job would be there for employee without pay. HR managers keep getting
enquiries from their counterparts for filling up vacancies in their organisations and this can
be utilised in suggesting some employees. Even otherwise also HR Managers can give
counseling to target employees for any suitable careers outside and pursue them to resign.

Dealing with Net deficit of Manpower: We have learnt few methods in short term plans. Some
more are given below. Some measures would just be the opposite of what we discussed in case of
surplus manpower.

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 1. Introduce production and performance incentives. This will lead to higher production,
higher productivity and optimum utilisation of manpower as incentives motivate employees
to achieve higher production.

2. Introduce Overtime for short term targets or seasonal works.

• Production Incentives
• Overtime

• Postpone Retirements
• Reemployment

• Recruit Temporary Workers

• Explore Technology

Figure 2.21 Measures in Net Deficit Manpower Case

3. Postpone the retirements. Existing employees can be given an extension of services. This
would be better than the recruitments since the existing personnel have proved their
capabilities and adjusted to the culture of the organisation.

4. Reemployment. Employ already retired employees and also employees who have resigned
earlier but showing interest to comeback.

5. Recruit temporary workers for seasonal demands.

6. Explore technology. Sometimes solutions may be provided by technology. There could be

process changes. And also new machinery may reduce the need of manpower.

When exhausted all other measures go for recruitment.

Recruitment should fit into long term HR plan. It should be with the objective of retaining employee
for longer period say 5,10 or 20 years. It should be with a view of talent acquisition and not for filling
a vacancy which can be done using short term measures discussed. Give preference for employees
who were laid off earlier (if any). Since people are required for the organisation the recruitment
standards may have to be reduced as the skill sets can be improved through training.

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 In all the plans short term or long term, net surplus or net deficit, you must have observed one
common element i.e., Training and Development. Many management do not understand the
importance of training and there are also apprehensions among them. HR Managers should make
the managements understand the value of training and make it a part and parcel of the
organisations. Some organisations give incentives to employees if they acquire educational
qualifications. Such policies are also to be continued or introduced if not existent.

HRP Various Plans: Having seen the process of HRP and different strategies/methods used in dealing
with surplus and deficit manpower cases we can classify the plans in a different way. (Figure
2.22).HRP generates:

Transfers or alternative deployment plans – used when the position is overall net surplus but with
net deficiencies in different departments/divisions/locations

Training and Development plans – used in net deficiency situations and also overall

Efficiency/Productivity development plans – used in net surplus situations and taken up instead of
retrenchment and also as a continuous exercise in all situations.

Recruitment plans – used in net deficiency cases and overall as a part of long term plans.

Retrenchment/Lay off plans – In net surplus cases after exhausting all other alternatives.

Retention plans –As a part of long term plans and otherwise as a key objective of HRM and
Succession Plans (already discussed).

Alternative deployment plans

Training & Development Plans

Productivity Improvement Plans

Recruitment Plans

Retrenchment/Layoff Plans

Retention Plans

Succession Plans

Figure 2.22 Various Plans generated by HRP

Barriers for HRP

Before we move to our next topic HRIS, let us find the barriers for HRP. (Figure 2.23)
1. Support from top management - HRP requires complete support from top management
which is missing in many organisations.

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 2. Lack of seriousness – In some organisations, it starts with a big bang and the enthusiasm
tapers down, with the result, the importance and seriousness will be missing.
3. Coordination with other functional heads – Not all functional heads would cooperate with
HR department in the exercise. And sometimes the opposite also takes place. HR managers
function in aloofness. Unless all concerned realise that it is a combined exercise useful to
the organization, it would not be successful.
4. Emphasis on quantities – In many cases, the concentration would be on the numbers
pushing the qualitative aspects like skill development to a corner.
5. Lack of Management Information System – HRIS (discussed in next section) is making entry
but still at a slow pace. Not all managements will be interested in the investments.
6. Resistance from employees – The fear psychosis employees have that the exercise will lead
to terminations in unskilled and other jobs is one of the main factors in their non-
cooperation. They also feel that workload will be increased.
7. Expensive and time-consuming – The whole exercise takes time to complete. Management
would be more concerned with day-to-day problems like supply of manpower and may not
have the patience for long term plans.

Lack of support
from top
management

Time
consumption Missing
and expenses seriousness

Resistance Non coperation

from from other
employees functional heads

Absence of Preference for

proper HRIS quantities
pushing quality
aside

Figure 2.23 Barriers to HRP

Dealing with surplus manpower situation is not an easy one to handle and if retrenchment is opted,
it may become more difficult. You have seen some limitations for such exercise in the case study

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 Emerald Toys I. In Box 2.511, case study Emerald Toys II is presented with different limitations.
Background information is the same as in the previous case.
Box 2.5 Case Study: Emerald Toys II

Debasish: As you know, the Company is suffering financially for a few years now. Although we have
worked hard to reduce costs, still it is not giving much result. It is imperative that we have to reduce
our salary expenses. Considering our present position and future strategies, we have too many
people. To streamline operations, though it is unfortunate still we have to reduce our manpower.

Surabhi: An early retirement plan would be better than layoff. A small lump sum amount and
extending health care till their natural retirement will find takers.

Asutosh: Let new employees go. Last hired first fired. My department needs experience. I can’t lose
all my older experienced people.

Surabhi: Legally that would be safest.

Atul: There is no way I am firing all my new hires. Do you know how hard it is to find new creative
talent? My two new hires are potentially most innovative people. If we have to compete in the market
we need to have creativity. Instead, layoff the least productive employees.

Surabhi: Our supervisors do not do proper performance appraisal. To fire people based on supervisor
appraisals will give legal complications too.

Raghava Rao: Why don’t we just cut the highest paid across the board. We could fire less numbers
and save most money. Firing anyone is hard. Fewer the better.

Asutosh: No Thanks. I would lose my most experienced people. Recouping knowledge base would
take years. If you lose all experienced people at once, production levels and quality will come down.

Atul: I agree. I would lose my most talented people. In today’s market talent comes with a premium.
If I lose my top earners, I lose my top talent. It will cost more money to replace them than to keep
them.

Asutosh: There is a new trend I have seen companies using in which they offer employees a lump sum
payment to quit. It’s an innovative way to weed out employees who are not happy with the company.
Unhappy workers are generally least productive and less motivated. I would rather lose employees
who don’t want to be here than ones who do.

Surabhi: This is a recent practice. You are right. It is always better to have voluntary separations than
forced separations. However without a scientific survey we may find ourselves losing more people
than we can afford. We would be paying people to leave and at the same time spending more money
on recruiting, selecting and training. I want to look at some models and learn before considering it as
an option.

11
Emerald Toys II is a modified version of following case study.Fischer, A. K., & Henderson, M. (2015).
Workforce Reduction: Strategic, Legal And Employee Concerns. Journal of Business Case Studies (JBCS), 11(2),
49-56. https://doi.org/10.19030/jbcs.v11i2.9174

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 Debasish: There are multiple ways to reduce our salary costs, but we need to be careful to
protect both employees and company. This is going to be hard on everyone. As such all of us
should be on same page. I don’t think that we can simply decide on a single company wide
separation criterion. With a company this diverse and with as many cuts as we need to make,
we are probably going to implement a minimum two-tier plan. Further we may need a specific
plan for each division.

Raghava Rao: what exactly you mean by two-tier plan?

Debasish: Any one separation criterion alone will not achieve our target. So we need to choose
our most favourable criterion for tier I or first round cuts, re-evaluate our position, then use our
second most favourable criterion for any tier II cuts. Am I right Atul? You have more
experience in this.

Atul: You are correct. We have followed same way in my previous company after merger. Our
first step was to implement a company-wide early retirement incentive plan. When the open
window for that program is closed, we determined how many more cuts needed to be made in
each division. HR worked with division heads to determine best way to make cuts in respective
divisions, given their strategy.

Debasish: Thanks Atul. I want every division head to work with HR and submit a staffing
reduction proposal to me. Outline the major concerns and goals for your department.
Remember while we would like to make these cuts voluntary basis, productivity and overall
interests of the company should not be compromised.

Time line this week max. Surabhi to coordinate. Thank you all.

QUESTIONS & ACTIVITIES

1. Create a two-tier separation plan for each of the three divisions of Emerald Toys, which will
support the division’s strategy.

Example: Name of Division

Tier I – Type of separation (early retirement, Last in First

Go etc.,)

How does this support division’s strategy?

Tier II - Type of separation

How does this support division’s strategy?

2. Create a two-tier separation plan for the Company as a whole.

3. Should Emerald Toys use a different plan for each division or a company-wide strategy? And
why?

4. What are the additional steps Emerald Toys may want to take, to ensure that the downsizing
goes smoothly and morale doesn’t plummet (Implementation issues and other aspects).

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 2.5 Human Resource Information System (HRIS)

A cheque is presented at a branch of a bank. Man at the bank looks at it. It is a cheque drawn on
some branch of a different bank. He picks up IFSC Code from the cheque, feeds some numbers in
the computer, finds the balance of the drawer of the cheque and passes it. Whole operation takes a
few seconds.
A man comes to Hisar (Rajasthan) Railway Station reservation counter and the booking clerk
reserves a ticket as per his request for a journey from Tirunelveli (Tamilnadu) to Chaibasa
(Jharkhand)for a train on a particular date. Computers at all three places are updated immediately
in fraction of a second.

In both the cases, real time relational databases are used.

When the world is moving along with IT, don’t you think that HRM should follow the suit? HR in a
multi-location organisation or a single location one, don’t you feel that, they should be in a position
to find when and what was the training program an employee attended, without checking his file?

They should. And they should use HRIS. HRIS (HR Information System) is a Relational Data Base
Management System (RDBMS) designed for HR function.

IT field has developed many solutions for every organisation and it has become an integral part of
every organisation for organising, storing, retrieving and analysing data. HRIS is one such
customised database solution for automating HR function. It helps HR in automating its processes of
payroll, recruitment, training, HRP, job analysis etc., It is a tool for HRM.

Its application in recruitment can be easily understood when you look at the fact that some job
advertisements get a huge response in tens, hundreds (SBI Probationary Officer job call gets
applications in lakhs) and processing of applications is a big exercise. HRIS helps organisation to
store data of its employees which can be used for performance evaluation, training, payroll, leave
administration and many more processes.

It’s actually not a new one and was getting used in different forms. Started with defense industry
personnel payroll post world war II, (Kavanagh M. J., Gueutal, and Tannenbaum S. I., Human
Resource Information Systems. 1990: Boston: PWS-Kent) developed along with statutory
requirements of various information, got a boost in recognising its importance in around 1990s and
rose along with various applications in the 21st century.

We can take HRIS as a software tool (package) which enables HR personnel to record, organize,
analyse, store and retrieve information of employees and needed to manage employees. According
to Tannenbaum (1990) “HRIS, one which is used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyse, retrieve and
distribute information about an organisation’s human resources”.

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 HRIS is part of MIS (Management Information System) of an organisation.

Objectives of HRIS: HRIS should:

1. Enable collection and storage of employee information with zero or least paperwork.
2. Enable non-duplication of collection or filling in of the employee information.
3. Enable integration of all sub functions/activities of HRM like recruitment, compensation,
training, performance appraisal etc.,
4. Facilitate secured storage and faster retrieval of analysed information of employees.
5. Facilitate multi-user operation for entry, updating and retrieval.
6. Have built-in security codes so that users can retrieve or see what is allowed only.
7. Increase the efficiency of HR department.

Requirements of HRIS Apart from what is Organisations use paper extensively

contained in the objectives, the without realising that it causes
features/requirements of HRIS are: deforestation unless paper is
a. The software should be economical, allow for recycled. They also use forms with
upgrades and new requirements of reports. repetitive information. Once an
b. It should also have a provision for increase in employee number is entered,
employee strength.
system should facilitate retrieval of
c. Ideally, it should also have features of
generating statutory forms like PF challans. information like an IFSC Code in
d. The reports generated need to be apt, banking which is the identity of a
concise and to be useful for decision making. Bank’s branch and all related
e. Data security should be a key feature in it information can be fetched from
taking into account the threat from hackers. that.
f. Not all reports need all data. For instance, an
employee’s Date of Birth or Date of Joining
and other minute details need not feature in
all the reports (except where they are
required). One should remember the fact
that bulky reports need more storage space and require high-end (higher capacity) servers
which are costly.
g. Editing of primary entries should be permitted with inbuilt security features. Ideal databases
will not permit editing at the same level and give such rights to the next higher level. And for
the next level, again modification rights will be at next higher level or at system administrator
level. This is to prevent wrongful modifications of data.

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 h. Access to reports should be on ‘need to know basis’. In other words, system should give access
of reports or entries to entitled users and should not be open for all. This is to prevent leakage
of confidential information. (Employees’ data may contain confidential, sensitive information
which should not be revealed to everyone without their consent).

Sub systems of HRIS Let us find what HRIS gives or the framework of HRIS. Following sub systems
will be inbuilt in HRIS. (Figure 2.24). Depending on the package there will be slight variations. Sub
systems are modules in the package.

Administrative Manpower
Information Planning
Information

Recruitment
Information

HRIS Personnel
Research
Information
Training
Information
Payroll Appraisal
Information Information

Figure 2.24 Sub systems of HRIS

Recruitment Information: Requisitions of staff requirements from various departments will become
indents and stored with automatic numbering with appropriate coding. It will prompt the channel of
advertisement – online, offline, through employment portals and references to others. All the
applications received will be sorted and a consolidated list will be generated for scrutiny. Follow up
actions like conducting screening tests, call letters or messages to shortlisted candidates for
interview, interview process and the screening, intimations for final listed applicants, on boarding
formalities through automated outputs. With the on boarding activity, the indent will be closed.

Indents can also be closed through transferring employees from other departments to the requisite
department. And they also can be closed by a rejection if there is a hiring freeze or if management
feels no more additions are required for the department.

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 If a screening test is to be conducted, then the module (sub system) will have provisions for the
administration of such screening test – online or offline, question paper preparation by experts,
arrangements for conducting test, time slots, supervision, evaluation, results etc., At all stages, the
intimations to all concerned will be generated and mechanism ensuring delivery of these intimations
will be incorporated. (In mails you can put return receipts, in what’s app messages the tick marks, in
letters delivery receipts from courier or postal department---).

All the applications will be stored in the database with appropriate tags – rejected, can be
considered for future requirements (cases in which that the applicants qualified in all stages but
down in the priority list), can be considered for different positions (sometimes when you are
interviewing or screening CVs you may find that the applicant has different skills or abilities) etc., For
future indents, this database will be tapped first so that process can be completed faster.

In some organisations which maintain websites, usually there will be a general call/provision for
applications so that organisations will consider when a vacancy comes. Even without this
organisations (with web site or without) get unsolicited applications. Module will store all such
applications and will put to use for appropriate indents.

Administration Information
• Leave records of employees
• Employees’ attendance (will be passed on to the payroll module)
• Retirement Dates
• Muster roles (For organisations that fall under the Factories Act, it is a must)
• Employee lists (Labour department insists)
• Information of maintenance vendors with fees, periodical payments, service reports,
contract renewal dates etc., (In some organisations HR department deals with general
administration also in which case all maintenance vendors information will be maintained
otherwise it will be for HR department’s maintenance vendors).
• All the statutory compliance records categorised into official formats

Manpower Planning Information: All the information as per the stages of HRP like Demand and
Supply analysis etc., will be worked out in this module. In case of net deficiency, the periodical
indents (depending on the time frame) can be generated from this module. Since the activity
spreads over a longer period (one year to five years) periodical report generation will be there
indicating the progress. Periodicity can be weekly, monthly or quarterly depending on the
requirements of the organisation. Reports would also indicate pending activities and will act as
remainders. These can be put in automatic mode so that they will be generated on the preset dates
without any prompt.

The auto mode can be put for other modules also. For instance, a PF challan or
information/statement required for PF payment can be made automatic to be generated on 3 rd of
every month so that it can be passed onto the Finance department as PF of previous month needs to
be paid before 7th. Many of the information of statutory requirements like monthly/quarterly
reports can be put in the auto mode by fixing appropriate dates.

Personnel Research Information: Skills and abilities of personnel under different categorisation will
be stored here. It will have connection with training module to enable updating. This module will
act as input to other modules like Planning. The reports will be with cross classifications like one
employee various skills, one skill of different employees etc.,

Appraisal Information: In this module, the personnel appraisals will be stored and updated
periodically. This is a key one and reports are used for promotions, career development and
planning. The system needs to ensure confidentiality. Usefulness of this module is more in

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 organisations where 360o appraisals (appraisals by subordinates, peers and supervisors and self-
evaluations) are implemented.

Payroll Information: All the employee emoluments including overtime allowances, incentives,
bonuses etc., will be stored in this module. Periodic updating with increments, special incentives
etc., will be done here. Monthly payroll will be generated from this module which takes attendance
input from Administration module. Module will have provision for different frequencies of payrolls.
(In countries like USA weekly or biweekly – two weeks payroll systems exist).

Training Information: All training and development programmes information will be stored in this
module. Apart from training-wise employees’ lists, feedback on the trainers also will be stored.
Module generates various reports like further needs of skills and abilities, how many employees are
trained in a particular skill and how many are left out etc., If after training tests are conducted to
evaluate the efficiency of a training program, the test information also will be stored. This module
can be used for scheduling the programmes also. The training module can be used effectively if the
process shown in Figure 2.25 is followed.

ANALYSIS
Identification of functional DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
areas or departments and Requirements and Structure and Delivery
employees Objectives of a method of training
Training program program

EXECUTION
EVALUATION of the training
of the training program program

Figure 2.25 Training Module of HRIS

At every stage, the data and reports generated from the module are useful. Based on the database
and information stored in other modules, identification of areas/employees for training is done.
From this the objectives of training and based on these objectives program design takes place (as
discussed earlier, methods like on the job/drawing board/lectures/simulation etc.,). Once the
training program is conducted the evaluation takes place. At every stage module generates
responses, feedback, suggestions and other inputs. Though looking very simple, it involves a lot of
work and inputs from many people and HRIS would be very useful. Above mentioned is a broad
framework and additions can be made or system can be tailor-made. For instance, it can be used for
generating greetings on employees’ birthdays, marriage days.
Levels of HRIS DSS (Decision
Support System)
LEVEL

MIS (Management
Information
System) LEVEL

EDP (Electronic
Data Processing)
LEVEL
Figure 2.26 Levels of HRIS

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 There are different packages of HRIS and organisations choose as per the requirement and the level
of usage.
Electronic Data Processing (EDP) Level – This is the basic level and packages are used for data
storage. The aim is to store information in digital form instead of /or along with physical form of
data. Reports will be confined to retrieval of data and few statements of analysis.
Management Information System (MIS) Level – This level is the actual purpose and usage one. All
the framework and types of reports discussed will be part of this level.
Decision Support System (DSS) Level – This is advanced level and is useful for senior management.
Here simulation exercises will be generated and system generates scenarios based on “what if”
analysis and with different criteria. It would help the decision making process with the kind of
analytical reports it generates. For instance, you can use for succession planning using simulation
and what if for different choices of employees.
Implementation of HRIS
It involves many steps starting from the selection of package and agency. Readymade packages can
be purchased but one needs to be customised according to the needs of the organisation. Teams
are to be formed for installation and testing and generally it would be module-wise. The agency will
be involved till handholding is completed in all respects. And it will continue to maintain.

One thing to be remembered is that the implementation takes time and the time frame could be
three to six months minimum and can be longer also.
Chapter Summary
HRP is the process by which the organisation ensures that it has right number and right kind of
people, at the right place and at right time, capable of effectively completing those tasks that will
help the organisation achieve its objectives. HRP is very important for every organisation to utilise
human resources effectively and is useful in many aspects like succession planning.

Sharon Pandey and Swapnalekha Basak have defined “HRP is the process by which the organisation
ensures that it has right number and right kind of people, at the right place at the right time, capable
of effectively completing those tasks that will help the organisation achieve its objectives.

According to Geisler, “Manpower planning (HRP) is the process – including forecasting, developing,
implementing and controlling, by which a firm ensures that it has the right number of people and
right kind of people, at the right place, at the right time, doing things for which they are
economically most suitable”.

HRP exercise involves scanning of environment, detailed study of organisation objectives and
Demand and Supply forecasts of manpower. Through various techniques like Managerial Judgment,
Ratio trend analysis, NGT, Regression Analysis, Delphi Technique, Work Study Technique, Workforce
Analysis, Flow Models etc., the demand forecasts are made. Supply forecasts are made by studying
existing resources, internal and external supplies of manpower. Inflows and Outflows method,
Employee turnover method, Cohort Analysis, Census Method and Markov Chain are some of the
methods used for estimating Internal Supplies.

From these, the net position (Surplus/Deficiency) is arrived at. HRP is done for both Short Term (for a
year) and Long term (5 years and above). It is also done at National, Sectorial, Industrial and Unit
levels and in a Unit at Department and Job levels. HRP suggests ways to tackle short term manpower
deficiencies without increasing permanent employees’ strength to the extent possible. Introduction

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 of Overtime, Production Incentives, Postponement of retirements, reemployment of workers who
were laid off earlier, recruiting temporary workers and using technology are some of the techniques.

And in cases of net surplus, it gives many solutions for reducing payroll expenditure without
affecting morale of employees. Hiring freeze, cutting outsourcing and sub- contracting, banning
overtime, incentives, bonus and perquisites, reducing working hours, introducing furloughs, pay
cuts, voluntary retirement schemes, lay off and introducing sabbatical leaves etc., are some of the
measures before resorting to retrenchment. It also suggests a planned way for tackling net
deficiency position. For HRP and HRM function a major useful tool is Human Resource Information
System(HRIS). It is a software package and with various modules, data storage and data mining are
done with employees’ data and gives many useful reports for decision making.

Model Questions
1. Define Human Resource Planning and explain its need and importance for an organisation.
2. What are the factors which affect HRP?
3. Explain HRP process.
4. Describe any two techniques each, used in Demand and Supply forecasting in HRP.
5. In a short term HRP exercise for an organisation it was found that organisation has net
deficiency of manpower. What measures you can suggest for the organisation?
6. What are the objectives of HRP?
7. What measures you can suggest for an organisation which has net surplus of manpower?
8. What are the barriers to HRP?
9. What Is HRIS? Explain its framework.
10. How you can automate recruitment process of your organisation?

MCQs

1. To calculate the need of manpower on the basis of the average loss of manpower due to leave,
retirement, death, transfer, discharge etc., is known as:
a) Work load analysis b) Work force analysis c) Job analysis d) Forecasting
2. Skills inventory, Replacement charts, Markov analysis, Regression analysis etc., - all are types of:
a) Redundancy plan b) Training plan c) Retention plan d) Forecasting
methods
3. To calculate the number of persons required for various jobs with reference to planned
output is:
a) Work load analysis b) Work force analysis c) Job analysis d) Forecasting
4. Following is/are the option(s) while planning for surplus:
a) Reassign the jobs b) Redesign the jobs c) Reduce work hours d) All of the above
5. A process that is used for identifying and developing internal people with the potential to fill key
positions in the company is called:
a) Highly talented personnel creation b) Investing in human resources
c) Succession planning d) None of the above
6. Which of these factors not included in environmental scanning?
a) Political and legislative issues b) Economic factors
c) Technological changes d) None of the above
7. --------------- is the process of estimating the quantity and quality of people required to meet future
needs of the organisation.
a) Demand forecasting b) Supply forecasting
c) Environmental forecasting d) None of the above
8. Which of the below given options are forecasting techniques?
I – Ratio Trend Analysis II – Delphi Technique III – Staffing projections
a) I & II b) II & III c) I & III d) I, II & III

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 9. Which of the forecasting technique is the fastest?
a) Work study technique b) Flow Models
c) Ratio Trend analysis d) HR demand forecast
10. What does the Ratio Trend analysis studies for forecasting?
a) Ratio of profit and turnover b) Ratio of retirements and requirements
c) Past and future ratios of workers and sales d) None of the above
11. Turnover rate is: (Number of separations during year/-----------)*100
a) Average number of persons* working days b) Average number of working days
c) Average number of employees during the year d) None of the above
12. Which of the following is not part of external environment of an organisation?
a) Social factors b) Political factors c) Legal factors d) Organisation
culture
13. The term environmental scanning stands for:
a) Gathering data about the organization and its surroundings
b) Collecting information about the shareholders
c) Gathering information relating to the employees
d) None of the above.
14. The forecasting based on the subjective views of the managers on the HR requirements of an
organization is known as:
a) Normal group technique b) Delphi technique
c) Managerial judgment d) Work study technique
15.Labour market analysis and demographics are two methods for estimating the external supply of
human resources. True/False
References
Books

• Aswathappa K. (2017) Human Resource Management Text and Cases (8th Ed.) McGraw Hill
Education India
• Pravin D. Human Resource Management Pearson
E-Books
• Human resource planning HRP (n.d.) (Lesson #12)
http://www.zainbooks.com/books/human-resource- management/human-resource-
management1_12_human-resource-planning-hrp.html
• Jaipur National University (2013) Human resource planning
http://jnujprdistance.com/assets/lms

Internet Resources
• Dalvi P. (n.d.) Human Resource Planning: Definition, Importance, Objectives, Process and
Prerequisiteshttps://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-management/human-
resource-planning-definition-importance-objectives-process-prerequisites/31575
• Dilip S (2013) From monopoly power to deregulated markets: The travails of a state owned
firm (ITI Ltd.) Sage Journals
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0069966713502422
• eGyanKosh, Repository of digital learning resources (n.d.)
http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/17038/1/Unit-2.pdf
• Gurjant A (n.d.) Succession planning
https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-management/succession-
planning/31877
• nbm (2012) What is short term manpower planning?
https://www.educationobserver.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=12004
• Press LJC (2017) 50 Alternatives to Layoffs

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 https://medium.com/@ljcpress/50-alternatives-to-layoffs-841dee9202dc
• Quinn M.D. (1985) Planning with people in mind, Harvard Business Review July 1985
https://hbr.org/1985/07/planning-with-people-in-mind
Scott S. (2018) How to handle a labour surplushttps://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/handle-
labor-surplus-13844.html
• Shodhganga, Repository of Indian electronic theses and dissertations (n.d.) https://
https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/
• Smriti C. (n.d.) HRP: Human Resource Planning: Meaning, Definition and
Featureshttp://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/hrp-human-resource-planning-meaning-
definition-and-features/25935
• Smriti C (n.d.) HRP: Needs and Objectives of Human Resource Planning explained
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/hrm/hrp-needs-and-objectives-of-human-resource-
planning-explained/25932
• Smriti C. (n.d.) Short term and Long term Manpower Planning Human Resource
Managementhttp://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/management/short-term-and-long-term-
manpower-planning-human-resource-management/25735
• Terry B (2020) What is Human Resource Planning?
• https://itchronicles.com/human-resources/what-is-human-resource-planning/
• Vicky (n.d.) Human Resource Planning: Need and
Importancehttp://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/human-resource-planning/human-resource-
planning-need-and-importance/60197
• Wilhelm S. (2017) How to handle a Labour Surplushttps://smallbusiness.chron.com/handle-
labor-surplus-33192.html
• William G (2020) Why Is Human Resource Planning Important
• https://itchronicles.com/human-resources/why-is-human-resource-planning-important/
Answers to MCQs
1. (b) 2. (d) 3. (a) 4. (d) 5. (c) 6. (d) 7. (a) 8. (a) 9. (c) 10. (c)

11.(c) 12. (d) 13. (a) 14.( c) 15. True

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 Chapter 3 Job Analysis

Introduction
Intricacies of a job is a puzzling question in many minds, be it employers or employees or social
science researchers or Governments. The shift from agriculture to industrialization brought many
varieties of jobs, and along with them many concerns. Be it pay or working conditions or fatigue or
mental stress associated with jobs, research on various aspects of a job has become an ongoing
process for centuries.
The starting point is the understanding of a job. But this is not easy because perceptions differ
among stakeholders and onlookers. The variety of jobs complicates issue further. Studying a job
after splitting into activities, functions, responsibilities, outcomes, feelings at a micro level, could
bring all stake holders to one page. And that is what Job Analysis does.

A research on, say chemicals, split substance to micron level, observe reactions, experiment with
mixtures and so on. Job Analysis also does a similar thing. A Job is split into activities, further to
minute tasks; observe relationships, conditions and so on. It presents a vivid picture. Different
approaches. Many Models. Intriguing theories. Models based on sociology and backed by
psychology.

This chapter unveils some of them.

Objectives
• To explain the concept of Job Analysis
• To familiarize need and Importance of Job Analysis
• To provide insights on methods of conducting Job Analysis and what is competency-based
job analysis
• To explain Job related aspects like Job Design, Job Description, Job Specification, Job
Rotation, Job Enlargement, Job re-engineering, Job Enrichment and Job Evaluation and what
is Job Characteristics Theory.

Chapter Structure

3.1 Job Analysis

3.2 Importance and benefits of Job Analysis

3.3 Job Analysis process

3.4 Job Description and Job Specification

3.5 Other aspects of Job

“Choose a Job You Love, and you never will have to work a day in your life” Confucius

“Find out what you like doing best, and get someone pay you for it” Katherine Whitehorn

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 3.1 Job Analysis

What is a Job? It means work. What work? When we go to offices, sometimes we hear words “Ask
the customer care man. It is his duty”.

What duties are connected to a job? Sometimes we also hear “It is his responsibility”. What
responsibilities are there in a job? Sometimes we are asked to fill in a form, what is your occupation.
Business or Service or --- What is occupation? It is work done by a person to earn money. Actually, it
is consideration, but to simplify we refer it as money.

One can do a business. One can do a job. One can be a doctor. One can be an advocate.

Job?

Occupation?

Profession?

Job is one kind of an occupation. In case of occupations other than jobs, they convey some idea
about it. A business. What business? Seeds business. I get some vague idea that this involves
activity of selling seeds to farmers.

Doctor or Advocate. Actually, these are professions. In the case of professionals, it is easy to get an
idea on what they are doing. If someone is a doctor, I know what he does. May be in general terms
only. A pediatrician. Doctor for children. Cardiologist. Doctor for heart. A Criminal Lawyer. He takes
up cases of crime.

Clerk?

Executive?

Superintendent?

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 Do we get information from a Job title? In some cases, some vague idea. Sales Manager. He does
sales. Accountant. He keeps the books of accounts.

Clerk means? Superintendent means? No idea is coming. Isn’t it? May be from the type of
organisation, we may get some idea. Or we may not. “Executive” job will be there in many
organisations.

But why we need this? It may not be a bother for all others. But for HR Manager it is needed.
Remember HRP? In an organisation there will be many activities. One needs to divide these activities
into bunches or jobs so that one gets number of jobs. It is not an easy task. There will be activities
which are to be done in sequence. There will be activities which support the main activity. And
other considerations. We need to know what a job is or what all the activities are in the job, in the
first place.

This is JOB ANALYSIS.

Job Analysis is to collect all information about a job. The information to be collected would give
answers to many questions. Some typical questions are shown in Figure s 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3.

Whether these
Whether any tools
activities are Where these What are the
What activities are or machines are
physical or mental activities are to be environmental
to be performed? required for doing
or a combination performed? conditions?
these activities?
of both?

A program in software may be written Office work can be in air conditioned

anywhere whereas manufacturing needs to buildings. Mining may be with
be done at a specified workshop. Suppose limited ventilation. Steel production
if it service, it may have to be done at will be in sweltering conditions.
customer’s place.

Figure 3.1 Questions which are part of Job Analysis (Set I)

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 Before or while analysing an activity, one pertinent question will be there i.e., whether a particular
activity is required or not. This is important because number of activities and the time taken for
completion of each activity will decide the number of jobs. It is also needed to check the efficiency
of the system or process. A job is a bunch of activities in a ‘process’, and there could still be a better
or efficient way for the ‘process’ Scrutiny may expose activities which are not necessary.

Even in most professional organisations, redundancies exist unless timely reviews take place. Some
activities become superfluous because of the changes in the systems or processes or technological
developments. For instance, with the use of punching devices (time in and out recording machines
with fingerprint or even voice based) the activities of ‘Time Office’ in factories are reduced. You can
find many forms/applications in Government offices, Banks etc., which would contain duplicate or
unnecessary details. And the person’s (who checks these) time will not yield any productive output
to the organisation. (If you write your AADHAR number, it contains most of the important
information which need not be filled in again). Similar ones one can find in making GRNs (Goods
Receipt Notes) for entry of goods in organisations.

At the same time, there is also a constant endeavor in simplifying the activities. You must have
observed some of the courier/e-commerce companies are not taking signature on paper. Instead,
the same is taken on the tablet of the courier. And some companies are just clicking the location
(from Google maps or otherwise). In both the cases, the use of physical paper is dispensed with and
also the activity of the courier is simplified. The activity at the back office (of the job of checking the
receipts) is also simplified since the receipt is obtained and updated in the online Data Base.

With the use of Wi-Fi debit/credit cards, the activity of billing counter is shortened.

What
What skills are What are the When these
qualifications
required for attitudes activities are
and
performing required in to be
knowledge
the activities? doing the job? executed?
are required ?

Timing context. If the activity relates to Banking, it needs to

be done during banking hours. If it is maintenance activity, it
needs ‘shutdown’ of the facility (could be in weekends)

Figure 3.2 Questions which are part of Job Analysis (Set II)

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 The ‘when’ question leads to the examination of ‘sequence’ of activities as well. Some activities are
sequential, but timing may depend on something or on someone else’s action. For instance, a
person operating a reactor in a pharmaceutical company may have to wait for the reaction/setting
of a mixture of some chemicals before adding one more chemical. In the SAP or ERP unless a ‘job’ or
‘activity’ code is created, other persons (users/other departments) cannot punch anything like a
Purchase Order, Indents for materials, Requirements of manpower etc.,

This can also lead to further analysis. In the reactor operator example, further questions can be
generated. Is the person sitting idle? Can he/she take up some other activities meanwhile? Or
his/her presence at the reactor is essential? It may be required for the person to watch the reaction
constantly so that any abnormality can be identified and taken care of. With regard to attitude, apart
from what we have discussed earlier, discipline is one key attitude for some jobs. For instance,
following SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) is most important in chemical industries as any
deviation by the worker may lead to a disaster. At the same time, an absolute rule-bound attitude,
without flexibility may just simply lead to time delays if the activity pertains to office work.

