HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING: (PGH 122)

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND

RESEARCH

STUDY MATERIAL

PGF 122: HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN HUMAN

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

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PREFACE

Course Description
 This course focuses on all aspects of human resource planning as a primary factor to
effectiveness in recruiting the right job candidates. It provides an understanding of human
resource planning concepts, methods and techniques with particular focus on attracting
and recruiting competent recruits in organizations. Human resource planning aspects
discussed include: Managing manpower planning, Recruitment and selection process,
effective Recruiting.
Course objectives
By the end of this course, the learners should be able to:
1. Explain the main techniques used in manpower planning and forecasting

2. Describe the main internal and external sources of candidates.

3. Effectively recruit a diverse work force

Course outline
1. Human resource planning.
 definition and rational for manpower planning
 Job analysis
-Methods of job analysis
- Purpose of job analysis
 objectives of manpower planning
 employee resourcing strategy 6 hrs
2. Managing manpower planning
 Methods/processes of manpower planning
 Pre requisite for effective manpower planning
 Integration of manpower planning in overall planning.
 manpower demand and supply forecasting
 analyzing effects of promotion and transfers
 Assessing changes in conditions of works and absenteeism.
 employee turnover or wastage
 productivity and cost analysis 10 hrs
3. Recruitment and selection process
(Action plans i.e. activities to bridge the gap between supply and demand for
labour.)
 Recruitment
 Defining requirements
 Attracting candidates
 advertising
 Training plan
 Downsizing plan
 Succession planning

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 The retention plan

 The productivity plan 10hrs
 Selection interviews
 The purpose of interviews, advantages and disadvantages
 The nature of an interview
 Interviewing arrangements
 Interviewing approaches
 Types of interviews
 Selection interviewing skills 8hrs
4. Introduction to the organization
 Induction defined
 Importance of induction
 Induction activities: Reception, documentation, introduction to work place 4hrs
5. Release from the organization
 General consideration
 Redundancy
 Outplacement
 Dismissal
 Voluntary leavers
 references
 retirement 6hrs
6. Effective Recruiting
 how to effectively recruit
 recruiting a diverse work force 1hr

Total Contact hours 45

Reference books
Michael Armstrong (2003) a hand book of HRM practice 9th edition Kogan London
Gary Dessler (2003) Human Resource management 9 th Edition Florida International University
Prentice hall of India.
Shawn T and York A (1996) Human Resource mgt London Heinemann
Cole G.A (2000) Management Theory and practice ELST (Educational Low-Priced Sponsored texts)
(London, UK)
Cole G.A (1997) personnel management London, Letts
Cascio W.F (1996) Managing Human Resource London Prentice Hall
Milkovich, G.T and Boudreau.J.W. (2004) Human Resource Management
Diagnostic

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Human Resource Planning

Concept and Meaning of Human Resource Planning
Human resource planning is one of the crucial aspects of human resource
management because it helps to ensure the needed manpower for organizational goal. Due to
the globalization movement, the competition to provide quality and low cost products has been
increasing day by day. In this situation, the HR department has to plan in order to provide the
quality manpower to compete in the market. The supply of manpower must be sufficient to
ensure the healthy operation of the organization. Otherwise, the stated goals and objectives
cannot be accomplished on time.

Human resource planning may be defined as a process of predetermining future human resources
needs and course of action needed to satisfy those needs to achieve organizational goals. It
ensures that organization has right number and kind of people, at right place, and at right time
capable of performing well in the organization. Human resource planning is a continuous process
rather than a one shot affair. It tries to keep the organization supplied with required and capable
people when they are demanded.

Moreover, human resource planning is a process of knowing that what kind of people should be
recruited to ensure the quality performance of the organization. It tries to ensure that the required
competency is maintained in line with organizational mission, vision and strategic objectives. It
also determines and organization's human resource needs. It identifies what is to be done to
ensure the availability of human resources needed to achieve stated goals and objectives within
the given constraints
Thus, human resource planning (HRP) is a complex and continuous process which helps
determine the manpower requirement of the organization. It helps to translate the organization's
objectives and plans into the number of workers needed to meet the objectives. Hence, it claims
at:
a) Balancing demand and supply of workers
b) Controlling cost of human labor
c) Formulating policies on transfer, succession, relocation of manpower

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d) Ensuring right kind of people at the right time and right place.

Characteristics of Human Resource Planning

Characteristics of effective human resource planning are as follows:
a) Future Oriented
Human resource planning is prepared to assess the future requirement of manpower in the
organization. It helps identify the size and composition of resources for future purpose.
b) Continuous Process
Human resource planning is a continuous process. The human resource planning prepared
today may not be applicable for future due to ever changing external forces of the
environment. Hence, to address such changing factors, the human resource planning
needs to be revised and updated continuously.
c) Optimum Utilization Of Human Resources
Human resource planning focuses on optimum utilization of resources in the
organization. It checks how the employees are utilized in a productive manner. It also
identifies employees' existing capabilities and future potentialities to perform the work.
d) Right Kinds And Numbers
Human resource planning determines the right number and kind of people at the right
time and right place who are capable of performing the required jobs. It also assesses the
future requirement of manpower for organizational objective.
e) Determination Of Demand And Supply
Human resource planning is a process of determining demand for and supply of human
resources in the organization. Then a match between demand and supply estimates the
optimum level of manpower.
f) Environmental Influence
Human resource planning is influenced by environmental changes, hence, it is to be
updated as per the change occupied in the external environment.
g) Related To Corporate Plan
Human resource planning is an integral part of overall corporate plan of the organization.
It can be formulated at strategic, tactical and operational levels.

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h) A Part Of Human Resource Management System

As a part of total human resource management system, human resource planning is
regarded as a component or element of HRM which is concerned with acquisition ans
assessment of manpower. It serves as a foundation for the management of human
resource in an effective and efficient manner.

Significance or Importance of Human Resource Planning

Human resource planning aims at fulfilling the objectives of manpower requirement. It helps to
mobilize the recruited resources for the productive activities. The human resource planning is
and important process aiming to link business strategy and its operation. The importance of
human resource planning is as follows:
1) Future Manpower Needs
Human resource planning ensures that people are available to provide the continued
smooth operation of an organization. It means, human resource planning is regarded as a
tool to assure the future availability of manpower to carry on the organizational activities.
It determines the future needs of manpower in terms of number and kind.
2) Coping With Change
Human resource planning is important to cope with the change associated with the
external environmental factors. It helps assess the current human resources through HR
inventory and adapts it to changing technological, political, socio-cultural, and economic
forces.
3) Recruitment of Talented Personnel
Another purpose of HR planning is to recruit and select the most capable personnel to
fill job vacancies. It determines human resource needs, assesses the available HR
inventory level and finally recruits the personnel needed to perform the job.
4) Development of Human Resources
Human resource planning identifies the skill requirements for various levels of jobs. Then
it organizes various training and development campaigns to impart the required skill
and ability in employees to perform the task efficiently and effectively.

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5) Proper Utilization of Human Resources

Human resource planning measures that the organization acquires and utilizes the
manpower effectively to achieve objectives. Human resource planning helps in assessing
and recruiting skilled human resource. It focuses on the optimum utilization of human
resource to minimize the overall cost of production.
6) Uncertainty Reduction
This is associated with reducing the impact of uncertainty which are brought by un
sudden changes in processes and procedures of human resource management in the
organization.

Human Resource Planning Process or Steps of HR Planning

Human resource planning is a process through which the company anticipates future business
and environmental forces. Human resources planning assess the manpower requirement for
future period of time. It attempts to provide sufficient manpower required to perform
organizational activities. HR planning is a continuous process which starts with identification of
HR objectives, move through analysis of manpower resources and ends at appraisal of HR
planning.
During the HR Planning Process the Following Questions Are Asked;
 What are the business goals and needs, and their HR implications?
The HR plan must directly support the goals and needs of your organization. If your
business is striving to have enough staff for its peak season, or expanding into new
markets by offering new services, you need the appropriate human resources to meet the
demands. Early consideration of staffing, training, and performance management should
get high priority.
 What are the pros and cons in my human-resource environment?
Two kinds of pros and cons affect human resource activities: external factors, such as
new legislative requirements, the business context or labour market trends; and internal
factors, such as new technologies being introduced, upcoming retirements or

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resignations, employee satisfaction and commitment. Scan your organization's

environment and decide whether these pros and cons will affect your goals and needs.
 What gaps exist in numbers of employees and skill levels?
With your organization's goals and needs in mind, determine if there are gaps between
your current and expected HR capacity. Do you have enough people? Do they possess the
right skills? Identifying where your organization is lacking will help ensure your business
can meet its goals.
 Which gaps are critical?
Once you've identified the HR gaps, assess the risk associated with each and determine
how severe the consequences might be if a particular gap is not addressed. When you
know each gap's risk, you can prioritize and choose those critical to your business
success. This stage of your HR plan also includes determining how to close these gaps -
by identifying key steps involved, projecting timing and assigning responsibilities.
 How can I measure the results?
The final step in the HR planning process is to measure the results of the planned
initiatives. Do you have enough staff for peak season? Has your new market expansion
been successful? This helps you determine if your organization is meeting its business
goals and needs.

Human Resource Planning Process involves the following major steps

1) Assessing Human Resources
The assessment of HR begins with environmental analysis, under which the external
(PEST) and internal (objectives, resources and structure) are analyzed to assess the
currently available HR inventory level. After the analysis of external and internal forces
of the organization, it will be easier for HR manager to find out the internal strengths as
well as weakness of the organization in one hand and opportunities and threats on the
other. Moreover, it includes an inventory of the workers and skills already available
within the organization and a comprehensive job analysis.

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2) Demand Forecasting
HR forecasting is the process of estimating demand for and supply of HR in an
organization. Demand forecasting is a process of determining future needs for HR in
terms of quantity and quality. It is done to meet the future personnel requirements of the
organization to achieve the desired level of output. Future human resource need can be
estimated with the help of the organization's current human resource situation and
analysis of organizational plans an procedures. It will be necessary to perform a year-by-
year analysis for every significant level and type.
3) Supply Forecasting
Supply is another side of human resource assessment. It is concerned with the estimation
of supply of manpower given the analysis of current resource and future availability of
human resource in the organization. It estimates the future sources of HR that are likely
to be available from within an outside the organization. Internal source includes
promotion, transfer, job enlargement and enrichment, whereas external source includes
recruitment of fresh candidates who are capable of performing well in the organization.
4) Matching Demand and Supply
It is another step of human resource planning. It is concerned with bringing the forecast
of future demand and supply of HR.The matching process refers to bring demand and
supply in an equilibrium position so that shortages and over staffing position will be
solved. In case of shortages an organization has to hire more required number of
employees. Conversely, in the case of over staffing it has to reduce the level of existing
employment. Hence, it is concluded that this matching process gives knowledge about
requirements and sources of HR.
5) Action Plan
It is the last phase of human resource planning which is concerned with surplus and
shortages of human resource. Under it, the HR plan is executed through the designation
of different HR activities. The major activities which are required to execute the HR plan
are recruitment, selection, placement, training and development, socialization etc.
Finally, this step is followed by control and evaluation of performance of HR to check

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whether the HR planning matches the HR objectives and policies. This action plan should
be updated according to change in time and conditions.

Human Resource Planning Approaches

HR planning is a mechanism created to forecast the required human resource to perform a
specific task. It also assesses the skill requirement of employees for each job. It is a complex task
which estimates the future demand and supply position of HR in the organization. Hence, it gives
a picture of infinite future in advance in terms of human resource requirement for the company.
Here, the approaches to HR planning are as follows:
1) Quantitative Approach
It is also known as top down approach of HR planning under which top level make and
efforts to prepare the draft of HR planning. It is a management-driven approach under
which the HR planning is regarded as a number's game. It is based on the analysis
of Human Resource Management Information System and HR Inventory Level. On the
basis of information provided by HRIS, the demand of manpower is forecasted using
different quantitative tools and techniques such as trend analysis, mathematical models,
economic models, market analysis, and so on. The focus of this approach is to forecast
human resource surplus and shortages in an organization. In this approach major role is
played by top management.
2) Qualitative Approach
This approach is also known as bottom up approach of HR planning under which the
subordinates make an effort to prepare the draft of HR planning.Hence, it is also called
sub-ordinate-driven approach of HR planning. It focuses om individual employee
concerns. It is concerned with matching organizational needs with employee needs.
Moreover, it focuses on employee's training, development and creativity.
Similarly, compensation, incentives, employee safety, welfare, motivation and
promotion etc. are the primary concerns of this approach. In this approach, major role is
played by lower level employees.

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3) Mixed Approach
This is called mixed approach because it combines both top-down and bottom-up
approaches of HR planning. In fact, the effort is made to balance the antagonism between
employees and the management. Hence, it tends to produce the best result that ever
produced by either of the methods. Moreover, it is also regarded as an Management By
Objective (MBO) approach of HR planning. There is a equal participation of each level
of employees of the organization.

Human Resource Forecasting Methods

Forecasting human resource demand is the process of estimating the future human resource
requirement of right quality and right number. As discussed earlier, potential human resource
requirement is to be estimated keeping in view the organization’s plans over a given period of
time. Analysis of employment trends; replacement needs of employees due to death,
resignations, retirement termination; productivity of employees; growth and expansion of
organization; absenteeism and labour turnover are the relevant factors for human resourced
forecasting. Demand forecasting is affected by a number of external and internal factors.

Job analysis and forecasting about the quality of potential human resource facilitates demand
forecasting. So, existing job design must be thoroughly evaluated taking into consideration the
future capabilities of the present employees.

Factors Affecting Hr Demand Forecasting

Human Resource Demand Forecasting depends on several factors, some of which are given
below.
a) Employment trends;
b) Replacement needs;
c) Productivity;
d) Absenteeism; and
e) Expansion and growth.

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There are number of techniques of estimating/forecasting human resources demand:

(a) Managerial Judgment
(b) Work Study Technique
(c) Ratio-trend Analysis
(d) Econometric Model
(e) Delphi Model
(f) Other Techniques

a) Managerial Judgment: Managerial judgment technique is very common technique of

demand forecasting. This approach is applied by small as well as large scale
organizations. This technique involves two types of approaches i.e. 'bottom-up approach'
and 'top-down approach'. Under the 'bottom-up approach', line mangers send their
departmental requirement of human resources to top management. Top management
ultimately forecasts the human resource requirement for the overall organization on the
basis of proposals of departmental heads. Under the Top-down approach', top
management forecasts the human resource requirement for the entire organization and
various departments. This information is supplied to various departmental heads for their
review and approval. However, a combination of both the approaches i.e. 'Participative
Approach' should be applied for demand forecasting. Under this approach, top
management and departmental heads meet and decide about the future human resource
requirement. So, demand of human resources can be forecasted with unanimity under this
approach.
b) Work-Study Technique: This technique is also known as 'work-load analysis'. This
technique is suitable where the estimated work-load is easily measureable. Under this
method, estimated total production and activities for a specific future period are
predicted. This information is translated into number of man-hours required to produce
per units taking into consideration the capability of the workforce. Past-experience of the
management can help in translating the work-loads into number of man-hours required.
Thus, demand of human resources is forecasted on the basis of estimated total production

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and contribution of each employee in producing each unit items. The following example
gives clear idea about this technique.

Let us assume that the estimated production of an organization is 3.00.000 units. The
standard man-hours required to produce each unit are 2 hours. The past experiences show
that the work ability of each employee in man-hours is 1500 hours per annum. The work-
load and demand of human resources can be calculated as under:
 Estimated total annual production = 300000 units
 Standard man-hours needed to produce each unit = 2 hrs
 Estimated man-hours needed to meet estimated annual production (i x ii) =
600000 hrs
 Work ability/contribution per employee in terms of man-hour = 1500 units
 Estimated no. of workers needed (iii / iv) = 600000/1500 = 400 units
The above example clearly shows that 400 workers are needed for the year. Further,
absenteeism rate, rate of labour turnover, resignations, deaths, machine break-down,
strikes, power-failure etc. should also be taken into consideration while estimating future
demand of human resources/ manpower.
c) Ratio-Trend Analysis: Demand for manpower/human resources is also estimated on the
basis of ratio of production level and number of workers available. This ratio will be used
to estimate demand of human resources. The following example will help in clearly
understanding this technique. Estimated production for next year = 1, 40, 000
units estimated no. of workers needed (on the basis of ratio-trend of 1: 200) will be = 70
d) Econometrics Models: These models are based on mathematical and statistical
techniques for estimating future demand. Under these models relationship is established
between the dependent variable to be predicted (e.g. manpower/human resources) and the
independent variables (e.g., sales, total production, work-load, etc.). Using these models,
estimated demand of human resources can be predicted.
e) Delphi Technique: Delphi technique is also very important technique used for
estimating demand of human resources. This technique takes into consideration human
resources requirements given by a group of experts i.e. mangers. The human resource

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experts collect the manpower needs, summarize the various responses and prepare a
report. This process is continued until all experts agree on estimated human resources
requirement.
f) Other Techniques: The other techniques of Human Resources demand forecasting are
specified as under:
a) Following the techniques of demand forecasting of human resources used by
other similar organizations
b) Organization-cum-succession-charts
c) Estimation based on techniques of production
d) Estimates based on historical records
e) Statistical techniques e.g. co-relation and regression analysis.

Prerequisite for Effective Manpower Planning;

When carrying out manpower planning, the following must be put under consideration;
1) Goals or objectives of Business: every business enterprise has some goals or objectives.
The manpower planning must be integrated with business policies as regards to
profitability, production, sales and development of resources. Any change in business
objectives would certainly affect the manpower planning. For example a company
decides to introduce computer system in the enterprise. This change will affect the
manpower planning i.e., company will have to recruit computer operators or it will train
its existing employees in computer science. Thus, determination of business objectives
clearly in advance is a prerequisite for the effective manpower planning.
2) Support of Top-level management: Manpower planning must have the initiative and
support of top level management. Personnel manager as a staff authority can only advise
or guide the top management; he cannot implement decisions. Action on decisions or
suggestions of the personnel manager is to be taken only at the initiative of top
executives. Thus support of top management is a must for the effective manpower
planning.
3) Well-organized personnel department: Manpower planning requires forecasting the
requirements and developments of the personnel for this purpose; there is a need of a well

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organized personnel department. Personnel department collects, records, analyses,

interprets and maintains the facts and figures relating to all the personnel in the
organization.
4) Determination of related policies: Determination of personnel policies regarding
promotion, transfer, wages, fringe benefits, training, leaves etc. is a prerequisite for
manpower planning without these policies manpower planning will be of little use.
5) Responsibility: the responsibility of manpower planning should be assigned to some
responsible senior personnel He should be provided all figures to the planning.
6) Fixing Planning Period: Planning is concerned with problem of future. The planning
period is divided into short term and long term. Planning period depends on the nature of
the business and the social, economic and political environment. Long term planning is
preferable for basic and heavy industries. Consumer goods industries may not resort to
long term plans. The other important factors arc rate of population growth education and
training facilities cost of training etc.
7) Manpower standards: In order to avoid the problems of overstaffing and understaffing,
the optimum manpower standards should be determined on the basis of prevailing
standards in similar organizations, past experiences and work measurement. These factors
will reduce the cost of production and will increase the quality of production and will
help in preparation of manpower plans.

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Organizational conditions of work

Overview
Understanding the characteristics of the organization that affect human resource decisions.
Although they are probably limitless, this discussion is limited to four key factors’ financial,
technological, culture and philosophy and organizational strategies.

Financial Conditions.
An organization’s financial conditions are all too often ignored in models of human resource
management. The ability to pay, the portion of wages that are fixed, funding for retraining
workers and for all personnel activities are affected by an organization’s financial condition and
its cash flow. Examples of the importance of the employer’s financial status are all around us.
The current interest in a shared economy in which a portion of employee wages are tied to profits
is one example. Highly profitable periods bring larger bonuses, unprofitable period’s yields no
wages increases. The effect is to make a portion of wages a variable rather than a fixed cost; this
offers employers great financial flexibility. The effect on employees is greater uncertainty by
placing more of their at risk. Chief executive officers are found of proclaiming “employees are
our most important asset’ nonetheless, many manage as if employees are the most important
expense. Expenditures on human resources ought to be evaluated as benefits as well as costs.
More often than not, personnel expenses are treated as costs without attention to their returns.
Translating the benefits of many personnel decisions into monetary terms is difficult and requires
technical knowledge. Evaluating personnel decisions according to their effects on human
resource objectives, their costs, and their benefits lies at the core of the diagnostic approach.