What kind
of
supervision
What are How a job is What are the
is required
the and what What are the performed or specific
And simillar
relationships duties and how each requirements
ones
kind of activity is if any for the
with responsibilities?
supervision performed? job?
others ? is given by
the job
holder?

Some jobs are to be

This is required to find whether it
done jointly. The back
is performed in a right way and
to back precision and
whether there is any better way
timing are important.

Though all activities are studied, here the emphasis will be overall. Some specific
activities also come here. For instance, some machines should not be kept idle beyond
some specific time. Even when there is no production, it is the operator’s duty to run
them, may be for few minutes. Similarly if some parameter of a machine is coming to a
red zone, it is the operator’s responsibility to inform the concerned for rectification
actions. These kinds of incidents may be few and rare but will be covered when you do
an overall analysis looking at the duties and responsibilities).

Figure 3.3. Questions which are part of Job Analysis (Set III)

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 Basically, job analysis is anatomy of a job. It is collecting complete information systematically,
studying and analysing a job. One key point to be remembered is that, it is the study of job and not
the incumbent (individual who is doing the job) as the job analysis should be objective and should
not be changed with a change in job holder. This is to avoid bias which may set in without realising.
For instance, an efficient and sincere worker may be performing an activity for years well, but the
same, still may not be the right way of doing it.

Job

Position Occupation

Task Duty

Responsibility

Figure 3.4 Important Terms in Job Analysis

To understand job analysis better let us try to capture the important terms (Figure 3.4 lists some).

Gary Dessler (Human Resource Management 9th edition pp. 214-216) defined:

Task – A distinct, identifiable work activity composed of motions.

Duty – A larger work segment composed of several tasks that are performed by an individual.

Job Responsibilities – Obligations to perform certain tasks and duties.

Job – A job is a group of common tasks, duties and responsibilities.

One can also put a Task as a distinguishable part of work which is an element of a jobanda Duty as
an obligation of an employee to do. Duty consists of many tasks.

Pravin Durai (Human Resource Managementpp.68-70) defined:

Task – An act which is performed as a part of a job. It is a distinct unit of work and yet forms an
element of a job.

Duty – It is an obligation for a worker to do a job as a part of a legal or moral reason.

(Here Job is to be read as a task, because a job consists of many duties).

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 Job – It means a role performed by a person in an organisation. A job comprises several related tasks
required to be performed as part of it.

Position – It is a place of an employee in the organisation structure and is commonly known by the
relevant job title.

Occupation – It is something that engages the time, thought and attention of an employee. It refers
to the common categories of jobs.

Duty Tasks Responsibility

Tasks JOB

Other Tasks

Figure 3.5 JOB

Remember a Job involves many activities and a work in an organisation involves many jobs. For
instance, raw materials are issued by storekeeper, converted by Lathe machine operator into
finished goods, which are sent to customer by despatcher.

Store Lathe Machine

Despatcher
Keeper Operator

Now let us study some definitions of Job Analysis.

Definitions
Harry L. Wylie defined “Job Analysis deals with the anatomy of the job ….This is the complete study
of the job embodying every known and determinable factor, including the duties and responsibilities
involved in its performance; the conditions under which performance is carried on; the nature of the
task; the qualifications required in the worker; and the conditions of employment such as pay,
hours, opportunities and privileges”

Michael Armstrong defined “Job analysis is the process of collecting, analysing, and setting out
information about the content of jobs in order to provide the basis for a job description and data for
the recruitment, training, job evaluation and performance management”.

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 Edwin B Flippo defined it as “Job analysis is the process of studying and collecting information
relating to the operations and responsibilities of a specific job” . All the definitions are describing Job
analysis as a process. It is a process of collecting information on the job. While Flippo’s definition
describes the process, Armstrong’s definition gives the purpose of the process apart from the
description. Refer Figure s 3.6 and 3.7 for understanding the process and the broad groups of
factors of study.

JOB ANALYSIS

Collecting

Analysing

Setting out
information on Job
Content

JOB DESCRIPTION
Data for Recruitment, Training,
Performance Management

Figure 3.6 Job Analysis Process

Wylie’s definition elaborates the data requirements in the Job analysis. It gives a larger contour. It is
also providing a base for comparison so that parity can be established among different jobs in the
long run since compensation or conditions of employment are also brought in.

Comlete study of Job - All

known & determinable
factors

Nature of the Task

Duties & Responsibilities Conditions under which

Qualifications required Compensation
involved in performance performance is carried out

Figure 3.7 Job Analysis – Broad Groups of Factors of Study

The definitions combined with sets of questions given in the Figure s 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 give the
understanding of the concept of Job analysis. Remember the questions given are only broad ones
and indicative. They are not exhaustive. Similar questions or new questions are to be developed to
make the job analysis to micro level. Different goals and benefits of Job analysis are discussed in the
next section. Having discussed, we can put Job analysis as a collection and analysis of basic
information shown in Figure 3.8. Depending on the objective of job analysis exercise, the list keeps
expanding.

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 J Identification of the Job - Title, Code

O Location, Physical setting, hazards, discomforts, supervision

B
Tasks – frequency, timing, simple/complex
A
N Duties, specified tasks, frequency, timing

A
Materials and their types, Tools, Equipment, Procedures used, Output
L in terms of products/services/documents

Y Processes – Movements, Requirements (cleaning, lifting, mixing, driving)

S
Relationship with other jobs, Responsibilities of others, Social contact
I
S KSA – Knowledge, Skill and Abilities, Personal attributes, Special or
specific

Figure 3.8 Job Analysis – Information Categories

To Do Activity

Based on your observation prepare Job Analysis Sheets for the jobs of Teller in a Bank and Enquiry
Counter in a Railway Station. You need to consider all factors including working conditions, nature
of duties, fatigue, relationship with other jobs (activities) etc.,

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 3.2 Importance and Benefits of Job Analysis

Why do we need Job analysis? It answers the basic question, whether the job is necessary for the
organisation. Apart from this, it is very important because of the following benefits.

1. Based on the job analysis, job description and job specifications are prepared. (Figure 3.9).
Job description is the document which gives what all activities involved in the job and the
duties and responsibilities. Job specification is the document which gives what skills,
qualifications and knowledge levels are required for an employee to do the job. This is the
basis for recruitment. Organisation will have a complete picture of the job and with the help
of this, it can look for a person who has required skills and knowledge to match the
requirements.

• Activities
Job Involved
Description
• Duties &
Responsibilities

• Skills &
Job Qualifications
Specification
• Knowledge
required

Figure 3.9 Outputs of Job Analysis

2. The objective of HRP is fitting right person. Job analysis helps in fulfilling this objective since
it gives exact specifications for the employee. It is analogous to giving specifications for
buying a machine. For instance, if you are buying a reprographic machine, you would be
specifying parameters like compatibility for various modes of inputs say wired/wireless LAN,
USB, speed etc., Right person means right fit and job analysis helps in this, which will avoid
over qualification and under qualification.

3. Job analysis will help HRP exercise in deciding correct number of jobs required according to
the organisation’s objectives and operational plans. Total quantum of work, when classified
into various jobs and work expected per job together, will give the total number of jobs
category-wise which will be the basis for HRP.

4. Job analysis helps in designing correct structure for the organisation. Each job sheet will give
relationship with other jobs, to whom the employee has to report to (supervision) and who
has to report to the employee. All the job sheets together will give the structure. See the
example in box 3.1.

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 Box 3.1 Example of a Department Structure

Suppose we have 10 jobs A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I and J. A and C need to report to B. D and F are
to report to E. B and E are to report G. D has an assistant H. I will report to G. J supports
all.
The structure can be put in a chart
G

B E I

A C
D F

J H

This will help in making changes in the structure. Depending on the need and keeping the objectives
in mind one can redesign and in the process eliminate wastages also. For instance, in the example
given, further analysis of existing structure can be made. In the process, brainstorming can be done
like –

➢ Whether B and E positions can be clubbed if they are similar and utilise one of them for
some other work.
➢ Why job H - whether it should continue to be there in that position or can be changed.
➢ Whether these many subsections are necessary or not.
➢ This is a line organisation (Pyramid structure-Bottom more and top small). Should it be
continued or any changes can be made.
➢ And similar ones.

5. Job analysis helps compensation decisions.

In general, compensation is decided based on qualifications, skills, experience etc., and it
also depends on the market and could be industry-specific. Job analysis helps making job
evaluation. It is deciding how much a job worth. From the job analysis sheets, all details of
KSAs- Knowledge, Skills and Abilities are known and based on the market conditions one can
compute how a much job worth.

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 6. From the sheets of job analysis, comparisons can be made. It will give similarities and
differences among jobs. For jobs which have equal (equal means similar kind of duties and
responsibilities, working conditions, skills, knowledge requirement etc., in other words
equivalent ones) job content the pay can be equal. For different job contents, the
differences and their market rates will decide the compensation. Job evaluation would be of
help in these cases. (We will discuss the Job evaluation in another` section). The entire
exercise will give a rationale for the compensation structure of the organisation. Job
contents also can be changed if required while fixing compensation.
7. Job analysis helps in finding the training needs of the organisation. Analysis will set the
standards. For instance, if the industry standard is x number of units production per day and
an employee is making less number of units; it means the employee needs further training.
May be he is facing problem in making adjustments in the machine for various parameters.
Similarly, if it is a service organisation if an employee is not able to take standard number of
calls, he could be slow in diagnosing the problem. From these instances and analysis,
organisation will come to know the training needs. Job analysis also helps in finding the
training and development needs in attitude.
8. Job analysis helps employees in their career path. When standards of the jobs are shared
with the employees they will find the requirements. For improvement in skills, the training
programmes will help. For acquiring new skills or to gain knowledge they will start finding
avenues. Organisation can encourage them by introducing incentives for acquiring
additional qualifications, getting external training etc., Employees can also find promotional
opportunities.

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 Job Description & Job Specification

HRP target of right person on right job and correct numbers

Appropirate Organisation Structure

Finding Training needs

Right Compensation

Training needs and career path for employees

Performance Appraisal and decisions of promotions, incentives

Health and Safety

Reengineering of Jobs

Performance appraisal, Promotions, Transfers

Saftey measures

Job Design and Job re-engineering

Collective Bargaining and Good Industrial Relations

Control and Discipline

Job enrichment and Job enlargement

Statutory requirements

Figure 3.10 Benefits of Job Analysis

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 9. Job analysis plays a key role in performance appraisal. Job analysis will set the standards of
performance of the jobs and these will be benchmarks for evaluation of the employees’
performance. Standards will indicate what is expected out of employees. Periodical reviews
of performance help in taking necessary actions. Performance appraisal done, based on job
analysis taking all factors like fatigue, health, safety etc., would yield good results.
Employees will treat appraisal exercise as an objective one, if it is backed by job analysis and
good counseling will make the exercise fruitful in moving forward towards development.

PERFORMANCE
(Output in terms of
quantity and quality)

STANDARD
(What is expected
out of an employee)

Figure 3.11 Performance Appraisal

10. Job analysis helps in the decisions of promotions, transfers etc., The performance appraisal
will indicate the performance and potential of the employee and they can be considered for
promotions. Similarly, if the employee has got potential but lagging in performing the
current job, a transfer to some other division may help. For a multi-location organisation, it
would be helpful in transfers of employees to different branches.

11. Job analysis will identify hazardous factors and unhealthy conditions like fumes, heat, dust,
noise etc., Based on this, organisation can take corrective actions to minimise these to the
extent possible. It will also help in setting a safety code. Wearing safety shoes and helmets
is a must where construction activities take place. Similarly wearing gloves is a must in
chemical labs. Procedures and processes can be changed based on job analysis to prevent
accidents while working on the machines. Measures like giving protective gear, changing
the workshop layout etc., can be taken for minimising employee’s exposure to dust, heat
and noise.

12. Job analysis helps redesign or re-engineering of the jobs. Once it is analysed and split into
number of activities, analysis can be made on all the activities. They can be eliminated if not
required or simplified.

For the existing jobs, the match can be made in two ways. One way is preparing the man for
the job by imparting training in all aspects in order to increase his efficiency. The person’s
capabilities and attitudes are considered. It can also be done by adjusting the efficiency
levels. It is called human engineering. Another way is to make the job suitable for the
person. This can be done using industrial engineering which is basically concerned with
work and motion studies, simplifying the work procedures and processes with a thorough
analysis of activities.

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 13. Job analysis helps in good industrial relations. When it is done scientifically it will have the
support of every person including labour unions. Since what is expected out of an individual
is specified in clear terms with the backing of job analysis, the possibilities of disputes will
come down.

14. It will help Job enlargement and Job enrichment exercises. Job enlargement is horizontal
expansion of the job wherein additional duties and tasks are added. Job enrichment is
increasing scope, responsibilities and challenges of a job. Job enlargement is used for giving
additional pay or increments or in the cases of deficiency of manpower. Job enrichment is a
tool of motivation and can be effectively used in promotions.

Job
Enrichment
Job
Enlargement
Job Analysis

15. It helps in meeting the legal requirements. The job description is the document which
justifies legally the organisation’s recruitment practices, disciplinary proceedings,
promotions etc., This will become part of the conditions of employment which is to be
submitted to the statutory authorities under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders)
Act 1946 for some establishments. For probing industrial accidents, job description and SOP
(Standard Operating Procedure) are key documents which will be verified.

16. It will help collective bargaining and makes the exercise meaningful since the document will
act as a standard for wage fixation, increments etc.,

17. Job analysis helps control function and induces discipline. Job analysis done scientifically
without any bias will produce a clear document which specifies all duties and responsibilities
and frequency of activities. Employees will understand clearly any deviation would be an act
of indiscipline.

Benefits of Job Analysis, in brief, are listed in Figure 3.10

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 3.3 Job Analysis Process
Job Analysis process is as shown in Figure 3.12.

Determining the purpose of Job Analysis

Selection of Analyst

Selection of Method

Collection of Data

Review and Verification

Preparation of Job Preparation of Job

Description statement Specification
Statement

Figure 3.12 Job Analysis Process

Identifying the purpose of job analysis - Job analysis can be done for different purposes. While the
complete job analysis is done when designing a job, it can be done for different purposes like
recruitment, wage determination, and safety standards. Purpose will determine the focus on which
aspects are to be covered and accordingly the information is collected. The techniques also mostly
depend on the purpose. If it is for recruitment the focus will be on skill sets, knowledge levels,
educational qualifications etc., but the focus differs when the purpose is for wage determination or
safety code wherein, aspects like working conditions, hazards etc. will be concentrated.

Selection of Analyst - Analyst can be drawn from outside consultants or from within the
organisation like HR professionals, senior line managers. If the analyst is from within the
organisation training also may be required in conducting job analysis.

Selection of Method - In the first place the representative jobs will be selected since there will be
many similar jobs and the exercise will be repetitive and time-consuming if all the jobs are taken.
Then one or a combination of methods like Questionnaire method, and interview method will be
selected. Various methods will be discussed in the next section.

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 Collection of Data - All the relevant data on the job will be collected and documented. Duties,
responsibilities, KSAs, behavioral aspects and other aspects will be covered in the data collection.
Data will be categorised and the statement is prepared.

Review and verification - Analyst will cross check the correctness of the data and review. The
employees concerned and their supervisors will generally be consulted for the review and further
information will be collected in case of any discrepancies found in the review and verification.

Preparation of Job Description and Job Specification statements - The two essential documents will
be prepared. (Both of these will be detailed in the following sections).

Methods of Collection of Data – The core activity of Job Analysis is collection of Data on the job. It is
done through the following methods.

1. Observation Method: Job analyst observes an employee and records all activities. It is done for
some days so that all activities are monitored and recorded. All the duties and responsibilities,
including the missed ones, processes of performing works, skills involved, abilities (both physical and
mental) are keenly observed and recorded.

It is the easiest one and a lot of vital information can be collected by this method. Since it is done at
the work spot, the working conditions and hazards including the aspects which organisation is
ignorant, can be recorded. However, different perceptions, different ways of interpretation, likes
and dislikes of the job analyst are some of the problems of this method. Some of them can be
corrected through proper training of job analyst. This method is also difficult to conduct in cases
where different tasks are given daily and cases in which high mental work is involved. It may not be
possible to go through the complete job cycle. Yet, it would give best results if combined with any
other method as the other data is supplemented by the firsthand information collected in the
Observation method.

2. Interview Method: In this method, employees are asked to relate their work, duties and
responsibilities, problems, styles, skills and other information generally based on a prepared
questionnaire and leaving it wide open for recording feedback and new information from
employees. Job analyst will understand how an employee perceives his job and its importance, the
correct ways of doing an activity in his view, actual working conditions, practical problems in
performing the job and other aspects. When interviewing is done for more employees of the same
category, the most general picture will emerge and eliminates bias.

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 This method can be used for all levels and all categories of jobs. Sensitive information can be
obtained which cannot be through structured questionnaires. It will be recorded views of
employees and an experienced job analyst can elicit more information by asking hypothetical
situations or what-if questions. Bias of the job analyst and the way of interpretation are some of the
demerits in this method which can be corrected through training to job analyst and interviewing
more employees in the same category.

3. Questionnaire Method: In this method, a comprehensive questionnaire is prepared and got them
filled up by employees and their supervisors/managers. The questionnaires can be structured or can
be open ended or, a combination of both. Various techniques are used in this method and based on
that, there are different models. Figure 3.13 gives a list of some models.

a) Positional Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) Model – It is a structured questionnaire which measures

job characteristics and relate them to human characteristics. It has 195 job elements which map
total human behaviour. Items fall into five categories viz Information input (where and how worker
gets information), Mental processes, Work output (including physical activities and tools),
Relationships with others and job context (physical and social). Over the years, PAQ questionnaires
are developed for hundreds of jobs and proved to be a good tool. (See Box 3.2).

b) Common Metric Questionnaire (CMQ) Model – It is used both for exempt and non-exempt jobs.
(In US, Fair Labour Standards Act defines jobs as exempt and non-exempt and provides minimum
wages and overtime pay for non-exempt jobs. It is analogous to fixation of minimum wages for
various categories of employees and casual labour in India). It contains five categories of questions
i.e., Background (work requirements), Contacts with people (supervision, internal and external
contacts), Decision making (skill, knowledge, language and business decision making), Physical and
Mechanical activities (machines and tools) and Work setting (environmental conditions and other
job characteristics). This Model also has good database covering more than 900 occupations and of
various positions.

What is the highest level of decision you are authorised to make without
clearing it through your supervisor?

What work decisions require clearance from your supervisor? Please give
examples.

What are the most difficult/important decisions you make? Describe the
impact of these decisions on your immediate organisational unit,
department, other employees, contractors, customers, vendors and other
members of public.

Box 3.2 Typical Questions from PAQ (Positional Analysis Questionnaire)

Source: http://compensationconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Sample-PAQ.pdf

c) Functional Job Analysis (FAS) Model – It is a mapping of employee personality with job
requirements and activities and developed at different levels. It is with behavioral statements and
illustrative tasks covering what workers do in the jobs in seven categories: Things, Data, People,
Worker instructions, Reasoning, Maths and Language including time spent.

d) Multipurpose Occupational Systems Analysis Inventory -Closed Ended Questionnaire (MOSAIC)

Model – It has descriptions covering job tasks and competencies. Tasks are rated on importance and
competencies are placed on different scales.

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 PAQ MODEL

CMQ MODEL

FAS MODEL

MOSAIC MODEL

FJAS MODEL

WPS MODEL

QAI MODEL

Figure 3.13 Models of Questionnaires used in Job Analysis

e) Fleishman Job Analysis Survey (FJAS) Model - It uses 52 abilities (physical, sensory, motor etc.,)
and measures levels of functioning requirements of the job. In other words, it measures degree of
each ability required for effective functioning of the job.
f) Work Profiling System (WPS) Model – It is used for managerial, technical and service occupations.
It collects data on ability and personality attributes in areas like Sensory, Verbal, Numerical skills,
team role etc.,

g) Occupational Analysis Inventory (OAI) Model – It has 617 work elements covering categories of
Information received, mental activities, Work behaviour, Goals and Work context. Participants need
to rate these elements into different scales like applicability, and part of the responsibilities. The
data collected is analysed by the Job analyst. This method is faster and can be targeted to select
groups. They ensure anonymity and as such free and frank responses will be generated.

It has demerits also. Employees may not understand some of the questions and understanding may
also differ from person to person. It cannot be ascertained whether employee has given a serious
thought to the questionnaire, or honestly answered. Aspects like emotions cannot be captured and
preparation of questionnaires is costly.

4. Diary Maintenance Method: In this method employees will be asked to record their daily
activities in the diary or logbook. Employees need to record all tasks including insignificant ones and
time taken. Main advantage of this method is the availability of record of all activities including
minute ones. However, demerits include no history of relationship with supervisor and others,
equipment and tools, and working conditions. It is also a more time-consuming one. It requires
complete commitment from the employee for recording all details.

5. Task Inventory Method: In this method, all the tasks involved in a job are identified and they will
be detailed with descriptions of each task. It is a combination method and usually, data required for
all the tasks is collected from other methods like questionnaire. Responses collected from

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 employees and supervisors are analysed and the KSA required are identified for ideal performance
of a job. It requires participation of many employees and cannot be used as a single method.

6. Critical Incident Method: In this method, information on critical incidents is collected from
employees and their supervisors. The incidents can be good or bad. The incidents and behaviours
are analysed in detail. Information collected will indicate critical aspects of a job. Based on the
behaviour, the performance also can be rated.

Demanding customers in showrooms is an example. Similarly, a complaint on service to the

designated toll-free numbers is another example. (You must have noticed that most of the service
calls particularly from Banks, are recorded). Method gives behavioural aspects of an employee.
However it is time-consuming and requires high-end skills of the job analyst. Further, it will not give
a complete picture of a job. But since critical aspects are identified, it is useful in preparation of job
specification statement.

7. Technical Conference Method: In this method, a conference is organised with supervisors, senior
employees who have good knowledge. Brainstorming sessions are conducted with the help of a
structured questionnaire for gathering relevant information on various tasks associated with the job.
Analyst will interact with all extensively, raising key questions to elicit information on methods,
difficulties and practical aspects of the tasks. It is time-consuming and conferences may be
inconclusive but is useful in finding the need of each task. With this, analyst can deduce further to
include or exclude particular tasks in a job.

8. Job Performance Method: In this method, Job analyst will perform the job and in the process, he
gets the feel and have the first-hand experience of the job. He understands and records complete
process (job Cycle), time taken for each activity, work environment, machines and tools used,
required supervision, KSAs, difficulties, physical hazards, requirements of mental abilities, sensor
and motor reactions (like immediate switching of power to machine if it shows some red or danger
indicators), social demands, interactions required, emotional pressures and other information. It is
not useful for jobs which are highly technical (needs specialised and extensive training) and jobs with
hazards.

The job analysis and data collection exercise are on continuous expanding mode and many other
methods are getting generated. Some of them in brief are:

Work Methods Analysis – uses time and motion studies and can be useful for preparation of
manual, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Job Element Method – Similar to critical incident method and concentrates on behavioural aspects
of a job.

Checklists – Job elements (not the tasks) are studied in depth on purpose, responsibilities,
relationships, authority required etc.,

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 Job Analysis Tools: For Job analysis, job analysts and HR professionals use tools. All the models
listed in the questionnaire method are these tools. Some of them are well researched. With the
usage over many years, many additions and modifications are made in the questions posed and the
scales to measure. As such, they are handy. Some commonly used tools are listed in Figure 3.14.

In these tools, Functional Job Analysis, Fleishman Job Analysis System and Position Analysis
Questionnaire are featuring in, which we have discussed.

Functional Job
Analysis Model

JOB ANALYSIS TOOLS

Fleishman Job
Analysis System

Job Scan Model

Competency
Model
Position Analysis
Questionnaire

O'NET Model

Figure 3.14 Job Analysis Tools

Other tools in brief are:

O* NET Model- It is useful for collecting primary data on KSAs for a large number of jobs.

Competency Model – It measures the competencies in terms of KSAs and behaviours at entry point
and at various levels

Job Scan – It defines personality dynamics in total rather than individual competencies.

An example of questions on abilities from O*NET Model is given in Box 3.3.

You can understand the usefulness of these tools from the question framing. To indicate the level of
activity, examples of the tasks are given which are self-explanatory. And there will be buffers
(questions which are almost similar but different in words or connected abilities etc.,)so that
respondents can’t give conflicting or different answers. Generally, Job analysis is done by a
combination of methods. Various tools and different methods are used depending on the job to get
the near-perfect Job analysis.

To Do Activity

For the Job of a Sales Person in a Departmental Store, prepare a plan for Job Analysis –Selection of
method(s), how to go about, questions if questionnaire is a method, what to observe if method is
observation and other requirements for other methods, collection of Data. Then prepare JA Sheet.

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 BOX 3.3EXAMPLE OF A JOB ANALYSIS QUESTIONNAIRE

ARM HAND STEADINESS

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while
holding your arm and hand in one position. You have to answer two questions relating
to this ability.

A. How important is ARM HAND STEADINESS to the performance of your current

job?
1 2 3 4 5

Not Somewhat Very Extremely

Important Important Important Important Important
Mark your answer by putting Xon the appropriate number.
If you rate ability as NOT IMPORTANT to the performance of your job, mark X in 1 then skip
over Question B and proceed to the next ability.

B. What level of ARM-HAND STEADINESS is needed to perform your current job?

Light a Thread a Cut faces

Candle Needle in a diamond

1
document 2 3 4 5 6 7

Mark your answer by putting X on the appropriate number.

Source: O*NET Resource Center (https://www.onetcenter.org/questionnaires.html) Generic

Questionnaires - Individual files - Abilities

Note: Reference document may be studied. It gives good exposure to Job analysis questionnaires.

3.4 Job Description and Job Specification

Once we are done with the Job analysis, next step is preparing Job description and Job specification
statements. What do these documents tell us? You must have seen dietary charts. One part gives
you what is ideal – this much fiber, these vitamins etc., Second part gives you list of foods say milk
contains this much – and this much --, green vegetables contain this much –and this much—and so
on. Some give you an ideal combination for a meal or otherwise also, you can prepare a
combination.
Outputs of Job analysis are similar. The job description tells us what the entire job contains, tasks,
duties, responsibilities and all say a,b,c,d,e,and f. Job specification tells us to do these a to f, we need

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 parameters of x,y,z (qualifications, skills, ---) in the incumbent. Or it is like saying to perform a to f,
we need minimum of x in one parameter (say 155 cm height at least- why height? It could be
because machine controls should be at arms-reach), minimum of y (say educational qualification of
graduation in business management) and minimum of z (say experience of 2 years). It is that simple.
Rather the job analysis converts ’what all you want’ into two documents. (Figure 3.15).

JOB JOB
DESCRIPTION SPECIFICATION
-Purpose of Job -Education
-Context of -Qualifications
functioning -Training
-Duties -Competencies
-Respnsibilities

Figure 3.15 Job Description and Job Specification

Job Description
Michael Armstrong defined Job description as “a statement that specifies the purpose of a job, also
mentions where the job fits in the organisation structure, the context within which the job holder
functions, and the principal accountability of job holders, or the main tasks to be carried out by
them”. It is a statement containing list of requirements of the job, duties and responsibilities. It
contains all relevant facts of a job and the result of the job analysis. In other words, it is a
description in brief of job content or a job summary. It tells what is to be done, where it is to be
done and how it is to be done for each and a bunch of the tasks pooled for a particular job. It is for
the whole job and contains work, tasks, and working conditions. Job description contains broad
categories of information shown in Figure 3.16.

• Identification
• Relationship to other jobs

• Supervision
• Duties

• Working and special conditions

• Job summary

Figure 3.16 General Contents of Job Description Sheet

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 Identification
Job Title – It should indicate the function and the position in the organisation. “Junior Sales
Manager’ or ‘Senior Accounts Officer’ titles convey these but not a title ‘Executive’ doesn’t. If a title
like ‘Executive’ is used, then it should have a prefix or suffix like ‘HR Executive’, ‘Executive – Sales’ or
Alternative Title (if any)

Job Code or Job number – In some organizations, department-wise codes will be there and in
general, the job number will be there.

Department/Division – HR, Maintenance

Plant – If there are more plants, exact requirement in which plant needs to be indicated. For
example. the required job in NTPC may be for Talcher (Orissa), one among 24 coal-based power
plants spread throughout India. Or in the same location, there may be more than one plant say Unit
I, Unit II etc.,

Location - Place of the Job. Giving precise location, say AMUL Corporate office at Anand (Gujarat),
brings clarity on the location. An organisation may have more offices and plants in the same City.

Job Type – Whether job is Regular (full time) or Part-time or Casual (for the project or work) or
Temporary (for some period of time) or seasonal (for the season) is to be mentioned. It gives clarity
to everyone in the organisation and also for applicants when advertised.

Job Summary
Summary- in two or three sentences, needs to be given. This will provide further information if the
job title is not adequate to indicate the gist of the job.
✓ Role in brief
✓ Objectives of the position
✓ Results expected from the employee
✓ Degree of freedom and authority available to the employee.

(It is a capsule of job content)

Job Duties
Duties -This part gives all activities day to day and periodical along with mention of their use and
importance. List to be exhaustive and also to mention approximate percentage of timing required
for major activities.
KSA - Along with the duties, the skills required, level of competencies and knowledge requirement
need to be given. Technical requirements will be part of this. The use of machines and tools is to be
mentioned.

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 Reporting authority – To whom, the incumbent needs to report, is to be mentioned. This part
helps HR department to seek if there are any special requirements apart from the mentioned, from
the boss, and in general, the boss will be part of the recruitment process at some stage.

Relation to other Jobs

This will indicate the location of the job in the organisation chart. It gives the workflow to and from
the job. In other words, inputs for the job (from whom) and the outputs of the job (whom to be
supplied to) will be given indirectly or directly. Relationships differ from job to job and also depend
on the organisation structure. Some examples are shown in Figure 3.17.

Customer Dept. Dept.

Dept.
Customer CALL C
CENTER Dept.
EXECUTIVE D
Dept
Customer Dept.
F
(Call Center Executive receives a complaint/query and passes it on to concerned department
depending on the nature of query)

ASSISTANT MANAGER
MANAGER

Assistant Manager performs tasks given to him and reports to Manager

WORKER A WORKER B WORKER C

In Assembly line, worker A’s output will be input to Worker B, whose output will be input to Worker
C.
Unit I PURCHASE

Unit II
SALES

Unit III MIS MANAGER

HR

Unit IV
Unit V FINANCE

MIS Manager collects information from all units and prepares department-specific statements

Figure 3.17 Relationships among jobs

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 Supervision
This section gives the number of people the employee has to supervise, their job titles and the
nature of supervision in various categories like close-knit, general etc., It should give a complete
picture of the number of employees and their nature of duties under control. Section also provides
the supervision required for the job from the bosses.
Working Conditions
This part gives the environmental conditions like cold, dust, heat, noise, odour, and moisture.
Special conditions – if any, such are to be indicated in this section.

An example is given in the box .

Box 3.4 Job Description of Accounting Assistant Job

Job description Accounting Assistant

Category: Clerical Group: ---- Location: Corporate Office

Title: Accounting Assistant

Objective: To assist financial affairs of the Organisation

Organisational Relationships:

1. Reports to: Manager (Finance)

2. Directs: does not typically supervise any employees.

3. Others: works closely with Manager (Finance), Manager (Administration) and employees in these
two departments in particular and other employees in general.

General Statement of Duties: Duties include maintaining financial records in Generally Accepted
Accounting Principles, Processing accounts payables for payment, benefits processing and other
employee related tasks.

Filling in as Utilities clerk when needed.

Examples of work:

Maintaining general accounting and financial records

Processing requisitions, payments, receipts and other necessary accounting activities which include
accounts receivables and accounts payables

Preparation of bank reconciliation statements

Preparation of payroll

Any other related works

Uses of Job Description
1. Useful in preparation of job specifications that are used in planning, recruitment and
training.
2. Useful in designing standards of performance.
3. For Orientation and induction of new employees, this would be useful.
4. Useful in job evaluation, transfers and promotions, job grading and classification, and
determination of wages
5. It also finds its use in investigating accidents, studies of health and fatigue.

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 It should be remembered that Job description talks about the job and not the person.

Job Specification
This statement is the second output of Job analysis. This is the document which indicates the
minimum acceptable qualities expected in the person to complete the job as indicated in the job
description statement.

As per Michael Armstrong ‘Job specification sets out the education, qualifications, training, personal
attributes and competencies a job holder requires to perform her or his job satisfactorily”. And as
per Edwin B Fippo ‘A job specification is a statement of minimum acceptable human qualities
necessary to perform a job properly’.

In job description what is required is indicated and in Job specification who is required will be
indicated. In this, we talk about the person to do a job. This contains qualifications and
characteristics required for the incumbent to do the tasks contained in the job. It is a translation of
the job description statement into human qualities, qualifications and traits. General contents are
indicated in Figure 3.18.

Physical Characteristics – Height, Weight, Vision, Colour discrimination, Health, Strength and others.
Height could be a factor if one has to work on a machine placed at a height or is of more height.
Vision and Colour discrimination are compulsory for Drivers. Physical strength is required if job
involves lifting weights. Sensory characteristics (like smell, taste) are also indicated if required
particularly.