Technological Change
Technology can be defined as the process and techniques used to generate goods and services.
Investment in technology is reinventing how organizations generate goods and services purchase
of factory automation systems include computer –integrated-manufacturing, computer –aided
design, robotics, and just –in-time inventory systems. Technological change is a permanent
feature of organizations that influences personnel decisions. Despite all the money spend
by organizations on technological changes, a persistent troubling often exists between the hoped

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for and results of the new technology and the managers ability to put it to work effectively. It’s
important for employees as the users of technological innovation to develop ownership for it.
Case study
CE managers discovered that by involving employees in the installation and design of the new
manufacturing system, the installation time and the quality of products improved. Even more
were the training sessions that permitted employees top transfer their knowledge from the old
operation to the new process .even though the expenditure on the new system were originally
justified through cost savings, innovative human resource management boosted the savings and
productivity.

Culture and Philosophy

Experts have written volumes about the importance of corporate culture and philosophy in
achieving employee and organization effectiveness .culture refers to the values, beliefs and
traditions shared by all members in an organization. Despite-the currency of the term, debate
exists about such fundamental issues as to what corporate culture really is, how it changes, and
whether that change emanates from the top or the bottom of an organization. To some the culture
of an organization is the bedrock which gives it identity and stability .It is best reflected in day
to day practices .to others culture is a force that drives an organization to its goals .culture is
important to managers ‘s success and is related to human resource management.
An example of culture and success
Eight Attributes of Excellent Companies
1 Bias for Action “Getting on with it.” “Not paralyzed by analysis”.
2 Close to Customer “Learn from customers.” “Get product ideas from customers;
provide highest quality service.”
3 Autonomy “Foster many leaders and innovations through the
and entrepreneurship. organization.”
4 Productivity through people “Treat employees as the root source of quality and productivity
gain.” “Respect for the individual.”
5 Hands –On Value driven “Basic philosophy of an organization has more to do with its
achievements than do technological or economics resources,

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organizational structure or innovation.”

6 Stick to the knitting “Never acquire a business you cannot run.”
7 Simple form “lean staff” “The underlying structural forms and systems in excellent
companies are elegantly simple.”
8 Simultaneously “Excellent companies are both centralized and decentralized.”
Tight-Loose Properties “Autonomy down to the shop floor but centralized about a few
guiding core values”.

Strategy refers to an organization’s basic direction, its long term perspective, in other words, its
major deployment of resources. Strategic decisions involve choices, and these shape human
resource decisions. Just as an organizations strategies shape human resource decisions, so, too,
do human resource decisions affect strategic choices. For example the selection of chief
executives and top manager’s .since these people are so involved in formulating strategies,
changes in their ranks can have significant effects.

Quality of Work Life

Integration: There has been much concern today about decent wages; convenient working
hours, conducive working conditions etc, termed “Quality of work life”. Some attempts have
been made to describe the term quality of work life (QWL). It refers to the favorableness or
unfavourableness of a job environment for people. QWL means different things to different
people. QWL is defined as “the degree to which members of a work organization are able to
satisfy important personnel needs through their experience in the organization.”
Quality of work life improvements are defined as any activity which takes place at every level of
an organization, which seeks greater organizational effectiveness through the enhancement of
human dignity and growth … a process through which the stockholders in the organization
management, unions and employees — learn how to work together better to determine for
themselves what actions, changes and improvements are desirable and workable in order to
achieve the twin and simultaneous goals of an improved quality of life at work for all members
of the organization and greater effectiveness for both the company and the unions.

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Quality of work life can be explained in terms of eight broad conditions of employment that
constitute desirable quality of work life. He proposed the same criteria for measuring QWL.
Those criteria include:
(i) Adequate and Fair Compensation: There are different opinions about adequate
compensation. The committee on Fair Wages defined fair wage as” . . . the wage
which is above the minimum wage, but below the living wage.”
(ii) (ii) Safe and Healthy Working Conditions: Most of the organizations provide safe
and healthy working conditions due to humanitarian requirements and/or legal
requirements. In fact , these conditions are a matter or enlightened self interest.
(iii) Opportunity to Use and Develop Human Capacities: Contrary to the traditional
assumptions, QWL is improved… “to the extent that the worker can exercise
more control over his or her work, and the degree to which the job embraces and
entire meaningful task” … but not a part of it. Further, QWL provides for
opportunities like autonomy in work and participation in planning in order to use
human capabilities.
(iv) Opportunity for Career Growth: Opportunities for promotions are limited in case
of all categories of employees either due to educational barriers or due to limited
openings at the higher level. QWL provides future opportunity for continued
growth and security by expanding one’s capabilities, knowledge and
qualifications.
(v) (v) Social Integration in the Work Force: Social integration in the work force can
be established by creating freedom from prejudice, supporting primary work
groups, a sense of community and inter-personnel openness, legalitarianism and
upward mobility.
(vi) (vi) Constitutionalism in the Work Organization: QWL provides constitutional
protection to the employees only to the level of desirability as it hampers workers.
It happens because the management’s action is challenged in every action and
bureaucratic procedures need to be followed lat that level. Constitutional
protection is provided to employees on such matters as privacy, free speech,
equity and due process.

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(vii) (vii) Work and Quality of Life: QWL provides for the balanced relationship
among work, non-work and family aspects of life. In other words family life and
social life should not be strained by working hours including overtime work, work
during inconvenient hours, business travel, transfers, vacations etc.
(viii) (viii) Social Relevance of Work: QWL is concerned about the establishment of
social relevance to work in a socially beneficial manner. The workers’ self esteem
would be high if his work is useful to the society and the vice versa is also true.

Quality Circles
Quality circles which have been popularized by Japanese firms are being used all over the
world because of the benefits that accrue to the firm. A quality circle involves participation
from a small group of employees doing the same type of work. They meet regularly to
identify, analyze and solve the problems that arise during the course of their work and their
association with the organization.
The basic objectives of quality circles are;
 To develop and utilize human resources effectively
 To develop quality products, improve the quality of work life and sharpen and utilize
an individual’s creative abilities.
There are different steps involved in the development of quality circles from getting started
to problem-solving.
1. Communicating the importance of quality circles to the employees is of prime
importance.
2. Composition of a quality circle.
3. The stage of initial problem solving through which employee suggestions are
presented.
4. The suggestions are then evaluated and the best one, chosen by consensus, is
implemented. Various techniques like brainstorming sessions, fish bone diagram and
sampling and charting methods, are used in quality circles.
Problems arise in the implementation of quality circles because of lack of understanding
regarding the concepts, low education levels and training, delays in execution and operational

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problems. Most of these problems can be resolved through effective training of employees and
management support.

Industrial Relations
The concept of industrial relations means the relationship between employees and the
management in the day-to-day working of the industry. But the concept has a wide meaning.
When taken in the wider sense, industrial relations is a “set of functional interdependence
involving historical, economic, social, psychological, demographic, technological, occupational,
political and legal variables.” According to Dale Yoder, industrial relations is a “whole field of
relationship that exists because of the necessary collaboration of men and women in the
employment process of an industry.”
According to the international Labour Organisaton (ILO), “Industrial Relations deal with either
the relationship between the state and employers’ and workers’ organizations or the relation
between the occupational organizations themselves.” The concept of industrial relations has been
extended to denote the relations of the joint consultations between employers and people at their
organizations. The subject there fore includes individual relations of the joint consultations
between employers and people at their work place, collective relations between employers and
their organizations and trade unions and the part played by the State in regulating these relations.

Characteristics of Industrial Relations

Characteristics of industrial rations include:
i). Industrial relations are the outcome of employment relationship in an industrial
enterprise.
ii). Industrial relations develop the skills and methods of adjusting to and co-operating with
each other.
iii).Industrial relations system creates complex rules and regulations to maintain harmonious
relations.
iv). The Government is involved in shaping industrial relations through laws, rules,
agreements, awards etc.

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v). The important factors of industrial relations are: employees and their organizations,
employer and their associations and the Government.

Factors of Industrial Relations:

Industrial relations are influenced by various factors, viz., institutional factors, economic factors
and technological factors.
a) Institutional factors: These factors include government policy, labour legislations,
voluntary courts, collective agreement, employee courts, employers’ federations, social
institutions like community, caste, joint family, creed, system of beliefs, attitudes of
works, system of power status etc.
b) Economic factors: These factors include economic organization, like capitalist,
communist mixed etc,. The structure of labour force, demand for and supply of labour
force etc.
c) Technological factors: These factors include mechanization, automation, rationalization,
computation etc.,
d) Social and cultural factors: These factors include population, customs and traditions of
people, ethnic groups, cultures of various groups of people etc.
Political factors: These factors include political system in the country, political parties
and their ideologies, their growth, mode of achievement of their policies, involvement in
trade unions etc.
e) Government factors: These factors include governmental policies like industrial policy,
economic policy, labour policy, export policy etc.

Objectives of Industrial Relations:

The primary objective of industrial relations is to maintain congenial relations between
employees and the employer. And the other objectives are:
i). To promote and develop congenial labour management relations
ii). To enhance the economic status of the worker by improving wages, benefits and by
helping the worker in evolving sound budget
iii).To regulate the production by minimizing industrial conflicts through state control;

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iv). To socialize industries by making the government as an employer

v). To provide an opportunity to the workers to have a say in the management and decision-
making
vi). To improve worker’s strength with a view to solve their problems through mutual
negotiations and consultation with the management
vii). To encourage and develop trade unions in order to improve the workers’ strength
viii). To avoid industrial conflict and their consequences and
ix). To extend and maintain industrial democracy.

Managing manpower planning

Introduction to Human Resource Planning.

Objectives;
By the end of this course unit, students will be able to;
1. Define manpower planning and explain the rational for manpower planning
2. Describe Job analysis; explain the different methods of job analysis and the purpose of
job analysis.
3. Explain the objectives and principles of manpower planning.
4. Explain an effective employee resourcing strategy

Introduction
“Manpower” or “human resource” may be thought of as “the total knowledge, skills, creative
abilities, talents and aptitudes of an organization's work, force, as well as the values, attitudes
and benefits of an individual involved it is the sum total of inherent abilities, acquired knowledge
and skills represented by the talents and aptitudes of the employed persons;” of all the “MS” in
management (i.e., the management of materials, machines, money, motive power), the most
important is “M” for men or human resources. It is the most valuable asset of an organization,
and not the money or physical equipment.

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It is in fact an important economic resource. Covering all human resources organized or

unorganized, employed or capable of employment, working at all levels- supervisors, executives,
government employees, “blue” and “white” collar workers, managerial, scientific, engineering,
technical, skilled or unskilled persons, who are employed in creating, designing, developing,
managing, and operating productive and service enterprises and other economic activities.

Human resources are utilized to the maximum possible extent in order to achieve individual and
organizational goals. An organization’s performance and resulting productivity are directly
proportional to the quantity and quality of its human resources.

Meaning & Definition of HRP

Definition: Manpower Planning
Manpower Planning is also called as Human Resource Planning. Manpower planning is the
process of estimating or projecting the number of personnel required for a project (with different
skill sets) over a predefined period of time. Manpower planning also includes the details like
how and when will new employees be acquired. This whole process is done keeping in view the
goals of the organization, the future predictions for business and changing technology trends.
This helps the organization be prepared for the future with the correct manpower at their
disposal for business prosperity.
Specifically, human resources planning is the process by which an organization ensures that it
has the right number and kind of people, at the right place, at the right time, capable of
effectively and efficiently completing those tasks that will help the organization achieve its
overall objectives. Human planning translates the organization’s objective and plans into the
number of workers needed to meet those objectives. Without a clear-cut planning, estimation of
an organization’s human resource need is reduced to mere guesswork.

Having gone through above definitions, HRP can now be defined as the comparison of an
organization's existing labour resources with forecast labour demand, and hence the scheduling
of activities for acquiring, training, redeploying and possibly discarding labour. It seeks to ensure
that an adequate supply of labour is available precisely when required.

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Human resource planning (HRP) is a strategy for the acquisition, utilization, improvement and
preservation of an enterprise’s human resources. It is the management activity aimed at
coordinating the requirements for and the availability of different types of employees. This
involves ensuring that the firm has enough of the right kind of people at the right time and also
adjusting the requirements to the available supply.

Human resource planning (HR planning) is both a process and a set of plans.
The ongoing process of systematic planning to achieve optimum use of an organization's most
valuable asset its human resources. The objective of human resource planning is to ensure the
best fit between employees and jobs, while avoiding manpower shortages or surpluses the three
key elements of the HR planning process are forecasting labour demand, analyzing present
labour supply, and balancing projected labour demand and supply.

The HR plan needs to be flexible enough to meet short term staffing challenges, while adapting
to changing conditions in the business and environment over the longer term human resource
planning is also a continuous process.
The process by which management ensure that it has the right personnel, who are capable of
completing those tasks that help the organization reach its objectives.

HR planning links people management to the organization’s mission, vision, goals and
objectives, as well as its strategic plan and budgetary resources. A key goal of HR planning is to
get the right number of people with the right skills, experience and competencies in the right jobs
at the right time at the right cost.

HRP is the systematic process of matching the internal and external supply of candidates with
job openings that a company anticipates over a certain period of time put simply, human resource
planning is keeping up-to-date compilation of candidates inside and outside the company for
future positions.

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Manpower planning involves two stages. The first stage is concerned with the detailed “planning
of manpower requirements for all types and levels of employees throughout the period of the
plan,” and the second stage is concerned with” planning of manpower supplies to provide the
organization with the right types of people from all sources to meet the planned requirements.

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The above diagram shows the manpower planning process which depends upon the business
objective.

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Need of Manpower Planning

1. Manpower Planning is a two-phased process because manpower planning not only
analyses the current human resources but also makes manpower forecasts and thereby
draw employment programmes. The need for Manpower Planning in organizations
emanates from the following;
2. Despite growing unemployment, there has been shortage of human resources with
required skills, qualification and capabilities to carry on works. Hence the need for
human resource planning.
3. Large numbers of employees, who retire, die, leave organisations, or become
incapacitated because of physical or mental ailments, need to be replaced by the new
employees. Human resource planning ensures smooth supply of workers without
interruption.
4. Human resource planning is also essential in the face of marked rise in workforce
turnover which is unavoidable and even beneficial. Voluntary quits, discharges,
marriages, promotions and seasonal fluctuations in business are the examples of factors
leading to workforce turnover in organisations. These cause constant ebb and flow in the
work force in many organisations.
5. Technological changes and globalisation usher in change in the method of products and
distribution of production and services and in management techniques. These changes
may also require a change in the skills of employees, as well as change in the number of
employees required. It is human resource planning that enables organisations to cope
with such changes.
6. Human resource planning is also needed in order to meet the needs of expansion and
diversification programmes of an organisation.
7. The need for human resource planning is also felt in order to identify areas of surplus
personnel or areas in which there is shortage of personnel. Then, in case of surplus

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personnel, it can be redeployed in other areas of organisation. Conversely, in case of

shortage of personnel, it can be made good by downsizing the work force.
8. Human resource planning is important to organisation because it benefits the organisation
in several ways.
9. Shortages and surpluses can be identified so that quick action can be taken wherever
required.
10. All the recruitment and selection programmes are based on manpower planning.
11. It also helps to reduce the labour cost as excess staff can be identified and thereby
overstaffing can be avoided.
12. It also helps to identify the available talents in a concern and accordingly training
programmes can be chalked out to develop those talents.
13. It helps in growth and diversification of business. Through manpower planning, human
resources can be readily available and they can be utilized in best manner.
14. It helps the organization to realize the importance of manpower management which
ultimately helps in the stability of a concern.

The Factors That Are Considered For Manpower Planning.

(1) Goals or objectives of Business—Every business enterprise has some goals or objectives.
The manpower planning must be integrated with business policies as regards to profitability,
production, sales and development of resources. Any change in business objectives would
certainly affect the manpower planning. For example a company decides to introduce
computer system in the enterprise. This change will affect the manpower planning i.e.,
company will have to recruit computer operators or it will train its existing employees in
computer science. Thus, determination of business objectives clearly in advance is a
prerequisite for the effective manpower planning.

(2) Support of Top-level management—Manpower planning must have the initiative and support
of top level management. Personnel manager as a staff authority can only advise or guide the top
management; he cannot implement decisions. Action on decisions or suggestions of the

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personnel manager is to be taken only at the initiative of top executives. Thus support of top
management is a must for the effective manpower planning.

(3) Well-organized personnel department—Manpower planning requires forecasting the

requirements and developments of the personnel for this purpose, there is a need of a well
organized personnel department. Personnel department collects, records, analyses, interprets and
maintains the facts and figures relating to all the personnel in the organization.

(4) Determination of related policies—Determination of personnel policies regarding promotion,

transfer, wages, fringe benefits, training, leaves etc. is a prerequisite for manpower planning
Without these policies manpower planning will be of little use.

(5) Responsibility—The responsibility of manpower planning should be assigned to some

responsible senior personnel He should be provided all figures to the planning.

(6) Fixing Planning Period—Planning is concerned with problem of future. The planning period
is divided into short term and long term. Planning period depends on the nature of the business
and the social, economic and political environment. Long term planning is preferable for basic
and heavy industries. Consumer goods industries may not resort to long term plans. The other
important factors arc rate of population growth education and training facilities cost of training
etc.
(7) Manpower standards—In order to avoid the problems of overstaffing and understaffing, the
optimum manpower standards should be determined on the basis of prevailing standards in
similar organizations, past experiences and work measurement. These factors will reduce the cost
of production and will increase the quality of production and will help in preparation of
manpower plans.

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IMPORTANCE OF HRP
 The significance of human resource planning can be discussed at 16 level.
 Future personnel needs
 Coping with change
 Creating highly talented personnel
 Protection of weaker sections
 International strategies
 Foundation for personnel functions
 Increasing investments in human resources
 Resistance to change and move
 Other benefits
 Part of strategic planning
 Linking business strategy with operational strategy
 Minimizing the risk of losing
 HRP needs for HRD
 HRP is pro-active not reactive
 HRP is not in isolation
 HRP is promotes awareness
1.) Future personnel needs:-
Planning is significant as it helps determine future personnel needs. Surplus or deficiency in staff
strength is the result of the absence of a defective planning. The problem of excess staff has
become so heavy that many units are restoring to VRS to remove the excess staff.
2) Coping with change:-
HRP enables an enterprise to cope with changes in competitive forces, markets, technology,
products and government regulations. Such changes generate changes in job content, skill
demands, and number and type of personnel. Shortage of people may be induced in some areas
while surplus in other areas may occur.

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3) Creating highly talented personnel :-

As was mentioned earlier, jobs are becoming highly intellectual and incumbents are getting
vastly professionalized. L & T, an engineering giant, has MBA’S, engineers, technicians who
collectively constitute 70% of the total employee strength of 20,000 the HR manager must use
his\her ingenuity to attract and retain qualified and skilled personnel.
4) Protection of weaker sections :-
Sc \ ST candidates, physically handicapped, children of socially and physically oppressed and
backward-class citizens enjoy a given % of jobs notwithstanding the constitutional provision
which guarantees equal opportunities all.
5) International strategies :-
HRP all will grow increasingly important as the process of meeting staff needs from foreign
countries and the attendant cultural, language and developmental considerations grow complex.
6) Foundation for personnel functions :-
Manpower planning provides essential information for designing and implementing personnel
functions, such as recruitment, selection, personnel movement and training and development.
7) Increasing investments in human resources :-
Another compelling reason for HRP is an investment an organization makes in its human
resources. Human assets, as opposed to physical assets, can increase in value. An employee who
gradually develops his \ her skills and abilities becomes a more valuable resource.
8) Resistance to change and move :-
There is a growing resistance among employees to change and move. There is also a growing
emphasis on self-evaluation and on evaluation of loyalty and dedication to the organization. All
these changes are making it more difficult for the organization to assume that it can move its
employees around anywhere and anytime it wants, thus increasing the importance and necessity
of planning ahead.

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9) Other benefits:-
Following are other potential benefits of HRP:-
 Upper management has better view of the HRP dimensions of business decisions.
 Personnel costs may be less because the management can anticipate imbalances before
they become unmanageable and expensive.
 More time is provided to locate source talent.
 Better planning of assignments to develop managers can be done.
 Major and successful demands on labour markets can be made.
10) Part of strategic planning:-
HR management must become an integral part of strategic management process. All activities of
HRM-planning, hiring, training, remunerating and maintaining-must be merged with strategic
management.

HR planning can become part of strategic planning at two ends. At the beginning of strategic
planning, HRP provides a set of inputs into the strategic formulation process in terms of deciding
whether the types and numbers of people are available to pursue a given strategy.

SUMMARY
The need for and importance of human resource planning is explained by the fact that it
maintains a fine balance between demand for and supply of human resources required to
effectively complete those tasks that help organization achieve its objectives.

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RECRUITMENT & SELECTION

 RECRUITMENT
 SELECTION
 SUCCESION PLANNING
 CARRER PLANNING

RECRUITMENT & SELECTION RECRUITMENT

Defining Recruitment: Finding and Attracting Applications “Recruitment is the Process of
finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. The Process begins when new
recruits are sought and ends when their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of
application from which new employees are selected.”

Understanding the Meaning of Recruitment:

Recruitment is understood as the process of searching for and obtaining applicants for jobs,
from among them the right people can be selected. Though theoretically recruitment process is
said to end with the receipt of applications, in practice the activity extends to the screening of
applications so as to eliminate those who are not qualified for the job.

Defining the Job Requirements

This activity follows on from and builds on defining the job. Once you know what job is needed
to be done you can define what is needed to get the job done. Time invested at this stage will
improve the accuracy of your selection process. It also can prove very useful should you wish to
(or need to) explain to someone why they did not get the job.
Some Key Questions
 Is there a job profile for the job?

 What are the key competencies required?

 Are there any minimum or threshold requirements?

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 What are the skills/knowledge required?

 What sort of experience and of what kind are required?

 What sort of personal qualities are we looking for?

 What distinguishes superior from average performance?

 Are there any legally required qualifications or certifications?

Recommended Practice
 Check your ideas out with your manager or a colleague who knows the job well. It can be
useful to get a second opinion

 Try to avoid thinking about what the current (or previous) job holder had in terms of
qualifications, skills, experience, and focus on the needs of the job itself. Individuals all
bring something a bit different to the job (this is part of the fun) but it is best to develop
the requirements based on the ‘base case'.

 Consider the behaviour indicators (or competencies) which will most likely lead to high
performance in the role.

 Use your company competency framework if you have one

(See also attached extract)

PURPOSE AND IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT: -

1. Determine the present and future requirements in conjunction with personnel planning and
job analysis activities
2. Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost
3. Help increase success rate of selection process by reducing number of under-qualified or
over-qualified applications.
4. Reduce the probability that job applicants once selected would leave shortly
5. Meet legal and social obligations

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6. Identify and prepare potential job applicants

7. Evaluate effectiveness of various recruitment techniques and sources for job applicants.

FACTORS GOVERNING RECRUITMENT

External Factors:
 Demand and Supply (Specific Skills)
 Unemployment Rate (Area-wise)
 Labor Market Conditions
 Political and Legal Environment (Reservations, Labor laws)
 organizational Image
Internal Factors
 Recruitment Policy (Internal Hiring or External Hiring?)
 Human Resource Planning (Planning of resources required)
 Size of the Organization (Bigger the size lesser the recruitment problems)
 Cost
 Growth and Expansion Plans
 Nature and Culture of organization

RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Recruitment Planning
Number of contacts
Types of contacts
Recruitment Strategy Development
 Make or Buy Employees
 Technological Sophistication
 Where to look
 How to look

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Internal Recruitment Sources:

 Present employee
 Employee referrals
 Transfers & Promotions
 Former Employees
 Previous Applicants
Evaluation of Internal Recruitment & External Recruitment
External Recruitment Sources
 Professionals or Trade Associations
 Advertisements
 Employment Exchanges
 Campus Recruitment
 Walk-ins Interviews
 Contractors
 Displaced Persons
 Radio & Television
 Acquisitions & Mergers
 Competitors
Evaluation of External Recruitment Searching
 Source activation
 Selling
 Screening of Applications
 Evaluation and Cost Control
 Salary Cost
 Management & Professional Time spent
 Advertisement Cost
 Producing Supporting literature

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Recruitment Overheads and Expenses

 Cost of Overtime and Outsourcing
 Consultant’s fees

Evaluation of Recruitment Process

 Return rate of applications sent out
 Suitable Candidates for selection
 Retention and Performance of selected candidates
 Recruitment Cost
 Time lapsed data
 Image projection

Internal Recruitment
Advantages
1. Less Costly
2. already oriented towards organization
3. Organizations have better knowledge about internal candidates
4. Employee morale and motivation is enhanced
Disadvantages
 Old concept of doing things
 Candidates current work may be affected
 Politics play greater roles
 Morale problem for those not promoted.

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EXTERNAL RECRUITMENT
Advantages
1. Benefits of new skills and talents
2. Benefits of new experiences
3. Compliance with reservation policy becomes easy
4. Scope for resentment, jealousies, and heartburn are avoided.
Disadvantages
1. Better morale and motivation associated with internal recruiting is denied
2. It is costly method
3. Chances of creeping in false positive and false negative errors
4. Adjustment of new employees takes longer time.

SELECTION
MEANING OF SELECTION: Selection is the process of picking up individuals (out of the pool of
job applicants) with requisite qualifications and competence to fill jobs in the organization.
Selection defined: “Selection is the process of differentiating between applicants in order to
identify and hire those with a greater likelihood of success in a job.”

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

Recruitment
1. Recruitment refers to the process of identifying and encouraging prospective employees
to apply for jobs.
2. Recruitment is said to be positive in its approach as it seeks to attract as many
candidates as possible.

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Selection
1. Selection is concerned with picking up the right candidates from a pool of applicants.
2. Selection on the other hand is negative in its application in as much as it seeks to
eliminate as many unqualified applicants as possible in order to identify the right
candidates.

PROCESS / STEPS IN SELECTION

1. Preliminary Interview: The purpose of preliminary interviews is basically to eliminate
unqualified applications based on information supplied in application forms. The basic
objective is to reject misfits. On the other hands preliminary interviews is often called a
courtesy interview and is a good public relations exercise.
2. Selection Tests: Jobseekers who past the preliminary interviews are called for tests.
There are various types of tests conducted depending upon the jobs and the company.
These tests can be Aptitude Tests, Personality Tests, and Ability Tests and are conducted
to judge how well an individual can perform tasks related to the job. Besides this there
are some other tests also like Interest Tests (activity preferences), Graphology Test
(Handwriting), Medical Tests, Psychometric Tests etc.
3. Employment Interview: The next step in selection is employment interview. Here
interview is a formal and in-depth conversation between applicant’s acceptability. It is
considered to be an excellent selection device. Interviews can be One-to-One, Panel
Interview, or Sequential Interviews. Besides there can be Structured and Unstructured
interviews, Behavioral Interviews, Stress Interviews.
4. Reference & Background Checks: Reference checks and background checks are
conducted to verify the information provided by the candidates. Reference checks can
be through formal letters, telephone conversations. However it is merely a formality and
selections decisions are seldom affected by it.
5. Selection Decision: After obtaining all the information, the most critical step is the
selection decision is to be made. The final decision has to be made out of applicants
who have passed preliminary interviews, tests, final interviews and reference checks.

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The views of line managers are considered generally because it is the line manager who
is responsible for the performance of the new employee.
6. Physical Examination: After the selection decision is made, the candidate is required to
undergo a physical fitness test. A job offer is often contingent upon the candidate
passing the physical examination.
7. Job Offer: The next step in selection process is job offer to those applicants who have
crossed all the previous hurdles. It is made by way of letter of appointment.
8. Contract of Employment: After the job offer is made and candidates accept the offer,
certain documents need to be executed by the employer and the candidate. Here is a
need to prepare a formal contract of employment, containing written contractual terms
of employment etc.

ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD SELECTION PRACTICE

1. Detailed job descriptions and job specifications prepared in advance and endorsed by
personnel and line management
2. Trained the selectors
3. Determine aids to be used for selection process
4. Check competence of recruitment consultants before retention
5. Involve line managers at all stages
6. Attempt to validate the procedure
7. Help the appointed candidate to succeed by training and management development

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE SELECTION: -

1. Perception: We all perceive the world differently. Our limited perceptual ability is
obviously a stumbling block to the objective and rational selection of people.
2. Fairness: Barriers of fairness includes discrimination against religion, region, race or
gender etc.

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3. Validity: A test that has been validated can differentiate between the employees who
can perform well and those who will not. However it does not predict the job success
accurately.
4. Reliability: A reliable test may fail to predict job performance with precision.
5. Pressure: Pressure brought on selectors by politicians, bureaucrats, relatives, friends
and peers to select particular candidate are also barriers to selection.

INDUCTION & ORIENATION

Induction & Orientation Defined;
Planned Introduction “It is a Planned Introduction of employees to their jobs, their co-workers
and the organization per se.” Orientation conveys 4 types of information:
1. Daily Work Routine
2. Organization Profile
3. Importance of Jobs to the organization
4. Detailed Orientation Presentations
Purpose of Orientation
1. To make new employees feel at home in new environment
2. To remove their anxiety about new workplace
3. To remove their inadequacies about new peers
4. To remove worries about their job performance
5. To provide them job information, environment

Types of Orientation Programs

1. Formal or Informal
2. Individual or Group
3. Serial or Disjunctive

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Prerequisites of Effective Orientation Program

1. Prepare for receiving new employee
2. Determine information new employee wants to know
3. Determine how to present information
4. Completion of Paperwork
Problems of Orientations
1. Busy or Untrained supervisor
2. Too much information
3. Overloaded with paperwork
4. Given menial tasks and discourage interests
5. Demanding tasks where failure chances are high
6. Employee thrown into action soon
7. Wrong perceptions of employees

Differentiating between induction and orientation

Induction referred to formal training programs that an employee has to complete before they
could start work. Orientation is the informal information giving that made the recruit aware of
the comfort issues - where the facilities are, what time lunch is and so forth.

How long should the induction process take? It starts when the job ad is written, continues
through the selection process and is not complete until the new team member is comfortable
as a full contributor to the organization's goals. The first hour on day one is a critical component
- signing on, issuing keys and passwords, explaining no go zones, emergency procedures,
meeting the people that you will interact with all have to be done immediately. Until they are
done the newcomer is on the payroll, but is not employed. After that it is a matter of just in
time training - expanding the content as new duties are undertaken. We only employ new
people one at a time - how can we induct them? There are some issues, which cannot wait -
they vary according to your situation. Perhaps a buddy system on the job may be the best way
to deal with these. Other subjects may be incorporated with refresher training for current staff,

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or handled as participant in an outside program. Perhaps some can wait until there are groups
of people who have started in the last few months. This may take some creative thinking, but
the answer is quite simple - until the new people are integrated then they are less useful. The
math is often amazingly simple - not taking the time to train consumes more time than the
training would.
What levels of staff need induction? Everybody. The CEO needs to know different things to the
temporary concierge, but everyone needs a planned program of induction and orientation.

PLACEMENT;
Placement is allocation of people to jobs. It is assignment or reassignment of an employee to a
new or different job.

MULTI SKILLING;
Multi Skilling is The Integrated Skills Program that has been developed to build on the existing
skills of the current work force to reduce redundancies and avoid downsizing situations. The
objective of this program is to gain total integration of skills. The program is based around ‘on-
the-job’ & ‘off-the-job’ competence. That is the ability to do the job on the shop floor (training
to gain work experience) and ‘off-the-job’ (training in the classroom) to gain underpinning
knowledge. The program requires the individual to demonstrate competence in a number of
different skills and this competence is measured and assessed on the job. Multi-skilling of
course works best with more advanced skilled workers because their individual skills levels are
developed enough where they can fluidly transition from one skill to the next without
degradation of a skills performance. If you are multi-skilling and a great percentage of your
workers are having problems executing one of the skills effectively it is probably a good signal
you need to go back to basics with that skill and pull it out of the multi-skilling sequences.
Another advantage of multi-skilling is the positive effect of what is called "contextual learning".
Contextual learning involves discovery and improvement from two skills, which don't, on the
surface, appear to have a direct relationship. The disadvantages of multi-skilling include the
obvious danger of moving on to quickly toward advanced skills and combinations without

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sufficiently drilling basic skills. While there is a great desire to learn quickly I think this is one of
the reason we are seeing better skilled from some of the best workers. The consequence is that
we become "partially skilled". The greater the number of partial skills we develop, the less
chance we ever have of reaching our full potential.

SUCCESSION PLANNING
Succession Planning Defined;
Succession planning is the process or activities connected with the succession of persons to fill
key positions in the organization hierarchy as vacancies arise. The focus of attention is towards
‘which’ person the succession planning is needed. The focus is not more on career development
but it is more towards what kind of person is required to fill the future vacancy. Succession
planning focuses on identification of vacancies and locating the probable successor. For
example in succession planning the key concern can be who will be next CEO or what will
happen if the Marketing Manager retires in coming Four, five, six Months.

Importance of Succession Planning

 Succession planning helps when there is a sudden need arises due to reason or
retirement of a key employee.
 Individual employee comes to know in advance the level to which he can rise if he has
the ability and aptitude for it.
 Individual employee or successor feels happy when he feels that organization is taking
care of his talents and aspirations.
 Succession planning helps create loyalty towards the organization and improved
motivation and morale of individual employees.
 Organization gains stable workforce and low employee turnover.
 Ultimately organization becomes successful in accomplishing its goals effectively.

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CAREER PLANNING
Career planning is the process or activities offered by the organization to individuals to identify
strengths, weaknesses, specific goals and jobs they would like to occupy. Career as a concept
means a lifelong sequences of professional, educational and developmental experiences that
projects an individual through the world of work. It is a sequence of positions occupied by a
person during his life. Career may also be defined as amalgamation of changes in values,
attitudes and motivation that occurs as a person grows older. In career planning, organization is
concerned with strategic questions of career development. Further the organization is
concerned about if it should employ more graduates, more engineers, more scientists or more
accountants etc. Career planning provides picture of succession plan for employees as per
organizational needs. It focuses on the basis of performance, experience, could be placed
where, when and how. Career planning is a process of integrating the employees’ needs and
aspirations with organizational requirements.
Objectives of Career Planning
1. Build commitment in the individual
2. Develop long-range perspective
3. Reduce personal turnover expenses
4. Lessen employee obsolescence
5. Ensure organizational effectiveness
6. Allow individual to achieve personal and work related goals.
7. Importance of Career Planning Career planning is important because it helps the
individual to explore, choose and strive to derive satisfaction with his own career
objectives.

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Human Resource Planning For Productivity

Introduction
The main aims of course unit are to assess the relationship between HR- planning and strategic
planning, to identify the approaches and process of HR- planning, and to analyze the essential
of HR- planning for industrial productivity. This course unit is basically concerned with essential
of HR- planning for organizational effectiveness and industrial productivity.

Human Resource Planning For Productivity Model

Planning provides direction, reduces uncertainty, and minimizes waste and sets standards. No
activities can be done without planning. Here we are going to discuss on human resource
planning not only planning. HR-planning is the entry point of human resource management. It is
concerned with determining human resource requirements, job analysis, recruitment, selection
and socialization. HR- planning is also called ‘Personnel planning’, ‘Employment planning’, and
‘Manpower planning’. HR- planning is the process of determining an organization's human
resource needs. It is important factor in human resource management programs because it

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ensures the right person at right place, at right time. It helps the organization to achieve overall
strategic objective.
HR- planning is the process of assessing the organization's human resource needs in light of
organizational goals and making plans to ensure that a competent, stable work force is
employed. It systematically forecasts an organization's future supply of, and demand for,
employees. HR-planning is the process by which an organization ensures that it has right
number and kinds of people at the right place, at the right time, capable of effectively and
efficiently completing those tasks that will help the organization achieve its overall objectives.
(DeCenzo and Robbins, 2005). It is the analysis of future personnel requirement referred to the
human resource planning (Mondy and Noe, 2006).

HR- planning must be linked to the overall strategy of the organization. It evaluates human
resource requirements in advance keeping the organizational objectives, operation schedules,
and demand fluctuation in the background (Khadka, 2009). HR-planning should be future–
oriented, system–oriented, and goal directed. It reduces uncertainty, develops human resource,
improves labor relations, utilizes human resource and controls human resource. Forecasting
human resource requirements, effective management of change, realizing organizational goals,
promoting employees and effective utilization of human resource are the main objectives of
HR-planning.

HR- planning consists of various activities. The main are as follows: (i) forecasting human
resource requirements, either in terms of mathematical projections of trends in the economic
environment and development in industry or in terms of judgment estimates based upon the
specific future plans of a company, (ii) making an inventory of present HR-resources and
assessing the extent to which these resources are employed optimally, (iii) anticipating human
resource problems by projecting present resources into the future and comparing them with
the forecasts of requirements to determine their adequacy, both quantitatively and
qualitatively, and (iv) planning the necessary programs of requirements, selection, training and

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development, utilization, transfer promotion, motivation, and compensation to ensure that

future HR-requirements that are properly met.

Scientific HR- planning acquires the right number of qualified people in the right job at the right
time, focuses on corporate goal, utilizes human resource, reduces uncertainty, reduces labor
cost, keeps records, maintains good industrial relation, and regularizes in production.
Therefore HR-planning is most essential for industrial productivity.

HR- Planning and Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is the process by which top management determines overall organizational
purposes and objectives and how they are to be achieved (Mondy and Noe, (2006). It assesses
the opportunities and threats in external environment and strengths and weaknesses in
internal environment. HR- planning is the process of systematically reviewing human resource
requirements to ensure right man at right place, at right time. HR-planning plays an important
role to achieve strategic objective. Therefore, there is strong relationship between strategic and
HR- planning.

Strategic planning scans environment using different forecasting tools and identifies its
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. HR- planning manages qualified,
experienced, competent and motivated employees to utilize strengths and opportunities and to
overcome weaknesses and threats. So, there is close relationship between strategic planning
and HR- planning. Strategic planning determines corporate strategic objectives and HR-
planning provides required human resource to achieve these objectives. Thus, strategic
planning and HR- planning are related with each other. Relationship between strategic planning
and HR- planning can be explained in two headings. They are: follower relationship, and partner
relationship.

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Follower relationship
Strategic plan is corporate level plan. It consists of all organizational plans including human
resource plan. HR-planning helps in the achievement of corporate plan. HR-planning is always
based on strategic planning. HR-planning cannot be formulated without strategic planning, and
strategic planning cannot be achieved without HR-planning. There is hierarchical relationship or
follower relationship between strategic planning and HR- planning.

Partner relationship
Equal or parallel relationship is known as partner relationship. Strategic planning and HR-
planning have partner relationship between each other. HR-planning acts as a partner to
accomplish strategic planning. Human resource management should provide a partner role to
HR- planning in the formulation of corporate strategic plans. The main objectives of partner
relationship are to: (1) identify human resource needed to achieve corporate goals, and (2) link
human resource plan with corporate strategic plans.

Approaches to HR- Planning

HR- planning is the process of determining an organization's human resource needs. It has
three approaches. They are: quantitative approach, qualitative approach, and mixed approach.
Quantitative approach
This is traditional approach. It is management-driven approach. It is also known as top-down
approach and hard approach. As name implies, it gives focus on required numbers of
employees rather than personal aspect of individual. Quantitative approach of HR- planning is
foundation of Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS), Demand
Forecasting Technique (DFT), and Work Study Technique (WST).
HRMIS: Human resource management information system gives information about name, post,
qualification, experience, remuneration and allowance, performance and updated human
resource inventory. Computerized HRMIS facilitates in formulation of HR- planning.
DFT: Trend analysis, mathematical models, economic model, Markov analysis, etc. are major
demand forecasting techniques.

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WST: Work-study technique determines the work standard of employees/people. Observation,

interview, diary, etc. are used as work-study techniques.

Qualitative approach Qualitative approach is employee-driven. It is also known as bottom-up

approach and soft approach. As name implies, it gives focus on personal aspect of individual
rather than required numbers of employees.

Qualitative approach of HR- planning is concerned with–(i) matching organizational needs with
employee needs, (ii) remuneration and incentive plans, (iii) recruitment, selection,
development of employees, (iv) career planning, (v) promotion and transfer, (vi) employees
safety, welfare and working environment, (vii) motivational activities, and (viii) maintenance.