• Physical characteristics
• Psychological characteristics

• Personal characteristics
• Demographics

• KSA
• Special & other characteristics

Figure 3.18 General Contents of Job Specification Sheet

Personal Characteristics – Appearance, Pleasing manners, Leadership, Drive, Adaptability,

Aggressiveness (particularly for sales jobs), skills in dealing with others .

Demographics – Gender, Age range

KSA – Educational qualifications, training requirements, Skills and competencies (Computer skills,
communication skills, statistical skills etc.,), Abilities

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 Special and Other Characteristics- If job requires extensive travel or working in shifts or odd hours
(For instance, in IT-enabled services job holder in India may have to work as per customer country
timings), languages (for jobs dealing with public in general, speaking in local language would become
a must) and other general and special conditions.

It is necessary to indicate the duties and responsibilities here also, since job advertisements will be
prepared on the job specification statement. The applicants should know what is expected out of
them if they are selected for the job. Further in big organisations recruitment is done by HR
department which will not be knowing the specific requirements or any special traits requirements
of a job. The job specifications statement vetted by the immediate supervisor or Head of
department would help them in recruiting the required person. Apart from all others, it should
indicate the role and responsibilities in clear terms.

Example of a job specification is given in box 3.5.

Box 3.5 Job Specification for Marketing Manager - Telecom Company.

Job specification for Marketing Manager (Telecom Company)

Education: Engineer and MBA from reputed Institutes.

Work Experience: Must have prior experience in Marketing and Sales preferably in Telecom or FMCG

Skills & Knowledge:

1. Must be a good communicator and must be able to lead a team.

2. Prior experience in handling ATL-BTL activities and managing promotional events.
3. Must be able to handle social media like Facebook, Twitter and help build online brand.
4. Experience in handling PR and media.
5. Strong analytical and problem solving skills.
6. Must understand business, come up with innovative products and launch them.

Personality Traits & Characteristics:

1. Must be presentable and good orator.

2. Should be calm in complex situations and show leadership skills in handling multiple teams.
3. Should be emotionally strong and should give timely deliverables.

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 Job specification is useful for HR department in screening resumes. It gives the recruiters the
threshold limits in selecting a person for a job. Recruiters will get framework for the job
specification and accordingly, they plan the selection methodology. For instance. if stress-bearing is
one of the main characteristics, then they may conduct a stress interview or in the interview, they
may ask the applicants to relate critical incidents they have faced and how they have managed.
Apart from recruitment, job specification statements are useful in performance appraisal.

Job specification statements need to be updated from time to time as changes in technology are
bringing changes in many aspects. For instance, earlier cheques were to be deposited in the
particular branch of the bank where organisation has an account. Now the requirement is dispensed
with and cheques can be dropped at the nearest ATM or any branch of the Bank. Or some banks are
extending services of cheque collection by their personnel from customers. If an organisation has a
job for banking transactions, these developments have a bearing on the job content. Even cheques
system is gradually paving way to RTGS/NEFT. Organisation can allot other duties to the employee.

Examples given for Job description and Job specification are only briefs mentioning the gist of the
content. Big organisations which recruit large workforce regularly use these extensively by getting
them prepared methodically.

JOB
DESCRIPTION JOB
SEPCIFICATION

The distinguishing aspects between job description and job specification are listed in table 3.1.

Table 3.1 Comparison between Job Description and Job Specification

JOB DESCRIPTION JOB SPECIFICATION

About The Job The job holder
Statement of Major requirements of a particular Minimum qualifying requirements of the
job person to do the job
Origin Job Analysis Job Description
Contents Job title, Location, Duties and Educational qualifications, KSA
responsibilities, span of control, (Knowledge, Skills and abilities),
Reporting to etc., Experience, Personal and emotional
characteristics etc.,
For Creation of roles without any Selecting right man for the right job and
overlapping and fitting into for applicants/employees to know what
organisation structure is expected out of them.
Source: Surabhi S (2018), Difference between Job Description and Job Specification12

12
https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-job-description-and-job-specification.html

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 Above mentioned is only a broad comparison to distinguish both from each other and not an
exhaustive one. Before we proceed to next section on other aspects of job, solve the case study
“Chaya’s Dilemma” as presented in Box 3.6 13
Box 3.6 Case Study: Chaya’s Dilemma

Ms. Chaya is recently appointed as HR Executive in a big FPO (Farmer Produce Organisation)
which is involved in food value chin (produces packaged foods apart from trading of raw
agricultural produce). Chaya has done her BBA in Rural Management. She is given her first
assignment of recruiting a Stores Executive and is given following Job Description.
Job Description - Executive - Stores
Designation: Executive
Department: Stores
Education: BA/B.Com
Experience: 09 Years
Team Strength: 01 Store Assistant - (Graduate Level)
Roles & Responsibilities:-
1) Preparing GRN.
2) Daily Stock updating.
3) Daily Sales Report Updating.
4) Preparation of reconciliation statements vendor-wise, customer-wise.
5) Preparing Sales Invoice.
6) Vehicle arrangement for dispatching finished material.
7) Issue material to different departments
8) Checking & verifying transporter's bills.
9) Maintaining consumable items.
10) Maintaining Records of - RM, WIP, FG, Consumables

Since being new, the General Manager and others assured her all help and would involve in
the Selection process at a later stage. Chaya has gone through the job description and felt
uneasy as she feels it is not prepared correctly but could not crystalise her thoughts.
Help Chaya in her first assignment. You need to:

A. Evaluate whether her feeling (that job description is not proper) is correct or not.
B. Analyse first part whether qualifications and experience are appropriate or not.
C. Evaluate all line items of Role and Responsibilities. You need to check whether these
are tasks for Stores Man or not in the first place.
D. Are there any responsibilities left out? What KSAs can you suggest?
E. Based on your revision prepare a proper job description so that Chaya can get it
approved by her General Manager and Department Head.
You can make reasonable assumptions about the Company. As a background study,
generally companies of this type will divide the work into different departments. And all
your answers need to be backed by a thorough analysis and justification for your
suggestions.

13
Source: Based on discussion thread started by Prashanth B Ingawale, 3rd March 2013 in
citehr.com

https://www.citehr.com/453205-kra-kpi-competecy-mapping-pdf-download.html

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 3.5 Other Aspects of Job

Let us start with a discussion: whether job analysis gives what we need?

Yes. It is designed to recruit and fit the person going by the right man for right job objective. Right.
What will happen when organisation needs downsizing? All the jobs are like watertight
compartments and the employees are right fits for these jobs and became specialists in those jobs.
Can and will they do other tasks, in a situation where number of jobs is reduced and employees are
asked to take up more or different tasks, is a question. Willingness may be there, but what about
capabilities?

While conducting interviews, sometimes recruiters face a situation. The applicant is not fit for the
current position but he has KSA, in fact excellent ones, for some other set of activities. What to do in
that situation? There is an answer. There is a school of thought that Job Analysis needs to be with a
competency approach.

Competency-based Job Analysis: In this view, jobs need not be structured. They can be designed
taking job holders’ demands into consideration.

The premise is that in changing environment of the businesses:

i. The hour of the need is high performance where the change of roles should be automatic
and seamless, and employees should exercise self-control;
ii. Job descriptions and job specifications based on the framework of listed duties may not yield
the flexibility, the organisation needs and
iii. It is desirable to recruit persons who have convertible KSA so that when need arises, the
roles can be molded as per the demand.

Competencies are typically defined as a combination of knowledge, skills, abilities and other
individual characteristics (often called KSAOs; including but not limited to motives, personality traits,
self-concepts, attitudes, beliefs, values and interests) that can be reliably measured and that can be
shown to differentiate performance (Mirable, 1997; Schippmann, et al. 2000; Spencer, McClelland, &
Spencer, 1994).

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 Or we can say that competencies are demonstrable and measurable characteristics of a person that
enable him or her to do a job effectively. The measurement yardsticks will be different. For instance
‘negotiation skills’, a desired characteristic needs to be measured with a suitable parameter.

Competency-based Job analysis measures KSAOs instead of confining to KSAs. The competency
based job analysis can be done with the same approach of a particular job taking KSAOs, but
generally it is done taking organisation’s objectives into consideration and developing competencies
applicable to the entire organisation or for a department total or for a family of jobs. This fits into
the model of SHRM.

Process & Focus: Traditional Job analysis focuses on activities or what employee does on the duties
and responsibilities. Competence based job analysis focuses on what employee does to meet the
objectives or total job as a whole. Here the focus is on employee, whereas in traditional job analysis
the focus is on job.

Identification will be made for core competencies (characteristics that everyone should have in the
organisation irrespective of function or department) and specific competencies which are position-
specific. For instance, ‘risk taking’ is a personality trait and could become a competency in certain
businesses. In general competencies which are considered include positive approach, delivering
results, solution providing, systematic thinking and analysis, leadership etc.,

The system will make employees to work with self-motivation and becoming team members and
switch freely from one job to another, giving their expertise where it is needed. For performance
appraisals, the barometers will be total job or group of projects rather than the individual tasks.

This is useful for organisations which are project-based (Example Information Technology). Once
started, it can give good results because many competencies get ignored which would help to the
organisation. It will also encourage employees to come up with good suggestions since they would
be ‘out of the box’.

DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF
LONG LISTS OF TASKS
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED
Traditional Job Analysis DATA FROM EXPERTS , JOB HOLDERS
DATA FROM EXPERTS, JOB HOLDERS AND OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS
Vs.
EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Competency Approach

There are criticisms also on this approach. One is that this system focuses on behaviours rather than
the results. Another one is that competency itself is loosely interpreted or can be ill-defined and the
approach is not practical.

Quality

Total Management

TQM
403 Human Resource Management 130 MGNCRE
 Job Analysis and Total Quality Management (TQM): There is a view that Job analysis is inconsistent
with TQM since TQM expects every employee to do everything, whereas job analysis confines an
employee with specific duties and responsibilities.

Michael Armstrong put the essential features of TQM as:

✓ Creation of a common company theme.
✓ Creation of customer-centric mentality (Customer is King).
✓ Improvement in the job to become part of the job.
✓ Every function to be studied and reassessed.
✓ Improvement to become a continuous process.
✓ Improvement in system of communication.
✓ Reduction of bureaucracy.

These principles give a wider perspective to every employee. But many eminent authors feel that job
analysis is important with or without TQM since it specifies the tasks to be performed by an
employee. They contend that, what needs to be done is to make job descriptions open, so that job
analysis gets TQM oriented. We have seen the concerns raised against the utility of job analysis,
basically since it is generating precise job descriptions, and it is creating watertight compartments
and there is no scope for any flexibility. All this because we have seen its use in recruitment as it is
giving job description and job specification to help finding right candidate to fill the position. But the
use of job analysis is not confined to recruitment. It is only one of its uses. Job analysis is used for
job design. Job design takes stock of existing jobs and generates ways for improvements to them,
and in the process, some of the concerns are addressed. Job design gives scope for employee
satisfaction and has its use in cases of reduction in manpower. We will study the job design and as a
precursor, we will learn an important study called Job Characteristics Theory which is based on
perspectives of employees on the jobs they hold.

Job Characteristics Theory

What is the difference between an artisan and a worker? Or why artisans have satisfaction with their
work, but most workers do not have? Is it because artisans feel proud looking at the output, a piece
of work, or an item, whereas workers do not have that kind of output? Is it because artisans can
work in the way they like, but workers do not have that choice? Is it because artisans get
appreciation and workers do not? Compared to some workers, why some other workers are
satisfied with their work?

The Job Characteristics Theory development might or might not have started with these questions in
mind, but the theory provides plausible answers to some of these questions. Hackman and Oldham
developed the job characteristics theory (JCT) and published it in the book ‘Organisation Behaviour
and Human Performance’. The study was on how job output and job satisfaction are affected by
particular job characteristics. Refer Figure 3.19.

Jobs have repetitive and mechanical tasks which make it boring for workers. The study was for
finding factors which make worker satisfied with the job and the organisation gets good output. As
per the theory, job design has an effect on motivation and job satisfaction. It has offered a
framework for finding how some job characteristics have an impact on the output and job
satisfaction for workers. In other words, it establishes a relationship between job characteristic and
the responses of the workers.

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 Figure 3.19 The Job Characteristics Model Hackman and Oldham

To understand the model, we need to know about the components – the five core job characteristics
(dimensions), five work-related outcomes and the three psychological states. Definitions are given
by Hackman and Oldham

To understand the model we need to know about the components – the five core job characteristics
(dimensions), five work related outcomes and the three psychological states. Definitions are given
by Hackman and Oldham.

The Five Core Characteristics

1. Skill Variety –“the degree to which a job requires a variety of different of activities in carrying out
the work, involving the use of number of different skills and talents of a person”

This part of the model measures number of skills and talents that the job requires from the worker.
If the number is less, it is a monotonous job, basically repetitive and if the number is more, it means
it demands from the worker a variety of talents in his work. Model says that the workers feel that
their work is meaningful when it involves more skills and talents and abilities when compared to the
routine tasks.

In organisations, you may hear:

“That job even a school dropout can

do. Ask him to do mine. He can’t”

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 2. Task Identity – “the degree to which the job requires completion of a whole, identifiable piece of
work; that is, doing a job from beginning to end with visible outcome”.

In other words, it measures whether the job involves giving output of a unit as a whole or some bits
and pieces. Employees find their job meaningful if they are involved in the entire process rather than
just part of it, or in other words, if they can see outcome at the end of the day or at the end of a
work cycle. Being assigned a whole makes them more involved. Further, in the jobs involving only
part activity or process, worker may not know the outcome or completion. It also gives more
responsibility and attachment when job involves wholesome work.

You may hear:

“I have done my part, rest I
don’t know and I don’t care”

3. Task significance–“the degree to which the job has a substantial impact on the lives of other
people, whether those people are in the immediate organisation or in the world at large”.

Employee feels that his job has more meaning if it helps the well-being of others in either way -
physical, psychological or emotional. This feeling motivates them. For them, meaningfulness comes
from recognition. In fact they will be eager to know whether what they are doing matters to others
or not.

4. Autonomy-“the degree to which the job provides substantial freedom, independence, and
discretion to the individual in scheduling the work and in determining the procedure to be used in
carrying out”.

Managers, supervisors, Heads will have a high level of autonomy in their work. But for other
employees, job will become meaningful and have more sense of responsibility if job offers them
freedom to do with their efforts or in their way rather than following a prescribed way or following
instructions from supervisors.

Which is better?

“I don’t want to know how you are “Follow the manual and keep
going to do it. It needs to be me updated at the end of every
completed by weekend” step”

Feeling of ‘I am the boss’ gives more attachment and hence more satisfaction.

5. Feedback –“the degree to which carrying out the work activities required by the job provides the
individual with direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her performance”

We all want feedback in fact positive feedback and so do workers feel. Positive feedback keeps
them motivated.

“Good Job” is the word they would like to listen to quite often.

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 The Model brings an index called MPS or “Motivating Potential Score”. The index is nothing but a
combination of these characteristics and Model defines this index as the motivating potential of the
job. This index will indicate the possibility of a job affecting behaviours of the worker. Index is
computed as:

MPS = (Skill Variety +Task Identity + Task significance)/3 * Autonomy * Feedback.

Examine it mathematically and you will find:

i) All characteristics high means a high score (higher motivation) and all low yields less score (Less
motivation).

ii) At least one high in the first three needs to be there since first part is an average of the three. In
other words, Skill variety or Task Identity or Task significance should be high to motivate a worker.

iii) Even in cases where all these first three are low, still higher motivation can be attained with high
score of at least one or the other, since they are multiplying factors in this formula. Greater
autonomy and constant feedback yield higher motivation even for jobs which are monotonous or
repetitive or insignificant or only a small part of the process.

iv) In cases of high of first three but low of other two, the index will be low for a job. Which means
lack of autonomy and absence of positive feedback will not give good motivation.

Desirable:

At least one High and High of

Skill Variety, Task Identity, Autonomy,

Task significance Feedback

Now, look at the second part of the Model. This gives the psychological states of worker. Hackman
and Oldham mentioned that motivation would be high in the workers who experience three
psychological states. You can see in the Figure these are result of the presence of the characteristics
in a job.

Psychological State I: Meaningfulness of the work

Workers should feel that the work they are doing is meaningful and in other words, the work has
significance or some value with respect to the system or set of values of individual. From the Figure,
it can be seen that this state is a result of first three core job characteristics - skill variety, task
identity and task significance.
Psychological State II: Responsibility for the outcome of the work
Worker needs to feel the responsibility for the outcome of the work or in other words, he should
feel that he is personally accountable for the results. And as per the Model, this is the result of
autonomy given to him. Given the autonomy, worker will make the changes in the process or
schedule or system which he feels appropriate and beneficial to the organisation.

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 Psychological State III: Knowledge of the actual outcomes or results.
As per the model, knowing the results of the work will help effectiveness and this will come out of
the feedback. Having knowledge of the outcomes will make worker make corrections when mistakes
happen and connects worker to the customer emotionally.
The last part of the model gives work-related outcomes of high internal work motivation, high
growth satisfaction, high job satisfaction and high work effectiveness. These are the results of the
three psychological states.

Moderators: Theory recognises that not all the responses from workers would be the same and
natural. There will be some people who will not respond positively. This area was addressed by
suggesting moderators, which are traits or characteristics of individuals which bridge the gap
between the job characteristics and psychological states.

Knowledge and Skill, relevant to the job the individual has, will act as moderator and the absence
will prevent happening of psychological states. Individuals who have this moderator will experience
the psychological states and consequently the happening of outcomes.

‘Growth needs strength’ is defined as the degree to which people have a need for personal growth
and development. In other words, it is hunger for growth and people who have this will be more
enthusiastic in grabbing the opportunities.

“Context” satisfaction refers to the job or work context. This is felt by external factors like job
security, good pay, good working environment etc., Theory recognises the internal job
characteristics alone would not be sufficient for motivation and this moderator will help to bring the
required motivation.

Higher levels of moderators will bring a higher chance of experiencing the psychological states
mentioned and higher chances of desired outcomes.

This theory/model is very useful in job design and has become very popular because it addressed
and provided solutions for the core issue of making workers motivated and achieving optimum
production levels.

Job Design: Job design is the next step of job analysis. We have already seen one application of job
analysis wherein job description and job specifications are rolled out, which are useful more for
recruitment. But job analysis has wider applications.

When the total amount of work is analysed, it gives number of activities, their interrelationships and
the processes. When some of these tasks are joined together, it becomes one job. Job design puts
the tasks, defining what tasks, number of tasks and the order of tasks, into one job. And all other
principles are followed like defining responsibility, and to whom the job holder report to.
Apart from the objective of putting right man on the right job, job design tries to make job
interesting and make worker involved in the job rather than working mechanically. Job design is

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 more useful for existing jobs and manpower. L.E. Davis has defined “Job Design is the specification of
the contents, methods, and relationships of jobs in order to satisfy technological and organisational
requirements as well as the social and personal requirements of the job holder”.

You must have observed the paradox. While discussing Job Analysis, it was always emphasised that
job should be analysed and nowhere the job holder should come into the picture. But here in Job
Design, the requirements of job holder are also taken into consideration. This is because Job
analysis is done to understand what a job is. Job design is taken up mostly to utilise the existing
manpower, so that productivity is increased and also considering the job holders’ concerns.

It may start with an experimentation approach so that depending on the feedback or outcomes,
refining can be done. Further, it is a constant activity because there would be a need for a number
of reasons. For one of the approaches (Job Engineering), lateral thinking and deeper study of various
job description statements are required.

Steps

What is the
sequence of
What is the these tasks?
quantum of
tasks to be
performed?
How the tasks
are going to be
performed?

What are the

tasks
required and
become part
of the job

Figure 3.20 Steps in the Job Design

In these steps, all considerations like workload (should not be an overload), variety of tasks (avoiding
repetition to the extent possible), processes and sequence dependent on the operation flow
required etc., will be taken into account. One of the aims is that the job should not create stress.
Job Design is a continuously evolving process and gives benefits of good feedback, training, less
fatigue apart from other factors based on Job characteristic model.

One important tool for Job Design is Multimethod Job Design Questionnaire (MJDQ). It gathers
information useful for Job design. The approach is on work and not on worker, but uses various
theories of making jobs suitable to people. The items are sorted into four categories:

✓ Motivational - since people want to have a meaning for their job/activities.

✓ Mechanistic – dealing with productivity improvement.

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 ✓ Biological - taking physical features into account.

✓ Perpetual/Motor – Peoples' perception

(Motor reactions are automatic ones. Flashlight comes. Eyes will blink. A vehicle comes across. You
apply the brake. Central nervous system interacts with the rest of the body quickly to produce
purposeful movements).

The tool helps easier data collection and offers high correlation across a job and greater reliability.
Apart from the initial objectives of increasing efficiency and employee morale, there are other
objectives like cost reduction, proper health and safety measures.

Job Design also takes ‘Ergonomics’ into account. As per Pravin Durai (Human Resource
Management pg. 88), “Ergonomics means designing a job according to the worker’s strength and
ability in order to avoid strain injuries caused by repetitive operations”. This is for determining
workload (both in physical and mental terms). Other aspects like avoiding too much variety of tasks
or too few varieties of tasks are considered.

Approaches to Job Design: There are different approaches to job design. These approaches have
two dimensions. Dimension on Y-axis is ‘impact’ which measures degree the approach is linked to
external factors like organisational design, performance appraisal, working conditions etc.,
Dimension on X- axis is ‘complexity’ which measures the degree the approach requires involvement
of individuals with high and different competencies and decision-making competency. Different
approaches are suggested based on the combination of various levels of both these dimensions.
(Refer Figure 3.21).

Job rotation

Job
enrichment Job design approaches Job engineering

Job enlargement

Figure 3.21 Job Design Approaches

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 1. Job Rotation – It is shifting employees from one job to another so that it brings enthusiasm and
eliminating boredom. Employees with varied skills need to be there or training to be given in the
new skills. You can observe in Banks, there will be constant rotation in different counters. (The
actual objective is that the employees should be competent to handle different desks, as one can’t
close any section/desk due to leave of absence of an individual employee).

Though it appears to be good, it has its demerits. Disruption of work (since new incumbents take
time to adjust to new task), Increase in training costs are some of them. It also disturbs some
employees who got enough motivation and bring improvements in the activities of the job which
they are associated with it.
2. Job Engineering – It is engineering the job through mostly with time and motion studies, and
concentrates on the tasks, workflows, workplace layouts, use of machinery etc., Aims include making
employees to complete tasks easily and quickly without much physical or mental work, shortening
the work cycles, making jobs simpler paving the way for recruitment of low skilled (and hence low
paid) workers and reduced supervision.

While the effects on cost savings can be seen immediately, this approach has limitations also. It may
create boring jobs. However, this approach can be successfully implemented by taking employees
suggestions and involving them in the process, and incorporating social context

3. Job Enlargement - It is adding number of different tasks to the same job so that it becomes
interesting since a variety of tasks will be involved in the job. This approach aims at increasing
motivation since with this, the employee will:
• have variety of tasks, thus killing boredom.
• be completing a full work or a significant part of the work and hence have more satisfaction
of completing a whole or major part of a product/project/service.
• be utilising their abilities more and could be to their potential and have higher satisfaction
level.
• be controlling the job, through spacing their activities at their own pace.
• have higher chances of feedback, unlike employees who do very small and repetitive jobs.
Approach has its demerits also. Too much stretching can be counter-productive, resulting in
frustration for the employee and lesser output to the organisation. However optimum level of
enlargement brings good motivation as the goals will be in the reach of employee though require
extra efforts.
4. Job Enrichment –Coined by Herzberg, it is simply adding motivators to the job so that it becomes
more exciting and challenging and involves planning, controlling and higher decision making. Main
aim is increasing autonomy for the employees. It involves encouraging goal setting by employees
themselves, making them doing whole job, letting them know the significance of the job, giving
constant feedback and constant encouragement. Herzberg listed eight characteristics of job
enrichment
➢ Direct feedback (immediate and continuous result sharing)
➢ Client relationship (services to outside customers encourage employees to give their best)
➢ Scheduling own work (Rule book laid schedules have negative impact)
➢ New Learning

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 ➢ Unique experience (creating opportunities to have such unique experiences)
➢ Control over resources
➢ Direct communication authority (with the users of his output including customers)
➢ Personal accountability
In other words, it’s promoting workers to supervisors or managers roles. This approach needs to
consider other factors, some of which are negative. It may create a snowball effect (giving one
authority means snatching the same from someone else, and may also result in reduction of jobs). It
is a relative term in the sense that a job analyst may consider a job as of little responsibility, but
employee may find it challenging. It may become static after some time and may see a drop in
outputs and productivity because employees need a learning cycle time to adjust to the higher
responsibilities. And any ‘change’ is generally resisted.
There are other approaches like:

Socio-Technical System (making organisation focussing valued services to customers and in

the process developing people with various competencies);

Self-Managing Teams – Tasks/Projects are given to teams of people who have autonomy of
distributing work among themselves. System works only when responsibilities are clearly
defined. Suitable for Research/Software Companies,

Multiskilling (encouraging employees with multi-skills to work on various projects with

multifarious skills) etc.,

JOB
ENLARGEMENT JOB ENRICHMENT

Both these techniques of Job Design, Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment differ in design,
objectives, process etc., Let us have a comparison between these two approaches.

Table 3.2 Comparison between Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment14

Basis of Comparison Job Enlargement Job Enrichment

Addition Of more variety of tasks of similar Of more responsibilities
nature
Objective To decrease monotony in doing same To make the job challenging
task many times and interesting
Concept Quantitatively expanding the scope of Qualitatively increasing
the job range of activities
performed in the job
Requirement of No Yes
additional skills
Expansion Horizontal Vertical
Outcome May or may not be positive Positive
Supervision More Comparatively less

14
Source: Surabhi S (2018) Difference between Job Enlargement and Job Enrichment
https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-job-enlargement-and-job-enrichment.html

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 There is one more important concept related to Job, which we will touch upon briefly.

Job Evaluation: It is finding the worth of a job.

Kimball and Kimball defined it as ”Job Evaluation is an effort to determine the relative value of every
job in a plant to determine what the fair basic wage for such a job should be”.

Job evaluation is a process of analysing all jobs systematically and finding their respective worth for
an organisation. It aims to find the basis for a job’s salary, removing disparities in wages and
bringing judicious differentials in wages for different jobs.

Job evaluation is done through two broad methods- Non-Analytical System (Ranking and Grading)
and Analytics System (Point Rating and Factor Comparison). As the names suggest, in ranking and
grading jobs are weighed each other say which is easy and which is tough and at the end of the
comparison, you will have all jobs ranked. Similarly, in Analytical systems, factors of comparison
including working conditions, mental abilities, degree of skills etc., are put against each job and
points depending on weightage allotted.

Job Evaluation should not be confused with Job analysis. Job analysis is a study of all aspects of a job,
whereas job evaluation is a study finding relative worth of job vis-à-vis other jobs. Job analysis tries
to find methods and techniques for doing a job and job evaluation, on the other hand, attempts to
find fair wage for a job. Job analysis is a comprehensive study and job evaluation is a comparative
study.

To Do Activity

Design a Job for a differently abled person (Blind). You can consider any establishment like
Bank, Office, Production Unit, Utilities, Transport etc., If you are proposing any aids to the
person, they should be economical.

Chapter Summary

Job Analysis is anatomy of a job. It is collection of all information about the job Activities involved,
Duties, Responsibilities, KSAs required, working conditions, relationship with other jobs, supervision
required and supervision given by the job holder to others etc.,

Task – A distinct, identifiable work activity composed of motions.

Duty – A larger work segment composed of several tasks that are performed by an individual.

Job Responsibilities – Obligations to perform certain tasks and duties.

Job – A job is grouping of common tasks, duties and responsibilities.

Position – It is a place of an employee in the organisation structure and is commonly known by the
relevant job title.

Job Analysis is useful in many spheres like HRP, wages administration, designing safety code,
Training and Development, Organisational structure, Performance Evaluation, Industrial relations
and many other areas.

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 There are many methods of information collection for job analysis i.e., Observation method,
Interview method, Questionnaire method, Dairy maintenance method, Task inventory method,
critical incident method, and Technical conference method. Usually Job analysis is done by a
combination of methods and one of which is usually questionnaire method.

Questionnaire method uses many tools like PAQ, CMQ, FAS, MOSAIC, FJAS, WPS, OAI , O*NET etc.,
Most of them are well researched with constant modifications and are very useful. Job Analysis
gives two output statements Job Description and Job Specification.

Job description gives the total summary of the job

Job specification gives the requirements in terms of KSA, and experience. To address changing
needs, one can use competency based job analysis in which KSAOs are analysed.

Job analysis can be made TQM compatible.

Job Characteristics Model gives valuable inputs for motivation of employees and is useful in Job
Design.

Job Design takes into account of existing manpower and uses different approaches to fulfil
Organisation’s objectives with limited resources.

Job Rotation involves shifting of employees from one job to another so that monotony and boredom
are minimised.

Job Engineering involving industrial engineering and more of making a job convenient to individual.

Job Enlargement involves increasing the number of tasks to a job so that it would become
interesting since employees needs to perform variety of tasks.

Job Enrichment is adding more responsibilities to a job. It involves giving more autonomy to
employee and making them their own goals and explaining the significance of the tasks. It is making
them to do a whole hob instead of piecemeal activities.

All four approaches of Job Design are widely used, different ones for different classes of employees.

Job Evaluation is finding worth of a job. It is a comparative study.

Model Questions
1. What is Job analysis and what kind of information it collects?
2. Why job analysis is important for an organisation and what benefits will accrue from it?
3. Describe the process of job analysis
4. What are different methods of data collection in job analysis?
5. Describe any three tools of job analysis.
6. What is job description and what are its contents?
7. What is job specification and what are its contents?
8. Explain how a job description differs from job specification.
9. What is competency approach of job analysis?
10. Explain what is job design and its approaches.
11. What is the difference between job enlargement and job enrichment?
12. Explain in brief what the job characteristics model is.
13. What are moderators in job characteristics model?
14. What is job evaluation and how it is different from job analysis?

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 MCQs

1. The procedure in which relevant information relating to a job and its requirements is
systematically discovered and noted is:
a) Job analysis b) Job specification c) Job classification d) Job evaluation
2. The factual statement of the duties and responsibilities for a specific job is known as:
a) Job analysis b) Job description c) Job specification d) Job evaluation
3. ----------- is a statement of the KSA and other characteristics needed to perform a job effectively.
a) Job analysis b) Job evaluation c) Job specification d) Job design
4. Job enlargement, Job enrichment, Job rotation and Job simplifications are various techniques used
in the exercise of:
a) Job analysis b) Job evaluation c) Job specification d) Job design
5. Vertical enhancement of a job is known as:
a) Job enrichment b) Job analysis c) Job enlargement d) Job rotation
6. Under which method, employees are put on different jobs turn by turn through which they learn
all sorts of jobs of various departments?
a) Job enrichment b) Job rotation c) Job enlargement d) Questionnaire
method
7. Which among the following are parts of Job description?
I: Duties performed II: Job summary III: Job identification
IV: Supervision given V: Delegation of authority
a) II, III, IV and V b) III, IV, V and I c) I, II, III and IV d) I, II, III and V
8. Which of the following details is mentioned in Job specification?
a) Materials and forms used b) Location c) Hazards d) Physical skills
9. Arrange the following steps in Job analysis process chronologically
P: Gather information Q: Job specification R: Strategic choices
S: Process Information T: Job description
a) RPSTQ b) PQRST c) QRTSP d) TSRQP
10. Which of the following is not a method of collecting job data:
a) Checklists b) Case study c) Interviews d) All of the above
11. The written statement of the findings of Job analysis is called:
a) Job rotation b) Job enrichment c) job specification d) Job evaluation
12. Increasing the number and variety of tasks is called:
a) Job rotation b) Job enrichment c) Job specification d) Job enlargement
13. Which of the following term is used to identify, ‘what the job holder does’, ‘how it is done’ and
‘why it is done’?
a) Job description b) Job specification c) Job evaluation d) Job design
14. Systematic and orderly process of determining worth of a job in relation of other jobs is:
a) Job analysis b) Job evaluation c) Job design d)Job specification
15. The method that depends mainly on the ability and experience of the supervisors for gathering
relevant information about the job is called as:
a) Task inventory analysis method b) Dairy maintenance method
c) Technical conference method d) Critical incident method
16. Which of the following is not part of Job design?
a) Job enrichment b) Job rotation c) Job re-engineering d) Job outsourcing
17. Job analysis normally occurs as part of the process to match applicants to vacancies – True/False.
18. Job analysis is followed by Job design – True/False

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 References

Books

• Ashawathappa K (2017) Human Resource Management Text and Cases (8thEd.) McGraw Hill
Education India
• Gary D Human Resource Management (9th Ed.) Prentice Hall
• Pravin D Human Resource Management Pearson

Internet Resources

• Citeman.com Competency based Job analysis https://www.citeman.com/2253-competency-

based-job-analysis.html
• Dalvi P (n.d.) Job analysis Meaning, Concepts, Contents, Process and Methods
https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-management/job-analysis-
meaning-concept-purposes-contents-process-and-methods/31576
• hrhelpboard.com What is Job analysis https://www.hrhelpboard.com/performance-
management/job-analysis.htm
• jobanaysis.net Job analysis: Methods of: Questionnaire
https://job-analysis.net/Classification_Systems.htm
• Lovely Professional University (2012) Human resource management
http://ebooks.lpude.in/commerce/mcom/term_2/DCOM407_DMGT406_HUMAN_RESOURC
E_MANAGEMENT.pdf
• Martin L (2019) Understanding Job characteristics model (including job enrichment)
https://www.cleverism.com/job-characteristics-model/
• Michael A Strategic Human Resource Management A guide to action (3rd edition) Kogan Page
• OPM’s Job analysis methodology (Appendix G)
http://www.nvti.ucdenver.edu/HomelessResources/Webinar5/OPM's%20Job%20Analsis%2
0Methodlogy.pdf
• Pethari A (n.d.) Job Analysis Methods https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-
resource-management/job-analysis-methods/31701
• shrm.org, Performing job analysis https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-
samples/toolkits/pages/performingjobanalysis.aspx

Answers to MCQs:

1. (a) 2. (b) 3 (c) 4. (d) 5. (a) 6. (b) 7.(c) 8. (d) 9. (a) 10. (b)

11. (c) 12. (d) 13. (a) 14. (b) 15. (c) 16. (d) 17. False 18. False

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 Chapter 4 Recruitment
Introduction
It is the employees who build an organisation, not the capital nor the machinery. As such, it is an
essential function of HRM to see that organisation has all its positions filled. To get the positions
filled organisation has to attract human resources to work with it. This attracting is Recruitment.
Supply and Demand functions operate the human resources market. There could be so many
unemployed people, but in case of specific requirements the list may shrink. In the competitive
world, there would be so many firms operating and vying with each other for specific resources. To
gain competitive advantage, organisations need human resources. There would be separations in
form of the retirements and resignations. At all times, it is imperative for an organisation to keep
attracting people. To create that magnetic field having organisation at the center in a systematic
manner is recruitment.