Mixed approach
This is combination of quantitative and quantitative approaches. It balances between
qualitative and quantitative approaches. This approach of HR- planning produces better result
because it is combined form of qualitative and quantitative approaches.

HR- Planning Process

HR- planning is a process. It consists of five stages. They are: assessing current human resource,
forecasting human resource demand, forecasting human resource supply, comparing or
matching demand and supply forecasts, and action plans.

1. Assessing current human resources

Assessing current human resource is the first step of HR- planning process. It begins by
developing profile of current employees. This internal analysis includes information about the
workers and the skills they currently possess (DeCenzo and Robbins, 2005). It is based on
human resource inventory, human resource information system, succession planning and job
analysis.

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 Human resource Inventory: Human resource inventory provides detail information

about currently available employees in the organization. It includes following
information about employees: name, education, performance, experience, training and
development, current position, compensation, special skills, capabilities, language, and
others.

 Human resource information system: Human resource information system is a

computerized information system, which assist in the processing human relation
information. It provides following information: employee's name, surname, date of
birth, address and marital status, employee's current post, employee's salary,
allowance, facility and other financial incentives, employee's qualification, experiences,
skills and competencies, employee's performance appraisal, and information related
with employee's language, culture, religion, and so on.

 Job analysis: Job analysis provides information about job currently being done and
qualification, experience, skills; competencies that individuals need to perform that job.
Job description, job specification and job evaluation are the main objectives of job
analysis.

2. Forecasting human resource demand

Forecasting human resource demand is second step of HR- planning process. It begins after
assessing current human resource in the organization. Forecasting human resource demand is
the process of estimating future human resource requirements to meet future needs of the
organization. There are several reasons to conduct forecasting human resource demand. They
are: quantity the jobs necessary for producing a given number of goods, or offering a given
amount of services, determine what staff-mix is desirable in the future, assess appropriate
staffing levels in different parts of the organization so as to avoid unnecessary costs, prevent
shortage of people where and when they are needed most, and monitor compliances with legal

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requirements with regard to reservation of jobs. Forecasting human resource demand

influenced by many factors. The main are as follows:
 Corporate objectives: Forecasting human resource demand influenced by corporate
objectives. Objectives may be about- technological changes, restructuring, downsizing,
new product line addition, market expansion, and others.

 Environmental forces: Forecasting human resource demand also influenced by

environmental forces like economic, political-legal, social-cultural, and technological.

 Labor market: Forecasting human resource demand is also influenced by labor market.
Labor market may be domestic as well as international.

 Other factors: Forecasting human resource demand also is influenced by other factors
like rate of retirement, rate of turnover, promotion, transfer, etc.

Forecasting human resource demand techniques may be classified under three categories;
 Expert forecasting techniques: Expert's forecasting techniques include Delphi technique,
group technique, and survey technique.

 Managerial estimate techniques: Managerial estimate techniques include top-down

approach and bottom-up approach.

 Statistical techniques: Statistical techniques include ratio analysis, regression analysis

and time series analysis.

3. Forecasting human resource supply

The third step of HR- planning process is forecasting human resource supply. It begins after
assessing current human resource and forecasting human resource demand. Forecasting
human resource supply estimates future sources of employees likely to be available from
within and outside on organization. In other words forecasting human resource supply
measures the number of people likely to be available from within and outside an
organization, after making allowance for absenteeism, internal movement and promotions,
wastage and changes in hours and other conditions of work.(Armstrong, 1992).

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There are several reasons to conduct forecasting human resource supply (Aswathappa,
2005). They are:
i). Helps quantify number of people and position expected to be available in future to help
the organization realize its plans and meet its objectives.
ii). helps clarify likely staff-mixes that will exists in the future
iii). assesses existing staffing levels in different parts of the organization
iv). Prevents shortage of people where and when they are must needed.

Monitor expected future compliance with legal requirements of job reservations.

Forecasting human resource supply is influenced by many factors. The main are as follows:
 Exiting human resource: Quality and quantity of existing human resource directly affect
the forecasting human resource supply.
 External source of supply: Organization can look-out for prospective employees from
external source like labor market, educational institutes (Universities, Colleges or
Vocational Schools, etc.), training institutes, etc. Such external sources of supply affect
the forecasting human resource supply.
 Internal source of supply: Organization can internally fulfill its vacancy. Human resource
inventory, inflows and outflows, turnover rate, absenteeism rate, job movement rate,
promotion, transfer, etc. provide information about employees likely to be available
from internal sources.

Forecasting human resource supply techniques may be classified under two categories;
 Managerial judgment techniques: Managerial judgment techniques include replacement
planning and succession planning.

 Statistical techniques: Statistical techniques include Markov analysis, trend analysis and
regression analysis.

4. Matching demand and supply forecasts

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Matching demand and supply forecasts is the fourth step of HR- planning process. It begins
after forecasting human resource demand and supply. A matching of demand and supply
forecasts gives us the number of employees to be recruited or made redundant as the case may
be.

5. Action plans
The last step of HR- planning process is action plan. It is prepared to deal with shortage and
surplus of human resource in an organization. It helps organization to implement human
resource planning. The main activities of action plan are as follows:
 Recruitment plans: Recruitment plans indicate the numbers and types of people
recruited at the specific time period.

 Selection plans: Selection plans indicate selection of qualified, competent and

experienced people.

 Training plans: Training plans indicate numbers of people at all levels who will undergo
training and identify the need of training.

 Retention plans: Retention plans indicate reasons for employee’s turnover. Career
planning, incentive, promotions, participation, quality of work life are examples of
retention plans.

 Appraisal plans: Appraisal plans indicate strengthened appraisal system. Appraisal plans
motivate the employees for enhanced performance.

 Redeployment plans: Redeployment plans identify the employees who need to be

transferred and trained.

 Downsizing plan: Downsizing plan is that step which is taken by management to offload
of overstaff. It includes golden handshake, layoff, voluntary retirement scheme, and so
on.

HR- Planning and Productivity

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HR-planning is very essential for productivity. It does the following activities to enhance
managerial effectiveness and industrial productivity:
 Acquires best human resources: HR- planning determines future human resource
requirements in an organization. The main objective of HR-planning is to manage right
person at right place at right time. Beyond this, it is concerned to job analysis,
recruitment, selection, and socialization. Therefore, HR-planning is essential for
productivity.
 Focuses on corporate goal: HR- planning is goal directed. It gives focus on corporate
goal. Human resource goals are linked to overall strategic goal of organization. Such
linkage helps to promote better co-ordination, easy implementation, and effective
control. Therefore, HR-planning is essential for productivity.
 Utilizes of human resources: HR- planning helps to proper utilization of human resource
in an organization. It facilitates in motivation, performance appraisal, and compensation
management. And it also identifies surplus or unutilized human resource. So, HR-
planning is essential for productivity.
 Develops of human resources: HR- planning determines the numbers and the
qualification of employees. Recruitment, selection, placement, and socialization are
done scientifically. It also provides adequate time and place for seminar, workshop,
training and development and other career development programs to the development
of human resource for productivity.
 Reduces uncertainty: Environmental factors like economic, political-legal, social-
cultural, and technological can create uncertainty. HR- planning reduces such
uncertainty by forecasting future human resource. It matches demand and supply of
human resource. It also develops recruitment, selection, placement, and socialization
basis after studying and analyzing such environmental factors. This is very essential for
productivity.Reduces labor cost: HR- planning reduces labor cost, which minimizes cost
of production and product price. Labor cost can be reduced by utilizing available labor
force effectively. Reduction in labor cost promotes competition ability of organization.
Thus, HR- planning is also essential for productivity.

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 Regularizes in production: HR- planning ensures regularity in production. It determines

right person at right job. It also facilitates to provide motivational incentives and
development opportunities. This creates regular working environment. Therefore, HR-
planning is essential for productivity.
 Maintains good industrial relation: HR- planning maintains good labor relations. It is
very important to achieve overall corporate objectives. It provides qualified, competent,
and motivated personnel to promote labor or industrial relations in an organization.
Thus, HR- planning is very essential for productivity.
 Keeps records: HR- planning keeps records of human resources. Records are kept of all
activities of human resource like recruitment, selection, placement, promotion,
performance appraisal, compensation, benefits, rewards, punishment, and so on. Such
records facilitate human resource management to take right decision about employees.
 Controls human resources: Human resource planning controls human resources. It
determines the numbers and kinds of employees. It also controls unnecessary
recruitment, selection and placement. There will be no room for nepotism and
favourism. Therefore, human resource planning is important in human resource
management.

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Conclusion
HR- planning is a process by which an organization ensures that it has the right number of
qualified person in the right job at the right time. It is never ending process which utilizes
human resource and matches demand and supply. HR-planning is directed by overall strategic
objective of the organization. The main conclusions of this article are: (i) there is follower and
partner relationship between strategic planning and HR- planning, (ii) HR- planning has three
approaches. They are: quantitative approach, qualitative approach, and mixed approach, (iii)
assessing current human resources, forecasting human resource demand, foresting human
resource supply, matching demand and supply forecasts, and action plans fall under HR-
planning process, and (iv) HR- planning is essential for productivity and organizational
effectiveness because it acquires best human resources, focuses on corporate goal, utilizes
human resources, develops human resources, reduces uncertainty and labor cost, regularizes
production, maintains good industrial relation, keeps records, and controls human resources

SELECTION INTERVIEWS
What is Interview in HRM?
Interview in general is a process of face to face interaction between two parties. Here, interview
refers to the act of getting first hand information regarding candidates by the employer. In
selection process, interview includes two parties, one who wish to get information i.e. employer,
called interviewer and next who gives information i.e. candidate, called interviewee.
Interview thus can be defined as the in-depth conservation between interviewee and interviewer
with the purpose of exchanging information during the course of employee selection.
Interview in selection process, acts as a tool for selecting capable candidates and filter out the
least deserving one. In interview, interviewer ask questions in order to get information regarding
general information, qualification information, skills and experience information, special
qualities like communication skills, leadership skills, motivation skills, logical reasoning, etc. to
an interviewee i.e. candidate who provides information to the interviewer as effectively as
possible. Interview facilitates for selecting most suitable candidates among all other.

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Interview is the direct communication between employer and prospective employee to get
additional information than provided in bio-data. This provides an opportunity to show physical
and mental balance to the employer. Interview can be classified in to different types like
structured, semi structured and unstructured. This can be further be classified in formal and
informal, depth, stress and planned interview.

A selection procedure designed to predict future job performance on the basis of applicants'
oral responses to oral inquiries.
Importance of Interview in HRM:
 Interview verifies the information provided by candidates during the application.

 It helps to get some additional information which may have not been included in
application form.

 It helps to get special skills, qualification and expertise of candidates that may fit to other
jobs in case of emergency.

 It helps to known the interpersonal communication skills, situation adaptation skills,

problem solving skills, etc. of candidates.

 It helps to know the attitude of candidates towards job and organization.

 It helps to know the general interest, hobbies and likes and dislikes of candidates which
help to manage accordingly if they are selected.

 It helps to share the organizational working procedures, culture, tradition and working
environment.

Advantages
 useful for determining if the applicant has requisite communicative or social skills which
may be necessary for the job

 interviewer can obtain supplementary information

 used to appraise candidates' verbal fluency

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 can assess the applicant's job knowledge

 can be used for selection among equally qualified applicants

 enables the supervisor and/or co-workers to determine if there is compatability between

the applicant and the employees

 allows the applicant to ask questions that may reveal additional information useful for
making a selection decision

 the interview may be modified as needed to gather important information

Disadvantages
 subjective evaluations are made

 decisions tend to be made within the first few minutes of the interview with the
remainder of the interview used to validate or justify the original decision

 interviewers form stereotypes concerning the characteristics required for success on the
job

 research has shown disproportionate rates of selection between minority and non-
minority members using interviews

 negative information seems to be given more weight

 not much evidence of validity of the selection procedure

 not as reliable as tests

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Tips
Minimize stereotypes. To minimize the influence of racial and sex stereotypes in the interview
process, provide interviewers with a job description and specification of the requirements for the
position. Interviewers with little information about the job may be more likely to make
stereotypical judgements about the suitability of candidates than are interviewers with detailed
information about the job.
Job Related. Try to make the interview questions job related. If the questions are not related to
the job, then the validity of the interview procedure may be lower.
Train Interviewers. Improve the interpersonal skills of the interviewer and the interviewer's
ability to make decisions without influence from non-job related information. Interviewers
should be trained to:
 avoid asking questions unrelated to the job

 avoid making quick decisions about an applicant

 avoid stereotyping applicants

 Avoid giving too much weight to a few characteristics.

 try to put the applicant at ease during the interview

 communicate clearly with the applicant

 maintain consistency in the questions asked

Summary of Interviews
In general, interviews have the following weaknesses:
1. validity of the interview is relatively low

2. reliability of the interview is also low

3. stereotyping by interviewers, in general, may lead to adverse impact against minorities

4. the subjective nature of this procedure may allow bias such as favoritism and politics to
enter into the selection process

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5. This procedure is not standardized.

6. not useful when large numbers of applicants must be evaluated and/or selected

Types of Interview in HRM:

Interview can be classified into various bases. Most popularly they can be classified into
structured, unstructured and semi structured on the basis of types of questions to be asked in the
interview. Broadly types of interviews include the following;

1. Structured Interview:

Under structured interview, a set of questions in prepared including job responsibility and
personal interests. All the questions from the set should be asked to each candidate interviewee.
Along the set of questions, evaluation scheme of the response or answer of respondents is also
prepared. Normally, a print checklist can be used to rate the response of candidates. This type of
interview is appropriate if there are maximum candidates to be interviewed and information
regarding past performance are more important. Some of the questions can be as follows:
 Why do you want to join this organization?
 What is the reason for leaving the previous organization?
 What are your major strengths?
 What do you want to join this job?
 Can you accept any changes in job responsibilities?
 What do you do if your job is transferred?
 What are your career goals? etc.
This interview does not facilitate to access the interpersonal skills. Structured interview can
further be divided into behavioral interview and situational interview. Behavioral interview
focuses on past behavior of candidate whereas situational interview focuses on the candidate's
expected future activities on the job. Structured interview has high reliability and validity.
2. Unstructured interviews:
This interview is also called non directive approach. Involves a procedure where different
questions may be asked of different applicants. Under unstructured interview, questions for

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interview are not prepared in an advance. Only general outline and guideline for interview are
known but interviewer remain free for ask the questions. After starting interview, interviewers
ask question as the environment of interview gets changed. This creates the situation of asking
different questions to different candidates. Questions of such interview are created through the
response of same questions from different candidates to compare their intellect, communication
skills, etc. to compare them. But, this helps to observe the individual capacity and intelligence
for handling the instant problems.
This interview takes more time so this is not suitable in case of large number of candidates.
Likewise, more important job related questions may not be explored during the interview as the
questions emerge by interview environment. Unstructured interview has low reliability and
validity.
3. Semi structure interview:

This is also known as mixed interview as it considers content of both structure and unstructured
interview. Semi-structure interview contains only few pre-determined questions for basic
information. Remaining questions may be asked on the basis of environment of interview.
Normally, job specific questions are left flexible. This interview is normally lengthy as
interviewee has to respond both structured and unstructured questions.
This is the most popularly used interview as it provides information to compare candidates as
well as job specific information. This interview has moderate reliability and validity.
4. Situational Interview Candidates are interviewed about what actions they would take in
various job-related situations. The job-related situations are usually identified using
the critical incidents job analysis technique. The interviews are then scored using a
scoring guide constructed by job experts.
5. Behavior Description Interviews Candidates are asked what actions they have taken in
prior job situations that are similar to situations they may encounter on the job. The
interviews are then scored using a scoring guide constructed by job experts.
6. Comprehensive Structured Interviews Candidates are asked questions pertaining to
how they would handle job-related situations, job knowledge, worker requirements, and
how the candidate would perform various job simulations. Interviews tapping job
knowledge offer a way to assess a candidate's current level of knowledge related to

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relevant implicit dimensions of job performance (i.e., "tacit knowledge" or "practical

intelligence" related to a specific job position)
7. Structured Behavioral Interview This technique involves asking all interviewees
standardized questions about how they handled past situations that were similar to
situations they may encounter on the job. The interviewer may also ask discretionary
probing questions for details of the situations, the interviewee's behavior in the situation
and the outcome. The interviewee's responses are then scored with behaviorally anchored
rating scales.
8. Oral Interview Boards This technique entails the job candidate giving oral responses
tojob-related questions asked by a panel of interviewers. Each member of the panel then
rates each interviewee on such dimensions as work history, motivation, creative thinking,
and presentation. The scoring procedure for oral interview boards has typically been
subjective; thus, it would be subject to personal biases of those individuals sitting on the
board. This technique may not be feasible for jobs in which there are a large number of
applicants that must be interviewed.

Methods of Interview in HRM: On the basis of how many interviewers and/or interviewees are
included in interview, interview methods can be following three types:
1. One on one Interview:

In this interview, only one interviewee is taken at a time by an interviewer. This means only one
candidate is interviewed by a interviewer at a time one after another. Interviewees need to face
interview with different interviewer one after another. For example, candidate has to face first
interview with human resource manager, then with marketing manager and then with production
manager, then finally with senior manager. This interview takes more time but different expert
ask specific question from their area so candidates can be judged in each area of job. This
method is common in selecting managerial level employees.
2. Panel interview:
In this method, a group of expert interviewer is prepared from different area of specialization.
Such group of expert is called panel. Panel is to be led by one member as chairperson. Each
candidate needs to face the group of expert panel individually. Each member of panel ask

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question from their respective area of specialization and evaluate candidate's response
individually. One member can be prepared while giving the response of other interviewer by the
candidate. This helps interviewers to coordinate their effort within the interview therefore this
method takes less time. This method is beneficial in case of information regarding situational
adaptation and stability of candidates is to be judged.
3. Group interview:
In this method, a group of candidates are interviewed at a time. In such interview, all the
candidates get common questions, case or event. They present their answer or solution after
group discussion one by one. Interviewers evaluate answers, logic or solution. In this method,
interviewers do not concern about what the answers given but they care about how they give the
answer. Leadership capacity, problem identification skills, convincing power, self confidence
and energy level, habit of listening and accepting the others logic, capacity to manage stress, etc.
are judged by the interviewers.

Interview Process in HRM:

Interview is a selection process in which most capable candidates are identified on the basis face
to face interaction. It is based on oral conversation. It is to be effective otherwise wrong
candidate may be selected and right candidate may be rejected. To be an effective interview, it
has to follow certain stages as follows:
1. Interview planning:
This is the first step in interview process. In this planning process all the pre-requisites are set up.
Following activities are conducted in this stage:
 Revision of job description, job specification and job application.

 Setting types of interview i.e. deciding structured, unstructured and semi structured
interview.

 Setting questions to be asked if structured and semi structured interview are set.

 Deciding method of interview i.e. one on one, panel or group interview.

 Setting interviewers panel appointing them from different area of specialization

depending upon the job description and job specification.

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 Fixing the place and arranging the physical facilities like evaluation sheets, pencils, files,
etc.

 Setting interview schedule for different candidates.

 Call the candidates according to the schedule.

2. Conducting interview:
In this stage, interview is conducted according to schedule. Interviewer should be careful to
make the interview environment congenial. Candidates should get enough opportunity to express
their response. Following activities are the major activities of conducting stage:
 Welcoming the candidates are most possibly, introducing interview panel with
candidate.

 Initiating the interview with the general question of self introduction of candidate.

 Questions are to be asked turn by turn by interviewers. Candidate should get the
maximum chance to give response.

 Response of each question is recorded carefully.

3. Termination of interview:
This step consists of closing the interview. After getting or asking all the questions designed to
interview, interview should be stopped. While closing the interview, interviewer should not
forget to thank the candidate. They should have to provide positive hope to the candidate. They
must inform that candidate will be called for the next step if she/he is selected.
4. Evaluating interview:
After termination of interview, interviewers must review the interview. In this step, interviews
evaluate the response of interviewee. They evaluate and rate the answers, appearance,
impression, and attitude and information exchange capacity of candidate. For evaluation, they
may use grading system like A, B, C, D or point system out of the assigned full marks. Rating in
point is more common.