Recruitment is not an easy function as perceived. That’s because you want a particular person, and
not everyone and anyone. There are so many factors working around. This Chapter makes a study
on recruitment – the concept, the factors, the sources, the metrics and the alternatives.

Objectives

• To explain the process of recruitment

• To familiarise recruitment differentiated with selection
• To provide insights on the factors which affect recruitment
• To familiarise various sources of recruitment- Internal and External
• To explain alternatives available to recruitment

Chapter Structure

4.1 Concept of Recruitment

4.2 Factors affecting recruitment

4.3 Sources of recruitment

4.4 Recruitment metrics

4.5 Alternatives to recruitment

4.1 Concept of Recruitment

It’s Marketing. Sounds strange, isn’t it?

But indeed, recruitment is marketing. Before discussing that, in the first instance, let us have clarity
on the difference between Recruitment and Selection. Both are not the same.

Recruitment is the process of generating a pool of candidates. We have job specification sheet with
us. Recruitment is looking for people who are matching with the job specification.

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 Selection is picking up from this pool, who will be the best match and deciding who is not.

Figure 4.1 Selection Funnel

In Figure 4.1, filling up top-part of the funnel with the people is recruitment. What is done inside the
funnel filter is selection. And the result is in the bottom part. One out of many.

Now coming back, recruitment is treated

as marketing. Products are marketed. Wash clothes with our
Services are marketed. But what about detergent. They will
recruitment? become whitest on this Fly with us. You
earth. are treated like a
King onboard

In recruitment, you are marketing your company. You are trying to attract employees to the position
being filled in. Advertisements by big organisations (Indian Railways, SBI, TCS, Infosys etc.,) may get
responses in thousands. But small and other organisations which may be big but maintain low
profile need a good marketing campaign for their recruitments. You may be thinking that in a
country like India, with high unemployment, pooling applicants is an easy job. It could be true from
some positions. But for some positions, it is not that easy. Remember you have to look for
candidates as per your job specification sheet and sometimes it may be very exhausting.

“Recruitment IS Marketing. If you are a recruiter nowadays and you don’t see yourself as
a marketer you’re in the wrong profession. If you’re not marketing, you’re not in it to win
it”

Matthew Jeffrey, Global Head of Sourcing & Employment Brand at SAP

Definitions: Let us have a look at definitions of recruitment by some famous authors.

“Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply
for jobs in the organisation”. -Edwin Flippo

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 Recruitment
Searching

Identifying eligible
candidates
Stimulating them
to apply

Figure 4.2 Recruitment Meaning

“Recruitment is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the
staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate
numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force”. -Dale Yoder

“Recruitment means attracting candidates, which is primarily a matter of identifying, evaluating and
using most appropriate source of applicants”. -Michael Armstrong

All the definitions are clear that recruitment means pooling of candidates. All of them also mention
the recruitment is attracting the candidates or making them apply for jobs in the organisation. The
meaning of recruitment is shown in Figure 4.2. While Flippo’s definition gives the crux of
recruitment, Armstrong’s definition talks about identification of most appropriate source of
applicants. On the sources, we will dwell at length in the coming sections. Close look at Dale
Yoder’s definition yields that recruitment is a process of applying effective measures for attracting
adequate manpower to facilitate selection. Thus it is effectively distinguishing the difference
between recruitment and selection.

Now, let’s have a recap of the previous chapters thorough Figure 4.3.

JOB JOB
SHRM/ ANALYSIS SPECIFICATION ????
OBJECTIVES HRP

Figure 4.3 SHRM to Job Specification. What Next?

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 With or without SHRM, objectives of organisation will be there and so would be HRM. With or
without HRIS, the HRP will be there, or even without it, the requirement of some numbers gets
established. This prompts Job Analysis, and the consequent Job specification statement would be
made available. The next step is recruitment, the penultimate stage of putting right person on the
job.

We can settle that recruitment is a process of attracting talent. Its significance can be seen from the
flow presented in Figure 4.3. This is the activity which moves organisation into action front, since all
the stages before, are mostly on drawing board. (There would be ‘n’ number of theoretical
discussions, plans with permutations and combinations on paper or on whiteboard). It is the
recruitment activity of HRM, which identifies potential future employees and stimulates them to
come forward towards organisation so that this contact will effectively lead into a contract (of
employment). It is the act of bringing together personnel who have required Knowledge, Skill and
Abilities (KSA) and organisations which have need (or vacancies) for such KSA. It is this activity which
will establish the first contact between organisation and potential employees.

Purpose and Importance of Recruitment Policy: General purpose of recruitment is making a pool of
talented individuals available, who have required KSA to enable selection for the existing as well as
potential vacancies. It is based on Job specifications for the requirements. Sometimes the job
specifications may be open-ended. This is the case where large numbers are required. For instance,
in campus recruitments, the final allotments to different divisions may depend on the KSAs and
aptitudes of the candidates. At times, there would be special recruitment drives. For instance, local
Governments may insist for a certain percentage of local employees in the total workforce of the
organisation be employed, a quid pro quo for extending some concessions in taxes, land, power, and
water. In these cases, it may result in locating suitable vacancies in the organisation as per the
candidates’ KSAs.

A good recruitment policy well documented would help the organisations in many ways:

✓ It becomes an integral part of HRP both for short term and long term plans i.e., for present
and future manpower needs of an organisation.
✓ It helps organisation to meet its legal, social and ethical responsibilities.
✓ It helps in getting almost immediate replacements of vacancies caused by employee
turnover.
✓ It identifies various channels and different sources for attracting right talent.
✓ It is a potential tool for increasing competitive advantage of an organisation.
✓ It helps organisation’s composition of workforce with different talents and culturally diverse.
✓ It helps in reducing costs of (recruiting and selection) as databases of potential employees
are maintained.
✓ It increases the image of the organisation.

Recruitment Process: Recruitment is for attracting maximum number of candidates since the
numbers will be getting reduced in various stages of selection. The recruitment process is as shown
in Figure 4.4.

Recruitment Planning – This stage is as per HRP. When the planning exercise gives net deficiency of
manpower recruitment takes place. From the plans, the numbers and types of requirements will be
known. The timing also will be indicated. If the required position is relatively a senior one, the
experienced personnel (unlike fresh graduates) would require joining time to enable them to serve
notice period in their existing organisations. (See box 4.1 for more information on ‘Notice Period’).
If they are presently employed in some other location, they need time to shift. Recruitment
planning is to be made accordingly and may have to start in advance. The time period required for
the entire selection process also needs to be taken into account as the same would be having

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 various stages and be requiring involvement of different people from different
departments/outsiders.

Recruitment Planning

Strategy Development

Searching

Screening

Evaluation and Control

Figure 4.4 Recruitment Process

Planning includes succession planning. Since the retirement dates of existing employees are known,
recruitment plans are to be made accordingly to see that work is not hampered and the incumbent
would be in place and takes charge immediately. Apart from this, there would be anticipated needs,
in which organisations make plans based on the movements of personnel. It is more in seasonal
industries. There would be unexpected needs arising out of resignations, deaths, accidents, illness
etc., HR department needs to act swiftly in these cases.

Box 4.1NOTICE PERIOD

For all employees, there will be a notice period which they have to serve after resignation. They just
cannot walk out immediately, and this notice period will enable organisation to make alternative
arrangements to see that work commitments are not disturbed. Converse i.e., when an organisation
asks an employee to leave, also will be applicable to enable employee to find alternative
employment.
Time period varies with the category. It would be more for experienced employees. Usually, it
would be one or two months and for higher positions, it can be more.

Planning will also take the ‘yield ratio’ into account. ‘Yield Ratio’ is the ratio between input and
output. For instance, a company received 200 applications and after screening at various stages,
finally two people joined. In this case, the yield ratio is 1:100. It differs among organisations and
estimates would be made based on previous experience. In other words, if organisation’s
requirement is some five posts and yield ratio is 20:1, then recruitment first stage needs to generate
hundred applications.

Strategy – Next step is to decide the strategy for recruitment. It includes the decisions on sources of
recruitment, form and mode of recruitment notice/advertisement and on method of screening. For
the sources of recruitment, we will have a detailed study in the following sections.

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 Strategy needs to use technology. For instance, if recruitment is for teachers, one can specify
candidates to attach a sample video of their teaching along with the resume. With the advent of
technology, it is not difficult for applicants to attach videos. It helps recruitment process since the
screening can also be based on video lectures instead of confining to resume screening.

Strategy can also take other aspects like which levels recruitment to look for. Organisations can take
with employees with precise KSA or can recruit with lesser abilities or experience and can train them
subsequently. Organisation may have to pay more for experienced or skilled employees or may take
less experienced ones by paying less. In this case, organisation needs to spend on training. Strategy
needs to consider cost-benefit analysis and design the recruitment plan.

Searching – This step includes sourcing. Typically a requisition from user department will initiate the
process of recruitment. If it is part of HRP, the timings indicated will prompt the start of recruitment
process. In the searching stage, HR department needs to do the marketing of the company to
prospective candidates. Care needs to be taken for not ‘overselling’ (indicating non-existent
virtues).

Communicating precise job specification is essential so that only candidates with desired KSAs will
apply. Otherwise, more time will be spent in screening stage (to reject applications not meeting the
required criteria.

Screening: Purpose of screening is removing applications which are not meeting the required criteria
and evaluation of candidate’s background and qualifications. It would save the time and energy of
organisation to be spent in selection.

Screening includes background checks, sending another structured format and asking candidates to
fill in (in this precise questions can be asked on their experiences, highlights of performance, critical
incidents etc., to enable comparison and structuring interviews), telephonic interviews. Background
checks need to be done with the consent of candidate. Most of the organisations would do
background checking for only selected candidates. Telephonic interviews which will be of
preliminary, nature help the screening process.

Checking the resumes for the following aspects would help:

• Grammatical mistakes – Apart from lack of good communication skills, these also indicate
the lack of seriousness of the candidate.
• Tenure in the jobs – Longer tenure in each job indicates the candidate’s commitment. On
the other hand, if the tenures are less, candidate is a job-hopper, and it is a waste of time to
consider (the process has to be started again within a short span of time if candidate leaves).
Examination needs to be judicious. Short stay of a candidate in a job could be because of
many reasons. What is to be examined is whether it is really out of habit to categorise
him/her as a job-hopper.

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 • Gaps in career – If the gaps are long, they need to be probed.
• Not employed presently – If the candidate is idle for a longer time, it needs to be checked. If
the organisation where he was working previously has terminated as a part of downsizing
exercise, the gap can be understood. But if he/she has resigned and remaining idle, reasons
for the same need to be checked. Further, it would be easier for credential checking with
the present organisation rather than previous ones.
• References – can be checked to get a pen picture of a candidate. The screening needs to be
done keeping in mind the number of candidates to be considered for selection process. If
number of candidates getting filtered are less, organisation may consider relaxation of
certain criteria after checking with user departments or out of the experience.

Pen Picture

An account of positives and negatives of a person or

strengths and weaknesses

Evaluation and Control –The cost-benefit analysis needs to be done on the recruitment process
regularly and accordingly, the process needs to be controlled. This aspect we will detail in
subsequent sections. The ‘Yield ratio’ which was indicated earlier, plays an important role, not only
for the cost-benefit analysis, but also as a remainder for further analysis on the complete process to
plug any pitfalls and also to find ways for improvement of the process. Control also should be
exercised to see that recruitments are for actual requirements and that too after exploring all other
alternatives. It is also to be seen that user departments give their requirements in advance to
enable HR department to club such indents and conduct process in minimum number of times.
Otherwise, it would become a totally wasteful exercise of taking one at a time and costs the
organisations a fortune in terms of money, time and energies.
This is the process of recruitment. In the next section, we will discuss the factors which affect
recruitment.
4.2 Factors Affecting Recruitment
There are many factors affecting recruitment. Some are internal and some are external. These
factors play an important role in the success of a recruitment program.

Internal Factors: Figure 4.5 lists the Internal Factors which affect recruitment.

Size of the Organisation: People prefer to work in large organisations as they feel that large
organisations can withstand economic pressures and assure job security when compared to small
organisations. As such large organisations will not have any problems in recruitment but small
organisations may face difficulties. They may not be able to attract applicants in large numbers.

There is another view. Some employees may prefer to work in small organisations as they feel they
will get their due recognition in small companies rather than big ones. Promotional avenues are
another aspect. Large organisations will have multiple layers of management levels and people may
feel that it would be easy to reach to the top in a smaller organisation.

Recruitment process also differs with the size of the organisation. The process may be a simple one
for a small organisation involving one or two people, but it may be an elaborate one for big
organisations involving many people and many tiers of selection process. Some people may prefer
the former. As a whole, the size of the organisation matters as we find large organisations attract
more people and reach can touch wider geographical areas.

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 Image of the Organisation-Organisations with good PR (Public Relations) will attract more
applicants. Employees would like to be associated with companies which provide public services,
discharge their social responsibility, involved in philanthropic activities etc., as their own image in
their circles also will go up. Good image of an organisation helps increasing its standing in the
market so that it can attract the best resources.

Organisaion Size

Organisation Image

Image of the Job

Organisation Growth Rate

Pay Structure

Working Conditions

Recruitment Costs

Recruitment Policy

HRP, HRIS

Age of Organisation

Location

Figure 4.5 Factors Affecting Recruitment (Internal)

Image of the job: Actually, its nature of a Job. It is not an internal factor but a general one but
included here so that it may help HR professionals to give appropriate job titles. Image of the job
plays some role. For instance, recruitment for a “PRO (Public Relations Officer)” may attract more
applicants, whereas “Officer Accounts Receivable” may get fewer number of applications. Jobs with
a positive image in terms of pay, perquisites, promotional opportunities etc., will attract more
applicants.

Growth rate of Organisation: Organisations with high growth will have more jobs, whereas
organisations with less growth rate may go for recruitment only in cases of retirements and
replacements. Consequently, the recruiters of small or nil growth organisations find it difficult to fill
vacancies as they approach the market once in a while. HR departments of high growth
organisations will be tapping the market constantly and they may get more applicants for vacancies
within no time. They will also have advantage of huge databases (which may include applicants who
were not considered earlier for various reasons and it’s easy to establish contact again).

Pay Structure: It is a demand and supply equation. Higher pay will always attract best talent but
dent organisation’s pockets. Lower pay may not get any applications at all. So organisations need to
strike a balance between the two extremes. The pay needs to be in the appropriate range of what
same KSAs get paid in the market.

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 Working Conditions –It has many aspects associated with. Good physical conditions including
ergonomics, will attract more applicants. Work stations having ample ventilation and space, air
conditioning, Tea/Coffee dispenser, discussion rooms with paintings – all these would naturally
attract when compared to dungeon type structures.

Internal support from other divisions, particularly from HR Department and ease of doing the things
are preferred. (If you have to fill a Form with 10 to 15 rows for a simple casual leave, you would
rather prefer to work in an organisation where a simple SMS serves the purpose). Image of taking
care of the well-being of employees plays a key role. Professional organisations are preferred when
compared to organisations where internal politics and groupism prevail.

Though all these are internal ones, prospective employees would be making inquiries and will be
coming to know. Apart from this, over the years, these aspects will create an image good or bad.

Costs: Recruitments incur costs. Job agencies will charge for their services. Apart from direct costs,
overhead costs will be there. This apart, time and energy of all personnel involved in the process is
another factor. Planned and multiple job recruitments at a time would reduce the costs.

Recruiting policy of the organisation: Some organisations have the policy of recruiting from internal
recruitments (promoting the existing employees). Some organisations have a policy of recruiting
part-time and temporary workers. All these policies have their own merits and demerits but
nevertheless have an impact on recruitments.

HRP and HRIS: Organisations with a definite HR plan would be going for periodical recruitments.
Databases of HRIS would also help in reducing the time of recruitment.

Age of organisation: People generally prefer to work in established companies than startups.

Location: Availability of public transport to the location of organisation is one factor. Not all people
will have their own vehicles and even they have, they may still prefer to use public transport for
various reasons. Compared to small towns and villages, big cities will attract applicants from other
parts of the country as they will have educational facilities (for self and children), chances for spouse
also getting a job, recreational avenues and other attractions. Offices located in clusters will attract
more job applicants. Organisations in remote locations may have to spend to create some minimum
basic facilities like canteen/food courts, Wi-Fi zones etc.,

External Factors: External factors which affect recruitment are listed in Figure 4.6.

Supply and Demand: Related to specific skills, supply and demand is a key external factor. Position
varies from skill to skill. Recruitment efforts and pay packages would be dependent on this factor. It
is easier to recruit an engineer when compared to a top-notch financial analyst. Similarly, software
professionals with particular skill sets may be in demand for a certain time. The type of industry and
the state of the economy have a direct bearing on demand and supply.

Industry: The trends of the industry/sector in which the organisation is operating will have a bearing
on recruitment. For instance, during boom time, it used to be difficult for airline companies to
recruit pilots and many airlines had to recruit them from foreign countries. And the same
companies had to retrench many pilots when the scene got reversed. Similar features were faced by
telecom and software companies predominantly with the changes in the technologies.

Labour Market: This is one of the factors for low-key jobs. It would be area-specific. Here also one
can find a paradox i.e., some skills have more demand and some skills with less demand. Inflows of
the migrant workers tilt the balance.

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 Socio-Economic Factors: Factors like changing education level and general preferences etc., are the
social economic factors which have an impact on recruitment.

Legal Factors: In India, there are many acts of Central and State Governments and these will impose
many a condition in terms of wages, working conditions, health etc., Factories Act, Industrial
Disputes Act, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition Act), Mines Act, Minimum Wages Act, Inter
State Migrant Workmen Act etc., deal with one or other aspects of wages, working conditions etc.,
As per the Apprentices Act 1961 every employer has to provide training to apprentices. As per
Employment Exchange (Compulsory notification of vacancies) Act 1959, employers have to notify
vacancies to local employment exchanges. Though some of the statutes are losing their relevance,
all these have a bearing on recruitment.

Supply & Employment

Industry Labour Market
Demand Rate

Government Political
Legal Factors Trade Unions
Policies Conditions

Socio
Competitors Economic
Factors

Figure 4.6 Factors Affecting Recruitment (External)

Employment Rate: If the unemployment is more, recruitment would be easier. This has a direct
relation with general economy.

Government Policies: In Government and Public Sector enterprises, reservations are there for
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Castes. There were attempts to increase these
percentages based on political compulsions, but the same was capped by Supreme Court and other
Courts. Though it did not materialise, there were also attempts made to extend the same to the
private sector.

Political Conditions: ‘Sons of the soil’ slogan is one of the favourites of many political parties.

Trade Unions: Dominant trade unions are one of the factors of considerable importance. They
usually come with demands of internal recruitment only (barring outsiders so that existing
employees promotion chances will improve), Compensatory recruitments (providing jobs to the kith
and kin of deceased employees), and Hereditary recruitments (reserving jobs to sons or daughters of
existing employees).

Competitors: Recruitment policies of the competitors influence organisation’s policies. Many a

time, it could result in matching compensation and other benefits offered by competitors. Some of
the external factors are interlinked. Figure 4.7 depicts some of the inter linkages.

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 Trade Unions
Political Parties

Government Policies

Legal framework Industries or Industrial

Associations

Labour Markets

Figure 4.7 Inter linkages among external factors which affect recruitment

Trade Unions will have affiliations to Political parties. They have constant relationship with labour.
Again Political parties have relations with labour/labour leaders. These parties, whether they are in
power or not, still may influence the Government policies. The legal framework can be influenced
by the Government, different political parties, and trade unions. Industrial associations will have
relations with political parties. They have also relations with Governments as Governments require
their help in increasing trade and commerce. Similarly, industrial associations also have relations
with labour leaders and trade unions. Apart from the external factors per se, the inter linkages
among them also will affect recruitment.

4.3 Sources of Recruitment

As shown in Figure 4.8, organisations will have Internal and External sources for recruitment.

SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

INTERNAL SOURCES EXTERNAL SOURCES

Figure 4.8 Sources of Recruitment

Internal Sources: Present and ex-employees are the sources of this type. Recruitment can be done
in the methods shown in Figure 4.9.

Promotion: Suitable employees out of the existing ones can be promoted to fill the vacancy.
Promotions place employees in a higher position with higher responsibilities and with higher pay.
Promotions are not exactly a source of recruitment since the positions vacated by the promoted
employees need to be filled in. But in some cases the resulting vacancies may not be required to be
filled in. And in some cases, recruitment may be easy for the resultant vacancies than the original
(experienced) ones.

Promotions will motivate and in general, increase the morale of the employees. Some organisations
have policies of promoting existing employees based on seniority or merit. But there is always a
conflict between these two criteria. Both criteria have merits and demerits and choice is a difficult

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 one for the management, as either way, it may create dissent in some employees. Demotion is a
reverse type and also a source but generally not used.

Promotion

Transfer

INTERNAL SOURCES Job Posting

Ex-Employees

Employee/Union
Referrals

Figure 4.9 Internal Sources of Recruitment

Transfers: Generally used when organisations expand and open branches in new locations. Selected
employees will move to fill up the vacancies which will be requiring the same KSA. No pay increase
will be there, barring reimbursement of shifting expenses. Organisations, effect transfers out of
policy also. (Some organisations have policy of not keeping same employee in the same position for
more than three years as they fear that employees may misuse the position, or establish
connections with vendors or customers or may become potential competitors).

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 Like promotions, transfer is also not a source because resultant vacancies are to be filled in unless
they become redundant. Useful for organisations when establishing branches at new locations as
they will have a known person managing at new location. Not all employees will agree to change of
location and may demand suitable compensation. If it is coupled with promotion they may agree.
Used when it is difficult to fill a vacancy at other locations but easy to recruit for a local position.

Job Posting: In this system, the vacancies are notified to all the existing employees first. Gary
Dessler defines ‘Job Posting and Bidding’ as “a system in which the employer provides notices of job
openings within the organisation and employees respond by applying for specific openings”. It
would be useful in big organisations which operate with many verticals and/or many divisions
operating in multi-locations. (System as presented in the case study ‘But Neelam is Paid More than
Me” in Chapter 1). It would be a good choice to explore before resorting to external sources. All
other procedure can be the same as is done through external sources. (In some organisations,
internal candidates are also treated at par with external candidates and selection process would be
the same). It would be a good option for big organisations where individual talent might not have
been noticed or put to the test.

There are some problems associated with this system. Putting a condition that applications are to
be ‘through proper channel’ (to be routed through employee’s supervisor/Manager) is needed since
immediate boss should know so that he will prepare for replacements or work reallocation etc., in
case. But not all bosses would encourage their subordinates and may put spokes in the wheels.

Appointment of Ex-employees: Sometimes ex-employees may be available and willing to join.

These could be ones who were earlier laid off or retrenched. Or sometimes employees who moved
out to a new location (mostly foreign countries) and returned might become available. There could
be resigned employees also. All these will be good sources for recruitment.

Employee Referrals: Existing employees may suggest suitable candidates (friends, relatives, and
known people) for a vacancy. In general, they refer only suitable candidates since their credibility
would be at stake, but cases of recommending non-suitable ones cannot be ruled out. It may reduce
attrition as friends may like to work together. At times using this source may sour relations between
employer and employee. This source is used by NBFCs (Non-Banking Finance Companies) as trust is
the most crucial characteristic for them in recruitment.

Referrals from trade unions also fall in this category. Using this source, managements can appease
the trade unions. But it is like a double-edged sword as relations can also become bitter. It may also
create problems if there are more unions because of rivalry among them.

Merits of Internal Sources

• Zero recruitment cost practically. No selection process is required.
• Immediate availability and no need for induction and orientation.
• Increases morale and loyalty and reduces turnover.
• Employees will welcome as opportunities of career development will be present and also
usher change and break the monotony from an existing job.
• If the system is followed, organisations can concentrate only on ‘entry level’ recruitment
which is easy and wider choice would be available.

Demerits of Internal Sources

✓ Existing employees may be good but may not be the best in the market.
✓ Closes door for fresh and diversified talent who have more exposure.
✓ Sources will be limited.
✓ Can affect employer-employee relations if the process is perceived as partial.

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 ✓ Existing employees may not be really suitable for new skills and some of them may be of
advanced age, in which case recruitment process needs to start again on their retirement.
Even otherwise, organisations need to spend on training and development.
✓ Not suitable for industries or sectors where technology advancements are the order of the
day and by restricting to internal sources organisations may become outdated in such cases.
✓ In the case of promotions based on seniority, employees may become lethargic and it also
kills competition among employees. Also, talented employees may get disillusioned. If
merit with or without seniority is considered, the process always will have some dissent and
also may cause internal politics or infighting for promotions.
✓ Since mindsets would not change much, same culture and same functioning (good or bad)
will continue and effecting change in any aspect will become a herculean task.

Zero cost and less time. Closes door for fresh talent.
No need of induction. Existing ones may not be the best.
Morale up and employee turnover Limited sources.
down. More training costs.
Employees support Employee relations may be affected if
Organisations can concentrate only on process peceived partial.
entry level recruitment. Not suitable if technology changes fast.
Employees become lethargic or
disillusioned.
Effecting changes not possible.

Figure 4.10 Merits and Demerits of Internal sources of Recruitment

External Sources: External Sources of recruitment are shown in Figure 4.11

Advertisement in Print Media-Though internet is widely used, still advertisements in print media
evoke reasonable good response. Even in ‘net and mobile app age’ still people have more belief and
trust in what is printed or to say which comes in ‘black and white’. One should make a note that:
• India tops the world in number of printed daily newspapers of 7,871 (as of 2015).
• Even with net penetration of about 35%, the print readership is 425 million readers (as of
first quarter of 2019) which is almost a third of Indian population.

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 Employment Exchanges

Applicant Databases
Advertisement
Print Media

Campus
Word of Mouth recruitments

Internet
Recruitment

Walk Inns

EXTERNAL SOURCES

Job Fairs Manpower

Consultants

Deputation
Job Web sites

Private
Labour Recruitment
Contractors Agencies

Poaching

Figure 4.11 External Sources of Recruitment

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 All the Government and Public Sector Units advertise in print media. Advertisements can be
released in newspapers as well as trade, industry and professional journals. The advertisements
need to contain full job specification and if required, parts of job description, so that it evokes
response from candidates of target segment only. Otherwise, the scrutiny process will become
time- consuming in taking out unwanted applications. If you are willing to consider wider choices by
giving relaxation in some KSA, you need to specify the same. For instance, you may require an
accounting professional and qualification as CA (Inter). To widen your choice, you may put CA (Inter)
or CMA (Inter) as desired qualification and if you want to enlarge the base, you may add
“outstanding people with M.Com qualification may also be considered”.

Cost-effectiveness of this mode depends on the readership of newspaper in numbers and profiles. If
advertisement is given in one newspaper, then it can’t reach readers of other newspapers. One way
to reduce costs is by giving small advertisement in different newspapers mentioning the reference to
web source for full ad and/or more details. Because of peoples’ preference for printed word, this is
one of the best external sources for recruitment.

Employment Exchanges – There is a statutory provision that industrial undertakings which employ
25 and more workers, should notify vacancies to the employment exchanges. There are more than
900 employment exchanges in all important places. When you notify vacancies, employment
exchange will match qualifications among the members registered with them and send the list. Not
an effective source, since most of the employment exchanges in India do not function properly and
saddled with outdated data. If local employment exchange has more registrations and found to be
an effective source can be tried as notification doesn’t create obligation on the part of the Company.

Database of earlier applicants – It is not strictly an external source since organisation has data.
There could be instances some applicants did not make it into the selected list (bottom ones in the
preferences or order of priority) but have required KSA (Different from candidates who were
rejected). There would be some cases where applicants were sent back to HR department with
remarks “can be considered for a --- (different) position. Generally, there will be some direct
applications also (uncalled for but with requests of considering for a suitable position). All these
applications from the database can be looked into and matching applicants can be tapped. HRIS
would be most useful for data mining.

Campus Recruitments: Quite a common source. Usually, HR department and any subject specialist
or experienced employee would visit the Colleges, Universities, Professional Institutes and call for
applications.

Generally, it will be through a visit only and sometimes it can be communicating to Head of
Institution or Head of Departments to suggest suitable candidates. Most useful when search is for
highly academically qualified people. Mostly all these would be fresh graduates without experience
and this source will be helpful to recruit entry-level positions (trainees).

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 Campuses (Institutions/Colleges) need to be selected and dates will be fixed in consultation with the
placement coordinators of the Institute. Generally, the season will be in the first quarter of the year.
Team from the organisation will visit the Institution and make a presentation and students who are
interested will submit applications immediately. The presentation needs to be good enough to
attract and should include highlights of the organisation, career graph, emoluments and perquisites
etc., Written tests may be conducted if allowed by the Institute. (Premier institutions will not allow
conducting written tests, as their curriculum, standards and level of teaching etc., obviate separate
testing). Team needs to conduct interviews and issue spot appointment letters. (As such, these
recruitments include selection also).

All the IT majors like Infosys, WIPRO, TCS, HCL Technologies etc., and major companies like Larsen &
Toubro, Tata Steel, Banks like Citi Bank, Giant Public Sector Undertakings like SAIL, MMTC, NTPC etc.,
take campus recruits every year.

Internet recruiting – Advertisements are put on the net instead of or along with advertisements in
print media. Compared to print media, advertisements on internet are less costly. It has gained
prominence as more and more companies are using internet advertising for recruitments. It can
generate more responses as it is easy for candidates to apply.

There is computer software available that can do the screening and this software need inputs in
electronic form only. One major advantage in this system is creation of databases which can be used
for future needs. Resumes can be called for and structured applications also can be put on net and
applicants have to fill in so that scrutiny would be easier.

Many companies have their websites and other companies use the services of job sites like
Nukri.com, Timesjobs.com, Monsterindia.com and Shine.com. These are all employment exchanges
on the internet.

Word of Mouth: HR professionals can use this mode also. Letting it known that there is a certain
vacancy to few people would sometimes help as grapevine is very fast. Though this is official
communication, grapevine (Ref Chapter 2) can be used for its speed and spread. People can always
check with the source. It would be interesting to note this mode sometimes acts much faster.

HR professionals can also use their networks (networks of batch mates, friends, and professionals
working in the same industry or area) for communication. And LinkedIn, a social network, is making
inroads which can be used. Organisations generally, put employment notices on their notice boards.

Walk-ins: Like unsolicited applications, there would be occasions wherein people trying to approach
organisations in person in search of a job. People associated with the organisation (customers,
auditors, bankers’ et al.) may also refer candidates for suitable employment. HR Department can
add them after checking their CV or a preliminary interview. If there is no recruitment exercise is
taken up at the time of such walk-ins, HR department can take their resumes and add to the data
based and treated on par with unsolicited applications.

Job Web Sites: As mentioned in the Internet recruiting, database services of the job sites can also be
utilised. These sites have offer packages like time based, job- based etc., for a fee. One can access
their data bases of candidates (registered with them) for a fixed time period or a refined
search say for a particular job profile or candidate profile. Care to be taken to see that the
databases are updated and latest ones as sometimes it may so happen that candidates have given
their profiles in response to an ad quite a long time back and presently may not be available.

Private Recruitment Agencies: Using private recruitment agencies is basically outsourcing

recruitment activity. But their services can be used for some part of the recruitment. They can be

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 engaged for collection of applications and with or without preliminary screening. There are many
agencies available.

Manpower Consultants: Same as private recruitment agencies, manpower consultants, are also a
source. Manpower consultants may not operate on the same scale as recruitment agencies and may
take limited activity of providing details of willing employees. These can be a good source for
specific skill requirements. Most of the consultants are either individuals or very small firms. But
some people register with them or approach them because of their personalised attention. These
consultants can be used for ‘poaching’.

Job Fairs: Job fairs are conducted by Government agencies or private bodies. Generally, conducting
bodies approach different companies beforehand and HR Departments can find the events and can
participate. These fairs attract a lot of people as they are free and they may find a job by carrying
just their resume. These job fairs would be useful and are like campus recruitments. Or like several
walk-ins assembling at the same place.

Labour Contractors: Labour contractors generally will tap manpower from villages. They will supply
manpower to organisations for a fee. It is useful for recruitment of unskilled manpower. The system
is generally used in seasonal industries. Inter-state migrant labourers generally follow a contractor
and move to a different place in search of employment. System is not new and is used in agricultural
operations, as farmers need manpower in the season for various activities.