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Limiting factors of Interview in HRM:

Interview is the most influencing step in selection process. Successful candidates in interview, is
normally selected for the job. This means interview is the crucial step in selecting right man at
right job. There may be some hurdle or limitations which make the interview less effective.
Some of these are as below:
1. Snap Judgment: It is very common proverb that first impression is the last impression.
This is perfectly applicable in interview. Interviewers make their judgment in the first
look. Such judgments do not depend in factual information. And the decisions made in
such snap judgment may be wrong.

2. Halo effect: Halo effect is the tendency of making decisions on the basis of single trait or
characteristic. Interviewers make decision of like or dislike on the basis of dress up,
walking style, hair style, facial expression, etc. which may not judge the actual skills,
experience or job related qualities. This reduces the effectiveness of the interview.

3. Contrast effect: This is the tendency of making decision on the basis of previous
candidate. This means the interviewers make decisions regarding like or dislike on the
basis of the presentation of previous candidate. For instance, if the previous candidate has
not presented well and comparatively the present candidates presents better, then the
present candidates gets some sympathy marks as well.
4. Pressure: Pressure from top level management, investors, board of directors, politician,
bureaucrats, and other pressure groups or individual to the interviewers also affect the
evaluation decision. They must make favorable decision for the candidates of pressure
group or individual. Because of this qualified candidates may be rejected and less
qualified candidates may be accepted.
5. Personal biases: Interviewers in most of cases may have some strong beliefs. Such
believes makes them personal biasness. Such biases may also affect negatively. For
example, some may be strong feminist, some may be anti-feminist, anti-black, anti-ethnic
etc., they choose the candidates on the basis of their favored.

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6. Emphasis on negative factors: Some interviewers may give over emphasis on negative
factors only. If they find such negative factors in candidates, they reject them whatever
positive qualities may be present in them. This increases the chance to reject right man.
7. Lack of Knowledge:
In some cases, interviewers may have very little or no knowledge relating to job responsibilities.
In such situation, they don't know what is right or wrong response of the candidates. This also
produces the wrong decision.

Hiring the Right Person (Effective Interviews)

How do you select the right person for your business? There is no perfect answer, but the
interview process can be a tremendous help if you use it effectively. Interviewing candidates for
a position within your company is one of the final steps in the hiring process. Before you get to
this step, you want to make sure that you've completed all of the preceding steps. Below is a list
of the steps involved in the hiring process. See FindLaw's The Hiring Process section for
additional articles and resources on this topic.
In order, the key steps to finding the right person to fill a position in your company include:
1. Determine your need to hire a new employee.

2. Conduct a thorough job analysis.

3. Write a job description and job specification for the position based on the job analysis.

4. Determine the salary for the position, based on internal and external equity.

5. Decide where and how to find qualified applicants.

6. Collect and review applications and resumes, and then select the most qualified
candidates for further consideration.

7. Interview the most qualified candidates for the position.

8. Check references.

9. Hire the best person for the job.

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Now that you know where the interview process fits into the hiring process, let's take a look at
the "do's" and "don'ts" of conducting a successful interview.
Conducting a Successful Interview: What to Do
1. Prepare in Advance for the Interview
 Know what you want in a candidate before you begin the interview.

 Know the job and its responsibilities.

 Prepare a list of standard questions concerning the candidate's skills, abilities and past
work performance that you want him/her to answer.

 Prepare a list of prioritized and measurable criteria for analyzing and comparing the
candidates.

 Review the candidate's resume prior to the interview.

 Set specific appointment times and reasonable time limits.

 Be prepared to justify the use of any required employment test.

2. Collect Pertinent Information during the Interview

 Since past behavior predicts future behavior, look for the candidate's behavior "patterns"
as you collect information. For example, has the candidate enjoyed "big picture" work or
detailed analysis more? Is he/she more of a generalist or more of a specialist?

 Try not to offer too much detailed information up front so that the candidate will be able
to formulate answers that exactly fits your company's needs.

 Ask questions that focus on the candidate's past performances.

 Ask specific, structured questions in regards to specific problems that the job holder may
face.

 Notice how well the candidate listens and responds to the questions asked.

 Note the candidate's choice of words and non-verbal behavior.

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 Listen to the questions the candidate asks. Clarify the reasons why the questions are
being asked. Notice which questions he/she asks first as they may be his/her primary
concerns.

 Take detailed hand-written notes concerning job related topics that will help you
distinguish the candidates from one another.

 Record information pertaining to the set criteria that will help in the evaluation of
candidates.

 Organize and analyze the information immediately after the interview when memory is
fresh.

3. Look and Act Professionally During the Interview

 Dress appropriately.

 Avoid appearing bored and fatigued.

 Set a businesslike atmosphere.

 Structure the interview and inform the candidate of the structure. Let the candidate know
you will be focusing on past results and that you will be taking a lot of notes.

 Provide information on the company and the job to each candidate.

4. Treat All Candidates Fairly

 Use your list of standard questions during each interview so that you treat the applicants
the same and so that you can compare apples to apples.

 Refer to the criteria of the job when analyzing candidates.

 Keep all questions job-related.

 Do not ask discriminating questions.

 Show a genuine interest in every candidate you interview.

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 If possible, have at least one other person meet and/or interview candidates who are
"finalists."

5. Be Courteous and Respectful

 Conduct the interview in a private place away from distractions.

 Begin the interview on schedule.

 If possible, conduct the interview without interruptions.

 Allow sufficient time for the interview.

 Appreciate the candidate's accomplishments.

 Do not patronize the candidate.

 Do not argue with the candidate.

 Thank the candidate for his/her time and interest.

6. Facilitate Open Communication

 Immediately attempt to establish a rapport with the candidate by breaking the ice.

 Promote a relaxed environment with free-flowing conversation.

 Do not dominate the discussion by talking too much.

 Politely probe the candidate for information by asking open-ended questions that will
provide insight into the candidate's values and traits.

 Ask structured questions that will require some thought on the part of the candidate.

 Listen carefully to the candidate's answers.

 Explain the selection process to the candidate.

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The Successful Interview: What NOT To Do

The following list is comprised of subject matter that is widely regarded as "off-limits" for
discussion in an interview by employment experts. Most of these subjects relate directly
to federal and state employment laws.
In an interview, or on an employment application, do not ask questions...
a) ...concerning the age of the candidate: Be careful using the words "over qualified" with
older candidates.
b) ...about their arrest record (this is different from convictions - in most states, it is
permissible to ask if the candidate has ever been convicted of a crime).
c) ...about race or ethnicity
d) ...concerning the candidate's citizenship of the U.S. prior to hiring (It is permissible to
ask "Will you be able to provide proof of eligibility to work in the U.S. if hired?")
e) ...concerning the candidate's ancestry, birthplace or native language (it is permissible
to ask about their ability to speak English or a foreign language if required for the job).
f) ...about religion or religious customs or holidays.
g) ...concerning the candidate's height and weight if it does not affect their ability to
perform the job.
h) ...concerning the names and addresses of relatives (only those relatives employed by the
organization are permitted).
i) ...about whether or not the candidate owns or rents his/her home and who lives with
them. (asking for their address for future contact is acceptable).
j) ...concerning the candidate's credit history or financial situation: In some cases, credit
history may be considered job-related, but proceed with extreme caution.
k) ...concerning education or training that is not required to perform the job.
l) ...concerning their sex or gender. Avoid any language or behavior that may be found
inappropriate by the candidate. It's his/her standard of conduct that must be met.
m) ...concerning pregnancy or medical history: Attendance records at a previous employer
may be discussed in most situations as long as you don't refer to illness or disability.
n) ...concerning the candidate's family or marital status or child-care arrangements (but it
is permissible to ask if the candidate will be able to work the required hours for the job).

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o) ...concerning the candidate's membership in a non-professional organization or club

that is not related to the job.
p) ...concerning physical or mental disabilities (but asking whether the candidate can
perform the essential job duties is permitted.) The ADA allows you to ask the applicant to
describe or demonstrate how they would perform an essential function (s) when certain
specific conditions are met. Check the law or consult with an attorney before moving
forward.

General Interview Guidelines

Profile the position functions
The key to effective interviewing and hiring is the establishment of functions. By deciding upon
the essential functions of the position, you will be able to determine the job's specific
requirements.
"Essential Functions" are defined as the basic job duties that an employee must be able to
perform satisfactorily. Carefully examine each job to determine which functions are essential to
satisfactory performance.
Factors to consider in determining if a function is essential include:
 Whether the performance of the functions is one of the reasons the position
exists

 The number of other employees available to perform the function or among

whom the performance of the function can be distributed

 Consequences of not requiring that an employee perform the function

 The degree of expertise or skill required to perform the function

 Time spent performing the function

 The actual work experience of a present or past employee in the job

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Establish specific requirements

After you have established the position's essential functions, determine the specific skills,
knowledge, ability, experience, etc. needed by the applicant to fulfill each function.
To gain a clear understanding of these requirements, try to categorize them according to those
items that are behavioral in nature and those that are technical. "Technical" requirements refer to
specific skills, expertise or experience that your position demands. "Behavioral" requirements
refer to how a person needs to act in order to fulfill a given responsibility (e.g., "self motivated,"
"well organized," "attentive to detail,"). Please note that behavioral requirements must be defined
in behavioral terms. For example, rather than listing "good communication skills" as a
requirement for a position requiring interaction with disgruntled students, you would do better to
list "the ability to listen and respond to students' complaints effectively."
Try assessing each of the position's essential functions in light of three basic questions.
 What must an applicant know? (examples: knowledge of software or
personal computers)

 What must he or she be? (examples: punctual or well organized)

 What must he or she have? (example: a specialized certificate, skill,

experience)

 What skills are not negotiable, meaning what is needed on day one?

Establish your priorities

The last step is the establishment of priorities in your requirements. You want to ensure that in an
interview you will gain information about the essential requirements. Categorize your
requirements according to critical ("must haves"/non-negotiable) and desirable ("want to
haves"/can be acquired on the job).
"Critical" requirements are those you absolutely must have--those critical factors that will
eliminate some applicants. "Desirable" requirements, secondary selection criteria, are attributes
you would like an applicant to possess in addition to the critical requirements. Desirable
requirements can generally be learned on the job.

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Contact your HR Employment Services Consultant/Recruiter.

Set aside time at this point to develop an understanding of the position, settle any questions
regarding special requirements, and define selection criteria. Ask any questions you may have
about the position regarding your selection criteria, special requirements, and applicants referred,
interview questions, and/or the interview process.

Choose a diverse selection committee

The selection committee will help you pick the candidate best suited for the position and for the
unit overall. Select committee members and a chairperson based on the following criteria,
keeping diversity within the panel in mind.
 Vested interest in the responsibilities of the position

 Knowledge of the goals of the unit or office

 Working relationships

 Supervisory responsibilities

 Campus interaction

In the interest of fairness, committee members should not needlessly reveal that they are going to
serve as panelists.
Responsibilities of the Selection Committee Chairperson
1. Provide Selection Committee with selection criteria

2. Ensure that the same procedure is followed for each candidate

3. Escort the candidate into the room, introduce the panel, put the applicant
at ease, explain the interview process, and ask the first question

4. Ensure that no inappropriate questions are asked

5. Inform the candidate of the timeline for selecting a finalist and filling the
position

6. Keep to the time schedule

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7. Close the interview

8. Make final recommendations to the hiring authority on behalf of the

selection committee

Responsibilities of the Selection Committee

1. Screen the applications and make recommendations for interview if
directed by the committee chairperson

2. Help develop interview questions based on selection criteria as

appropriate

3. Maintain absolute confidentiality of the selection process and do not

discuss the process with anyone outside the interview process/selection
committee unless directed by the committee chairperson

4. Be mindful of legal guidelines pertaining to inappropriate questions

5. Evaluate candidates during the interview and make recommendations to

the committee chairperson or hiring authority regarding the most
appropriate applicant

Have a plan
Review the position description to identify skills, knowledge and abilities essential for
successfully performing the job. Develop a set of carefully thought-out interview questions based
on the predetermined selection criteria and functional areas listed on the position description that
relate directly to performance and to your expectations for the position. Your Employment
Services Consultant/Recruiter can also help you develop job-related questions. Prepare a list of
questions to use when checking references for finalists. Again, questions must be job-related.

Screen carefully
Note: The Employment Services Unit will review and screen applications against the criteria
stated in the position description before referring to the department. After the final filing date,
referrals will be forwarded to the department contact identified on the requisition.

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The selection committee must screen applications for the most appropriately qualified applicants
to interview. After applicants are selected, the committee members should review their
applications again to pinpoint areas where additional information may be needed or can be
clarified during the interview. Prepare key areas of inquiries for all applicants.

Contact the applicants

The committee chairperson or designee contacts the applicants to invite the candidate for an
interview and advises them of the time, date, and place for the interview, the expected length of
the interview, parking availability and parking fees, and interview procedures. You may also
want to ask the applicants to bring any additional information they would like to share, such as
performance evaluations, reference letters or work samples. Please contact your Employment
Services Consultant/Recruiter for more information.
The following guidelines are provided as an aid in complying with University policy and
procedures and with federal and state laws. Before the interview, take a few minutes to review
the job application materials.

Create a relaxed interview setting

The interview setting should be quiet, comfortable, and free of distraction from telephones and
any other kind of interruption. If you must use an office, arrange that all phone calls be
forwarded to another line. Keep on schedule, as candidates become apprehensive when asked to
wait. Ask each candidate to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the interview. Give him/her a copy of
the position description and any other materials you feel are important before the interview, such
as an organizational chart, agenda for the interview, and a list of the selection committee
members with their titles. Allow at least 15 minutes between interviews to permit candidates to
come and go without overlap, and to allow the committee members to evaluate a candidate's
responses to questions while the answers are still fresh in their minds.

Follow a logical sequence

Keep the same format for each candidate and allow an equal amount of time for each candidate
to answer questions. Introduce the candidate to the rest of the committee and invite him or her to

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be seated. Provide information regarding the expected timeframe for filling the position and what
the interview is meant to accomplish. You can briefly define the job responsibilities.

Let the candidate do the talking

After defining the job responsibilities, let the candidate "do the talking." It is extremely
important to listen and concentrate on what he/she is saying. The candidate should carry 80-85%
of the total conversation. The panel members' input should be limited to asking questions,
probing deeper, and keeping the candidate on track. The panel should clear up points on the
application form, asking follow-up questions that encourage the candidate to talk. Ask only
questions that are directly related to the job. Use "W" questions--who, what, when, where, and
why; also, how? Several types of questions are useful:
 Direct questions are easy to understand, and are more likely to yield
concise answers and specific information. Example: "Why did you apply for
this position?"

 Open ended questions often produce unexpected and valuable

information, may reveal attitudes and feelings, and can indicate how well
an applicant can organize his or her thoughts. Example: "Tell us about your
job at XYZ Corp."

 Behavioral questions are encouraged. These types of questions require an

candidate to analyze a situation and can reveal the extent of his/her
experience. Example: Describe an experience when you... These questions
must be specifically related to the job functions discussed in the position
description.

 Probing questions, such as "Could you explain what you mean by ...?" can
further clarify the candidate's views.

Allow silence after asking a question so that you don't interrupt the candidate's thinking process.
Encourage candidate with: "Take your time, we want you to be specific."

Be mindful of your questions

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Formulate questions that indicate whether or not a candidate meets the requirements you have
established for the position. Keep three rules in mind:
 Ask questions that focus on past employment performance. Avoid
questions that address the candidate's personal lifestyles or habits

 Ask questions that relate to your listed skill, ability, knowledge or

experience requirements

 Ask the same questions of all candidates.

Avoid:
 Closed questions that require merely a yes or no response

 Multiple questions that require several answers

 "Loaded" questions that force a choice between two alternatives

 Questions that are illegal and dealing with areas that are not factors for job
performance, such as gender (if you would not ask a question of a man, do
not ask it of a woman, and vice versa), age, race, religion, veteran status,
marital status, medical conditions (do not make medical judgments or
disqualify a candidate on factors that are purely medical in nature), and
disability (it is illegal to ask about the nature and/or severity of the
disability, the condition causing the disability, if the applicant will need
treatment or special leave because of the disability, or about any prognosis
or expectation regarding the condition or disability). Contact your
Employment Consultant/Recruiter if you have questions.

Taking notes will help you remember details of the interview; however, writing notes during the
interview could be distracting and upsetting to a candidate. If you plan to take notes, explain
before the interview starts that you will be taking notes. This should help reduce suspicion and
nervousness. Make sure you maintain some eye contact while you are writing.

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Close on a proper note

After the committee members have explored all performance factors, they can ask the candidate
if he or she has any questions, needs clarification, or anything to add. Ask the candidate if he or
she is still seriously considering the position. Thank the candidate for coming, and explain your
notification process--when a decision will be made, whether a second interview will be
conducted, and how candidates will be notified. Remember to smile, shake hands, and lead the
candidate to the door. Note: Keep the process the same for all candidates.

Check references
References are checked for three basic reasons:
 Verify employment

 Verify what you have learned during the interview

 Obtain employment recommendations

References should always be checked regardless of your impression of the interviewed

candidate's qualifications. Reference checks should be conducted for every finalist, after you
have completed your interviews. Use the reference checklist or develop your own job-related
questions. Your list of questions should be developed ahead of time to ensure consistency and
fairness to all candidates. Questions must be job related. Responses can be used in consideration
only if documented. Ask, Is this information documented or a matter of record? If the candidate
is a current employee, you may review the employee's personal file in Human Resources. Please
contact your Employment Consultant/Recruiter for information regarding this review. If you
review the candidate's personnel record file, be careful/mindful of how the information is to be
used. Compare information that relates to the new position in terms of skills, knowledge, and
abilities. Also, be aware that aged information that speaks unfavorably may no longer reflect the
candidate's attributes. Check current references to ensure fairness to the candidate. Note: There is
no legal prohibition against an employer's attempt to obtain reference information; however, for
a variety of reasons, including adverse litigation decisions, employers tend to provide minimal to
no information.

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Make your selection

All information obtained in the interviews should be kept confidential. Evaluate the candidate
solely on what you learned in the interview, the candidate's responses to interview questions and
information gathered during the reference check. Each panel member should ask himself or
herself: Setting aside my personal biases, would I hire this person with reasonable confidence
that he or she could handle the job successfully? Select the candidate who has the qualifications
to perform the duties of the position effectively.

Decide on a salary
New hires: In general, a department can make an offer up to the mid-point of the salary range
for new hires. Any salary above these levels will be by exception only and requires the approval
of Employment Services/HR before a hiring commitment can be made. Salary request letters
should outline candidates background as it relates to the position and recruitment difficulty;
salary history and evaluation of the candidate's experience with relationship to placement within
a salary range; relationship to internal employees in the same classification (salary equity among
internal employees is an important consideration when setting salaries). Offers of employment
above midpoint for non-covered range positions require Employment Services unit approval
prior to the salary offer.

Current Employees: In general, a UC employee who is promoted to a step-based position with

a higher salary range maximum may receive a salary increase to the minimum of the new salary
range or the equivalent of a one-step increase, whichever is greater, provided that the resultant
salary does not exceed the maximum of the new salary range. Please consult with your
Employment Consultant/Recruiter regarding collective bargaining stipulations prior to a job
offer. For non-represented positions, a UC employee who is promoted to a position with a grade-
based salary range may receive a salary increase from 0 - 25 percent, provided that the resultant
salary does not exceed the maximum of the new salary range and all combined salary actions do
not exceed 25% within a fiscal year. Please consult with your Employment Consultant/Recruiter
prior to making a job offer.

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A UC employee who transfers laterally into a position with an equivalent salary range typically
does not receive a change in salary. Consult with your Employment Consultant/Recruiter
regarding policy and collective bargaining stipulations prior to salary offer.

Complete the recruitment process

Good personnel practices are:
 Follow any internal protocol established for your Unit/College/Service
Area

 Touch base with your Employment Consultant/Recruiter to advise of your

selection and to discuss salary offers

 Call the successful candidate to offer the position

 Follow up with a confirmation of the offer, acceptance, salary, title and

starting date, etc.

 A candidate has the right to know the reason(s) for not being
selected; however, reason should be suggested by selection criteria based
on the position description

 Provide justification for hire/non hires to withstand internal or external

audit

Key Points to Remember When Interviewing

a) Make sure all managers and supervisors who may conduct recruitment interviews are
given training in interview techniques and the avoidance of discrimination.
b) Recognize the "halo effect" for what it is and make sure it does not prevent objectivity in
interviewing.
c) Try to recognize personal attitudes, views and opinions about people, and put these to one
side during selection interviewing.