Deputation: Recruitment through inviting other organisations employees for working on a shorter
period. Government Departments and Public sector enterprises use this method, particularly in
starting stage. At times it may become permanent employment also depends on the choice of other
organisation and employee concerned.

Poaching: Not recommended since it is unethical. It is attracting employees of rival organisations

with good offers. Directly or indirectly (through consultants) organisations establish contact with
target employees and extend offers. Operation is secretive. Though not ethical, still resorted to by
some organisations and there are some specialist consultants who work on these kinds of missions.
IT and Media sectors are some examples.

Organisations are also adopting countermeasures, like concluding agreements (among rival
organisations agreeing not to recruit other organisation’s employees), incorporating strict clauses in
employment contracts (some organisations prohibit employees joining a company of the same
sector after resignation for a specific period of time. Employees may also insist for not hiring their
former colleagues), and Cash incentives for staying in.

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 Merits of External Sources
➢ Wider choice
➢ Personnel with desired KSA can be recruited
➢ Cheaper when compared with costs of training existing employees
➢ Best choice if organisation is suffering from ‘groupism’
➢ Fresh talent can be sourced who can bring professional work cultures and effects change in
many aspects apart from new ideas and innovation
➢ Increase competitiveness among employees

Demerits of External Sources

➢ Dissatisfaction among existing employees.
➢ More time taking and more costly.
➢ Possibility of selecting wrong or less skilled candidates.
➢ Selected candidates may not adjust to the culture of the organisation.
➢ Induction will take a longer time.
➢ New incumbents may face resistance from existing employees.

Wide choice. Existing employees

Matching candidate for desired disappointment.
KSA. More time taking & More costs.
Cheaper than training existing Possibiliy of wrong selection.
employees. Selected ones may not adjust to
Groupism can be reduced. organisation culture.
Professional work culture, New More time for induction.
ideas Resistance from existing
Increases competitiveness employees.

Figure 4.12 Merits and Demerits of External sources of Recruitment

Before evaluating which source or a combination of sources to be used, one should be clear on the
jobs/positions to be filled i.e., whether the job is permanent or temporary, say for a particular
project or specific tenure; contractual or regular appointment and other aspects. Having understood
the sources of recruitment, try to find solutions for the situation presented in case study XL Edu
needsI (Box 4.2)15

15
Murray, L. M., & Fischer, A. K. (2010). Strategic Recruiting: A Human Resource Management
Case Study. Journal of Business Case Studies (JBCS), 6(6). https://doi.org/10.19030/jbcs.v6i6.263.

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 Box 4.2 XL Eduneeds I

XL Eduneeds Ltd.is a major supplier of educational materials in India. The Company focuses
on learning tools and systems used in technology, science and business classrooms. In
addition it develops and provides books, manuals, videos, software and hardware used in
the fields of technology education, instrumental development and business applications.

The Company has three main divisions. Its headquarters and creative division are located in
Bengaluru. Main manufacturing plant is in Ambattur Industrial area (Chennai) and
Transportation, Services and Maintenance (TSM) division at Hyderabad. TSM division’s
objective is cost reduction. Manufacturing division’s objective is quality enhancement and
that of Creative division is innovation. XL Edu is known for providing cutting edge teaching
materials with high quality and its maintenance services are very reasonably priced.

XL Edu was started by a group of entrepreneurs led by Mr. J. Kishan and all of them prefer to
be in the background and doesn’t meddle with day to day affairs of the Company. They have
recruited Mr. VLN Rao as CEO and Mr. JVN Rao as COO. Both have rich experience and came
from a multi-billion dollar PSU.

The Human Resource Department is located in Headquarters. The Vice President for Human
Resources is Nagesh Kumar. The Department has four sections:

Staffing Head: YPS Rao (YP in short)

Compensation and Benefits Head: Veeranna K (Veeru in short)

Labour Management Relations Head: Y Hanumantha Rao (Hans in short)

Training, Development and Performance appraisal Head: C Chandrasekhar (Chandra in short)

There are also human resource specialists attached to each division.

Manufacturing Division: President is Mr. N Phaneendra Bose (called as Bose by all). Bose is
generally thought of as a good, easy-going man to work for. HR associate for manufacturing
division is Ms. Nishaa.

Creative Development Division: President is Ms. Serena who recently joined. She was
previously a software developer for a large computer game producer in USA. HR associate
for creative division is Ms. Shefali.

TSM Division: President is Mr. D Hariharanath (Close associates call him ‘Mama’). He has
rich experience. HR associate is Ms. Kannagi.

Situation: Recruiting

As the Company grew, XL Edu relied predominantly on referrals from employees and ad hoc
recruiting. Now, the rate of growth and with acquisitions has outpaced the ability of XL Edu
to rely on these methods. The HR department has been given the task of developing
recruiting plans for employees who will stay with company for long and productive. The task
is further complicated by the differing skills, abilities and output required by each division.
Nagesh and his staff have met to discuss the needs of each division in its recruiting efforts.

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 (XL EDUNEEDS I Continued)

Nagesh: “Welcome to Bengaluru, the garden city of India. We have a big task ahead of us. By the
end of this week I would like to have a preliminary recruiting plan for each division to take to the
executive committee meeting scheduled for mid of next week. Our agenda for today’s session is to
talk about requirements of each division and brainstorm hos we might target the requirements. I
want to emphasize that we will not be abandoning our system of hiring referrals from our
employees and maybe we need to systemize it and encourage. Let’s go ahead and get started.
Nishaa can you tell us about our manufacturing needs?’

Nishaa: ‘Thanks Nagesh. Our recruiting requirements are pretty basic. We have about 160
positions which re divided into ten teams, each team taking up specific product. When we hire for
these positions we don’t look for experience much rather look for ability to work in a group. We
rely on present employee referrals to fill any empty position. The referring employee will ensure
that the new employee is successful. Peer pressure will work much better than anything. I am
starting to see some issues in recruiting supervisors.

One of the reasons we don’t see much turnover in our division is because of Bose. He really sets
the tone in the division and our staff like working with him. Our pay or benefits are not high when
compared to competitors but our culture at the plant makes all difference and we fill vacancies
easily’.

‘Thanks Nishaa” Nagesh said. ‘Your current situation seems well in hand, however, please consider
what it would mean if we were to increase our production by 25-40%. Could you handle the
staffing requirements by referrals?’

Nishaa looked doubtful. ‘Ok. Start thinking about how you might recruit applicants for new
positions both line and supervisory. Shefali, your turn’.

Shefali: ’Our situation in Creative differs significantly with Manufacturing. We strive for innovation,
and we need to hire for a combination of creativity and programming skills. We look for evidence
of these in previous projects, types of experience, education and training. I have got three big
issues, making the right hire, developing right environment and office space.’

‘My biggest concern is making the right hire- these folks aren’t only high salaries, they are also
expensive to source and recruit. I need to somehow make sure they have the skills and abilities
we need and make sure that they fit into our working environment.’

‘I also have to make sure that I can keep those creative and programming juices flowing. They are
not typical 9 to 5ers – they tend to work crazy hours and are demons for sugar, caffeine and
games. My final concern is office space. As you know our division is located in Brigades Road, one
of the most expensive office spaces in India. I would like to explore some tee commuting options
as well as job and office sharing arrangements’.

‘Finally I would like to explore the possibility of using contract employees. This could be a way for
us to provide a realistic job preview for prospective employee and for us to get to know them
before we hire them permanently’.

Nagesh: “Thanks Shefali. You are up Kannagi’.

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 (XL Eduneeds I Continued)

Kannagi: ‘Nagesh, Our focus in TSM is cost efficiency. We have enough people for
maintenance work and we hire people with warehousing and logistics experience and also
need people who can work with automation as we have automated as much as possible. When
we hire a supervisor from a distribution center (Wal-Mart or Amazon) and the new supervisor
brings his best people along with him. If we have to be ready for a 25-40%, we need new
recruits as we are operating to capacity’.

Nagesh put his pen down and stood ‘Let’s take a break of 15 minutes and when we reassemble
we will start brainstorming’.

Questions:

(Better to form teams to represent each division).

1. Provide a summary of HR concerns and challenges of each division.

2. Outline a recruiting plan for each division. What activities would be most important and
Why?

3. Do you agree with XL Edu’s policy of employee referrals? Do you think that XL Edu can
sustain and grow with the existing policy?

4. If you feel it is not enough, list out the external recruiting activities for each division.

5. For manufacturing division – How would you develop a referral programme for the division?
Do you feel that referral programme is enough for the division’s activity?

6. For Creative division – Evaluate Shefali’s plan of contract staff listing advantages and
disadvantages. Can you suggest any other plans for her, taking her concerns into account?

7. For TSM division – Any alternatives for them looking beyond other distribution centers?

8. For which positions a realistic job analysis or job preview is important and Why?

9. Do you suggest a division specific recruitment activity or can you suggest any common
recruitment activity for company as a whole? You need to justify your answer.

10. Nishaa stated that she had some problems in recruiting supervisors. What could be those
problems?

11. Employee referral programme is working well as far as Nishaa is concerned. But why
Shefali and Kannagi feel that it doesn’t work well for their divisions?

4.4 Recruitment Metrics

You have a HR Department. You have a recruitment strategy and a process in place. And
recruitments are taking place. But are you doing it effectively? Or is there any requirement of
modification in any of the steps? How do you know whether your recruitment is done economically?
Recruitment Metrics answer all these questions.

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 We can take Metric as a measure in business (in Mathematics, it is a function). A Business Metric is a
quantifiable measure businesses use to track and monitor to assess the success or failure of a
business process. Recruitment Metrics are tools which measure the performance of various steps in
the recruitment process against the goals set.

These will audit/track the process of recruitment and they help to evaluate the same. When the goal
is putting right people at the right job, since putting right human resources increases the ROI (Return
on Investment) of the Company, we need to know whether right people are getting recruited.

Some of the recruitment metrics (Figure 4.13) are discussed here. It may be noted most of the
metrics measure total process, including selection. As these metrics are based on time, cost etc., we
can always segregate the selection part and arrive at the recruitment part. More than that, the
concept is important and hence the metrics are presented.

Time to Fill Vacancy and Time to Hire: These are the easiest to measure and important ones. Time
to Hire is the time gap between the time of requisition (or indent) of a vacancy and the time of
acceptance of an offer by a candidate. Time to fill a vacancy is the time gap between the indent and
the time of joining of the candidate (filling the position). Difference between these two, as you can
observe, is the time gap between the acceptance of job offer of a candidate and his actual joining in
the job. This is the time a candidate takes to assume the position. (See Box 4.3 on Joining Time).

Time to Fill Yield Ratio Candidate

Vacancy Experience

Time to Hire

Recruitment Rate of
Cost of Hiring
(Cost per Hire) Metrics Attrition
First Year
Attrition

Quality of Hire Source of Hire Rate of Conversion

Success Ratio Sourcing Channel (Offer Acceptance
Cost Rate)

Figure 4.13 Recruitment Metrics

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 These are time measures. They measure how much time recruitment process is taking to fill a
vacancy. These metrics measure the efficiency of the HR department. It takes more time to recruit a
position which requires specialist skills. But to fill an entry-level position or a general position (like
administrative assistant) or a position with abundant supply (like electrician), if the HR department is
taking time in months, it indicates the inefficiency of the recruitment process. If the time to fill is
less, it means that the organisation has good database or an efficient agency to tap or other reasons
all to fill the pool of candidates for a vacancy in a short time. Urgent requirements demand less time
to fill.

Box 4.3 Joining Time

It is the time given by the organisation to the candidate and reckoned from the time of acceptance of
offer letter. Usually, it would be a month’s time but depends on various factors. If the position is
entry-level like a management trainee, since candidates are fresh from college they may not require
much joining time. If the same position is filled through campus recruitment, joining time will be more
since the students need to complete the academic schedules like final exams or project work. On the
other hand, if the position is a senior one, the joining time needs to cover the notice period, the
candidate needs to serve in his present organisation. Also, if the candidate is from a far-off place, time
required for the candidate to shift fromBoxthe 4.4 Joining
other Timeneeds to be taken into consideration. For
location
foreigners, there are visa and work permit requirements.

Both the measures are dependent on supply and demand positions for specific jobs and HR
department’s efficiency. Since supply and demand are external factors which cannot be controlled,
the efficiency of HR department needs to be improved and these metrics help in that. Ideally, the
time to hire should be in days. If the time is shorter, it will enable the organisation to recruit best
candidates before they are taken away by the competitors.

Looking at candidate’s perspective, this metric indicates the time period from the time of job
advertisement /application and the time he/she receives the offer letter. Government agencies like
UPSC (Union Public Service Commission), SSC (Staff Selection Commission), Banks and others have
time schedules pre-announced in general and the candidates will be prepared to wait. Otherwise,
no candidate will be waiting for more time. It may so happen that by the time you approach, the
candidate already signed the other offer since they would like to be gainfully employed all the time.
And as mentioned, your loss is someone else’s gain. And on this aspect, there is another metric
‘candidate experience’, which will be affected by these metrics.

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 The user departments are more concerned with the metric time to fill. They might have got an order
or project with deadlines to meet. And this will give a true picture in planning for the replacement of
an employee who has resigned. Ideally, the time to fill should be less than the notice period of the
resigned employee. And in some cases, it must be less than the notice period. These metrics are
very useful for every organisation to plug the loopholes and to cut bureaucracy.

Cost of Hiring or Cost per Hire: Both or same except, in cost of hiring aggregate expenditure and in
cost of hire the average expenditure, is considered. Cost per hire indicates the average expenditure
of the full process from indenting to onboarding of an employee. It is an essential metric in
budgeting. For smaller organisation it would be burdensome if the cost per hire is high. For
computing this metric, total costs (direct expenses and overheads) are considered. (See Table 4.1)

Table 4.1 Direct Expenses and Overheads in Recruitment and Selection

DIRECT EXPENSES OVERHEADS

Advertising Costs Recruiter time cost (Average hourly salary* No. of
hours spent)
Fees to recruitment agency Interview panel time cost (Average hourly total salary
of all members * No. of hours spent)
Expenses of written tests/Interviews New candidate on-boarding time (Average hourly
salary * No. of hours spent )
Training costs Lost productivity
All other direct expenses All other overheads

𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒔𝒕 (𝑫𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔+𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔)

Cost per hire = 𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑯𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔

Above mentioned are only indicative, but the principle is to include direct and indirect costs
(overheads). Training costs are to be included if there is a need for training. Similarly, cost of
onboarding time i.e., the time candidate takes full charge of the job activities. Also, if the
productivity is low during this time than expected, it needs to be added. Expenses of Tests and
Interviews include the reimbursement of travel and hotel expenses to the candidates.

You can see that the cost per hire is high if there are less number of candidates recruited and hence
the burden on small organisations. Also, you can make an inference that if the first metric (Time to
fill) is low, this metric of cost of hire also will be low. In the cost of hiring metric, the denominator
will not be there and it calculates the total cost of recruitment.

Quality of Hire: It is a performance rating of recruitment process and depends on the performance
of candidates recruited. It is the performance of candidates recruited in their first year. Quality of
Hire indicates success if candidates are good performers and indicates failure if candidates recruited
are low performers. A performance of ‘satisfactory’ is treated as good for this metric.

In a highly competitive environment, organisations cannot afford a failure metric of quality of hire,
as it may result in losing big orders or getting a bad name for the organisation. It directly indicates
the performance of HR department since they are finally responsible. Though different personnel
like interview panels are involved, since the selection of all these personnel is done by them, the HR
department is responsible. They get praise and brickbats for quality of hire success and failure,
respectively.

In the performance of candidates, you can add the factors like culture fit.

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 Success Ratio: This is a consequential metric of quality of hire metric. It is the quality of hire divided
by the number of candidates recruited. In other words, it is the number of candidates with good
and satisfactory out of the total number of candidates recruited.

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑠𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦

Success Ratio =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑟𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑

If more candidates recruited show satisfactory performance (satisfactory include good rating), the
success ratio will be high. If the ratio is low, it means, recruitment process needs improvement.

Organisations expect good ROI (Return on Investment) from their investment in human resources
and as such, the success ratio should be high and fine-tuning needs to be done as and when ratio
falls. And hence this metric is an important one.

Source of Hire: This metric tracks the origin of applications. All sources like advertisements in print
media, Internet advertisements, Job portals, recruiting agency if engaged etc., are analysed. Since
we are evaluating the recruitment process, the number of applications generated from a particular
source can be a parameter. Or, to make it more effective, you can take the number of matching
applications (after screening) as a parameter. This is because, generating data on all job seekers
irrespective of what profile is needed will not help and rather, it will increase load on screening and
wastes time and energy.

This metric enables evaluation of the sources and one can take a decision on cutting unnecessary
channels. For instance, if a particular job portal has only bulky and outdated lists, and not able to
generate applications, one can avoid tapping the same.

Sourcing Channel Cost: Closely associated with the previous one, this metric evaluates the costs of
each source. Expenditure on advertisement divided by the number of applications generated will
give this metric sourcing channel cost.

𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡
Sourcing Channel cost = 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑎𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑

This metric gives precise information to enable decision-making. Organisation can retain
the most cost-effective channels.
Source of Hire measures effectiveness and Sourcing channel cost measures efficiency. Both
are required since source should be cost-effective.
Rate of Conversion or Offer Acceptance Rate: It is the ratio between number of candidates who
have accepted offers to the number of applicants who were given offers. A low ratio indicates one
or a combination of following:

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 - Offer is not competitive
- Image of the organisation is not attractive enough.
- Candidate has a more competitive offer (Your competitors are trying simultaneously)
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑑
Offer Acceptance Rate = 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒

To avoid a low ratio, discussion of compensation part needs to be in the process. If the rate is low for
certain positions, review needs to be made on the pay package and made as per market. If the rate
is low for all positions, the problem could be of the image of the company, or there is a flaw in the
process. Review of pay package includes exploring alternatives like perks, Flexi hours etc.,

Rate of Attrition and First Year Attrition: Both of the metrics measure the same, but the rate of
attrition is general, whereas first year rate of attrition is more specific.

High rate of attrition in an organisation is the result of the working of many factors but is an
indicator of a poor recruitment policy or process. High attrition rate costs heavily for any
organisation. And it requires a thorough review of various factors like working conditions, image of
organisation and job descriptions.

First year attrition measures how many candidates left in the first year of recruitment out of the
total number of candidates recruited. When you recruit a candidate, you need to provide him some
time to perform (you are accepting for a lesser production or output) and may have to give training.
All this would go waste if they leave within a year. And as discussed earlier, your competitor may
gain at your cost.

The first year attrition could be because of mismatch between candidate’s expectations and actuals.
And it could be because of poor job description or false promises or other reasons. Since their
analysis would help organisation, this metric is an important one.

Candidate experience: it is a qualitative metric and a difficult one to compute. It can be measured by
feedback from candidates. If computed, it gives valuable feedback to the organisation directly on its
recruitment process. As indicated earlier, time to hire could be one factor. It also provides feedback
on the perceptions of the candidates in terms of nepotism, bias etc.,

The experience rating by candidates differs. Some candidates may be thoroughly satisfied if
recruitment process goes into more rounds as it gives them a special feeling (“I am selected after so
many rounds and out of so many candidates”). But some may feel the experience good if it is done
at a faster rate.

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 Yield Ratio: This metric gives the ratios at different stages of the process or we can calculate process
as a whole.

𝑵𝒐 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆

Yield Ratio = 𝑻𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆

Let us take an example. Suppose you have got 1000 applications in response to your advertisement.
Out of which, you have screened 150 applicants and conducted a written test. From the test, some
50 applicants are passed to first interview stage and from these 20 applicants are sent for final
interview. And finally, 5 applicants were selected.

Yield ratios are::

3:20 is screening (150/1000)

1:3 is written test (50/150)

2:5 first interview (20/50)

1:4 final interview (5/20)

Or total yield 1:200 (5/1000).

You can use this metric to modify your process. For instance, in the above example, 150 are selected
for written test and out of which 50 are selected for first interview. If you find their marks in the
test and their marks in degree exams are correlated or in a similar pattern, you can do thorough
screening (by adding this parameter) and avoid conducting written test. (Written test conducting is
a costly affair).

We can use this metric across the channels (sources) and pick the better ones. It needs a
classification of list of applications per channel (if there is more than one source) and see that every
application is falling into one category only. Out of these, when you calculate the total yield i.e.,
number of candidates selected out of the number of applicants generated, you will get the yield
ratio of that particular channel or source. This will help in selecting or dropping out a channel for
your next recruitment. Above mentioned are important metrics. There are other metrics which are
also used. Some of them are given in Figure 4.14.

Diversity of Hires: The recruitment process should be unbiased. This metric measures whether
there exists a bias or preference. One can find out whether recruitments are yielding candidates
from a particular religion or caste or region. Gender bias also can be found out.

End-User Satisfaction: End users can be Department Heads or Managers or Supervisors. Since the
main objective is to recruit candidates suitable to their expectations, this metric is useful to see
whether the recruitment is in line with the requirements or not.

Applicants per Opening: It may indicate a job’s popularity (like Probationary Officers in SBI). High
number may also indicate a loose job specification which may have to be tightened.

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 Diversity of Hire

End User Satisfaction

Applicants per Opening

Selection Ratio

Application Completion Rate

Fill Rate

Figure 4.14 Other Recruitment Metrics

Selection Ratio: It is the ratio between number of selected candidates to the total number of
candidates. We have already seen this in the example for yield ratio. If this ratio is one means, you
have selected the sole applicant. It may indicate the inefficiency of recruitment (purpose of
recruitment is to generate as many number of applications as possible) or bias (system has seen that
reach is only to the wanted candidate). If this is approaching to zero it may mean high
unemployment rate, abundant supply, popularity of job etc.,

Application Completion Rate: This metric tells how many applicants completed application out of
the number of applicants started the process of application. This is applicable to big organisations
which have large online application forms online. They require manually punch in the entire CV
details as per the format, instead of uploading their CV, before applying for a job. There would be
some drop outs (leaving their applications unfinished).
𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
Application Completion Rate = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑁𝑜.𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑

A low ratio may indicate technical glitches or non-friendly user interface or lengthy application with
repetitive blocks or seeking too personal information, which candidates are uncomfortable to reveal
or other reasons. Low ratios are to be examined for analysis.

Fill Rate: It is the percentage of jobs filled out of the total number of vacancies. A high fill rate is a
good sign indicating good running of your system and a low fill rate could indicate bottlenecks in the
process or a tight supply position or other reasons.
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑
Fill Rate = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑠 * 100

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 Solve the case study presented in Box 4.4. It is more on Recruitment, but you may consider the
recruitment metrics also in the backdrop.

Box 4.4 Case Study: XL Eduneeds II

(Background information is same as presented in XL Eduneeds I case study)

Situation: Recruitment of Sales Force

Nagesh (VP – HR) sat down at his desk after an executive committee meeting at which B.
Gokari was introduced as the firm’s new and first Vice President of Sales and Marketing. After
the meeting, Gokari had walked back to his office and told Nagesh that he was looking forward
to working with him and his staff in building the sales force and he would like to get started on
a staffing plan quickly. They arranged for a meeting for the following week. Nagesh thought for
a few minutes and then asked YP (section head of staffing), to explore how the human
resource needs of a sales force differs from their current human resource.

‘OK. Let’s get started. XL Eduneeds is bringing the sales function in-house. As you know we
have worked with number of manufacturer’s representative firms to move our product and
that worked well. But we have reached a point where it makes more fiscal sense to field our
own sales force. I am meeting with the new VP of Sales and Marketing Mr. Gokari and his team
next week to discuss staffing. YP, what can you tell us about staffing a sales force?’

YP: ‘Before we discuss the recruiting methods and avenues, I would like to briefly touch upon
the various types of sales people, their tasks and challenges, as these will have a bearing on
recruitment and compensation’.

‘First of all, we can classify sales people as being inside sales or outside sales. Inside sales force
people are less expensive in terms of both salary and sales expenses (no travel). These people
work out of an office and sell to non-retail customers. While some of them are order-takers
who passively accept orders, I would expect our force will be order-getters who would actively
call on customers through telephone or other non- face to face methods’.

‘On the other hand, outside sales forces, or field sales people, call on customers and potential
customers at their places of business, typically face to face. Field sales positions, while more
expensive because of higher compensation and higher costs due to travel and entertainment
expenses, are most appropriate in building and maintaining long term relationships with new
and existing customers’.

‘The Job analysis is critical here – two elements of our company and our products in particular
are relevant. First our markets are varied and complex –sometimes an individual lecturer or
teacher can make the decision, sometimes the school/college board must approve any
purchase. Most of the time, our sales people will be calling on multiple people in each school
or college. Second, we have a broad product line, and many products are technically complex,
requiring some significant expertise on the part of our sales people. There is one another
element that will affect both recruiting and compensation: the degree of autonomy afforded
to the sales force. The more autonomy, the more experience we need to look for and more
compensation would be required to be paid’.

‘Now about recruiting. There are multiple avenues to recruit sales people, some we have used
and some will be new. I have created a table detailing these sources and advantages and
disadvantages. (Next page)

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Table XL Eduneeds II Continued

Source Advantages Disadvantages

Internal • Candidates are known • Internal hires seldom have
quantity with established extensive sales
performance records. experience.
• Candidates have shorter • Can cause conflict with
learning curve in regards to other departments as
company and its products. recruiting, hiring and
• Internal hire can boost training burden simply
employee morale. shifts to cannibalized
division.
Referrals • Candidates often • Can be difficult for new
knowledgeable about job hires to unlearn previous
demands and industry. employer’s practices.
• Candidates may bring along • Ethical considerations
customers. (money invested in
sourcing and training;
trade secrets)
Advertisements • Broad reach. • Too many unqualified
• Can be targeted to sales applications cause
professionals through trade increased costs in
publications. screening.
• Commonly used for less
demanding sales jobs those
don’t require special
qualifications.
Educational • College grads often more • Often hires have little
Institutions socially adopt. experience and need
• Same track record (grades, more training.
activities) to predict • College educated hires
performance. may be more likely to job-
• Candidates from hop.
institutions with sales
management curricula are
productive sooner by 50%
and turnover less 35%.
Internet • Indicate candidate’s • Uniqueness of sales
comfort level with positions and necessity for
technology. personal interviews make
• Increases screening recruiting problematic –
efficiency of processing best used as a screening
applications. tool.
Professional • Locates and screen • Requires detailed
sales qualified sales description of desired KSA.
recruiting professionals. • Agency must be carefully
agencies • Reduces time and effort to chosen and monitored to
build sales force. ensure qualified
candidates referred.
• Costs.

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 XL Eduneeds II Continued

‘One area I would like to address in detail, though, is the use of headhunters. We have rarely
used them, but they are an option to consider as we begin to build a sales force, particularly
those recruiters which specialise in recruiting for sales positions. Like other channels these have
advantages and disadvantages. They have expertise but are costly since they would be paid only
if they successfully place a candidate in the Company’.

‘Once we zero down our recruitment mode then we can talk about selection process we need to
adopt. We also need to know the numbers’.

Nagesh: Thanks YP. It will take some time to absorb and decide. We will meet tomorrow to
decide on the recruiting mode. For the numbers, I will ask Gokari to have a preliminary meeting
with his team to discuss on their plans so that we can fine tune’.

Discussion Points:

Better to form groups to have a detailed debate.

➢ Sales force classification

➢ Appropriate Recruiting resources for each sales force initially.
➢ Changes in these sources in subsequent years with reasons.
➢ Head hunters option suggested by YPS Rao.
➢ The advantages and disadvantages source wise – How far they are true and resemble
practical situation?
➢ Any other resources apart from what was mentioned in the table.

Finally you need to come with a plan (combination or a single source, correct classification of
sales force etc.,) which may be fine-tuned after the next meeting with XL Edu’s sales team. At
this stage plan needs to be based on the information given.

XL Eduneeds II is a modified version of following case study:

Murray, L. M., & Fischer, A. K. (2011). Staffing a New Sales Force: A Human Resource Management
Case Study. Journal of Business Case Studies (JBCS), 7(4), 1-8.
https://doi.org/10.19030/jbcs.v7i4.4681

4.5 Alternatives to Recruitment

Recruitment is a costly process in terms of direct expenses as well as overheads. It is time taking
process also. The size of the organisation is one factor as small firms may not afford a full-fledged
recruitment process in terms of costs. Organisation may also not have the required expertise in-
house. And at times, the time available to fill in or make alternative arrangements (could be a
sudden replacement or a time-bound big order). As such, it may not be suitable for short demands
of work. To meet short-term work demands, organisations resort to temporary alternatives to
recruitment. businessjargons.com defined ‘Alternatives to recruitment’ as the temporary ways of
hiring people for the job position with a view to saving cost incurred in recruiting process and meet
the short term demand for increased work volume. Some of the alternatives are shown in Figure
4.13.

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 OVERTIME

EMPLOYEE TEMPORARY
LEASING EMPLOYEES

ALTERNATIVES
FOR
RECRUITMENT

SUB
CONTRACTING

OUTSOURCING

Figure 4.15 Alternatives to Recruitment

Overtime: When there is extra demand for a product due to temporary market fluctuations,
companies ask employees to work overtime. It benefits employees in terms of extra pay for
additional hours and employers in terms of savings in recruitment costs.

But the system has many disadvantages. Because of fatigue employees’ productivity will be
reduced. The rate of production in the extra hours would not be the same as that of normal hours.
It may lead to absenteeism and accidents. Employees may slow down their work in regular working
hours to earn overtime. Over a period of time, this will become a routine and removal will be
resented by employees. Statutory provisions specify overtime wages at 150% of normal wages and
restrict the number of hours of such engagement.

Temporary employees: Employees are hired for a short period of time or a specific project.
Generally, they are sourced from agencies which are specialised. It is used for unskilled and semi-

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 skilled workers, but nowadays, skilled workers are also available for temporary employment. In
seasonal industries, this method is used.

It is advantageous to organisation as recruitment costs will be saved and the wage rates will be
lower. Organisation will not have make statutory payments like PF, ESI contribution etc.,
Organisation will not have absenteeism. However, temporary employees will not have loyalty to the
organisation. Their inexperience may cost in terms of quality and productivity.

Subcontracting: To meet the high temporary demand organisation can get a portion of work done
by another firm. Instead of expanding capacities, organisations can use this method of getting some
portions or parts of work by other agencies. If increased demand continues, then organisation can
go for expanding capacities.

It is usual practice in Construction and IT industries. In some cases, organisations sub-contract some
work to a specialist contractor in that field. It is advantageous to the organisation since capital
expenditure and investments can be saved. But without a strict quality control scheme will not work
as organisation will not have control over the process or materials.

Outsourcing: When organisation does not have expertise, it may go for outsourcing some functions
to a specialist agency. It is beneficial to small organisations as they will not have resources to engage
experts or specialists. Functions like Payroll, recruitment, training etc., are usually outsourced. At
times it works out cheaper, particularly in cases like payroll. It works in a mutually beneficial way as
specialised agency will spread its overheads over large number of clients. It would be cost reduction
for organisations which engage them, and for other agencies it would be more number of
customers. Outsourcing is also used when organisations need unbiased functioning.

Employee Leasing: It is hiring some specialised workforce of another firm temporarily to carry a
project or portion of work. Here the workers work for the leasing firm. It is popular in USA and
Europe and not in India. All these alternatives would help an organisation to meet temporary
demands at reduced costs and get specialised functions done at considerably lesser prices.

Strategies for Improvement: Basically recruitment is attracting more number of people to the
organisations. Following strategies would help the process.
1. Keeping the recruitment process (including selection) short and fast is essential. It should be
started with timelines. Planning is the key element.
2. Based on the job evaluation and market conditions, the compensation range needs to be
decided before start of the process. Similarly, organisation needs to give facts in terms of
working conditions, career opportunities etc., When organisations try to pick up the best,
employees also have right to choose the best opportunity. If false promises are made and

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 larger than life image is projected, compared with reality, employees will get disillusioned
fast and leave. It would be waste of time and energy for organisation since the recruitment
process needs to start again. The investments in terms of training and knowledge imparted
to the employee will become waste. And it may turn out to be very costly, in cases of
sensitive posts as leaving employees will carry organisations strategies and plans along with
them.
3. Maintaining PR (Public Relations) is a crucial aspect of the branding of the organisation.
Organisation’s image would help attracting best talents. Like in the marketing of products,
finding a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) needs to be done if possible. Look at these
taglines in job posts.
‘Average age of our employees is less than 30’ (if your organisation has more number of younger
employees), ‘We don’t train them, we just grind them’ (if your organisation’s strength is training)
These are all out of USPs of the organisations. With or without job posts or advertisements, image
of the organisation will reach out through word of mouth. Your employees are your brand
ambassadors. They themselves will market the image. Outsiders will believe the insiders words only
rather than advertisements and PR exercises.
4. Communication with the candidates needs to be prompt and appropriate. Since most
applications are on email only, an auto-generated or a separate acknowledgement on the
application is the first thing to be done since candidates would spend considerable time and
energy in deciding and applying. Rejections are also to be communicated with a well-
drafted message saying that you are still interested but may be at a future date or a future
project. This gives them satisfaction. Further in your next recruitment, you will be referring
to the previous rejects as a starting point.
5. Recruitment is not a one-time affair or an activity to be taken up only when required.
Rather it is a continuous process because it is making candidates attracted. There would be
passive candidates i.e., who are not active job seekers as they do need one at a particular
time. But in general, they will be observing the market or organisations in a casual manner.
And your desired employee could be on this list. Keeping in touch with job agencies and
manpower consultants or active in social networks is expected from HR Department.
6. The starting point of recruitment should be checking with the databases particularly not
selected or not considered or not matching and even rejects also. This would expedite the
process.
7. Advertisements or Job posts – A job post is different from job description or job
specification, but it contains both. It is advertisement. It would be ideal to use both print
media and internet media. If print media is costly, a brief job post can be put giving web
reference of detailed job advertisement as is done by some of the organisations.