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d) Focus during interviewing on the requirements of the job and the extent to which the
applicant's background matches these, rather than on personal opinions and impressions
of the applicant.
e) Refrain from allowing gut feeling alone to determine the outcome of the selection
interview.
f) Ensure that questions asked at interview are designed to obtain relevant information,
check facts, test achievement and assess aptitude and potential.
g) Do not ask candidates questions about marital status or marriage plans, childcare
arrangements, domestic arrangements or their partner's occupation, as such questions can
be viewed as discriminatory.
h) Do not ask a job applicant how he or she would cope with working alongside (or
reporting to) a member of the opposite sex, someone who is older or younger, or
someone from a different racial group.
i) Frame interview questions to seek information about the applicant's ability to perform the
job, and not about his or her personal life or family arrangements.
j) Refrain from asking questions that would indicate the candidate's age or suggest that age
is a factor that might influence the selection process.
k) Do not be afraid to ask direct and probing questions, but ensure that they cannot be
interpreted as unlawful discrimination.
l) Be willing to vary the arrangements for the interview of a disabled job applicant so as to
allow the person to compete for the job on a level playing field with other applicants.
m) Ask every job applicant what, if any, adjustments he or she requires for the interview.
n) Take care to ensure that questions about health and disability are designed only to
establish whether or not an applicant, if recruited, would be capable of performing the
key functions and duties of the job.
o) Refrain from making any assumptions about a disabled candidate's capabilities or
suitability for the job.
p) Frame questions to disabled applicants about their abilities in a positive way so as to
avoid the risk of the applicant perceiving that the interviewer is looking for or
anticipating problems.

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q) Do not ask questions during job interviews that could indicate that applicants' potential
recruitment is dependent on whether or not they will opt out of pension’s auto-enrolment.

INTRODUCTION TO THE ORGANISATION

What is an induction process?
Induction is the process of welcoming and familiarizing new staff with your organization, their
job and their workplace. Another name for the induction process is orientation.
After completing induction, Staff should be confident in completing their tasks, know who their
manager or supervisor is and who they can go to for help. They should be aware of where to find
necessary resources and be introduced to your organization’s staff policies, including
occupational health and safety and dispute and grievance policies. The induction process can be
completed with a group of new staff or individually. Ideally, all staff should complete the
induction process before commencing work.

Why is the induction process important?

Starting a new job can be nerve racking and stressful. Self-doubt often creeps into a person's
mind. For example, one might question how it is possible to remember everyone's names, how to
get along with the boss and who can answer 'silly' questions. Staff may be apprehensive about
meeting new people, taking on responsibility and fitting in. A good induction program will make

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the new staff feel welcome and give him or her confidence in the nature of their role and who
they can go to for assistance.
Other advantages of an effective induction process include:
a) Improved staff and staff morale
b) Increased productiveness
c) Reduction in new staff's anxiety
The induction process can also assist recruitment and training. A staff who feels comfortable in
their role is more likely to ask for help and to encourage other people to join.
What to include in the induction? Your induction program should suit the needs of your
organization and role of your Staff. Some induction programs will go for half a day while
others will last a week with continuous monitoring and supervision. Above all, staff inductions
should be fun and valuable. This is your staff first insight into your organization and you want it
to be positive. Remember staff who enjoy their work are more likely to be committed to the
organization. As well as having fun, staff should also learn about the organizational chart, the
organization’s vision and its values and goals, both short and long term. Ensure you give the staff
all of the appropriate documentation. Don't underestimate the time it takes to print and gather all
of the material!
Examples of what to give staff as part of an induction pack include:
a) Code of conduct
b) Sexual harassment policy
c) Role descriptions
d) Handbooks
e) Previous annual reports
f) Contact details
g) Organizational chart
h) Meeting schedule and calendar of upcoming events
i) etc
After the induction, the new staff should have a strong understanding on what the organization
does and the role of staff and paid employment. The employees should also be made aware of

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your organization’s recognition and reward programs and training opportunities. See our pages
on Rewarding and recognizing staff for more information.

Designing your induction program

Decide how long you want the induction process to go for and whether groups or individual staff
inductions suit your organization. See our page on Induction and orientation programs for more
tips on groups and individual induction programs.
For both group and individual inductions, it's a good idea to create a formal or informal checklist
of what to talk about and what to include. This will make each induction easier than the last and
ensure you don't forget vital information for example, where the evacuation point is!
This is also great for succession planning. If you thoroughly document the induction process, it
will be easy for someone to takeover if you are sick or when you leave. Ensuring the staff
program is sustainable is a huge feat for some organizations.

Induction checklist
Suggestions for what to include in your induction checklist include:
a) Demonstrate how to use the equipment, including telephone, fax, email systems (eg.
Outlook, gmail), and advise on internal and external mail processes
b) Show the location of toilets, meeting rooms, kitchen/tea rooms
c) Explain parking regulations/locations and public transport options
d) Show the location of first aid kits, emergency exits and emergency assembly point
e) Explain visitor procedures, how to book meeting rooms, cars and resources
f) Introduce new staff to colleagues and managers
g) If appropriate, assign a work colleague as a mentor for the initial settling in period
Not all of the above ideas will be relevant to your organization and the role of your staff. It is
essential that you customize the induction process and only give your new staff relevant
information. Many people feel overwhelmed when they are given new information; it's best to
give short concise versions of documents.
Other things to include
It is also important to explain:

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a) Start and finish times

b) Tea and/or lunch breaks
c) Reimbursement policy
d) Uniforms (if applicable)
e) Flexible staff options
f) Emergency evacuation procedures
g) Your expectations of workplace behaviour and your policy on sexual harassment
h) For long term staff assignments, a staff manager may also want to discuss with the new
staff/staff the following:

i) Position description
j) Performance expectations
k) Performance appraisal process
l) Training and development opportunities
m) If appropriate, the staff and staff manager/coordinator could set performance expectations
and goals for the next six months.

In summary, an effective induction process should:

a) Welcome the new staff by providing personal and professional support and
demonstrating commitment to them
b) Integrate the new staff into the workplace and explain how they fit into the organisation
c) Allow the new staff to assimilate information about the workplace and their role
d) Provide important information and resources that will assist the new staff
e) Enable the new staff to be independent and proficient in their role as soon as possible
Remember to ask for feedback after the induction so you can implement suggestions and
continually improve the program.

INDUCTION ACTIVITIES
Induction training design guide and induction training checklist
Induction Training is absolutely vital for new starters. Good induction training ensures new
starters are retained, and then settled in quickly and happily to a productive role. Induction

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training is more than skills training. It's about the basics that seasoned employees all take for
granted: what the shifts are; where the notice-board is; what's the routine for holidays, sickness;
where's the canteen; what's the dress code; where the toilets are. New employees also need to
understand the organization’s mission, goals, values and philosophy; personnel practices, health
and safety rules, and of course the job they're required to do, with clear methods, timescales and
expectations. On the point of values and philosophy, induction training offers a wonderful early
opportunity to establish clear foundations and expectations in terms of ethics, integrity, corporate
social responsibility, and all the other converging concepts in this area that are the bedrock of all
good modern responsible organizations. The starting point is actually putting these fundamental
life-forces on the workplace agenda.

Professionally organized and delivered induction training is your new employees' first proper
impression of you and your organization, so it's also an excellent opportunity to reinforce their
decision to come and work for you. Proper induction training is increasingly a legal requirement.
Employers have a formal duty to provide new employees with all relevant information and
training relating to health and safety particularly.

As a manager for new employees it's your responsibility to ensure that induction training is
properly planned. Even if head office or another 'centre' handles induction training - you must
make sure it's planned and organized properly for your new starter. An induction training plan
must be issued to each new employee, before the new employee starts, and copied to everyone in
the organization who's involved in providing the training, so the new starter and everyone else
involved can see what's happening and that everything is included. Creating and issuing a
suitable induction plan for each new starter will help them do their job better and quicker, and
with less dependence on your time in the future. Employees who are not properly inducted need
a lot more looking after, so failing to provide good induction training is utterly false economy.
As with other types of training, the learning can and development can be achieved through very
many different methods - use as many as you need to and which suit the individuals and the
group, but remember that induction training by its nature requires a lot more hand-holding than

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other types of training. On the side of caution - ensure people are looked after properly and not
left on their own to work things out unless you have a very specific purpose for doing so, or if
the position is a senior one. As with other forms of training there are alternatives to 'chalk and
talk' classroom-style training. Participation and 'GAAFOFY' methods (Go Away And Find Out
For Yourself) can be effective, particularly for groups and roles which require a good level of
initiative. Here are some examples of training methods which can be used to augment the basics
normally covered in classroom format:
 on the job coaching

 mentoring

 delegated tasks and projects

 reading assignments

 presentation assignments

 attending internal briefings and presentations, eg 'lunch and learn' format

 special responsibilities which require obtaining new skills or knowledge or exposure

 video

 internet and e-learning

 customer and supplier visits

 attachment to project or other teams

 job-swap

 shadowing (shadowing another employee to see how they do it and what's involved).

Be creative as far as is realistic and practicable. Necessarily induction training will have to
include some fairly dry subjects, so anything you can do to inject interest, variety, different
formats and experiences will greatly improve the overall induction process. There are lots of

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ideas for illustrating concepts and theories relating to induction training on the acronyms
page(warning: contains adult content), and also the stories page.
Induction training must include the following elements:
 General training relating to the organization, including values and philosophy as well as
structure and history, etc.

 Mandatory training relating to health and safety and other essential or legal areas.

 Job training relating to the role that the new starter will be performing.

 Training evaluation, entailing confirmation of understanding, and feedback about the

quality and response to the training.

And while not strictly part of the induction training stage, it's also helpful to refer to and discuss
personal strengths and personal development wishes and aspirations, so that people see
they are valued as individuals with their own unique potential, rather than just being a name
and a function. This is part of making the job more meaningful for people - making people feel
special and valued - and the sooner this can be done the better. For example the following
question/positioning statement is a way to introduce this concept of 'whole-person' development
and value:

"You've obviously been recruited as a (job title), but we recognize right from the start that you'll
probably have lots of other talents, skills, experiences (life and work), strengths, personal aims
and wishes, that your job role might not necessarily enable you to use and pursue. So please give
some thought to your own special skills and unique potential that you'd like to develop (outside
of your job function), and if there's a way for us to help with this, especially if we see that there'll
be benefits for the organization too (which there often are), then we'll try to do so..."

Obviously the organization needs to have a process and capacity for encouraging and assisting
'whole person development' before such a statement can be made during induction, but if and
when such support exists then it makes good sense to promote it and get the ball rolling as early
as possible. Demonstrating an true investment in people - as people, not just employees -

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greatly increases feelings of comfort and satisfaction among new-starters. It's human nature -
each of us feels happier when someone takes a genuine interest in us as an individual.

Including a learning styles self-assessment questionnaire or a multiple intelligences self-

assessment questionnaire within the induction process also helps to 'draw out' strengths and
preferences among new starters, and will additionally help build a platform for meaningful work
and positive relations between staff and employer. Ensure that new starters are given control of
these self-tests - it is more important that they see the results than the employer, although it's fine
and helpful for the employer to keep a copy provided permission is sought and given by the staff
members to do so. Line-managers will find it easier to manage new starters if they know their
strengths and styles and preferences. Conducting a learning styles assessment also helps the
induction trainer to deliver induction training according to people's preferred learning
styles.

So much of conventional induction training necessarily involves 'putting in' to people

(knowledge, policies, standards, skills, etc); so if the employer can spend a little time 'drawing
out' of people (aims, wishes, unique personal potential, etc) - even if it's just to set the scene for
'whole person development' in the future - this will be a big breath of fresh air for most new
starters.

Use a feedback form of some sort to check the effectiveness and response to induction training -
induction training should be a continuously evolving and improving process. Free examples of
training feedback forms and induction training feedback forms are available on the free
resources section.

Take the opportunity to involve your existing staff in the induction process. Have them create
and deliver sessions, do demonstrations, accompany, and mentor the new starters wherever
possible. This can be helpful and enjoyable for the existing staff members too, and many will
find it rewarding and developmental for themselves. When involving others ensure delivery and
coverage is managed and monitored properly.

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Good induction training plans should feature a large element of contact with other staff for the
new person. Relationships and contacts are the means by which organisations function, get
things done, solve problems, provide excellent service, handle change and continually develop.
Meeting and getting to know other people are essential aspects of the induction process. This is
especially important for very senior people - don't assume they'll take care of this for themselves
- help them to plan how to meet and get to know all the relevant people inside and outside the
organisation as soon as possible. Certain job roles are likely to be filled by passive introverted
people (Quality, Technical, Production, Finance - not always, but often). These people often
need help in getting out and about making contacts and introductions. Don't assume that a
director will automatically find their way to meet everyone - they may not - so design an
induction plan that will help them to do it.

Induction Training Checklist

Here is a simple checklist in three sections, to help you design an induction plan to suit your
particular situation(s). Whilst the order of items is something that you must decide locally, there
is some attempt below to reflect a logical sequence and priority for induction training subjects.
Consider this an induction checklist - not an agenda. This checklist assumes the induction of an
operational or junior management person into a job within a typical production or service
environment.
General organizational induction training checklist
 Essential 'visitor level' safety and emergency procedures

 Washrooms

 Food and drink

 Smoking areas and policy

 Timings and induction training overview

 Organisational history and background overview

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 Ethics and philosophy

 Mission statement(s)

 Organisation overview and structure

 Local structure if applicable

 Departmental structure and interfaces

 Who's who (names, roles, responsibilities)

 Site layout

 Other sites and locations

 Dress codes

 Basic communications overview

 Facilities and amenities

 Pay

 Absenteeism and lateness

 Holidays

 Sickness

 Health insurance

 Pension

 Trades Unions

 Rights and legal issues

 Personnel systems and records overview

 Access to personal data

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 Time and attendance system

 Security

 Transport and parking

 Creche and childcare

 Grievance procedures

 Discipline procedures

 Career paths

 Training and development

 Learning Styles Self-Assessment

 Multiple Intelligences Self-Assessment

 Appraisals

 Mentoring

 Awards and Incentives

 Health and Safety, and hazard reporting

 Physical examinations, eye test etc.

 Emergency procedures, fire drill, first aid

 Accident reporting

 Personal Protective Equipment

 Use, care, and issue of tools and equipment

 Other housekeeping issues

 General administration

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 Restricted areas, access, passes

Job and departmental induction training checklist

The induction training process also offers the best opportunity to help the new person more
quickly integrate into the work environment - particularly to become known among other staff
members. Hence the departmental tours and personal introductions are an absolutely vital part of
induction. Organizations depend on its people being able to work together, to liaise and
cooperate - these capabilities in turn depend on contacts and relationships. Well-planned
induction training can greatly accelerate the development of this crucial organizational
capability.
 Local departmental amenities, catering, washrooms, etc.

 Local security, time and attendance, sickness, absenteeism, holidays, etc.

 Local emergency procedures

 Local departmental structure

 Department tour

 Departmental functions and aims

 Team and management

 People and personalities overview (extremely helpful, but be careful to avoid sensitive or
judgemental issues)

 Related departments and functions

 How the department actually works and relates to others

 Politics, protocols, unwritten rules (extremely helpful, but be careful to avoid sensitive or
judgemental issues)

 The work-flow - what are we actually here to do?

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 Customer service standards and service flow

 How the job role fits into the service or production process

 Reporting, communications and management structures

 Terminology, jargon, glossary, definitions of local terms

 Use and care of issued equipment

 Work space or workstation

 Local housekeeping

 Stationery and supplies

 Job description - duties, authority, scope, area/coverage/territory

 Expectations, standards, current priorities

 Use of job specific equipment, tools, etc.

 Use of job specific materials, substances, consumables

 Handling and storage

 Technical training - sub-categories as appropriate

 Product training - sub-categories as appropriate

 Services training - sub-categories as appropriate

 Job specific health and safety training

 Job-specific administration, processing, etc.

 Performance reporting

 Performance evaluation

 Training needs analysis method and next steps

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 Initial training plans after induction

 Training support, assistance, mentor support

 Where to go, who to call, who to ask for help and advice

 Start of one-to-one coaching

 Training review times and dates

 Development of personal objectives and goals

 Opportunities for self-driven development

 Virtual teams, groups, projects open to job role

 Social activities and clubs, etc.

 Initial induction de-brief and feedback

 Confirmation of next training actions

 Wider site and amenities tour

Other for induction training activities managerial, executive, field-based or international

roles
Here are some typical activities to include in the induction training plans for higher level people.
The aim is to give them exposure to a wide variety of experiences and contacts, before the
pressures of the job impact and limit their freedom. As with all roles, induction also serves the
purpose of integrating the new person into the work environment - getting them known.
Induction training is not restricted to simply training the person; induction is also about
establishing the new person among the existing staff as quickly as possible. This aspect of
induction is particularly important for technical personalities and job roles, who often are slower
to develop relationships and contacts within the organization.
 Site tours and visits

 Field accompaniment visits with similar and related job roles

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 Customer visits

 Supplier and manufacturer visits

 Visits and tours of other relevant locations, sites and partners

 Attendance of meetings and project groups

 Shop-floor and 'hands-on' experiences (especially for very senior people)

 Attendance at interesting functions, dinners, presentations, etc.

 Exhibition visits and stand-manning

 Overseas visits - customers, suppliers, sister companies, etc.

Structuring the Induction Training Plan

You should strive to organize the induction plan and give it to the new starter before they join
you. This means thins need to be planned well in advance because the plan will necessarily
involve other people's time and availability. Develop a suitable template, into which you can slot
the arranged activities. Depending on the needs of the situation the induction training plan may
extend over a number of weeks, progressively reducing the pre-arranged induction content, as
the person settles into their job.

Here's an example of how a week's induction might be shown using a template planner. A
schedule is also a useful method for circulating and thereby confirming awareness and
commitment among staff who will be involved with the induction of the the new starter.
Seeing a professionally produced induction plan like this is also very reassuring to the new
starter, and helps make a very positive impression about their new place of work. Adding a notes
and actions section helps the new starter to keep organized during a time that for most people can
be quite pressurized and stressful. Anything you can do to make their lives easier will greatly
help them to settle in. get up to speed, and become a productive member of the team as quickly
as possible.

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Induction training plan example

induction training plan (name, date, organization, etc)

Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri

am times times times times times

activities /subjects activities /subjects activities /subjects activities / activities /subjects
subjects
with whom with whom with whom with whom
with whom
location location location location
location

Notes
&
actions

lunch times times times times times

with whom with whom with whom with whom with whom
location location location location location

pm times times times times times

activities /subjects activities /subjects activities /subjects activities / activities /subjects
subjects
with whom with whom with whom with whom
with whom
location location location location
location

Notes
&
actions

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Induction training review and feedback

As with any type of training, it is vital to review and seek feedback after induction training.
It is particular important to conduct exit interviews with any new starters who leave the
organization during or soon after completing their induction training. Large organizations need
to analyze overall feedback results from new starters, to be able to identify improvements and
continuously develop induction training planning. Seek feedback also from staff who help to
provide the induction training for new starters, and always give your own positive feedback,
constructive suggestions, and thanks, to all those involved in this vital process.

Ways to Improve Your Employee Induction Process

Your employee induction process is often what makes or breaks an employee’s experience at a
company. A great induction or on boarding experience helps settle your new employee in, and
avoid workplace issues in the future.
A successful employee induction process sets up an employee for a great experience with your
company; however, if this process does not go so well, it is more likely your new employee
will have a difficult time at your company, perhaps even resigning down the track. For this
reason, employee on boarding should be taken quite seriously. You need to quickly determine
what you can do to maximize the likelihood that an employee will be successful with the
company and then focus your induction around these activities.

On Boarding Methods
Prepare an induction checklist
Have a document that outlines pre-start (things like computer set-up, email set-up, etc) on the
first day (show emergency exits, explain software, etc) and first week (training sessions, larger
overview of organization).
It needn’t even be that long, but at least some form of checklist that covers the basics of your
employee induction process is recommend. For example, you can include items such as;
 Introduction to team leader or direct manager

 Performance standards and expectations of new employee

 Office/work times

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 Introduction to team members

 Team roles and responsibilities

 Organizational chart

 Layout of office – I use a hand drawn map where people sit, and put their names and
roles on there too.

 Security issues and access to the office

 Safety procedures

Make them feel welcome

It’s quite easy to become so fixated on getting your new employee up-to-speed that you forget to
encourage them to feel welcome. There are a number of activities you can do, besides the usual
‘walk around and introduce them to everyone’. For example;
 Get the team together and go around in the group and ask each individual to tell everyone
something unique about themselves.

 Buy a couple of helium balloons and tie them to the new employee’s desk.

 Get everyone to sign a ‘welcome to the team’ card.

 Enjoy a team lunch on their first day

 Post a welcome on your company social media accounts.

Have a job description

A job description doesn’t need to be long and academic. I prefer a one single page approach,
where we list the most important duties, as well as experience and skills.
For example, you may include the following headings;
 Role title

 Last updated

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 Authored by

 Position statement (literally a few paragraphs)

 Key tasks (normally a list of dot points)

 Role requirements (more dot points)

These needn’t be long, however it is very important they are truly reflective of the role; make a
point of reviewing these every year with the people who are actually employed in these roles.

Encourage your whole team to be involved

When many people think of employee induction, they have a vision of sitting in a conference
room while a single presenter delivers a long-winded PowerPoint presentation for hours on end.
We encourage a different approach. Sure, have a checklist as mentioned above, however
encourage different topic experts to deliver each segment, and spread it over a few days, to avoid
overwhelming your new employee all in one day.

Discuss your company values and vision

In the first few days, it is vital that you sit down with the new employee, and take them through
your company values and vision and what they all mean. Ask your recruit what the values mean
to them, and if they have any questions. You will find this a lot easier if you prepare a good
document that helps explain your company values beforehand.

Encourage social interaction with your team

If you can, ensure that your new person has a team member or two that they can rely on to ask
questions and help them settle in. It’s a good idea to encourage the team to all pitch in and help
with the small things, such as good places nearby to eat, etc. One activity we always try to do is
have a Friday drinks at the end of the new employees first week. This gives the team a chance to
unwind together, and interact with their new colleague in a relaxed and friendly environment.

Outline your expectations clearly

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Although your role description will carry some of the detail, it is important to lead each
employee through the expectations you for them, along with why they are important to the
company success. For example, if you have a policy around booking leave in advance, ensure
you explain the policy (bonus points if you have it documented somewhere!) and give a reason
why, for example ‘at least a four week’s notice can be given , so as to prepare your colleagues
to cover your workload effectively whilst you are away’. There are many situations that policies
or at least documentation could be created for the benefit of communication. Anything you
expect, you cannot just assume that new hires, or even existing employees, will just now by
instinct.

Look for creative ways to welcome your new hire

For example, at Australian startup, Appbot, they give all new employees a gift of a ‘cubebot’.
See this article, How Appbot works on creating a great culture, written by one of the co-
founders, for more information on that.
At Blinds.com they create a custom welcome video (here’s an example) before their first day on
the job. They also get a tour of the entire business with the CEO, Jay Steinfeld.
At Bonobos, the hiring manager sends out an e-mail to the entire company introducing a new
employee. The e-mail includes a brief biography and a photograph of the employee. It also
includes a trivia game that is called “Two truths and a lie.”
These are fun facts about the new employee, but only two of the three are true. In order to figure
out the lie, employees are encouraged to meet the new employee. The first person to identify the
lie correctly gets a $25 store credit.

Follow up regularly
Don’t just complete your first week’s induction and leave it! Schedule a face to face with the
new employee after a few weeks, and find out what is going on with them, what challenges they
have found integrating with your team, etc. It is vital in those early days that you are easily
accessible by any new employee, so they can learn and understand your expectations and vision
for the team.

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Ask your new employee for feedback

The best way to improve your employee induction process is to ask your recent hires about their
experiences. For example, these three questions normally yield some good answers;
 What is something you wish we had explained better in the first week?

 What’s one piece of advice you would give to the next person who is hired?

 How could we have done a better job of your induction? What could be improved?

This gives you great feedback to consider and include in your future inductions, as your team
grows.
Summary
New employees need to feel at home, and become as productive as possible in the shortest
amount of time. A little effort from management and some planning around your employee
induction process can reap the rewards for everyone, quickly.
The nine points we raised, again are;
 Prepare an induction checklist

 Make them feel welcome

 Have a job description

 Encourage your whole team to be involved

 Discuss your company values and vision

 Encourage social interaction with your team

 Outline your expectations clearly

 Look for creative ways to welcome your new hire

 Follow up regularly

 Ask your new employee for feedback

All the best with your next hire, and congratulations for growing the team!

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RELEASE FROM THE ORGANIZATION

 General Consideration

 Redundancy

 Outplacement

 Dismissal

 Voluntary leavers

 References

 Retirement

RELEASE FROM THE ORGANIZATION

EMPLOYMENT TERMINATION
Most employers find dismissal of an employee to be a difficult process regardless of the reasons
for the dismissal. However, when a dismissal is necessary, it is important for the employer to:
a) Be informed about and comply with legislation
b) Treat the employee fairly and act in good faith
c) Handle the termination process in a professional way that preserves the employee's
dignity
d) Be careful about how much information is communicated to others about the facts and
reasons for the termination
Termination, as discussed is an action taken by the employer to end the employer/employee
relationship. Employers have a basic right to terminate the employment of an employee, but
along with that right comes responsibilities. Employers must comply with the
employment/labour standards and human rights legislation for their jurisdiction and beyond that,
employers must treat employees fairly and in good faith as defined by Uganda employment act
2006 and the employments rights act 2008.

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Terminology
Key concepts about termination that are incorporated into all employment/labour legislation in
Uganda

'Termination with cause' or 'Termination with just cause'

At law, termination with cause or termination with just cause means that an action or omission
by the employee has irreparably damaged the employment relationship between the employer
and the employee. Usually, termination with cause occurs when an employee is dismissed for a
serious reason related to the employee's conduct.
Not all employment/labour legislations define 'termination with cause.' Those that do refer to:
willful misconduct, disobedience and deliberate neglect of duties as justifiable reasons for
termination with cause.

'Termination without cause'

Termination without cause means that the employee is being terminated for reasons that are not
related to misconduct and notice of the termination and possibly severance pay is required as
outlined in the employment/labour Legislation.

Notice
Notice is the amount of time between informing an employee in writing that s/he will be
terminated and the date upon which the termination will take effect (i.e. the last day that the
employee will be paid). An agreement, including an employment agreement, cannot be made
with an employee for less than the minimum notice requirement as provided for in
employment/labour Legislation.

Payment in Lieu of Notice

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Payment in lieu of notice means that an employer may choose to have the termination take effect
immediately, and pay the employee for the weeks of notice required by the legislation or, if
greater than that required by legislation, as agreed to in the employment contract.
Once you have determined that an employee is to be dismissed without cause, you will have to
carefully consider whether you want to give the employee notice or pay in lieu of notice. This
will depend on several factors, including the impact on both the organization and the employee
of having the employee continue to be at work during the notice period.

Severance Pay
Some jurisdictions require that an employee who is terminated without cause be provided with
severance pay. This will depend on the size of the employer and the length of service of the
employee.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONFOR TERMINATION OF EMPLOYEES

Legal Considerations When Terminating an Employee
Many employers terminate employees without following some basic procedures that take little
effort on the part of the employer but can prevent major headaches later. Following these rules
prior to termination can help employers avoid problems post-employment and can provide a full
defense to an employee’s claim of wrongful termination.
If you have an employment agreement with the employee, you will need to follow the
provisions governing that agreement. However, the majority of employees are employees at-will
and therefore the following steps and procedures are highly recommended for employers.
1. Follow your own policies. Make sure you follow your own policies and procedures
regarding discipline and termination. An employer that does not follow its own policies
and procedures risks exposing itself to a discrimination claim. Human resources should
be very familiar with your company’s procedures and should regularly review the
handbook to see if changes need to be made. It is important to regularly update your
social media policy in the handbook and provide a copy of the revised policy to all
employees. You should also have each employee sign an acknowledgement of receipt of
the handbook and a copy should be placed in the employee’s file.

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2. Ensure there is documentation to support the basis for termination of the

employee. Unless the employee has committed a clear violation of misconduct,
employment disputes often become an issue of “he said she said” between the employer
and the employee. To avoid post-employment disputes that turn on each party’s
recollections, employers should keep detailed records for each employee. Even
handwritten notes that are dated to the file each time there is a problem with an employee
are sufficient to create a written record, should the employee file a claim against the
employer. An employer’s inability to produce sufficient records documenting a history of
problems with an employee will often lead to the judge or jury concluding that the issues
with the employee did not really exist or were not as serious as now alleged.
3. Base the decision to terminate on performance. In that case, you should have a well-
documented employee file that indicates that the employee has been put on notice that
his/her performance is not up to company standards and that failure to improve is grounds
for termination. Be honest with the employee about the problems with his or her
performance instead of using another reason to avoid discussing the real reason for
termination. Employers who do not disclose the real reason for termination may hurt
their own case. Disguising termination based on performance by telling the employee he
or she was terminated for another reason may help an employee who is claiming
discrimination’s case. The employee may claim the “fake reason” for termination was
used to cover up the real reason, namely, discrimination.

Termination based on performance should only be done when you have provided notice to the
employee of the problems, have attempted to counsel them and provide performance plans and
have taken other logical disciplinary steps.
As soon as unacceptable behavior from an employee arises, the employer should document the
file and ensure that company policies and procedures are applied consistently and fairly to all
employees. The following steps should be taken:
Step One
Verbal Warning: have the employee’s supervisor discuss with the employee the problem that
has occurred and the corrective measures that need to be taken. Have another manager sit in on

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the meeting. Make notes to the file documenting the meeting and problems and have both
managers date and sign the entry.

Step Two
Written Warning; have the employee’s supervisor draft a written warning that states the nature
of the violation and the plan for correcting the behavior. Have the supervisor discuss with the
employee the problem that has occurred and the corrective measures that need to be taken. An
additional step that might be appropriate is putting the employee on a probationary period. Have
another manager sit in on the meeting. Make additional notes to the file documenting the meeting
and problems and have both managers date and sign the entry. Also have the employee date and
sign the written warning.

Step Three
Suspension: the employee will be suspended for several working days without pay. If an
investigation is necessary, the supervisor may have the employee leave the office until a final
decision is reached and if the investigation absolves the employee of any wrongdoing, he or she
will need to be paid in full for the time lost during suspension.

Step Four
Termination: an employee being discharged for multiple minor violations should only be
terminated once the employer has given the employee the warnings above and has properly
documented the file in order to successfully defend any post-employment claims of wrongful
discharge.
Examples of grounds for termination after following the steps above vary by country but may
include:
i). Chronic absenteeism or tardiness in violation of the employer’s policy
ii). Multiple unapproved absences
iii).Inefficiency, incapability, chronic mistakes or misjudgments

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However, certain misconduct may require immediate termination without prior discipline. This
decision should be made by management and what constitutes “misconduct” varies from country
to country. The following examples may constitute misconduct that allows for immediate
termination
i). Testing positive for a non prescribed controlled substance
ii). An intentional false or misleading statement of material nature about past criminal
convictions listed in a job application
iii).Any willful and deliberate violation of a state regulation by an employee that would
cause the employer to be sanctioned or to have its license or certificate suspended
iv). Gross negligence or misconduct by an employee that results in substantial monetary loss
for the employer
v). Sexually harassing another employee

Your policy should include what conduct is prohibited (along with a list of specific examples
that is not exhaustive) and the disciplinary procedures that will be followed for violations of that
policy.

Finally, if you have a difficult employee whom you have reason to believe may claim wrongful
termination or discrimination, contact your attorney before taking any action. He or she will be
able to provide additional guidance to you on a case-by-case basis.

Legislation
Employment Act 2006, outline the basic rights and responsibilities of the employer when
terminating the employment of an employee. Employment rights act 2008 must also be
considered. An employer can terminate the employment of an employee at any time for any
reason, as long as it is not in violation of human rights or other employment legislation or the
Employment Act 2006.
i). Leaves as defined by employment act 2006
ii). Human rights
iii).Termination - when notice is not required

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iv). Termination - when notice is required

Note: There is no exact formula for determining reasonable notice. Legislation simply provides
the bare minimum an employee is entitled to. It is best to consult with a lawyer.

Leaves As Defined By Employment Act 2006

The employment act 2006 gives employees some protection from termination of employment
while on maternity/pregnancy leave and parental leave and prior to, or after, taking the leave to
which they are entitled. An employer cannot terminate the employment of an individual who is
eligible for or on leave for reasons related to the leave. For example, the employment of a
pregnant employee cannot be terminated because she is pregnant; a mother or father cannot be
terminated from employment because he or she is taking leave to care for the child. An employer
can terminate the employment of an employee who is on a leave, as long as the pregnancy (or
other reason a person is on leave) is not the reason for the termination. In other words, an
employer can terminate the employment of an employee on leave if the employer has a
legitimate or business reason for the termination. However, the employer will have to prove that
the termination was completely unrelated to the leave. Check the employment act 2006 for your
jurisdiction for the complete list of leaves that are covered by the legislation.

Note: If, for legitimate or business reasons, you are considering terminating the employment of
an employee who is on a leave as defined in the employment act 2006 for your jurisdiction,
consult a lawyer about the best way to proceed.

Employment Rights Act 2008

Human rights legislation protects individuals from a termination that is based on discrimination
as defined in the employment rights act 2008. Check the employment rights Act 2008 for your
jurisdiction for a complete list of the factors that are covered by this legislation.

Termination - When Notice Is Not Required

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At the beginning of employment termination without advance notice may be allowed for a
specific period . It is always important to make sure that you have the most up-to-date
information about legislation in your jurisdiction.

Termination during the Probationary Period

Most organizations have a probationary period at the beginning of the employment relationship.
Jurisdiction allows for an employer to terminate the employment of an employee at the
beginning of his/her employment without notice or payment in lieu of notice; unless the reasons
for termination are because of discrimination as prohibited by employment rights act 2008 After
the first month(s) of employment as stated in the employment act, the minimum standards for
notice or payment in lieu of notice will apply, regardless of whether or not the employee is
classified as probationary by your organization.

Specific Term or Task

The employment act 2006 also allows for no notice of termination for fixed term contracts where
the employee has been hired for a specific term or task, unless the employer is ending the
contract before its fixed term. The exemption from providing notice with a fixed term contract is
contingent upon the employment ending at the exact date specified in the contract.
Notice will be required even when there is a fixed term contract if:
a) The employee works past the date specified in the fixed term contract period (some
legislation allows an employee to work for a short time past the termination date before
notice is required)
b) The fixed term contract is for longer than 12 months
c) The employee is terminated before the date stated in the fixed term contract (in this
case the employer might have to pay out the balance of the contract)
d) The employee is employed on a succession of fixed term contracts
Exemption from providing notice is contingent upon a fixed term contract of 12 months or less.
This does not mean that an employer can enter into one 12-month contract after another to avoid
the obligation of providing proper notice of termination. The employment ACT 2006 includes

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rules on how to determine if the fixed term is for longer than 12 months and will therefore
require notice. Consult the employment act 2006 for the specific details on how to determine if a
fixed term contract has exceed the exemption from notice period and therefore notice is required.

'Termination with Cause' Or 'Termination with Just Cause'

If an employee is incompetent or the employee's conduct is so unacceptable that it seriously
impacts on the organization and gives rise to a breakdown in the employment relationship, you
can terminate the employment of the employee without notice or payment in lieu.
Some common grounds used in termination with cause are:
a) Dishonesty - theft or fraud by the employee that is serious enough to warrant dismissal
from employment
b) Insubordination - an employee repeatedly breaks organizational policies and
meaningful and progressive discipline has not resulted in a change in behaviour
c) Incompetence - an employee is incompetent at his/her job and performance has not
improved even though the employee has been given the tools, guidance, support,
training and sufficient time needed to improve and an opportunity to make the required
improvement
Termination with cause is difficult to prove and the onus will be on the employer to show that
the employee's actions were very serious or show a pattern of behaviour.
a) For long term employees the organization will also have to show that the incompetence
or misconduct has not been condoned by a lack of action on the part of the employer
over a long period of time
b) If termination with cause is the result of the progressive discipline process, thorough
documentation of the process which shows that progressive discipline was fairly and
consistently applied will be needed
c) If termination with cause is the result of a serious event, the onus will be on the
employer to show that a fair investigation of the event took place prior to the
termination and that the event was indeed serious enough to warrant dismissal from
employment

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d) If the employee had problems - such as alcohol or drug abuse - the employer attempted
to accommodate the employee while he or she sought treatment, to no avail

Termination - When Notice Is Required

Termination without Cause
In most circumstances, an employer must provide written notice of the intent to terminate
employment and the termination date. If an employer wants the termination to take effect
immediately, employment act 2006 allows employers the option of payment in lieu of a working
notice period (a written notice of termination and the date upon which employee ends is still
required). Payment in lieu of notice is based on the normal weekly salary of the employee and
benefits must also be covered for the notice period. Some legislation also states the date by
which payment in lieu must be made. Check the employment act 2006 for your jurisdiction for
the specific details on how payment in lieu is calculated and when the payment is due.

In the nonprofit sector, termination without cause is often the result of restructuring the
organization or changes in funding. The termination is related to the position, not the individual's
performance or conduct. For example:
a) An organization may decide to reorganize its operations and in doing so, a position
becomes redundant therefore the employee who held the position is terminated
b) Funding for a project is not renewed and the employee who worked on the project is
terminated
c) Two organizations decide to share space and share a receptionist. The employment of
the receptionist from one organization is terminated
In some cases, an employee through no fault of his or her own may not be a good fit with the
needs of the organization. In other cases, the employee's performance may be poor but it does not
meet the legal standard for termination with cause. As long as the employer has in fairness and
good faith made reasonable efforts to help the employee meet the expected standard and has
given the employee time and support to improve, the employer may terminate the employment of
the employee by giving notice or payment in lieu of notice as required by legislation. In a
termination without cause, there is no legal obligation for the employer to give a reason.

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However, when being terminated without cause, most employees want to know why. If you
provide a reason, it is important for an employer to be fair and honest about the reason for such a
termination. Under no circumstances should you allege that you have cause for termination when
in fact you do not.

Length of Notice Required By Legislation

After the first month(s) when no notice is required, the length of advance notice that is required
by law for termination without cause is directly related to the length of time the employee has
been with the organization.

Severance Pay
Some jurisdictions require that an employee who is terminated without cause be provided with
severance pay. This will depend on the size of the employer and the length of service of the
employee.
Check the employment act 2006 for the most accurate information.

Termination Process
Preparation for the possibility that you will have to terminate the employment of an employee
starts before the employee is hired by having a termination policy or an employment contract
that states the organization's responsibilities upon termination. The employee should be advised
about the employer's disciplinary and termination policies before being hired.
When looking back, an employee should never be completely surprised by a termination. Once
an employee starts work, expected conduct should be clearly explained and the termination
policy should be restated. Throughout the employment relationship, the employee should be
given appropriate supervision, feedback on performance, and time to improve. Problems with
conduct or performance should be addressed promptly. In the nonprofit sector it is also important
for the employer to provide employees with timely information of funding issues, in cases where
employment is tied to funding. When a termination is necessary, whether it is with or without
cause, the employer must treat the employee with dignity. The employer should carefully
consider how to conduct the termination meeting in a way that is respectful and compassionate.

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Termination Policy
Your organization should have a policy on termination which complies with the employment act
2006 and other legislation for your jurisdiction. Employment Act 2006 legislates the minimum
acceptable standards for notice or payment in lieu; your organization may decide to provide more
than the minimum notice or payment in lieu. The policy should address:
a) Who will be responsible for the decision to terminate
b) Types of actions/behaviour that could result in termination with cause (the policy
should state that the list of examples is not exhaustive)
c) How breaches of conduct will be investigate

Employment Contract
a) All new employees should sign a written employment contract that states how much
notice the employee will be given if terminated without cause as it is outlined in your
policy
b) If there is a probationary period at the beginning of employment, the length of the
period and the termination process during probation should be stated (termination
process must comply with employment act 2006, the employment rights act 2008 and
other legislation)

Treat the Person with Dignity

Termination can be very difficult for the employee and requires confidentiality, respect and
compassion on the part of the employer. If an employee believes that s/he has been wrongfully
dismissed, then the way that s/he was treated before, at, and after termination of employment will
become part of the evidence that is considered when making a judgment in the case. If the
employer did not treat the employee with "good faith", a court might order the employer to pay
the employee additional compensation by lengthening the period of notice

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Note It is important that an employee should never be completely surprised by a termination,

which is usually the case when a manager has not communicated the next steps to an employee
who is misbehaving or performing incompetently.