Job Posts can be made creatively. Some Job posts specify what organisation can offer and what they
expect in a creative tabular form. And some job posts will start with catchy phrases like ‘if you have
hunger in your belly, then we have ------- ‘.Some job posts use their employees as references. And
some promote their company’s strengths and detail career opportunities. Couple of examples are
given in Boxes 4.7 (Godrej Consumer Products) and 4.8 (IBM). Using these strategies will improve
recruitment process. Solve the case study in Box 4.516 using points discussed in this section.

16
Murray, L. M., & Fischer, A. K. (2011). Staffing A New Sales Force: A Human Resource
Management Case Study. Journal of Business Case Studies (JBCS), 7(4), 1-8.
https://doi.org/10.19030/jbcs.v7i4.4681

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 Box 4.5 XL Eduneeds III
Background information is the same as presented in XL Eduneeds I. This situation is
consequent to the discussion presented in XL Eduneeds II (Preliminary meeting planned with
VP Sales and Marketing and his team).
Gokari: ‘Nagesh Thanks for quick action. You are YPS Rao Head of staffing, I heard about you.
Meet my team. This is Ms. Abhinivesha Head of field sales and this is Ms. Yogita Head of Tele
sales. Abhinivesha, you start first with your requirements’.
Abhinivesha: ‘Thanks Gokari. Nagesh, I heard terrific things about the HR division and I am
looking forward working with you and your team in this project. For the field sales force we
anticipate building each State. We have made agreements with current manufacturer
representative firms to help us in each territory during the transition. As part of these
agreements, we have had to agree not to recruit their people.’
‘We are planning to field five states, each with a State Manager. At this point all the sales
people will be generalists , handling all aspects of sale process and selling full line of products.
The States are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

As Bengaluru is in Karnataka, that will be rolled out first. With the exception of Karnataka,
Telangana and Tamil Nadu, where we have offices, we will not be providing physical office
space for State Managers or for sales people, rather they will be provided with equipment.
This will help us in keeping overheads low.’
‘Each State will be comprised of a State Manager, eight to ten sales representatives, and one
or two key account managers who will work closely with largest clients. Initially our sales
people will be spending considerable amount of time in building relationships with customers
both existing and prospective and slowly converting relationships into sales’.
‘Finally I would like to have Karnataka Unit to start first by hiring experienced sales people so
that I can train them on our products’.
Gokari: ’Thanks Abhinivesha, Yogita your turn now.
Yogita: ’Thanks. We will be actually constructing two inside sales forces. One will focus on
account management of small account and second one will focus on supporting the field sales
force by prospecting and qualifying leads, customer service and other promotional support’.
‘Finding people who combine aggressiveness of a sales person with the customer focused
empathy is going to be difficult. In addition we will be integrating web sales as another inside
channel as we have to find new customers’.
‘Motivating the inside sales force is another challenge. Not only they typically make less than
field sales people, the role is often considered of lower status. One way to keep them
motivated in the long run is to use these roles as springboards into field sales. We also need
to focus on extensive training, bonuses for higher sales, recognition programme and more
opportunities for professional development and more interaction with field sales people and
customers’.
‘We plan to house inside sales force here in Bengaluru. Ultimately I expect we will hire about
30-40 reps to work with field sales force people and about 75-100 reps to handle inside sales.
The inside sales reps will be attending all inbound calls and also will be calling customers
through telephone and web. We will require one supervisor for every 25-30 reps. We will also
slowly build these two teams and will have both experienced and inexperienced ones’. After
the meeting Nagesh and YPS Rao back to their offices and began to think about staffing the
new sales forces. They need to give preliminary plans to Gokari and his team next week.
The sales force organisational chart is in the figure.

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 XL Eduneeds III Continued

Vice President

Sales & Marketing

Field Sales Telemarketing

Director Sales Director

Small Account Field Sales

State Managers Sales Manager Support
(5) Manager

Telemarketing Field Support

Sales Supervisors (3- Sales
Key Account
Representatives 4) Representatives
Managers (1-2)
(6-8)

Telemarketing
Sales
Representatives
(75-100)

Sales Force Organisational Chart proposed for XL Eduneeds

Box 4.5 Case Study XL Eduneeds III

POINTS FOR DISCUSSION:

Now with the numbers and other requirements are known, is there any change in the
recruitment plan devised in Eduneeds II?
What kind of job descriptions you can suggest for each of the position and what recruitment
resources you would be using position-wise?

Can you consider any alternatives to recruitment?

You have to come up with total recruitment strategy with details for the presentation of Nagesh
to VP Sales and Marketing and his team.

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 Box 4.6 Example I of a Job Post (Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.)

Why Godrej?
10 reasons to join us.

1. We are a “good” Company.

2. We are our Values.

3. We make the world Greener.

4. We help prevent Malaria.

5. We embrace and celebrate

6. We are selfish about your

7. We have BOLD ambitions.

8. We challenge the status quo.

9. We beton Potential

10. We are only as good as what we do next.

Above mentioned is only abridged version. For full post visit https://godrejcp.com/people/why-
godrej
Let’s hear from Godrejites ….

To Do Activity

Find out other kinds of job posts mentioned and compare

Prepare a job post for position of project sales of a software company

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 Box 4.7 Example II of a Job Post (IBM)

To Do Activity

What kind of Recruitment strategies you will adopt to fill positions like Tele Callers or Internet Marketers.
Objective is to engage home makers (house wives) and retired people so that costs are minimized.

New Trends in Recruitment

Some of you might have used Internet banking or did shopping on e-com companies like Amazon.
There would be on-line help in these using chat. You type a question and you will get an answer,
and the process goes on. You might not have realised that you are chatting with a Robot and not a
physical person.

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 Yes, it is true. In most cases, its Robots only chat up to the point they can do with the help of pre-fed
information and they prompt human intervention when a new question pops up. They are called
‘bots’.

A ‘bot’ (short form of Robot, also called ‘Internet Bot’) is an automated program that runs through
internet. It is a computer programme that operates as an agent for a user or other programme, or
stimulates a human activity. They are typically used to automate certain tasks. There are good bots
and bad bots.

In the on-line help, ‘Chatbots’ are used. It is made possible through the use of Artificial Intelligence
(AI). And AI has entered the recruitment arena also.

Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

You open ‘Google’ and type few words to get relevant information. Within a flash of a second, you
will find lakhs of pages of information somehow related to what you have typed. Its AI’s ability to
analyse big data and quickly estimate available options, makes the automation of processes possible.
When ’Google’ can search massive data and fetch relevant ones, similar software (a bot) can search
some keywords out of so many profiles available, and fetch relevant CVs of candidates. Or, out of
the applications, a bot can screen the applications of relevance.
One thing to be remembered is AI is still far from human cognitive abilities. At the same time, many
machines can learn, think and take decisions. Preferably AI can be used for automation of processes
that don’t require a high level of creativity. And screening process or piling relevant CVs (available
on net) can be automated using bots. AI automates these low-level tasks. It provides detailed
information and reduces operational costs.

Image source: Ethan Lee article ‘The Impact of AI on Recruitment’

https://www.digitalhrtech.com/impact-ai-recruitment/
And the utility doesn’t stop there. AI has ability to post targeted advertisements (ads) that will be
seen by ‘right’ people, through the knowledge of the history of their online activity. E-com
companies extensively use browsing history of individuals to target them for sales (of items of
individuals’ interest). AI allows you to set a target and search candidates who match. You can see
what your candidate has googled and what websites they have visited. Candidates who are
searching for similar positions can see ads of your company at the very moment they start applying
for a job. Chatbots can help candidates in filling resumes and can even talk to them on their queries.

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 There are many applications. Advanced Chatbots like MYA, not only talk to candidates but also
analyse their responses using Language Processors. There are pros and cons of use of AI in
recruitment. Applicants criticise the process of picking based on a few ‘key words’ instead of basing
on quality of experience or personality traits. But for recruiters to go through each and every CV
takes lot of time. The pros include saving of time, removal of bias (an important one) and finding
candidates (as explained in previous paragraph). The cons include search filters may miss aspects
(like candidates’ job-hopping nature), human qualities of contextual understanding, empathy and
quality of experience, to name a few. For instance, containing oil spill in sea involves a lot of quick
and able decisions and candidate has to work against time looking at the consequences of not
containing the spill. Similarly, extinguishing a fire from oil or gas well is a difficult task as water
cannot douse such fires. But a keyword search may not be able to find such experiences, or even it
finds it can’t give due weightage to the experience.

Like any technology, AI also should be used judiciously.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

It’s an AI application. RPA is a technology which uses bots to replicate human actions for time-
consuming administrative work. You can treat it as a back office. Basically, RPA software configures
bots for data collection, generating auto-responses and communication with other systems.
Depending on the requirement, automation may use a single bot for a simple task or more bots to
do multiple tasks. RPA can be used to supplement other systems/actions done by humans. RPA
software solution can help recruitment process in automating tasks like:
• Sending auto-replies to candidates
• Collecting, organising and storing candidates’ information
• Candidate sourcing and screening
• Answering simple questions of candidates
• Asking candidates to send resumes
• Asking candidates pre-screening questions
• Making candidates fill in standard format of the organisation and sending queries on any
missing information and see that formats are competed.
• Scheduling of interviews
• Sending job posts through email to targeted candidates

Organisations need to decide which parts of the recruitment are to be automated depending on the
volume and utility. To have a positive impact on candidate’s human interaction is also a must and as
such, organisations need to strike right balance between automation and manual operations. And
when used, it should be seen that it is properly integrated and see that ‘spam’ mail generation etc.,
are to be avoided.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)

Virtual Reality (VR) is a simulated reality generated by computers and can be viewed with special VR
glasses. The user sees and hears a life-like experience and usually, it is interactive. Augmented
Reality (AR) users see the real world, but computer adds virtual elements to it. These technologies
help recruiters to identify perfect fit by looking at candidates’ decision-making skills and testing their
capabilities.

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 Image source: Paul Osborne ‘Emerging VR & AR in recruitment – The Simulation process’

https://www.hrtechnologist.com/articles/recruitment-onboarding/emerging-vr-ar-in-recruitment-
the-simulation-process/

VR based simulated environment of a workplace will give a better idea of the working environment,
they will be part of. In campus recruitments and job fairs, it would be more useful. A booth can be
set up there, which can interact with candidates in many ways, which a brochure or a video can’t do.

Using VR, gamification can be done which, can replace old application process. It is a simulation
tool. It would be of interest to younger generations. Instead of filling a form, you would be asked to
play a game. Playing a game requires lot of effort and the decision making points will make
candidate’s abilities in decision-making. And it would be more interactive and hence interesting and
candidate will have fun. Jaguar (part of Tata Motors), to hire electronic and software engineers,
used a game that tested potential hires with a code-breaking game.

Using AR, you can provide training and specially, safety training. Imagine, as a matter of routine, you
are in the conference hall attending a meeting. And suddenly fire breaks out, just outside and what
would you do? Teaching what you ought to do in such circumstances is training. And using AR is the
best possible way because you can’t make fires, just to teach.

To sum it up, the technology, in particular, AI is creeping into all our day-to-day activities and
recruitment is no exception. But one should not ignore ‘GIGO’ (Garbage In, Garbage Out) before
adopting.

‘You reap as you sow’

Chapter Summary
Recruitment is searching and attracting suitable candidates to make them to apply for suitable
positions in the organisation. It is part of Human Resource Planning and helps organisation to meet
it’s objectives through keeping positions filled. It will give feed of suitable candidates to the
Selection process.
Dale Yoder defined “Recruitment is a process to discover the sources of manpower to meet the
requirements of the staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that
manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force”.

Edwin Flippo defined “Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and
stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation”.

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 Recruitment is different from Selection. Recruitment is the process of generating a pool of
candidates. Selection is picking up from this pool, who will be the best match and deciding who is
not. Recruitment process involves stages of Planning, Strategy development, Searching, Screening
and Evaluation and Control. In the screening stage, non-suitable applications are weeded out to
simplify and speed up the selection process. There are many Internal and External factors which
affect recruitment.

Internal factors are Organisation centric – Size, Image, Age, Growth rate, working conditions,
recruitment policies, and location mainly.

External factors include Supply and Demand, employment rate, Industry, legal and political
environment, Government policies, trade unions and competitors’ strategies. Sources of recruitment
can be internal and external. Promotions, transfers, ex-employees and employee referrals are
internal sources.

Model Questions
1. What is recruitment and how it is different from selection?
2. Describe the process of recruitment.
3. Write a brief on internal and external sources of recruitment.
4. Compare internal and external sources of recruitment.
5. What factors will affect recruitment?
6. What are the alternatives to recruitment?
7. Write a brief on recruitment metrics which are based on time and costs.
8. How can you improve your firm’s recruitment process?
9. What is a job post and what information it should contain?
10. Employee referrals – Is it internal or external source of recruitment?

MCQs

1. The process of locating and encouraging potential applicants to apply an existing or an anticipated
job opening is called:
a) Selection b) Placement c) Recruitment d) Induction
2. Employee referral is:
a) an Internal source of recruitment b) an External source of recruitment
c) an Indirect method of recruitment d) Third party method of recruitment
3. In which method of recruiting, organisations publish job openings on bulletin boards, electronic
media and similar outlets?
a) Employee referrals b) Job posting c) Job opening d) Employment detail
4. Camus Selection is --------- method of recruitment.
a) Fresh b) Modern c) Internal d) External
5. Which is not an advantage of Internal recruitment?
a) Time saving b) New blood c) Less expensive d) None of the above
6. Rearrange following steps of recruitment:
I. Searching II. Evaluation and Control III. Planning
IV. Screening V. Strategy development
a) III, II, I, V, IV b) III, V, I, IV, II c) IV, V, III, I, II d) II, I, IV, V, III
7. Which is least expensive method of recruitment?
a) Walk-ins, Talk-ins, Write-ins b) Campus placements
c) Employment Exchanges d) Consultants

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 8. Identifying right people in rival companies, offering them better terms and luring them away is
popularly called:
a) Acquisition b) Induction c) Poaching d) None of the
above
9. Which of these is an alternative to recruitment?
a) Employee leasing b) Contractors c) Trade Associations d) None of the
above
10. The number of people hired for a particular job compared to number of individuals in the
applicants’ pool is often expressed as:
a) Application ratio b) Recruitment ratio c) Employment ratio d) Selection ratio

References

• Anja Z. (March 2, 2019) Top 10 Best Job Ad Examples

https://www.talentlyft.com/en/blog/article/268/top-10-best-job-ad-examples
• Ashawathappa K (2017) Human Resource Management Text and Cases (8th Ed.) McGraw Hill
Education India
• Businessjargon.com (April 10, 2018) Alternatives to Recruitment
https://businessjargons.com/alternatives-to-recruitment.html
• citeman.com (December 16, 2010) Alternatives to Recruitment
https://www.citeman.com/12832-alternatives-to-recruitment.html
• Erik V. V. (July 18, 2017) 19 Recruiting Metrics You Should Know About
https://www.analyticsinhr.com/blog/recruiting-metrics/
• Gary D Human Resource Management (9th Ed.) Prentice Hall (Need for complete reference)
• Giraffe News (5th February 2020) Blog post SME Recruitment: How to screen candidates so
you don’t make a hiring mistake https://blog.giraffe.co.za/sme-recruitment-how-to-screen-
candidates
• hiregoogle.com (n.d.) 20 recruiting metrics (and how to calculate them)
https://hire.google.com/articles/20-recruiting-metrics/
• hrhelpboard.com (n.d.) What is Recruitment in HRM? Recruitment meaning definition
https://www.hrhelpboard.com/recruitment.htm
• hrhelpboard.com(n.d.) Internal and External Factors which affects the Recruitment Process
in human resource management
• https://www.hrhelpboard.com/recruitment/factors-affecting-recruitment.htm
• Internet Sources:
• Martin L Sept 23rd 2019 What is Recruitment? Definition, Recruitment Process, Best
practices https://www.cleverism.com/what-is-recruitment/
• Nicole Faqua (n.d.) What is Robotic Process Automation
https://www.peoplescout.com/insights/automation-reshaping-recruiting-world/
• Paul Asborne (7th Apr’20) Emerging VR & AR in Recruitment – The simulation process
https://www.hrtechnologist.com/articles/recruitment-onboarding/emerging-vr-ar-in-
recruitment-the-simulation-process/
• Prarthana G (n.d.) What is Recruitment? Definition, Process, Techniques, Metrics and
Strategies for 2020 https://www.hrtechnologist.com/articles/recruitment-onboarding/what-
is-recruitment/
• Pravin D Human Resource Management Pearson

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 • Rae Steinbach (13th Apr’18) 4 Innovative ways companies are using AR in Recruiting
https://ideal.com/ar-recruiting/
• Raksha T (n.d.) Recruitment of candidates: Concept and Sources, Source of Human Capital
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/hrm/recruitment-hrm/recruitment-of-candidates-
concept-and-sources-source-of-human-capital/69667
• Sakshi A (n.d.) Sources of Recruitment in HRM
https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/recruitment/sources-of-recruitment-in-hrm/31758

Answers to MCQs

1. (c) 2. (a) 3. (b) 4. (d) 5. (b) 6. (b) 7. (a) 8. (c) 9. (a) 10. (d)

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 Chapter 5 Selection
Introduction
In pursuit of the objective of putting ‘right man on the right job’, if recruitment is the starting point,
selection is the culminating point. While recruitment ensures the availability of people with required
profile, it needs a filtering mechanism to zero down the best among them, and selection process
provides precisely the same.
Selection process provides a multi sieve or multiple filter mechanism for the task of finding the right
person. The circumstances could vary. The available choices could be either many similar ones or an
array with variations or any other combination. Then the process should weigh different qualities,
skills, qualifications and do the balancing act. Selection process ensures the same. One invisible
dimension in the whole exercise is prediction, the prediction, that the selected candidate would
succeed in the assignment. Selection process provides a scientific basis in arriving at this prediction.

The task of Selection, finding the right balance with accurate prediction, sometimes becomes
daunting. In this chapter, we will study the importance of selection, various stages involved, tests,
interviews and other aspects.

Objectives

• To provide insights on the importance of Selection

• To explain various stages in the selection process
• To familiarize tests used by organisations for selecting personnel
• To comprehend on type of interviews to be chosen for selection of various jobs
• To familiarize guidelines and principles for conducting tests and interviews

Chapter Structure

5.1 Importance of Selection

5.2 Stages of Selection

5.3 Selection Tests

5.4 Selection Interviews

5.5 Other aspects of Selection

“Hire an attitude, not just experience and qualification” Greg Savage

“Great vision without great people is irrelevant” Jim Collins

5.1 Importance of Selection

What is Selection?

It is only half complete. The objective of ‘the right person on the right job’ is only half complete with
recruitment.

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 It will be completed with ‘selection’. Until both blocks are joined, the process would not come to an
end. The endpoint of recruitment is the starting point of selection. Selection is filtering the right
person, among the set given by recruitment process, who is most suitable for the vacancy.

Definitions: To know what a selection is, and understand better, let us have a look at the following
definitions by famous authors.

“Selection is the process by which candidates for employment are divided into two classes – those
who will be offered employment and those who will not”. -Dale Yoder

“Selection is the process of choosing from among the candidates, from within the organisation or
from the outside, the most suitable person for the current position or for the future position”.

-O Donnell

“Selection means offering jobs to one or more applicants from the applications by establishing the
‘best fit’ between job requirements on the one hand and the candidate’s qualifications on the
other”. Arun Monappa and Mirza S. Saiyadain

“The selection procedure is the system of functions and devices adopted in a given company for the
purpose of ascertaining whether or not candidate possess the qualifications called for by, a specific
job”. M.J. Jucious

“Selection is a managerial decision making process to predict which job applicants will be successful
if hired”. David A. Decenzo

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 We have considered more definitions to understand various aspects of Selection. From the
definitions, it can be seen that selection is a:
➢ Process, of choosing among the candidates, most fit for the position. The candidates can
be from inside or outside. The position (job) can be present vacancy or a future vacancy
(for HRP or succession planning)

SELECTION

KSA CANDIDATE

Figure 5.1 Selection Process I

➢ Process again, weighs (balances) the requirements of the job and the qualifications of the
candidates and try to fix a best equal or equivalent match. Here the qualifications mean
Knowledge, Skills and Attitude (KSA) and not restricted to educational qualifications alone.
➢ System of functions and devices used to ascertain the match as explained above. Here the
devices are tests (written tests and interviews).
➢ Process of decision making of predicting the success (consequential benefits to the
organisation as well as to the candidate) of the candidate selected.

SELECTION PROCESS
(is segregation of above into)

REJECTED LOT ACCEPTED LOT

Figure 5.2 Selection Process II

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 The last one (definition of Decenzo) is the most appropriate in practical situations since certain
aspects or qualities cannot be measured. For instance, a best fit candidate may prove to be fit in
all respects, but prove to be a cultural or a behavioural mismatch. As such, the selection, the
decision making process with latent characteristic of prediction is an important one for
organisations. It is also most appropriate when organisation doesn’t have much time (big or critical
project with timelines) and even cannot afford a wrong selection in terms of resources (Money).
We can say that ‘Selection’ is a systematic process of finding best fit for the job requirements
among the candidates. In other words, it is a process of segregating the not so best fits among the
candidates and rejecting them (Dale Yoder’s definition). But the process has timelines. It’s not
like buying a luxurious sedan with your desired features, where the decision-making process can be
a prolonged one and you may also decide to wait till you get a match for your complete list of
features. But here, you can’t keep on rejecting candidates in anticipation of the exact fit, and you
may have to relax some parameters. Here recruitment process helps as it gives available choices at
that point of time and rather restricts them in terms of numbers. If you reject all, the process
comes back to starting point again. It can be seen that while recruitment involves pooling (positive
process); selection involves rejection (negative process). For an organisation, both are required and
both need to work in tandem.
Importance of Selection
To understand the importance of selection, let us try to construct a flow chart based on two
dimensions the selection and the result. This is similar to a decision tree. (In a decision tree,
different decisions at various stages along with results are captured and a structure like a tree with
branches is drawn). In this case, it is only one stage decision which is combined with the result.
Refer to Decenzo’s definition. It says selection is predicting who will be successful (in the job) if
hired. Take a selection process of a candidate for a job. Selection decision gives two answers ‘Yes’
or ‘No’ or ‘Hire’ or ‘Reject’ (Second Row of Figure 5.3).
To assess the decision, you need to test. Now after some reasonable time, an analysis is made on
both such candidates (the hired and the rejected ones). Each will be either successful or a failure in
their respective jobs. (In case of rejected candidate, the result is measured in the job of some other
organisation where he is hired). These outcomes are in the third row. The combinations of the
decision and the results are in the last row A, B, C and D. Combinations are branches in the tree as
you move along different paths. For instance, first branch is Hire and moved to Success. These
branches or combinations give different scenarios.

SELECTION

HIRE REJECT

SUCCESS FAILURE SUCCESS FAILURE

B C D A

Figure 5.3 Analysis of Results in a Selection Process

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 Now there are four scenarios:
A: The rejected candidate proved to be a failure (in other organisation he is hired). Selection
decision is a good one.
B: The selected candidate proved to be successful. It is also a good decision.
C: The selected candidate in your organisation proved to be a failure. This will lead to extra costs in
terms of:
Loss of Profits/Sales

Accidents

I) One or More:
Spoilt work culture

Unrest/Displeasure of
Loss of Customers or Colleagues
Disputes with them

Similar Ones

Displeasure of colleagues may also lead to disputes. Costs would be very high in cases of
corruption or selling secrets to competitors. It would take a very long time to recoup in
cases of lost customers, information leakage to competitors, legal suits, and loss of
impression.

PLUS

II)

Costs of Training Time & Energy of superiors

imparted Termination Costs
and colleagues

(The agreed and statutory benefits need to be paid in cases of termination).

PLUS

III) Replacement Costs (you need to hire someone else in his place and the costs of hiring
and training of the replacement).
And more than all of these, YOU ARE BACK TO SQUARE ONE.

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 D: The Rejected candidate proved to be successful in other organisation he is hired. He may bring
many benefits to that organisation (say bagging a huge order, bringing good and big customers).
The benefits which would have accrued to your organisation have gone to other organisation. If
other organisation is a competitor, the impact would be much more as your customers may find
other organisation interesting to try, on their success.

From the above analysis, one can understand the importance of selection. Other points of
importance are:
Competitive Advantage – For an organisation human resources are the key for gaining competitive
advantage. (Discussed in HRP and SHRM).
Reduction of Training Expenses - Good candidates require less training as they would be fast in
grasping and understanding the requirements of the job. They may impart training (in a formal way
or informal way) to colleagues.
Reduction in Hiring Expenses – Good candidates generally stay longer with the organisation as they
make long term plans for their career development, unlike the candidates who change jobs (some
candidates switch jobs ‘just for a change’). The good candidates’ style of working may also
influence others (particularly subordinates) also to stay longer.
The hiring expenses are high and for small organisations, it is higher in terms of quantum as well as
a percentage of their profits or turnover. In cases of senior positions, they may turn out to be
unaffordable.
Concentration on Other Aspects of Business – Having one position filled, organisation can
concentrate other important areas of the business. For instance, if you have production problems
and after putting proper in-charge of production, you can focus on marketing. Good candidates
would require less supervision. Otherwise, superiors’ time will be wasted a lot in supervising and
guidance.
Good Working Culture and Increased Productivity – Good candidates bring along with them
experience (in terms of skills and techniques), good working systems and good working culture and
all these will improve productivity. They will also reduce the work burden of others. They will also
bring different perspectives, which will aid the decision making process for the organisation.
Improved Industrial Relations – While bad hires are detested, the good hires are a welcome to
other personnel, which will improve industrial relations.

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 Box 5.1 Lateral Recruitment
It is the process of hiring a ‘specialist’ for the job. It would be from
external sources. Organisations will have high expectations and
existing employees will have a bit of hostile attitude as their chances
are scuttled. For some time at least, candidate’s performance and
actions are seen with a magnifying glass to find any mistakes.
Organisations cannot afford committing ‘False Positive Error’ (Selected
predicting success but candidate proved to be a failure) in these cases
particularly, as Unions will keep citing this for a long time and
employees also informally.

Morale of Employees - Good selections improve morale of employees in long run, a consequence
of good relationship and training given by the selected one. On the other hand, a bad selection will
affect morale of existing employees. In cases of lateral recruitments, they feel that their merits are
ignored by organisation. Summarising, we can say that Selection is crucial as it is a question of
getting ROI like in cases of other assets, and has impact in long run.

Nature of Selection
You are asked to select 5 batsmen for the next T20 world cup. What you will do? First, you will
decide what you want. You want the batsman should play 30 balls and score say 30-40 runs. To
have this performance you will be looking at their ability, consistency, and team-play etc.,
characteristics in the players available. To decide, you will be considering track records of each of
these players say average runs per match, performance on the pitches of the country in which the
world cup is going to be hosted, and runs against pacers/spinners.

What you have done here is, first you have defined what the required performance is. Then you
have chosen characteristics which would give this performance. Then you have decided to consider
some parameters which will indicate the characteristics (which will, in turn, give the desired
performance). Isn’t it?

Gary Dessler (Human Resource Management 8th edition pp. 280-283) explained the nature of
selection as the process starting with defining ‘employee performance (success)’, deciding on
‘selection criterion’ (characteristic that a person must have, to do the job successfully) and finally
identifying ‘predictors’ (measurable indicators of selection criteria.

In the batsmen selection, you have defined the performance (playing 30 balls and scoring 30-40
runs). You have chosen selection criteria (ability, consistency). To measure these selection criteria
you have chosen predictors (average runs per match etc.,). In other words, you are confident of
candidate’s future performance will be predicted by the chosen predictors.

Figure 5.4 gives the nature of Selection with some common elements of job performance, some
selection criteria and some predictors.

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 Elements of Job Selection Criteria for Operational
Performance Employee who will Predictors of
•Quantity of work achieve performance Selection Criteria
•Quality of work •Ability •Experience
•Compatiability with •Motivation •Past performance
others •Intelligence •Educational Qualifications
•Length of service •Appropriate performance •Personality measures
•Flexibility •Test scores
•Tenure on previous jobs
•Work references

Figure 5.4 Job Performance, Selection Criteria and Predictors

Source: Gary D (Human Resource Management 8th edition, page 281)

Gary Dessler stresses that “the information gathered about an applicant should be focused on
finding predictors of the likelihood that the applicant will be able to perform job well. Predictors
should be job related, valid and reliable. Previous experience can be a predictor of success only if it is
related to the necessary performance on the current job. Any selection tool used (educational
qualifications, years of experience required etc.,) should be used only if it is a valid predictor of job
performance”.

Reliability is consistency. Suppose an aptitude test is taken as a predictor. When the test is
administered to same candidate in different time periods and if the scores are in the same range
then the test is considered as reliable. Validity of a predictor is to what extent it is measuring the
required job characteristic or the correlation between the predictor and job performance. (Note:
There are different types of reliability and validity which are explained in the next sections, and for
this discussion, these definitions are enough).

As was stressed upon by Dessler, one has to choose predictors if they are reliable and valid.
Predictors differ from job to job. Characteristics required for a teacher differ from that of a sales
executive and accordingly, the predictors also will differ. Care should be taken to see that proper
predictors are chosen in the section.

One can choose a single predictor or multiple predictors. If you take a single predictor then it is
straight say score in a test. But if you want to take multiple predictors then there are different ways
of combining them. Dessler puts them as two ways. One way is a ‘Multiple hurdles’ –A candidate
should have certain qualifications, certain experience and some acceptable score of a test/interview.
Here the candidate has to pass on all these. Another way is a ‘Combined approach’ –predictors are
combined to get an overall score (say giving points for different criteria say graduation 5 points,
post-graduation 10 points, experience --- points and so on). In this, one low score can be offset by a
high score in other predictors. But if you keep adding predictors the applicants’ list becomes
shorter. Figure 5.5 illustrates that.

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 Predictor 1 (Post
Graduation)

Predictor 4
Predictor 2 (Interview
(Experience score
> 5 years) >7/10)

Predictor 3 (Test score

>90/100)

Figure 5.5 Effect of adding Predictors in the Selection Process

Source: Gary D (Human Resource Management 8th edition, page 282)
When you add more predictors the list (of applicants) shrinks. In the Figure 5.5, the intersection part
of all circles is a very small part (red rectangle). It actually indicates candidates with PG qualification
with experience of more than 5 years who have scored more than 90% in written test and more than
70% in the interview. Such candidates may be very few. It can also happen the list may become
‘zero’ if say none of the post-graduate applicants with more than five years of experience did score
more than 90% in the test or more than 70% in the Interview. The effect is shown in Figure 5.6.

Candidates Candidates
Candidates with Candidates
with more
with test interview with PG
than 5 years
score >90% score more qualifications
experience
than 70%

Figure 5.6 One Possible Result of adding Predictors in Selection Process

As such care needs to be taken not to add too many predictors. If you are dealing with one predictor
it is one circle (full) and when you add one more, it means you want both or the intersection of both
circles which may be, say 10 to 20% of the circle size. When you add one more predictor you want
all the three or the intersection of three circles which may be around 5-8%. And if you add one more
it may become zero also as shown in Figure 5.6. Further you may be increasing the probability of
rejecting good candidates. And one should note unless valid, reliable and relevant predictors are
chosen the selection process may turn out to be a bad or wrong one. And one cannot conclusively
say that a particular predictor will actually predict desired job performance in all cases (100%).

With experience and constant reviews, you can choose simple predictors. Suppose if it is observed
that most of the software professionals have scored more than 90% in mathematics consistently in

403 Human Resource Management 197 MGNCRE

 all their board exams, then this you can take it as a predictor (which can be picked from the standard
application itself where marks are to be filled in) instead of conducting a written test once more
which is a costly and time taking process. To summarise, the nature of selection is the process of
deciding desired performance, choosing selection criteria and picking up relevant predictors.

5.2 Stages involved in Selection Process

There are various stages in the selection process. Figure 5.7 shows them. As can be seen from the
Figure, selection process is a very long one. In every stage, sieving is done. This is since selection
process, by nature involves rejections, as it goes on narrowing down the choices among the
candidates.

BEGIN
Preliminary Interview

Application Blanks

Screening

Job Tests

Interview

Reference Checking

Medical Tests

Final
Selection

Job Offer

Employment
Contract

Evaluation

END

Figure 5.7 Various Stages of Selection Process

403 Human Resource Management 198 MGNCRE

 At the end of recruitment process, a list of eligible candidates is prepared and that the starting point
of selection process. Next stages are:

Preliminary Interview: This is the starting point and the preliminary interview is conducted by junior
staff in HR department. This round is for finding out interest of the candidate in the organisation
and the job and further candidate’s eligibility. Generally, candidate’s background is ascertained and
job specifications will be told. Depends on the position, sometimes this preliminary interview is
conducted on telephone also.

This stage is to ascertain eligibility of candidate prima facie. Type of work, working hours, general
pay range, working conditions and other aspects of job specification will be told to the candidates to
ascertain his/her willingness. In this round, candidates who cannot be considered due to various
factors like citizenship, age, physical handicaps if any, lack of relevant experience or qualifications
etc., are taken out. In other words, it is to eliminate definite misfits and unfits. For instance, if you
are looking for a candidate who has experience in SAP implementation, you will be weeding out
candidates who do not have such experience.

Since this would be the first interaction of the candidates with the organisation, care needs to be
taken to see that they are handled with courtesy and good image of the organisation is presented to
them. These interviews will be brief in nature and candidates who are found to be suitable and
potential for selection will be moved to the next stage.

Application Blanks: The qualified candidates in the preliminary

interview are given application blanks to fill in. These application
blanks are prepared as per organisation’s requirements since the
individual resumes of the candidates may have different patterns.
Further, the resumes sent might not have been updated. Same is
the case with the resumes downloaded from job sites.

These application blanks are specially prepared and generally contain:

Identity- Family background, Age, marital status, gender, height

Educational Qualifications- Generally from X Standard onwards, candidates have to mention

subjects, grades, year of passing, percentile ranking or place in the class etc., These are used to
ascertain consistency in performance. For instance a candidate who is consistently in top 10% of the
class is preferred to a one-time ranker. If there are any gaps in education, candidates will be asked
to explain.

Work Experience – Details will be asked on candidate’s performance highlighting the achievements,
problems solved along with nature of work and the job responsibilities. Selection process involves
predicting whether candidate would be successful in the job, and as such history of problem-solving
would act as an aid to determine. It would be in reverse order starting from current job onwards as
existing skills are more critical.

Extracurricular activities, hobbies, interests

Other information on expected salary, present emoluments, perks, reasons for leaving present job
and references.

Application blanks are effective tools. These are also written records from candidates giving factual
information. (Candidates cannot deny any wrong or not real information if found subsequently,

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 since application blanks submitted are signed confirming truthfulness). There are many standard
formats and organisations can also design as per their requirements. If it is observed that success in
academics is associated with success in the jobs, more importance can be given to academics and
provide more details of academic record. These can be one pagers or may be detailed ones
containing hundreds of details. These would be useful in the interviews as selectors can pick up
questions from what is presented in the desired format. Candidates may try to exaggerate, but the
same can be verified in the interviews or through references.

Is it necessary to have a filled-in application blank when resumes are already available? The answer
is ‘Yes’. Some reasons are already listed. Apart from those, in a resume, candidate presents
information that he wants to give, whereas application blank contains what information an
organisation wants to know. Candidates may suppress or downplay details of their weaknesses. (If a
candidate is weak in academics, he may just mention the qualification instead of giving grades, year
of passing etc.,). Application blanks do not give that kind of choice.

Application blanks can be different for different positions.

Screening: The filled-in application blanks are studied carefully and from these, some candidates
may be dropped based on academics, work experience etc., Skill sets are examined and if a
candidate is not having exposure to a particular skill desired for the job, he/she can be dropped.
Screening needs to be done methodically and not as a matter of routine. Though it is used for
eliminating, it should be seen that potential candidates are not missed out. Academic excellence
may not guarantee successful job performance and the converse is also true in some cases.

As detailed in previous chapter, one can use computer software based on AI to screen the
applications/resumes. But it is preferable to do the screening manually since analysis or picking up
of relevant skill set or experience may not be possible with software. Suppose you are looking for a
store manager/assistant for a manufacturing unit, the experience of a candidate in logistics of an e-
com company could be equivalent since those candidates might have exposure to stores. One needs
to check carefully to arrive at a decision. Those passed in screening would become eligible for next
stage.

Job Tests or Employment Tests: These are instruments to assess the required qualities and abilities
of candidates. These are samples to predict future success in the
job.

There are varieties of tests. They can be written/skill/on the

job/simulation tests. A detailed study on the types of tests is
presented in the next section.

In brief, the tests are: Proficiency tests (Job knowledge tests, Simulation tests, Work sample tests),
Intelligence tests, Aptitude tests, Personality tests, Interest tests, Psychological tests, Situational
tests, Knowledge tests etc.,

The tests (other than proficiency tests) are conducted when there are more candidates, as it would
be a costly affair. This stage can be skipped by organisation. Otherwise, candidates who are
qualified in these tests will be moved to next stage.

Interview: This is a crucial part of the selection process. Whatever may be the process of selection,
every employer would like to meet the prospective candidate in person.

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 Interviews can be conducted by an individual (senior officer of
organisation) or by a panel. Usually, the line manager (under whom
the successful candidate is going to work) will be included in the
panel. Candidates will be asked to detail what they have provided in
the application blanks with regard to work experience, particularly
on achievements. If the job tests are not conducted, then questions on the job knowledge will
become part of the interview. Interviews can be structured ones, in which case the questions will be
prepared based on a thorough job analysis.

Interviews test the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates. Candidates also will have an
opportunity to ascertain details they would like to know on organisation, pay, and career growth.
Various types of interviews are detailed in following sections. The filtered candidates move to next
stage.

Reference Checking: Generally, candidates will be asked to give references of two persons who are
not related to them. Usually, they will be their colleagues or faculty members in case of fresh
candidates. In this stage, references of the candidates shortlisted will be contacted to ascertain their
general behaviour and capabilities. If candidate has mentioned achievements in his/her work front,
the same can be cross-checked. At times employers may come to know any hidden information or
information which the candidate himself/herself doesn’t know, from the reference persons.
References give a pen picture of the candidate.

Candidates will give references of those who will provide good feedback about him. As such, this
process may not give any additional inputs. But it depends on the other person. Senior and mature
persons generally give factual information, particularly on achievements on the work front. For
instance, if a candidate mentions a key problem-solving incident or an achievement as of his, which
is actually a team effort or of efforts by someone else, facts about the same can be ascertained.
Because of human tendency not to scuttle anybody’s career (unless prejudiced), it would be difficult
to elicit negative information from references. Nevertheless, some characteristics will come out
(“He is a bit arrogant”, “very docile guy”, “He gets furious on certain issues” ---). To get complete
information, structured questionnaires need to be used, which is not practical. Candidates may
mention not to contact anyone in their present organisation, till the point they are selected, and
those requests are to be honoured.

Medical Examination: This may not be necessary for all jobs. This is done to ascertain physical
fitness of the candidates for performing the jobs. Also, this process will protect organisations from
any claims for compensation from individuals who have some disabilities or some health problems.
For some jobs, medical examination is a must. In USA, Drug Tests will be administered for some jobs
and is a part of selection process.

Final Selection: At this stage, a final selection is made among those shortlisted. This stage is difficult
if there are more candidates than the number of jobs. Recruiter’s experience, maturity and
predictive abilities will help in this stage since it is a choice of ‘first among equals’. If it is done by a
panel, the line manager’s views will be given due importance.

Job Offer: Job offers indicating all agreed terms and conditions, in brief, will be sent to selected
candidate. Reasonable amount of time will be given to the candidate to communicate his/her
acceptance. It is not an appointment letter but only an offer indicating the intention of the
organisation to appoint the candidate. Based on this, candidates will submit their resignation to

403 Human Resource Management 201 MGNCRE

 their present employers (if they are working). Unless the acceptance is communicated,
organisations will not prepare appointment letters/employment contracts.

Job offer cannot be withdrawn by the organisation within the time period set in the offer letter. (It
can be withdrawn under some circumstances like organisation coming to know that candidate has
submitted some false credentials, cancelation of an order or project etc.,). It is an official
communication from the organisation asking selected candidate to join within certain time period. It
can be issued by e-mail, whereas appointment letters, in general, are issued in hard copies.

Note: Some Organisations will conduct Background verification (BGV) before or after making job
offer or may be before final selection itself. Of late, BGV is becoming a regular affair as many
companies are adopting it as a policy. There are specialist agencies available to conduct BGV and
they will charge for the same. Apart from Government and Defence Units, PSUs dealing with
sensitive products (Defence goods, Research etc.,) insist on Police verification of the candidates
before issuing appointment letters.

Employment Contract: Once the acceptance is received, employment contract would be drawn in
detail, which would be binding on both parties (Company and Employee). Appointment letter itself
is an employment contract as it contains all terms and conditions and/or condition of applicability of
Company’s policies. With this only, a ‘candidate’ becomes an ‘employee’ and the contract is binding
on both the parties.

Evaluation: Evaluation is done after certain period to find out the effectiveness of the selection
process. It can be done in an informal way but any bad selections will be registered in the minds of
all concerned and senior management.

It would be better if the evaluation is done formally and becomes a regular feature. Based on the
evaluation, the selection process can be modified. The ‘predictors’ (as mentioned in the previous
section) can be changed by additions or deletions. And as mentioned earlier, some of the
recruitment metrics detailed in previous chapter is applicable for the total process of recruitment
and selection and relevant ones need to be applied as a part of evaluation. The evaluation would be
like an audit trail for the HR department. The rejected candidates at all stages need to be
communicated suitably. Organisation should thank them for showing interest in the organisation
and specify general reasons for not able to select at that point of time. After all, the candidates have
spent considerable time and energy. One can say, it is in their interest but one should not forget it is
the interest of the organisation (requirement) which has started the process involving them.

The communication should be framed in such a way that the candidates should not feel unpleasant
on the whole process though they may be disappointed. It should also see that the doors are not
shut since the present rejection may not mean a permanent rejection and organisation may have to
tap them again, in case. This is the general process of selection. Though it is very lengthy, it is a
proper way and most of the organisations follow. Depending on the urgency, the process can be
expedited by shortening the time cycles of each stage. Depending on the circumstances, some
stages can be skipped but with a proper control mechanism. Having understood the Selection
process, solve the case study given in Box 5.217.

17
XL Eduneeds II is a modified version of following case study:
Murray, L. M., & Fischer, A. K. (2011). Staffing A New Sales Force: A Human Resource Management Case
Study. Journal of Business Case Studies (JBCS), 7(4), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.19030/jbcs.v7i4.4681

403 Human Resource Management 202 MGNCRE

 Box 5.2 XL Eduneeds IV

(Background information is same as given in XL Eduneeds I case. Situation is cosequent

to XL Eduneeds III case).

Nagesh called YPS Rao after the meeting with Gokari and his team.

Nagesh: ‘YP, for making the plan we need to be clear on selection pocess. Last time you
have mentioned that once we know the numbers, we can decide’.

YPS Rao: ‘Yes Nagesh. As for screening candidates, there are numbe of methods which
we can use, eiether singly or in combination. Our standard application, of course,
provides significant amounts of information about the candidate such as work
chronology and education. Not only applications help to screen for needed qualification,
they also provide preparatory information for interviews. While all candidates provide
resumes, the application ensures that we have uniform information from all candidates.

‘Tests are increasingly used in screening process of sales people – intellegience, aptitude
and personality tests. However, even though testing has improved, many sales managers
are wary of the usefullness of tests in prediting success in sales positions. Aptitude tests,
for example measure current skills, but relying on these tests may cause potentially
successful candidates get rejected. And selling skills can be taught if the candidates have
potential. As to personality tests, no single personality trait is consistently linked to
productivity across selling jobs or firms. Therefore, tests that putport to measure sales
ability often works for specific selling jobs or firms. Further as standardised tests capture
the norm, talented and creative people who might make significant contribututions
could be overlooked. Sales managers aso worry about those who know the right
answers to provide on tests which don’t really reflect the candidate’s true feelings or
behaviour’.

‘Personal interviews are critical and should be used as both a screening and as a selection
tool. Sales managers use to gauge candidate’s presentation ability, personality,
experience and ability to think according to the situation. Interviews are most effective
when the candidate is interviewed by several interviewrs and when interviews are used
with other selection tools’.

‘We also often see realistic Job previews (RJPs) used. RJPs provide an opportunity for the
candidate to experience the job and to ask salespeople questions. They also allow an
experienced sales person to observe how the candidate interacts with customers and to
gauge the candidate’s experience and abiity to do the job’.

‘Finally we should continue our reference checking procedures. Reference checks, while
time consuming and costly, can confirm or disconfirm the truthfullness of resume and
application information’.

Nagesh: ‘Thanks YP, we will make the plan accordingly in next few days’.

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 XL Eduneeds IV cotinued

Questions and Discussion Points:

1) Do you agree with YPS Rao’s obserations on the tests? Agreement or disagreement
needs justification.
2) You are aware of the numbers to be selected (Ref XL Eduneeds III). If you are in
agreement with YPS Rao’s opinion, would it be possible to select these many
numbers without tests?
3) If tests are discarded, can you suggest any additional selection tool, apart from
those mentioned in the case?
4) For the given numbers is it possibe to conduct interviews if they are chosen as sole
selection tool? You may assume that the recruitment process has generted
applications in 1:10 ratio.
5) If it is decided to conduct tests what kind of test you suggest as a screening one
before the interiews?
6) Can you suggst any simulation exercise eiether as part of interview or as a different
tool? (You are selecting sales people).
7) Finally draw the selection process that should be used. The answer shoud also
include the recruitment process details. The plan shoud cover all aspects and be
like a presentation paper which Nagesh and team intends to present to the top
management.
8) Who from XL Eduneeds should be included in the selection process?
9) At what point should eachBoxparticipant
5.2 Case Study: XL Eduneeds IV
be included?

5.3 Selection Tests

A test is a procedure intended to establish quality, performance, reliability or something, especially
before it is taken into widespread use or practice. We test before selecting. Automobile dealers offer
‘test drive’ for vehicles. When we are buying an electrical bulb, we test it at the shop. To choose
college team for Inter College Cricket Tournament, we test the available players. In all these, we try a
sample to see whether it will work as per the requirements.
Employment tests are tools to gauge the capacity of a candidate to cope up with the job
requirements. Further, when we use them as a part of a selection process, tests would be useful for
comparison. Following two definitions will give the purpose and nature of tests.

“A test is a sample of an aspect of an individual’s behaviour, performance and attitude”.

-Milton M.Blum

“A test is a systematic procedure for comparing the behaviour of two or more persons”.

-Lee J. Cronbach

First definition gives absolute nature of a test and second definition gives the comparative nature of
tests. For selection, both are required.

It should be remembered that tests are samples only. Based on the sample, you will be gauging the
success or desired performance in the job.

One important way is to test the candidates psychologically. Further, there are many psychological
tests developed and organisations can make best use of. Psychological tests are used when there

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 are many candidates. For small sets, it is neither practical nor economical. Another way is through
proficiency tests. Categorisation is shown in Figure 5.8.

Proficiency
Tests
Employment
Tests
Psychological
Tests

Figure 5.8 Employment Tests categories

Proficiency Tests: In the employment tests first category is proficiency tests. These tests will
measure the skills already acquired by a candidate. These are also known as trade tests. They will
measure how much the candidate is capable or competent to do a specific part of a job.

Different types of proficiency tests are shown in Figure 5.9

Job Knowledge Tests

Work Sampling Simulation Tests

Proficiency
Tests

Other Proficiency
Situational Tests Tests

Figure 5.9 Types of Proficiency Tests

Work Sampling: It is very common and practical since generally, past performance indicates future
performance. The specific tasks involved in a job are listed and important and necessary tasks are
picked up. Candidates will be asked to perform and their performance is evaluated. The time limit
will also be a parameter to assess. The tests will be conducted under strict supervision. This is
widely used. If you are selecting a driver, you will ask candidates to drive and you will observe.
Similarly, if the job is teaching, candidates will be asked to take a class.

It is a good selection technique. Gary Dessler lists the advantages:

➢ It is harder to fake answers, unlike aptitude tests, where there is a possibility.
➢ Work sample is more relevant to the job for which recruitment is done.
➢ No invasion of privacy as applicant’s background or personality is not delved into.
➢ Content of work sample not likely to be unfair as some psychological tests might be.

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 Job Knowledge Tests: Candidates’ knowledge of the job is tested. These can be written or practical
or both. When there are many candidates, it would be better to conduct written tests since it is
impractical to ascertain job knowledge in the interviews and work sampling can cover only a part of
a job. For instance, if you are recruiting a lecturer for a particular subject, you can conduct a test for
the subject knowledge first and go for work sampling tests (demo lectures) of the shortlisted
candidates to test other aspects (communication, eye contact with students, language, clarifications
etc.,).

Simulation Tests: These are used for selection of managerial personnel. Situations which are similar
to the job aspects will be duplicated and candidates will be asked to encounter the problem and
come up with solutions.

Situational Tests: These are similar to simulation tests. The difference is in situational tests actual
situation is given.

One form is ‘In Basket’ in which actual correspondence (mails, letters) and actual requirements and
reports are given to candidates and they will be asked to take decisions. They will be evaluated
based on the decisions. Second form is, ‘Group Discussion’ in which a group is given an actual
situation and asked to arrive at a conclusion. In this, the candidate’s leadership qualities and
convincing skills are evaluated.

Situational tests are rarely used since revealing actual correspondence with other parties is not
ethical. Rather simulation tests are preferred.

Group Discussion Test is used by simulating similar situations

or using a general topic. When a general topic or general
situation is given, it can be administered to fresh candidates
also. Group Discussion Test Is generally used for selection of
entry-level positions (Campus placements).

Other Proficiency Tests: ‘Mechanical Aptitude Tests’ which

measure specialised knowledge and speed, are used for selecting technicians and apprentices.
‘Psychomotor Tests’ measure motor abilities, manual dexterity, eye-hand coordination etc., and
used for selecting semi-skilled workers who are engaged in jobs with repetitive tasks (Examples -
Packing, Quality Inspection). ‘Clerical Aptitude Tests’ measure specific activities of office work.

Psychological Tests: These tests measure the mental processes. They try to analyse human
behaviour relevant to job performance and measure the mental fitness of a candidate for the job.

Interest Tests Personality Tests

Psychological
Tests

Aptitude Tests Intelligence Tests

Figure 5.10 Types of Psychological Tests

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 Interest Tests: Apart from the abilities, candidate should have a good interest in the job. Interest
tests find out the areas of interest, preference and say, fascination. They do not test the abilities but
interests. Likes and dislikes with regard to various activities including hobbies or areas say outdoor,
computational, scientific, mechanical etc.,
Kuder Preference Record is an example of these tests. It is developed by US psychologist Frederic
Kuder. As per American Psychologists Association, this test is used to assess participants’ suitability
for various fields of employment. For each of 168 items, individuals select their preferred activity
from a series of three choices. The test yields percentile scores in 10 vocational areas: clerical,
computational, art, music, social service, outdoor, science, persuasive, literary and mechanical.
Personality Tests: These tests measure candidates’ personality as a whole which is a mixture of
maturity, temperament, mood, emotional balance etc., Tests try to predict basic characteristics like
inter-personal skills, motivation, self-confidence, courage, and introversion. Though predictive ability
of these tests in job performance is a question of debate, the studies made over the years shown
that a good test can pick up personality traits which connect the performance in the job. For
instance, extroverted people are generally good salespeople, unlike introverted people.

The Big Five Model or Five-Factor Model is a widely accepted personality model. It states that
personality can be reduced to five core factors, known as the acronym OCEAN. These are Openness,
Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. The theory states each personality
trait is a spectrum (unlike trait theories which sort individuals into one extreme – say, extrovert or
introvert). In other words, a person would not be put as an extrovert/introvert, but the degree of
extroversion is measured on a scale. (Refer Fig 5.11 for more details).
Low Score Trait High Score

Openness (imagination, feelings, actions, ideas) Curious,

Practical,
wide range
prefers
of interests
routine

Hard working,
Impulsive, Conscientiousness (competence, self-discipline, dependable
careless thoughtfulness)

Outgoing,
Quiet, Extroversion (sociability, emotional expression, warm, seeks
reserved, adventure
assertiveness)
withdrawn

Critical, Helpful,
suspicious Agreeableness (cooperative, trustworthy) trusting,
empathetic

Calm, even Neuroticism (tendency towards unstable emotions) Anxious,

tempered unhappy

Fig 5.11 The Big Five Personality Traits18

18
Source: Lim, A (2020, June 15). The big five personality traits. Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/big-five-personality.html

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 Some personality tests are:

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) tries to evaluate candidate’s thought patterns, attitudes,
observations, emotional responses to ambiguous materials. 31 picture cards including male, female,
no gender, adults, children etc., are given and candidate will be asked to explain what is happening,
feelings of characters, what happens next etc.,

Cattell’s 16 PF Questionnaire uses a model of statistical model factor analysis of 16 personality

traits. It consists of 164 statements describing the self of a candidate each on a scale of 5 (Strongly
disagree, Disagree, Neither disagree nor agree, Agree, Strongly agree) and from these answers
personality type (out of 16) is evaluated. Typical questions are shown in Box 5.3.

Rorschach Blot Test (RBT), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) are some others.

Evaluation is difficult and needs expertise. One more disadvantage is that the answers can be faked.

Box 5.3 Typical Questions in 16 Pf Questionnaire19

STRONGLY DISAGREE NEITHER AGREE STRONGLY

DISAGREE DISAGREE AGREE
NOR AGREE
I take time out
for others.
I know that I am not a special
person
I take control of things
I believe in the importance of
art
I like to get lost in thought
I am willing to talk about
myself
I can’t do without the
company of others
I trust others
I keep in the background
I Cheer people up
I often feel uncomfortable
around others
II
I wait for others to lead the
way

Intelligence Tests: Intelligence tests measure the candidate’s learning abilities, basically mental
ability. Speed and clarity in understanding questions (situations) and providing answers (decision
making and solutions) are tested. Reasoning and comprehension (of a situation) are measured to
assess the mental capacity of a candidate to grasp and arrive at a decision in a complex situation.

19
Source: https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/16PF.php

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 Tests would have questions on logical reasoning, data interpretation, and comprehension. Though
these tests are used extensively, they have criticism that they are against deprived sections of
society.

Aptitude Tests: These tests measure candidate’s capacity and

potential for learning skills required for a job. These are the
best predictors for success of a candidate in the job. These are
more useful for entry-level posts as these tests measure
aptitude (only) which is different from ability. They try to
measure the latent ability of a candidate to learn and perform
given necessary training in the job. There are different aptitude tests like mechanical aptitude tests.
Cognitive aptitude tests which gauge mental and intellectual aptitudes are generally used.
GMAT (Graduate Management Aptitude Test) is the best example for aptitude tests. There are
different tests like Achievement tests, Assessment tests, Vocational Aptitude Tests, Logical Aptitude
Tests, Projective Tests, Dexterity Tests, and Judgment Tests; all of which fall into one of the above-
mentioned two categories.
Honesty and Integrity Test is to ascertain integrity of a candidate. It tries to put questions to
ascertain attitude and behaviour of candidates. Validity of these tests is not conclusively proved. It
is rarely used in India.
Graphology test is used to analyse personality basically and other aspects from the handwriting of a
candidate. It is not generally used as a part of selection.

To Do Activity

1. Take the 16 pf Personality Test online and try to find patterns by comparing scores among friends

https://openpsychometrics.org/tests/16PF.php

Take a break from selection tests and solve the case study given in Box 5.420

Box 5.4 XL Eduneeds V

(Background information is same as mentioned in XL Eduneeds I)
Situation
XL Eduneeds has decided to expand to Northern Europe. So far they are exporting from India to
some countries there and they have decided to have a full-fledged set up in order to increase
sales. Internaltionaisation would help the Company domestically also, as presence in Europe
adds a name to the Company and premier educational institutes will be more inclined to buy XL’s
products. The company bought a small, high-tech education production firm in Finland. The
main factory has been around for many years and has a mature workforce. The
internationalisation project manager, Anand Kumar, has to decide whom to hire as a manager
for the factory.
20
XL Eduneeds V is modified version of following case study:
Fischer, A. K. (2012). Corporate Human Resource Management In An International Setting. Journal of Business
Case Studies (JBCS), 8(6), 621-626. https://doi.org/10.19030/jbcs.v8i6.7406

403 Human Resource Management 209 MGNCRE

 XL Eduneeds V continued
The strategy of the factory is quality enhancement. The manager should be able to continuously
keep up quality and make sure that the employees should understand the importance of
producing quality products as hitherto it was not concentrated. Also, the manager should have
good vision about how to develop educational products for Scandinavian markets. That means he
or she should also be innovative and know about high-tech educational products. The job
includes making long term plans, deciding about new products, and making sure that the
subsidiary’s strategies are in line with the parent company.
There are some differences between India and Finland in labour laws. In Finland one cannot fire
people without a legally defensible reason. There are also collective bargaining agreements with
Unions which will also cover employees outside the Unions. Non-resident employees need a
work permit to work in Finland.
Anand Kumar has three candidates for the plant manager position:
➢ Karin Johansson is a 27 year old Swedish woman. Despite her young age she has had a lot of
experience in the high tech industry. She has worked for several years in Sweden, Germany
and Norway, so she knows the European market quite well. She speaks Swedish and
German, but not Finnish. Her present employer is a Swedish company, where she was
recently promoted to be a project manager. The reason she is applying for this position is
for new challenges. She seems really career oriented. She seems very motivated and
anxious to work with XL Eduneeds. She is still single, and does not plan to get married or
have kids in near future.
➢ Scoomer is a 45 year old Finnish man. He is a manager in the Finnish high tech company, XL
Eduneeds just bought. He was against the trade, and has not talked kindly about XL
Box 5.5 Case Study XL Eduneeds V
Eduneeds. On the other hand, he worked with the former company for 10 years and knows
the employees well. He was always been well liked in the company and does his work well.
He has never worked outside Finland.
➢ Damodar is a 36 year old Indian. He has worked with XL Eduneeds for five years as a
manager in production department. He has always done his work well within the company,
and his boss has nothing but good things to say about him.
He has shown a real aptitude for guiding high quality production operations, and is considered as
a rising star in the company. Damodar never worked outside India, but he is very anxious about
this new opportunity and he is ready to take on the challenge. Still, he does not wish to work
abroad for a long time, just a few years to gain experience and help the company to start its
business In Northern Europe. Can you help Anand Kumar in deciding who to choose as plant
manager?
Questions and Points for Discussion:
1) What are the advantages and disadvantages of each applicant?
2) What different kinds of influence could these applicants have on company’s culture, the
parent company’s control over subsidiary, and the strategy of the subsidiary in future?
3) While comparing the candidates you need to take various factors into consideration –
language, culture of the country, time it would take for adopting to the same,
experience, experience and familiarity with the industry, tenure (long term or short
term), age etc.,
4) Though not given you may also weigh upon the costs XL Eduneeds will incur in each case.
You can assume that salary expectation is same for all applicants.
5) The last sentence in the brief of Karin Johansson (She is still single ---) is purposefully
incorporated to represent reality. Companies do take these factors into consideration.
While one can say it is discrimination there are also counter arguments that the
company’s interests (like continuity, relations with customers etc.,) are primary in case of
key appointments. Conduct a wider debate taking all factors into account and suggest
best possible solution.
6) Who is your final choice and why?

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 5.4 Selection Interviews
An interview is final and crucial part of selection. Even written tests and other tests are
conducted as part of selection process on job knowledge, psychological traits, and abilities
etc., still, one-to-one communication plays an important role in the selection process.
Behavioural aspects, reactions to different questions and other aspects are examined apart
from eliciting information on the details mentioned in the resumes since it is not possible
for candidates to include everything in the resumes. For instance, mention of say 8 years of
experience in xyz organisation, skill set of a,b,c,-- will not give any information for a recruiter
unless same are elaborated. Interview is a purposeful exchange of information. Interviews
are conducted for various purposes and here we are discussing selection interviews which
are final selection (not preliminary interviews). There are various types of interviews as
shown in Figure 5.12. These types are not water-tight compartments and can be
overlapping. For instance, you can have stress, in-depth panel interviews.

Structured Individual
Unstructured Interviews
Interviews Interviews
Panel Interviews
Situational
Interviews

Behavioural
Interviews Depth Interviews

Round-Robin Interviews
Interviews
Stress Interviews

Formal Interviews

Direct Interviews
Walk-in Informal
Interviews Interviews

Telephonic or
Indirect Interviews Competency-
Video Interviews
Based Interviews

Figure 5.12 Types of Interviews

Structured Interview: It is a fully planned interview. All the questions to be asked are prepared
mostly based on job specification and given to the interviewer. All the candidates will be asked the

403 Human Resource Management 211 MGNCRE

 same questions and interviewer will record the answers/responses. Different sets of questions, with
the same degree of difficulty, can also be prepared so that different candidates are asked different
series of questions.

These will be individual interviews in general as panels are not required and can be taken by some
junior people in HR department. These will avoid any subjectivity or bias of interviewers. Since
written records would be available these are more reliable. Also, it is easy to compare candidates
based on written records. But these would be boring to interviewer as these are mechanised and his
freedom would be curtailed. He cannot elicit further information on points of interest. Questions
preparation takes more time. Structured interviews are also known as Directive Interviews or
Patterned Interviews.

Unstructured Interviews: Also known as Non-Directive Interviews. These will be unplanned and no
questionnaires are prepared. Questions to be asked or the time frame for each candidate are also
not planned and would differ. Usually, general questions or open-ended ones will be posed and
depending on the answer the candidates give, further questions will be asked. A common opening
question is “Tell us about yourself”.

As general questions are usually asked in the opening, candidates would feel at ease and express
views freely. These interviews will allow a free hand to interviewer, and he can ask a set of follow-
up questions in matters of interest. These will allow them to go deep in a point to test the
candidate. But comparison is difficult and reliability is low. ‘Halo effect’ may influence the
Interviewers. (See Box 5.5 for more on Halo effect). These interviews consume more time.

Box 5.5 Halo Effect

Halo effect is the tendency for positive (or negative) impression of a person, company, brand or
product in one area to positively (or negatively) influence one’s opinion or feelings in other areas. It
is the name given to the phenomenon whereby evaluators tend to be influenced by their previous
judgments of performance or personality. For instance, one may assume all bespectacled persons
are studious, (and hence) hard-working (and hence) honest, though there is no scientific
explanation for such connection. It could be because of a previous judgment on one or two people
who are honest, hard-working, studious and also have spectacles. Companies utilise this
phenomenon to promote brand extension.

Individual Interviews: Also referred to as Face To Face Interviews or One-to-One Interviews. As the
name suggests these interviews are conducted by one person only. These interviews allow
Interviewer to have more eye contact with candidate and he can observe the body language of the
candidate. Interviewer can develop a rapport with candidates and can assess thoroughly by
questioning in-depth on a subject or a matter of interest. But there are disadvantages in individual
interviews. Decisions can be biased by the interviewer. Interviewer’s method cannot be checked.
Techniques of interviewing may not be consistent and may differ from candidate to candidate, which
will affect comparison and selection. These interviews can be part of the first stage of Round-Robin
Interviews.

Panel Interviews: Also called Board Interviews. These are conducted by two or more people and
usually, there would to be three to five interviewers. Each member will ask different questions in
different areas. Sometimes one interviewer may only observe (body language, reactions of
candidates) and do not ask any questions. The idea behind a panel interview to get multiple
perspectives of candidates of different competencies required for the job. It gives an objective

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 assessment of candidates. Different subject experts can be put in the panel. Panel may consist of
outsiders who are usually subject experts. Selection will be done by the committee collectively.

Individual bias is eliminated as the interviewing is done by a group of people. Different opinions can
be combined. Allows each interviewer to observe and pick up threads from the other members’
questions and candidate’s responses. These will allow a back-up for weak interviewers. But
candidates may get feeling of uneasiness and at times get scared which will hinder his/her natural
behaviour. They may get more stressed in facing the questions rapidly from more people;
Interviewers may also try interrupting others to dominate, which will spoil the process. If one
member is in a high position, other members may just endorse his decision defeating the whole
purpose of setting a panel.

Nevertheless, these are widely used because of multiple benefits. If the selection is for a senior
position, it would be always by a panel interview only.

Stress Interviews: These are conducted to find out the candidate’s behaviour in stressful conditions.
The idea is to find out whether candidate can face the complex demands of a job. These are useful if
the selection is for a job in customer complaint cell.

Candidates will be asked irritating, rude, awkward, repetitive, inappropriate or difficult questions.
There would be questions which will irritate anyone usually. (“How many legs does an eight-legged
insect has?). The questions can be sarcastic or argumentative. It could be with deliberate pauses
between the questions. It is to see, whether candidate gets angry with such questions. Only a
portion of interview can be allotted for stress part, and is generally, done in panel interviews, so that
when one interviewer is asking stressful questions, others can observe candidate’s behaviour.
Interviewer browbeats and deliberately makes candidates intimidated. Objective of these
interviews is to find the tolerance level and to test whether candidate can cope with stress
producing and demanding situations of the job. Candidates who stay calm and poised will be
selected. These interviews will eliminate hypersensitive candidates who may overreact to criticism.

Depth Interview: These are conducted to examine the candidate’s in-depth knowledge in a
particular subject or field or area so that his/her correct picture and the level of expertise or
knowledge comes out. Interviewers would be experts in that particular area or subject. It can be a
semi-structured one, in which candidates have to give complete information contained in the
resume and out of it. Interviewer takes an in-depth interview to find out the expertise of the
candidate. All the details of important nature will be asked to have complete and exhaustive
information.

A variant in this is systematic in-depth interview. In this interviewer will ask an initial question and
continues from the response. Then he continues step by step in the same manner to get a complete
view of the candidate’s knowledge. These interviews would be longer and exhaustive and the
purpose is to see that all information, which is key for decision making is collected and no single
point is missed. This type ensures that a candidate is thoroughly examined before selection.

Situational Interview: In every job (position) there will be responsibilities and during discharging of
the same the incumbent faces problems which are to be solved. In situational interviews
candidate’s behaviour and problem solving skills are tested. Job-related situations are picked up
from job analysis and candidates will be asked what actions they will take in such job-related
situations. Candidates will be related to a hypothetical situation and interviewer checks the
reactions. The answers are evaluated against the predetermined standards. In this type of
interview, problem-solving skills, analytical abilities (and may be even values also) of the candidates
are tested.

403 Human Resource Management 213 MGNCRE

 Purpose of situational interviews is to check the potential and abilities of the candidate in handling
critical situations. Some examples of hypothetical situations are:

➢ Your subordinate is always coming late to the office. He is very good at work. How do you
handle it?
➢ What would you do if a proposal of yours is rejected by colleagues though it is very good and
yield good results in long run?
➢ What would you do if your boss comes up with a proposal which is not good and impractical
and does loss or damage in the long run?

Behavioural Interviews: These are very slight variants of situational interviews. In these, candidates
will be asked to relate critical situations in their past and how they have reacted and solved. These
interviews will be intense. The idea is to ascertain behaviour and candidate’s mental process in
reactions. Generally, situations which are similar to the present job are picked up and probed into.
Since candidates tell only success stores, interviewer may twist to the opposite and ask candidate’s
reaction or how he would solve it. Or interviewer may ask hypothetical questions if no great
situations are coming out of the candidate.

Examples:

➢ Did you ever turn out a very good customer’s request or suggestion and how did you handle
it?
➢ Describe a problematic situation you have encountered in your previous job and how you
have handled it.
➢ In a job your boss doesn’t like you, what will you do about it?

Round-Robin Interviews: These are sequential interviews. Candidates will face multiple
interviewers in succession. Rounds can have a single or a panel of interviewers. They can test
different aspects or similar aspects. Candidate’s consistency will be tested when interviewers
exchange notes.

A total analysis of candidates can be done in this method. Since it would be a combined decision,
bias also will be eliminated. These types also test the strengths of candidates, as series of interviews
would cause considerable stress.

Formal Interview: All the interview types mentioned so far are formal interviews only. These are all
planned, conducted at a formal place and in a formal manner. Even the questions to be asked also
could be planned. They can be called as ‘Planned Interviews’.

Informal Interviews: These are conducted without any planning or prior arrangements. Venue could
be anywhere say at a coffee shop. And there is no specific procedure. Generally, these are
conducted utilising the chance of meeting a potential candidate by HR Manager or a Senior Manager
on any occasion. Or it can happen when a potential candidate comes to the organisation for a
different purpose. These will act as a precursor to formal interview.

Telephonic or Video Interviews: These are mostly used in IT Sector. Sometimes it may not be
feasible to conduct face-to-face interviews. (Candidate stays at a far-off place or your managers are
tied up with many formal meetings with customers or your key personnel are tied up with any
audit). These interviews also can be used to cut down the list of potential candidates. If the job
itself requires many telephonic conversations (call centers), telephonic interview would be
appropriate.

A resume can speak about, only certain aspects of a candidate. Hearing the candidate’s voice and
getting answers to specific questions will give inputs for the analysis. Most of the qualities required

403 Human Resource Management 214 MGNCRE

 for the job can be ascertained from telephonic interviews except appearance and body language.
Both the parties, recruiter and candidate, will be serious and come straight to the point without
wasting time on formalities resulting in focused interviews. Video Interviews can be organised
using smartphones or through ‘Skype’, ‘Google Meet’. In these video interviews, body language also
can be observed to some extent.

Both types have problems like call disruption, noise in the background, may need scheduling beyond
office hours. Also these won’t give a complete picture of a candidate. These can be used as one
round of a selection process, to cut costs and to speed up the process.

Walk-in Interviews: Some Companies use this method to speed up the process. Candidates will
directly attend interviews without sending their resumes in advance. Either they will be asked to
submit resumes at the time of the interview or later. Specific questions based on job will be asked
and candidates’ responses will be analysed. Organisations can cut down, time and paperwork in this
method.

Direct Interviews: All the interviews discussed so far are direct interviews. A specific round of direct
interviews can be put in the selection process, asking mostly job-related questions either on the job
under reference or the job what the candidate is doing.

Indirect Interviews: These are used for assessing the personalities of candidates. No specific
questions will be asked; rather candidate will express his/her views on any particular topic of their
choice. Interviewer doesn’t interrupt and observes and interprets.

Competency-Based Interviews: Actually, this is a method which can be part of any interview. In this
competencies are analysed rather than qualifications. For instance by asking specific questions on
achievements of a candidate would bring out the competencies in analysing, how a job is done
which is more important than the duties he was assigned to. Transferrable skill sets are analysed in
this method which are important for organisations which work in highly competitive environments.
That’s all about interviews. Before proceeding to next section solve the case study given in Box 5.721.

Box 5.6 Case Study XL Eduneeds VI

(Background information is same as mentioned in XL Eduneeds I)
Situation
Two months ago Serena Tibaldo, head of Creative Development Division, along with four other
employees, were all fired after having been caught up in a scheme to embezzle money from XL
Eduneeds. Mr. VLN Rao (CEO) and Nagesh (VP – HR) needed to fill the vacant positions.
The first task was to find an individual to take over Tibaldo’s spot as head of Creative Division. In
order to do this, a meeting was held by VLN Rao along with Nagesh and Shefali (HR associate for
Creative Division). Through a very long discussions and deliberation, they had narrowed down to
a list of candidates. Before they made a final decision through, they needed to address some of
their concerns. The first thing they needed to decide was if they were going to hire someone
from within or someone who doesn’t currently work them. Another issue is that Serena Tibaldo
was the first woman ever held the position as Head of Creative Division and all her predecessors
were males. When Serena was appointed, company has got lot of appreciation from various
quarters for appointing a female as Head, and company indeed got lot of mileage out of it.
Would it make a difference if they appoint a male or female was another question.
The following is the list of candidates the group has come up with:

21 XL Eduneeds VI is modified version of following case study:

Fischer, A. K. (2009). Staffing And EEO Laws: A Human Resource Management Case Study. Journal of Business Case
Studies (JBCS), 5(6), 111-116. https://doi.org/10.19030/jbcs.v5i6.4739

403 Human Resource Management 215 MGNCRE

 G Venu Kumar: Venu is currently working for a human development company in Delhi that trains
out-of-work people who are new on the job skills. He supervises approximately 30 people and
in-charge of developing new programmes for his department. The programmes he created have
been very innovative and have been used widely throughout his company. He is waiting to get
out of Delhi and move to Bengaluru “to live less polluted life” as he’s said. Since he’s been in
current position, his department has more than doubled its business. He has a degree in
business management.

K Srinivasa Murthy: Murthy retired and has become very bored with it. He’s looking to get back
to business world. When he retired, he was CEO of a small technology company that developed
educational tools for schools. The tools they developed were new and had interesting ways to
teach kids science and mathematics. The size of the company tripled since he’s taken over and it
continued to grow after he left. He has a degree in Information Systems and an MBA. He is a fun
and cheerful man, but sometimes this can distract him and others from their work. He is a
natural leader, and people like to work with him.

GAVS: GAVS is currently a member of Creative Division. He has a degree in Graphic Design and
an MBA. He is relatively new to the Company and does not have much experience. He is known
as very loyal and hard-working individual. Others find him very easy to work and can count on
him for help whenever they need it. Projects he work on are always are turned in on time and
are above and beyond what is expected. Maths is his forte, and he is a consistent topper
throughout in school and college and will finish his master’s degree in Computer Science next
month.

Pravallika Iyer: Pravallika has a degree in Economics and a post graduate in Marketing. She
recently worked for a company that was forced to declare bankruptcy. While there she had been
a fast-tracker and had moved up the ranks very quickly. She had a parallel position to the one
she is applying for when she was let go. The recommendations given by her former supervisor
are outstanding. She seems to be very brash and in-your-face type of a person, but she knows
what she wants and knows how to get it from her employees. This can make it stressful to work
for her, but everything she works with turn out much better than projected.

Saanu Yadav: Saanu has been a member of manufacturing division for the past 17 years. She has
moved up through the ranks of this division, starting out to be a member of the manufacturing
team. She is now head supervisor for two of these teams. She is a very hard worker and her
teams are always producing the highest quality products of the teams. Some workers
occasionally find her difficult to work for her because she is always pushing them to do better.
She has a very strong sense of how to produce a quality product, and how to get most out of her
employees. She has a degree in management and a master’s degree in Graphic Design.

Questions and Points for Discussion:

1) Should the decision be made to hire someone from within the company, or someone
new?
2) Did you take it to consideration whether or not to hire a female?
3) Prepare comparative statement of positive and negative impact on the company by
selecting (candidate-wise)
4) If you were to conduct one more round of interview for a final selection, what type of
interview you suggest? And what would be the line of questioning?
5) Who will you select and why?

403 Human Resource Management 216 MGNCRE

 5.5 Other Aspects of Selection

One should remember that selection is a two-way

process. Organisations choose employees and
employees also choose organisations, particularly in
case of experienced candidates. Even in campus
selections, entry for the companies depends on the
choice of applicants. Not all organisations can
feature in campus selections of good institutions.
Choice (favorite) companies will get first slots. Even where unemployment rates are high,
candidates may take a job at organisation’s terms even if they are unfavourable or unfair, but will be
looking for a change, and jumps out at the earliest opportunity. It makes the organisation come
back to ground zero, to start selection process again. The candidate needs a job, but at the same
time organisation also needs an employee. The need is mutual and so the process is two-way.
Employees may pick up jobs in Governments, most of the Public Sector Units and MNCs, some giant
companies in the Private Sector without any second thought, but all others they evaluate. Since
they would not know much about the organisation, mainly they evaluate the organisation based on
selection process. And the process gives first exposure and first-hand information about the
organisation to the candidates. Even small things will affect. For instance, keeping candidates
waiting for a long time for an interview sends a very wrong signal.

Selection process should take candidates’ perceptions into account. A study by Hauskeneckt, Day
and Thomas (2004) gives some essential elements of such perceptions.

✓ Distributive Justice – Selection is seen to be fair.

✓ Procedural Justice – Process followed is fair (Testing is job-related).
✓ Interpersonal Justice – Treatment meted out in the process (professional)
✓ Informational Justice – Quality information and feedback during and after the process

A selection process may yield the best candidate, but get wasted, if the candidate doesn’t accept the
offer. And that acceptance will be based on perceptions. The rejected candidates, if they feel the
process as unfair, will not be available for subsequent recruitment. Negative publicity generated
through word of mouth, would deter other candidates also. And in the process, you would be losing
better candidates. For instance, if the selection process is perceived to be favouring candidates of a
particular caste/religion, others will refrain from applying. The selection process should, not only be
good and fair, but also should be perceived as good and fair.

Realistic Job Previews (RJPs): In one of the case study you have come across this acronym RJP. And
what are RJPs? The concept is to present a true picture of the job to the candidates. It was
mentioned in earlier sections that organisations should not present virtual image rather than the
real image of the organisation. Same would apply for the job concerned also. Otherwise, employees
may get disillusioned within a short time and start feeling that ‘heaven is promised, but hell is
presented’. They will wait for the earliest opportunity to quit, and when it happens, you have to
start again for filling up the vacancy and the time frame available may be very short.

A realistic job preview consists of many elements. Most important part is accurate job description.
Apart from this organisation’s vision and mission, rewards and benefits, promotion system, training
and development opportunities are to be indicated to the candidates. It would be better to have a
written document of RJP. Providing interaction with current employees is ideal.

With the implementation of RJPs, organisations will have benefits like improved candidate
experience, job satisfaction (for the employees), higher commitment and performance and lower
attrition rate. It can lead to a drop in the number of applicants. But the benefits outnumber the

403 Human Resource Management 217 MGNCRE

 drawbacks, as RJP will lower the expectation of the candidates on the job/organisation, which will
lead to job satisfaction.

Selection Procedure: When you want to select some candidates for some jobs, first thing to be
done is the establishment of procedure. Organisation should be clear on how they are going to
conduct the selection process. Figure 5.13 gives some combinations. It is only illustrative as many
other combinations can be there.

Selection Process

Combination of Test and

Tests Interview
Interview

Written Tests Non-written

By One By Panel
Tests

Job Psychological
Knowledge Insiders Outsiders
Tests
Tests
Combination of Insiders and
Outsiders

Figure 5.13 Various combinations in a selection process

The choice should be strictly based on requirement and not, as a matter of routine. The selection
procedure needs to be based on objectives (what kind of a person we need?) and the characteristics
of the target segment. Conducting a job knowledge test for a job of lecturer may be appropriate.
But if your requirement is an experienced technician, conducting a written test may not get you best
people. There would be many good technicians (in different fields) available in the market, but
some of them may not know much writing, except their name. If the selection procedure decided
is, to involve Psychological Tests, we should know few aspects of tests.

Essential Characteristics of Psychological Tests: Choice of the test should be made carefully. The
requirements/characteristics of psychological tests are shown in Figure 5.14.

Reliability: Test reliability refers to the degree to which a test is consistent and stable in measuring,
what it is intended to measure. A test is reliable if it is consistent within itself and across time. If a
test gives a score of 80 on one day, but gives a score of 50 when administered to the same person
next day, it is not consistent. (For all these tests, same means similar. Tests will be prepared with
different questions, but all measure same characteristics with same degree of difficulty). This is
consistency over time.

403 Human Resource Management 218 MGNCRE

 Reliability Validity

Objectivity Standardisation

Figure 5.14 Characteristics of a Psychological Test

To test other part of consistency (consistency within), test may be conducted for two persons twice
on the same day (first papers can be exchanged). The difference of scores of the two candidates
should be the same in both cases.

Validity: Test should measure what it is supposed to measure. Validity is of four types, as shown in
Figure 5.15.

Construct
Validity

Concurrent
Validity

Predictive
Validity

Content
Validity

Figure 5.15 Types of Validity

Content Validity –The sample should represent important classes of activities involved in the job. Or
it should contain similar situations. The test contents need to be verified by the people, who are
doing the same job, and if they feel that sample is representing actual activities, then content
validity is established.

Predictive Validity – This is the most crucial validity because selection itself is a prediction (that the
candidate selected would be successful in the job). This is the degree of relationship between scores
of the test and some future behaviour of the employee. (Behaviour refers to the performance in an
area). For example, if high scorers in an examination of a subject say ‘Organisational Behaviour’ are
becoming successful HR Managers, then the test has predictive validity. Here grade of a particular
subject has relationship with success in the job and hence it has high predictive validity.

Concurrent Validity – To establish this, one needs to conduct test on two groups of high and low
performers. The test scores of high performers should be higher than those of low performers.
(Averages can be taken). Then only the test is said to have concurrent validity.

403 Human Resource Management 219 MGNCRE

 Construct Validity – A difficult validity to establish. It is the extent to which a test measures the
psychological qualities (Example - Introversion, Intelligence).

Objectivity: The test should facilitate that all people should be in a position to respond in a similar
fashion (Degree may differ). It should not have any bias or prejudices against any sections of people.

Standardisation: It should have norms or standards to enable comparison. An example is medical

diagnostic tests. They will have standards like a normal individual in some age group will have Blood
Pressure in the range of ---. Similarly, the tests need to have standards for groups say college
studying, and adults. The psychological tests have also criticisms against them. Some feel that these
are unreliable and cannot be trusted. They say that candidates can fake answers (particularly in
personality tests) and also cases in which wrong picture can be presented by tests like a good
salesperson getting termed as an introvert by the tests. They also say that these tests can have an
improper usage. And further some people, though competent, have a fear of exposure (on some
characteristics) and may not be willing to take.

However, there is supporting research which says tests like aptitude and interest tests predict job
qualities like problem-solving, reasoning, learning abilities accurately. If job tests are chosen in the
selection procedure, correct ones which are related to the job and have qualities listed above need
to be chosen. It should be remembered that no single test will give desired results and hence
combinations (tests and interviews, tests and reference checks etc.,) need to be used. Tests are only
for screening purpose because they predict failure better than success. Test scores are not precise
measures because they are based on samples. (It may not necessarily happen that candidates with
better scores will be more successful than those who scored less). Test conditions (place where test
is conducted) should be proper and need to be common and equal for all candidates. And tests
being personal, should be held in strict confidence.

Guidelines for Interviewing: If the selection procedure involves interviews, then some guidelines
should be followed.

Before the Interview:

➢ Prefer a panel than a single interviewer to avoid any bias.
➢ Panel needs to be diversified and preferably to include the line manager.
➢ Have the job description and see that it is studied by the panel. They need to note
the competencies required for the job and profile of the candidate, organisation is
looking for.
➢ Though conducting unstructured interviews, still it is better that the panel prepares
questions in general terms at least.
➢ Have the resumes of the candidates ready and see that panel study them.
➢ Schedule the interviews after taking confirmed availability of all panel members in
the time slot.
➢ Arranging time slots for each candidate as per the plan, so that waiting time is
minimised. Allow some 10-15 minute time gap between the candidates to enable
the panel to make notes.
➢ Choose the venue which is disturbance-free and has a serene atmosphere.

During the Interview:

▪ Put the candidate at ease.
▪ Establish rapport. One can always point out certain things noted in the CV. It will
give comfort to the candidate that his/her CV is studied.
▪ Open with general questions on candidate’s background.
▪ Listen carefully and take notes which will enable to you prepare follow-up questions.

403 Human Resource Management 220 MGNCRE

 ▪ Give enough time for candidates to answer, as they need some time to put thoughts
together.
▪ Ask the candidate whether he/she has any questions.
▪ Thank the candidate for his/her time.

Selection Interview Questions

✓ Need to be job-specific or related to the candidate’s skill sets.
✓ On religion/race/physical disabilities/medical conditions/pregnancy – to be avoided.
✓ Better to be open-ended.
✓ Include accomplishment questions (they will give more comfort to candidates, as
they are their accomplishments and create a feeling that interviewers are willing to
listen.)
✓ Avoid repetitions (If candidate is weak in a subject, no point further probing in)
✓ Should not be leading ones or which get obvious answers.

It may be noted that a good listener only can become a good interviewer. Some examples of
questions are given in Figure 5.16.

•What are your •What have you done

strengths and that shows initiative?
weaknesses? •How do you neasure
•Why did you leave success?
your last job? •What projects make
you excited?
•why should we hire
you?
Questions
General
about
Questions
Motivation

Questions Questions
on Working on Problem
with Others Solving
•What kind of peope do • Describe a difficult
problem you faced and
you prefer to work solved.
with? •Describe a sale you
•How do others see could not make and tell
you? why.
•Tell three words which •What is the most
describe you? creative work related
idea you have had?

Figure 5.16 Common Selection Interview questions by Areas

Source: Gary D Human Resource Management 9th edition page 301

403 Human Resource Management 221 MGNCRE

 Finally, whatever be the testing, objective of selection process is to get the best or most appropriate
fit candidate for the job. But it is also important to see that the best ones are not left out, and as
such, the selection process should be an appropriate one and needs constant evaluation.

Mistakes by Interviewers: In the previous section, ‘Halo effect’ was discussed. Apart from this,
there are other kinds of mistakes which the interviewers should avoid.

Playing amateur psychologist – “I can tell in the first minute, whether someone is going to be good
fit or not”. Being overconfident in your abilities can lead to unsupported assumptions.

Looking for negatives – Some interviewers approach interview, as an opportunity to find one
mistake or poor response, to eliminate a candidate. Instead of counting mistakes, candidate’s total
profile needs to be considered before arriving at a decision. It is common for candidates to make
mistakes and everyone will have both strengths and weaknesses. But it doesn’t mean that they will
not be successful in their jobs.

One-way conversations – If you, rather than the candidate, talk about 80-90 percent of the time,
then it is not an interview. It is your monologue. Good interviewers do listen 90 percent of the time
and talk 10 percent.

You leave candidates waiting – Candidates generally come on time for an interview. If you keep
them waiting, it gives an impression that you are not giving much importance to the interview.

You are unprepared – Candidates come to the interview well prepared. You should do the same.
Otherwise, it will send a message that you are not interested or company is disorganised. If you
don’t go through the resume at least for a few minutes, you will end up asking irrelevant questions
which will not impress the candidates.

You keep on interrupting – Give enough time to candidate to formulate an answer. Not allowing the
other person to complete and keep on interrupting is not good.

Rather I keep quiet - To be too quiet, is also not good as candidates feel that you are not responsive.

You are distracted – Many things can distract you in an interview, like a call from your cell phone.
Don’t get distracted and send an auto message that you will call back. Or take a five minute break
and come back and concentrate on the interview.

You rush the process – Candidates come prepared and expect you to listen to them. You need to
schedule enough time for each candidate. The more critical the role, the longer each interview
should take. If you rush through, you will land up selecting the wrong person or leaves a bad
impression on good candidates.

You don’t take any notes – If you don’t write down what a candidate says in the interview, it would
be difficult to remember. With your notes, you can summarise better. And to compare candidates,
it is essential to exchange notes.

You are a terror to candidates – Is it good, you decide. You need to fill a position for your
organisation, and candidates may not require the job at the moment.

You are too friendly – Remaining professional is vital characteristic for an interviewer. It’s not the
time to create new friendships.

These and other mistakes are to be avoided.

403 Human Resource Management 222 MGNCRE

 Chapter Summary

Selection is the process of choosing best fit for the job among the available candidates, picked up
from the recruitment process. In a way it is decision making in making prediction on who will be
successful in the job.
“Selection is the process by which candidates for employment are divided into two classes – those
who will be offered employment and those who will not”. -Dale Yoder
“Selection is a managerial decision making process to predict which job applicants will be successful
if hired”.David A. Decenzo

Good selection process reduces hiring and training costs, increase morale of the employees, and
provides competitive advantage to the organisation. Selection process involves various stages like
preliminary interview, filing of application blanks, screening, job tests, final interview, reference
checking and medical tests. It gives a multi filter mechanism and in every stage some candidates
keep getting rejected so that organisation gets the best among the better ones. And this is why
selection process has inherent process of rejection. Nature of selection process is selection desired
employee performance, deciding selection criteria and choosing appropriate predictors. Selection
criteria should be related to the job.

Predictors should be reliable and valid. One can have a single or multiple predictors. But adding
more predictors may narrow the choice and there is a chance of losing better candidates. In various
stages of the selection process, a job test is an important one and there are various tests are used.
Tests are broadly classified into proficiency and psychological tests.

Work sampling, Job knowledge tests, Simulation Tests and Situational Tests are some of the
proficiency tests. Psychological tests are classified as Interest Tests, Aptitude Tests, Intelligence
Tests and Personality tests. Basis for personality tests is Five Factor Model. It states that personality
will fall into five factors – OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness and
Neuroticism. The psychological tests need to be checked for reliability, validity, objectivity and
standardisation before using them. Psychological tests have criticisms against them in their
predictive capability of success of the candidates in the job. Final Interview is the most important
stage and there are various types of interviews. Panel interviews are preferred when compared to
interviews by an individual in order to have better judgment and to avoid any personal bias. Based
on technique they are classified into stress, depth, situational, behavioural and other types of
interviews. They can be structured or unstructured. They can be round robin type or competency
interviews also. There are certain guidelines to be followed in conducting interviews.
Questions
1) Define Selection and describe its importance.
2) Write a brief on predictors in selection process and give two examples.
3) What are the different stages of selection?
4) How preliminary interviews are different from final interviews?
5) Explain in detail on any two proficiency tests.
6) Explain different psychological tests.
7) Compare aptitude tests and interest tests.
8) Compare the stress and depth interviews.
9) Write in detail on structured and unstructured interviews with respective advantages and
disadvantages. Which one is better?
10) Compare Panel and Round-Robin Interviews.
11) What are the important characteristics of psychological tests?

403 Human Resource Management 223 MGNCRE

 MCQs

1. Interview can be ----

a) One-to-One b) Panel Interview c) Sequential Interview d) All of the
above.
2. Which among the following tests measure self-confidence, motivation, emotional balance etc.,?
a) Intelligence Test b) Preferences Test c) Personality Test d) Interest Test
3. The selection of the employees is done on the basis of:
I. Knowledge II. Skills III.Talent IV. Identifying unique strength
a) I, II, III b) II, III, IV c) III, IV, I d) I, II, III, IV
4. A test that seeks to predict success or failure through one’s hand writing is called:
a) Polygraph b) Graphology c)Psychomotor Test d)Simulation Test
5. In -------- Interview, the interviewer uses pre-set standardised questions which are put to all
candidates.
a) Unstructured Interview b) Structured Interview
c) Behavioural Interview d) Stress Interview
6. Arrange the following staffing procedure in correct sequence:
I. Determining sources of personnel supply II. Preparing personnel specifications
III. Selection of personnel IV. Determining personnel characteristics
a) II, I, IV, III b) I, II, III, IV c) II, I, III, IV d) II, III, I, IV
7. Selection is -------- in its application as much as it seeks to eliminate as many unqualified
candidates as possible in order to identify the right candidates.
a) Positive b) Negative c) Positive and Negative d) None of the
above
8. --------- occurs when an interviewer judges an applicant’s potential on the basis of a single trait.
a) Stress producing b) Halo- effect c) False positive error d) False negative error
9. One of the following is the best reason for the reduced use of written tests is:
a) They are hard to construct b) They are difficult to validate
c) They are expensive to administrate d) They give very little information
10. The extent to which an employment selection test provides consistent results is known as:
a) Reliability b) Consistency c) Validity d) Dependability
11. Selection is ------
a) Subjective b) Objective c) Normative d) Positive
12. Selection is concerned with -------
a) The activity to select a pool of candidates
b) The activity resulting in with resignation of an employee
c) The activity of ascertaining a candidate’s personality
d) Applying appropriate techniques and methods to select a candidate
13. References should be used at the start of the job recruitment process, as they will allow an
organisation to evaluate who is a suitable potential employee. True/False

References
• Andra P(Nov 21, 2018) Advantages of Selection and Recruitment https://bizfluent.com/info-
8518707-advantages-disadvantages-selection-recruitment.html
• Aniruddha S (n.d.) Types of Interviews https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-
resource-management/types-of-interviews/31893
• Ashawathappa K (2017) Human Resource Management Text and Cases (8th Ed.) McGraw Hill
Education India
• Bhawna B (n.d.) Job Interview: Meaning and Types https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/job-
interview/job-interview-meaning-and-types/76885

403 Human Resource Management 224 MGNCRE

 • Daniela Ibarra (Jan 2016) The 10 most common interviewer mistakes: How to not to conduct
an Interview https://www.bizlibrary.com/blog/talent-acquisition/10-most-common-
interviewer-mistakes/
• Denise B (Sept 26, 2017) The effects of a Failed Recruitment & Selection System
https://bizfluent.com/list-6134815-effects-failed-recruitment-selection-system.html
• Diksha S (n.d.) Selection of Candidates: Meaning, Procedure and Importance
https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/staffing/selection-of-candidates-meaning-
procedure-and-importance/3504
• Gary D Human Resource Management (9th Ed.) Prentice Hall
• https://bizfluent.com/13372763/advantages-disadvantages-of-personality-tests-in-the-
employee-selection-process
• https://www.educationobserver.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=12166
• https://www.educationobserver.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=12168
• Kristine T (December 14, 2018) Advantages & Disadvantages of Personality Tests in Selection
process
• Mahek S (n.d.) Selection Process in HRM https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-
resource-management/selection-process-in-hrm/31871
• Mark W (n.d.) The 6 Different Types of Interviews (And the Pros and Cons of Each)
https://www.coburgbanks.co.uk/blog/assessing-applicants/6-different-types-of-interview/
• Mitali M(n.d.)Employment Test https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-
management/employment-test/employment-test/32347
• Pravin D Human Resource Management Pearson
• Raksha T (n.d.) Selection of Candidates: Concept, Significance and Procedure
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/personnel-management/selection/selection-of-
candidates-concept-significance-and-procedure/69673
• rlhoover.people.ysu.edu (Test Reliability and validity defined)
https://rlhoover.people.ysu.edu/OAT-OGT/reliability_validity.html
• Smriti C (n.d.) Selection Interview: Meaning, Role and Types of Interview with Figure
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/human-resources/selection-interview-meaning-role-
and-types-of-interview-with-Figure /32341
• Smriti C (n.d.) Advantages & Disadvantages of Conducting Tests for Selection of Employees
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/employee-management/advantages-and-
disadvantages-of-conducting-tests-for-selection-of-employees/25959
• Smriti C (n.d.) Employment Tests: Role and Types of Employment Test
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/human-resources/employment-tests-role-and-types-of-
employment-test/32344
• Smriti C (n.d.) Selection Procedure of Employees: Procedure, Essentials and Significance
Discussed https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/employee-management/selection-
procedure-of-employees-procedure-essentials-and-significance-discussed/25966
• Susan Saurel (Nov 2018) 20 Mistakes to avoid when Interviewing a Job candidate
https://www.talentlyft.com/en/blog/article/229/20-mistakes-to-avoid-when-interviewing-a-
job-candidate

403 Human Resource Management 225 MGNCRE

 • University of California Berkeley study material Types of Interviews
https://hr.berkeley.edu/hr-network/central-guide-managing-hr/managing-hr/recruiting-
staff/employment/interviewing/types
• University of Licester study material Chapter on Importance of Selection (Unit 1)
https://www.le.ac.uk/oerresources/psychology/psa/unit1/page_04.htm

Answers to MCQs

1. (d) 2. (c) 3. (d) 4. (b) 5. (b) 6. (a) 7. (b) 8. (b) 9. (b) 10. (a)

11. (a) 12. (d) 13. False

403 Human Resource Management 226 MGNCRE

 Editors’ Profile

Dr. W G Prasanna Kumar

Dr. W G Prasanna Kumar, Chairman, Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education
(MGNCRE) prides in calling himself a Public Servant working for Climate Change. His expertise in
Disaster Management has him in the advisory panels of several state and national level
departments. He is also an expert advisor for the government of Telangana in its Disaster Response
Force endeavour. A master trainer for Civil Services candidates, he conducts intensive training
programs periodically at the behest of nationally recognized training institutes. He is currently
actively involved in promoting higher education curriculum addressing rural concerns in India.
“Villagers to be producers not just consumers" is his conviction that drives him to work for rural
challenges. He aspires for an adaptive disaster risk resilient and eco-responsible India. The
Curriculum on MBA in Waste Management and Social Entrepreneurship, and BBA and MBA in Rural
Management are his major academic achievements dedicated to India’s rural concerns. This has
culminated in several collaboration MOUs for introduction of MBA/BBA Rural Management in Higher
Education Institutions across India.

Dr. Prasanna Kumar excels in taking a vision and making it a reality and a plan into action, driven by a
strong motive to achieve. He has translated positive intentions into tangible results. Being clear on
the vision, defining a pathway, setting of the track with a clear destination point and quickly taking
corrective actions as and when needed – are his prime qualities that make him an Achiever.

Under Dr. W G Prasanna Kumar’s leadership MGNCRE has done nationally recognized instrumental
work in building rural resilience including rural community engagement and Nai Talim - Experiential
Learning. He has guided and helped MGNCRE in making key decisions and implementing agenda in
several areas including Nai Talim (Experiential Learning), Community Engagement, Rural Immersion
Programmes, Swachhta Action Plan activities, Industry-Academia Meets and Exhibitions on Waste
Management, Comprehensive Sanitation Management in villages by working with Higher
Educational Institutions, making curricular interventions in Waste Management and Rural
Management, compiling Text Books on Waste Management and Rural Management, UNICEF (WASH)
activities and several other related impactful activities. MGNCRE has become an interface for
Government of India for promoting academic activity focusing on the rural concerns, being an
advisor and a curriculum development agency for the Government of India. The Council is also now
an RCI for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.

Another pathbreaking achievement has been the formation of Cells through online workshops for
institutionalising the efforts of MGNCRE. Vocational Education-Nai Talim-Experiential Learning
(VENTEL) discuss MGNCRE’s interventions in HEIs and making Vocational Education as a Teaching
Methodology; Workshops on Social Entrepreneurship, Swachhta and Rural Engagement related
activities in Higher Education Institutions has paid dividends and the key roles of the HEIs is highly
appreciated by the Ministry. Building continuity and sustainability is being done through Social
Entrepreneurship, Swachhta & Rural Engagement Cells (SES REC). Institutional level Rural
Entrepreneurship Development Cells (REDC) Workshops/ FPO/FPC-Business Schools Connect Cells
(FBSC) are organized with the objectives of Functionality of RED Cell; Preparation and
Implementation of Business Plan and grooming students to be Rural Entrepreneurs.

403 Human Resource Management 227 MGNCRE

 A man with many firsts to his credit, and an incredible record of accomplishments, Dr. W G Prasanna
Kumar is currently guiding MGNCRE in building a resilient rural India.

Dr K N Rekha
Dr K N Rekha, is a PhD Graduate from IIT Madras. She has 14 years of experience in training and
education Industry. She works at Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education (MGNCRE),
Hyderabad as Senior Faculty. She is involved in curriculum development on Rural Management and
Waste Management. Prior to this, she worked as a researcher at Indian School of Business,
Hyderabad, a short stint at Centre for Organisation Development (COD), Hyderabad. She has co-
authored a book on “Introduction to Mentoring”, written book chapters, peer reviewed research
papers, book reviews, Case studies, and caselets in the area of HR/OB. She also presented papers in
various national and international conferences. Her research areas include Mentoring, Leadership,
Change Management, and Coaching. She was also invited as a guest speaker at prominent
institutions like IIT Hyderabad.

Author’s Profile
Prof Krishnarao VVSR
Krishnarao VVSR is a Bachelor of Electronics Engineering from SVUCE, Tirupati, and a Post Graduate
in Management from XLRI, Jamshedpur. Apart from being a member of ICMAI, he has done a PG
Diploma in Personnel Management, Industrial Relations and Labour Welfare of AP Productivity
Council. He has a varied experience of more than three decades in International Trade, Finance,
Shipping and Logistics, Management Audit, and Investment Banking. His learning pursuit continued
in doing a variety of online courses like Contracts X (From Trust to Promise to Contract) from
Harvard University, Understanding Economic Development (from Poverty to Prosperity) from Oxford
University, Financial Programming and Policies from IMF, Learning from Data (Machine Learning)
from California University and Effective Thinking through Mathematics from the University of Austin.
He is working presently as a Consultant in ETA Engineering Pvt. Ltd. (part of ETA Ascon Group of
companies, U.A.E) looking after Business Policy, Finance, Taxation and HR portfolios. He has a
passion for writing and teaching.

403 Human Resource Management 228 MGNCRE

 Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education
Depa
epartment of Higher Education
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