Where: Choose the Location for the Termination Meeting Carefully

a) Select a location which provides privacy and allows the terminated employee to exit
without the embarrassment of facing other staff
b) Choose a neutral site such as a meeting room rather than your office

When: If possible, be sensitive to issues and important dates in the employee's life and
choose a day that will minimize stress on the employee
a) Avoid holidays and vacations
b) Avoid Fridays - if an employee is terminated on a Friday, this prevents the employee
from obtaining legal advice or counseling before the weekend and leaves him/her with
the whole weekend to worry and build up anger about the situation
c) Terminate near the end of the day when other employees have left and therefore
embarrassment to the employee is minimized

Who: Two members of the management team should be present at the termination meeting
a) The second manager is there as a witness

What: Collect/prepare the necessary documents in advance

a) Letter of termination which states the date upon which it takes affect and any payment
you are offering

How: Be brief and get to the point

a) Explain the situation
b) Avoid emotional, personal, and other inappropriate remarks
c) Explain how the termination will be communicated to other staff and clients
d) Acknowledge that the employee has the right to seek legal counsel

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e) Review the termination letter with the employee and clarify any payment and benefits
that will be provided
f) Let the employee know what you are willing to say in a reference (honesty is the best
policy; however, if you terminating the employee for cause, you will want to provide a
reference which indicates only dates of employment and type of position)
g) Ensure that the employee returns the organization's property
h) Explain the next step - where the person should go after the meeting, how to gather
his/her personal belongings, and so forth
i) This is primarily an information-giving meeting; however, provide an opportunity for
questions
j) Ensure that the person can get home safely, for example, provide cab fare and see the
person to the cab

Good practice
when terminating the employment of a valued employee due to circumstances beyond your
control, focus on the employee's strengths, and offer any assistance you are able to give to help
the person find new employment.
Good practice
It is helpful to make a script to help you remember all the important information you need to
cover during the termination meeting.

Disputes about Termination

When a dispute about termination occurs, an employee has some options for seeking resolution.
If an employee believes that his or her employment has been terminated because of
discrimination, s/he may pursue a claim through the human rights commission or through the
courts, but generally not to both. If the employee proves that the termination of employment was
unlawful because of discrimination, the human rights commission may reinstate the employee to
his or her position. A court cannot do so but can only provide damages to the employee. If an
employee believes that s/he has not receive sufficient notice, payment in lieu or notice, or

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severance pay when the termination of employment was without cause, s/he can choose to direct
the complaint to the labour court or the court. If the employee believes that there was no cause
for termination, and yet the employer has asserted cause, s/he can choose to complain to the
labour court or issue a claim in court, but not both at once.

For a dispute directed to the courts, common law and civil law will be used in addition to statutes
to resolve the dispute. Common law is based on the decisions made and upheld by the courts,
and is therefore always evolving. If an employee's claim of wrongful dismissal directed to the
courts is successful, the employer will be required to pay financial compensation to the employee
that is usually more than what the employee would receive by statute.

Constructive Dismissal
Constructive dismissal is when there is a fundamental change in the employment relationship
that amounts to a dismissal. A claim of constructive dismissal may occur when the employer,
without the consent of the employee:
a) Significantly reduces an employee's salary
b) Significantly changes an employee's benefits
c) Makes a significant change to an employee's work location
d) Makes a significant change to the employee's hours of work
e) Makes a significant change to the employee's authority or responsibilities
An employee must indicate to the employer that he/she is not accepting the change in order to
later attempt to assert that he or she has been constructively dismissed.
An employee may make a claim for constructive dismissal to the courts or, in some jurisdictions,
to the employment standards authority. In deciding the merits of the case the courts will
determine if the change in the employment relationship was so fundamental that it amounted to a
termination of employment and, if so, what compensation is appropriate.

Wrongful Dismissal

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Wrongful dismissal is a legal claim made before the courts about the cause (in the legal sense) or
length of notice/payment in lieu of notice given to the employee when s/he was terminated from
employment.
If the claim of wrongful dismissal is justified, then the courts will look at the contract of
employment, whether it is in writing or not, and common law or civil law in Uganda, to
determine 'reasonable notice' and the appropriate financial compensation in lieu of notice. Under
common law 'reasonable notice' has been determined by the courts by looking at things such as:
age, profession, experience, length of service, nature of the employment and factors related to the
ability of the employee to find similar employment. Common law notice periods and payment in
lieu as decided by the courts are often significantly more than the statutory requirements,
especially for people in senior management positions.
In cases of wrongful dismissal the courts will also look at the way in which the employee was
treated before, during and after termination of employment. If the employer did not act in good
faith, the amount of damages awarded to the employee may be even greater.

Conclusion
Many employees in the nonprofit sector are very dedicated to the mission of the organization, the
clients or cause it serves, and the employees who serve the organization. This can make the need
to terminate the employment an employee even more difficult for the employer. If you must
terminate the employment an employee:
a) Consult a lawyer for advice on the best way to proceed with the termination, given the
specific circumstances
b) Act fairly, consistently, and in good faith at all times
c) Conduct the termination in such a way that the dignity of the employee is preserved
Even with appropriate legal advice and a thoughtful process, there is no guarantee that an
employee will not take your organization to court as the result of a termination. However, to
decrease the likelihood that an employee will sue because of a termination, and to increase the
likelihood of a successful defense if sued, an employer should:
a) Use a written contract of employment which states termination provisions
b) Have clear policies that employees have read, understand and agree to abide by

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c) Consistently and fairly apply the policies

d) Implement an orientation process which clearly outlines your organization's expectations
for the behaviour and performance of your employees
e) Provide employees with ongoing feedback about their performance which is documented
in the employees' personnel files
f) Establish a fair discipline process, clearly explain the process to employees and
consistently implement it
g) Consult with a lawyer prior to the termination
h) Treat the employee in a respectful, impersonal and unemotional way during the
termination process

REDUNDANCY
Redundancy Definition
Redundancy is the dismissal of an employee from their job, due to the employer reducing the
work force. In most cases redundancies are made, when a job role has disappeared or is no
longer required, but other circumstances may sometimes apply. Employees may be terminated
for business reasons, such as poor economic conditions. Common factors that cause
redundancies can include; a job role no longer exists, a business is moving or closing down, cost
cuts are being made or new technology now makes a job role unnecessary. Redundancies can be
forced or voluntary – in the case of voluntary redundancies there are usually incentives offered to
outgoing employees, such as extended garden leave or more valuable severance packages.
Voluntary redundancies are designed to prevent the employer having to choose who to terminate.

Redundancy is one of the reasons for the dismissal of a person's employment under fixed-term
contract. When a work does not exist anymore or has got diminished, the employee may be

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removed of his employment which is under a fixed-contract, called as Redundancy. The non-
existence may be attributed to lack of projects or funds for research have stopped flowing into
the system etc.
A redundancy usually happens because of discontinuance of business on or off the employee's
site or a reduction of work or relocation of the business to a new location or change in the
business processes leading to the removal of employment. This usually impacts the morale,
productivity and motivation of The redundant employees can claim for a compensation for the
dismissal of their employment under strict time limits. other employees as well.
Thus a genuine redundancy is taken to exist where one of the following arises:
a) The Employer ceases to carry on the business for which the Employee was employed, or
ceases to carry on the business at the same place where the Employee was employed.
b) The work for which the Employee was employed has ceased or the requirement to
perform that work has reduced.
c) The Employer has decided to carry on the business with fewer or no Employees. Work
may be reallocated to other Employees.
d) The work which the Employee performed is to be performed in a different way and the
Employee is no longer qualified to undertake the work.
e) The Employee’s work is to be undertaken by another person who is sufficiently qualified
and capable to undertake other work for which the Employee is not sufficiently qualified
or trained.
When multiple people are at risk of redundancy, the correct term is collective redundancy.
Common euphemisms for redundancy include ‘downsizing,’ ‘delayering,’ ‘excess reduction,’
and ‘strategic restructuring.’
If redundancy procedures and policies are not followed correctly it can result in a tribunal
following unfair dismissal.
If an employment tribunal feels that you used redundancy as a pretext to dispense with someone
whose job had not gone, you will lose an unfair dismissal claim. Be prepared to demonstrate to
your employees and to a tribunal that there really was a genuine need to make people redundant.
This may be through sales figures, accounts etc. Whatever decisions you make relating to
redundancy, ensure that you have grounds to back them up with.

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Alternatives to Redundancy
Due to redundancies often being made due to costs, possible alternatives to consider may
include:
a) Reduced hours of work
b) Pay freeze or cut
c) Redeployment
d) Voluntary redundancy
e) Early retirement
f) Recruitment freeze
g) Remove overtime

Volunteers for Redundancy

You may have an employee, volunteer to leave from an area not affected by the proposed
redundancies. If this happens, you should think carefully as to whether it would be practical to let
them go. If it is not, due to the particular employee having a vital skill, explain this – and put it in
writing. You may find that you require more than one consultation due to alternatives being
suggested, in order to find the best outcome relating to proposed redundancies. Be flexible in
your timetable.

Redundancy Consultation
What is Redundancy Consultation?
Redundancies are typically preceded by consultations, which are collaborative efforts between
employers, employees and other stakeholders into ways the business can save the role from
redundancy through new opportunities or restructuring. A redundancy consultation is where an
employer proposes to make collective redundancies and is required in advance to inform any
potentially affected employees. Employers may legally be required to consult for a certain
period of time although this often depends on how many employees are at risk of redundancy.
A Redundancy Consultation must take place before any dismissal is made or issued to an
employee.

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If an employee’s position is at risk of being made genuinely redundant, speak with them as soon
as possible. Regardless of whether or not there is an obligation in an enterprise agreement,
individual contract or modern award, consultation is best practice, and mitigates the risk of
disgruntled employees bringing claims. Clearly communicate the reasons behind the redundancy,
such as the change in operational requirements.
Consult with the employee on redeployment opportunities, including opportunities in the
business, with associated entities, at alternative work sites or interstate. Invite and genuinely
consider feedback from the employee on redeployment options. It’s a good idea to keep a paper
trail as evidence of the consultation process.
If redeployment is not possible, consider if redundancy pay is available. Individual contracts or
employer policies may provide for more favourable redundancy packages

When should a Redundancy Consultation begin?

Employers are legally obliged to consult employees when proposing any redundancies within
one establishment within a 30 day period when 20 – 99 employees are proposed to be made
redundant. When 100+ employees are proposed to be made redundant within one establishment,
employers are legally obliged to consult employees 90 days from the first proposed dismissal.
However there is no law stating a definitive time scale for Redundancy consultation to begin,
when less than 20 employees are to be made redundant. In this situation the employer is still
required to perform a redundancy consultation within a reasonable timescale.

Remember that at this initial stage you should be discussing proposals. This is important because
if you talk about decisions or finalized redundancies now, the message you give is that the
consultation will not change anything. The intention behind consultation is that it should give an
opportunity for employees to put forward their ideas, which might avoid compulsory
redundancies.

Redundancy Selection Criteria

This is possibly the main area within the redundancy process in which “human error” comes into
play. The general rule is that the more complicated you make it, the greater the scope for

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mistakes. Try to stick to objective factors in deciding who to make redundant. For a sales person,
their achievement of agreed sales targets (or not) is likely to be valid.
Redundancy criteria should be objective and justifiable. If you specify that part time workers are
to go, you are likely to be discriminating against mothers who have child care responsibilities.
An employee’s attendance record is also objective, though you should be cautious of selecting on
this basis, anyone whose attendance is adversely affected by a disability (or maternity absence –
which is not a disability of course!). If you do not know who has a condition deemed to be a
disability and who does not, seek professional advice.
Redundancies can be controversial, particularly if businesses must select who is to be made
redundant. A commonly-used technique is last In, First out (LIFO), whereby the employees
who have joined most recently are considered first for redundancy. This in itself is controversial;
critics say it disadvantages young workers who will inevitably have less-established careers.

Redundancy Paper Trail

It is great if you do all the right things in the right order when making redundancies, but do not
simply rely on memories to support your business in the event of a redundancy tribunal claim.
When you have consultation meetings, take a record and when alternative proposals are put to
you, explain in writing why they are or are not acceptable.
Every part of the redundancy process should be documented, if your business needs help or
advice on the documentation that should be carried out when making redundancies, please
contact Employment Practice and Law

Right of Appeal
A dismissal by reason of redundancy is still a dismissal and you must not forget to give the right
of appeal. Except in very small businesses, the appeal should always be heard by someone not
previously involved in the redundancy case.

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OUT PLACEMENT
Definition: The process of a company assisting recently terminated employees with searching
for other employment opportunities. Some of these companies work with particular outplacement
agencies that locate news jobs for the laid off employees. Outplacement services are typically
only provided for a certain amount of time and are not required to be offered by the company.
Outplacements services are paid for by the downsizing company.

The Outplacement Process

The outplacement is usually offered to employees in the close cooperation with the external
provider of services. The outplacement is not the internal HR service. Most HR functions have
no sufficient resources and knowledge of the job market as the offered services would be
sufficient for leaving employees. HR should not spend too much time designing the
outplacement process. It is rarely used, and the outplacement vendor usually brings the project,
which fits all needs.

The outplacement process is not the regular HR process; it runs just in case of the major
downsizing in the organization. HR is not the expert, and it should not design the internal
outplacement processes. It should use services of specialized companies, which design and
enrich their best practice. They understand the needs and feelings of terminated employees and
have techniques how to engage terminated employees again. HR needs to create the high level
requirements, necessary steps for the vendor and desired outcomes.

Each outplacement vendor has the proposal of the ideal outplacement process, but the
organization needs to design the high-level process. The vendor needs to introduce changes into

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the process as it suits the requirements of the organization. The vendor should advise the
organization, but all requirements of the company should be met.

HR has to split the outplacement process into two separate processes. HR has to arrange the
agreement with the vendor, and it has to define the basic requirements. This is the high-level
process. HR can select the right vendor after the design of high level processes. In close
cooperation with the selected vendor, the organization has to design a detailed operational
process, which follows the individual employees in the process.
This split is extremely valuable for the company as it captures all relevant, high level elements,
which drive the satisfaction of the top management. The low level process is the main driver for
the satisfaction of terminated employees and their colleagues, who stay in the organization.
The high level outplacement process described by HR should consist from the following steps:
a) The analysis of the downsizing decision
b) Outplacement provider selection criteria
c) General Terms and Conditions Criteria
d) Reporting and Payment Conditions
The individual outplacement should consist from the following steps (in line with the agreement
between the organization and the vendor):
a) Outplacement Package Content Design
b) Termination Discussion and Contact Handover
c) Termination Discussions
d) Initial Meeting
e) Reporting
The high level process brings the security that all necessary items are captured. The analysis of
the decision has to be made as the structure of employees, experiences and skills are captured.
The employees with the long term employment usually require higher and more complex
attention than employees with shorter career path in the organization. They should be served
separately. The results of the analysis drive the other strategic process steps. HR has to define the
criteria for the outplacement vendor including the number of terminated employees, their
structure, age structure, locations and the mix of skills and competencies.

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The organization has to define the desired level of services, and it has to cluster terminated
employees as the vendor understands who will receive which service. The scope of the services
has the enormous impact on the total cost of the project. HR should ask for several options to be
included in the proposal.

Operational outplacement processes deal with the terminated employees. The organization needs
to set proper deadlines for steps in the process. It has to set up the friendly and open
environment; it has to create the positive environment for the outplacement consultant.
The operational processes should be kept as easy as possible. The employee should be the client
of the processes. HR orders the outplacement services for leaving employees. It offers them
guidance and help. HR does not order the outplacement to make the top management happy.

DISMISSAL
Definition: Dismissal refers to the act of terminating the employment of an employee by the
employer in an organization. Dismissal is sometimes also termed as firing or sacking. Depending
on the reason of termination, there are two types of dismissals – Fair dismissal and Unfair
dismissal
a) Fair dismissal – if the employee is proven on charges of theft, habitual negligence of
duty, disorderly behaviour, bribery, incapability, financial regularities or subordination

b) Unfair dismissal – Reasons includes maternity reasons, taking part in union activities,
whistle-blowing, discrimination on grounds of age, gender, race, religion, nationality etc.
It can also be due to economic reasons when an employee had to be laid-off

Dismissal with Notice

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Definition: Dismissal with notice is a legal dismissal and will start as per the date mentioned in
the notice. Such kind of notice is given generally when employment contract is about to get over
in the near future. The purpose of this notice is to inform the employee about end of contract.
Many times contract of employment involve the clause of the payment in lieu of the notice
period. In such case employee can take payment for the notice period and end the contract. This
will be the case when employer wants to end the contract. There may be similar clause from the
employee side also which allow payment in lieu of notice period.

Unjustifiable dismissal
Definition: Unjustifiable/ unjust/ unfair/ wrongful dismissal is a term in the labour law to
describe an act of employment termination or dismissal of an employee, without sound
justifiable reasons, or contrary to the legislative laws of the country in which the company
operates. Different countries have diverse laws in this regard, but more or less, all the laws tend
to favour the employee and protect his interests. The obligation of justifying any dismissal
generally lies with the employer.
Being terminated for reasons like discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, caste,
sexual orientation etc., or for filing a retaliation to discrimination, is treated unlawful. Similarly
refusal to commit an illegal act or act not under the purview of the company, if leading to
dismissal of an employee, is termed as illegal. The employer is expected to abide by the
termination procedures as communicated to the employee under the contract of employment.
Employees may seek redressal under law if they perceive their termination to be illegal. The
remedy, if the employee is proved right, may include reinstatement and/ or monetary
compensation.
Constructive Dismissal
Definition: Constructive Dismissal is an action that is taken by an employer which is considered
to be detrimental to the employee’s position in the organization due to which the employee is left
with no other option but to resign from the organization.
Any fundamental changes to the original contract between the employee and employer can be
considered as an action towards constructive dismissal.
Example

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a) Reduction in salary or change in benefits/perks

b) Change in the level of responsibilities

c) Forced resignation

d) Unwarranted location transfer

e) Demotion

Action of Short Dismissal

Definition: Action short of dismissal is disciplinary action taken by employer to signal the
gravity of misconduct which would result in dismissal if misconduct persists. Generally it is
outcome of disciplinary hearing conducted by the employer. It is opted as a last option before
dismissal of an employee could considered.
It has two important aspects from employer point of view
Action short of dismissal should be mentioned in employment contract.
a) Employer must ensure that employee are aware of the action that employer will take in
case of misconduct sabotage etc. It should clearly state what kind of misconduct will lead
to what kind of disciplinary action. This plays important role in case of employee goes to
court or tribunal against the action taken by employer. If the provision is not clearly
written in employment contract then employer may not be able to continue such action
even if it is justified.

b) Employer must have rights to impose disciplinary action on employee in the

employment contract.

Also employer must take the right to take necessary disciplinary action in the
employment contract. If the rights are not part of contract then employer my face legal
trouble in executing the action short of dismissal.
Above mentioned two points have special significance in case of employees enters in to Trade
Union related activities. If employer does not have made such provision in contract signed with

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Trade Union then employer loses the right take action short of dismissal. In all such scenarios the
contract should be renewed or include the provision in next round of negotiations.
Example of Action Short of Dismissal
i). Suspension without pay

ii). Demotion

Action short of dismissal is important tool in hand of employer to control, engage employee in
right kind of behaviour at workplace. It comes at cost though employer must use it in contract as
deterrent in employment contract.

Different Types of Dismissal

Dismissal is the term used to describe the termination of your employment. There are various
types, and therefore various processes and procedures that an employer would need to go
through before carrying out a dismissal.
In this section, each kind of dismissal is described, how employers need to carry them out, and
what you can be done about it.
Dismissals are very much a last resort for an employer to take. In the event of an employer
deciding that dismissal is the only option, it must be conducted fairly and without prejudice.
Employers will therefore normally seek advice from their internal HR team or out-sourced HR
service in order to ensure they carry out all procedures fairly. Before a situation reaches
dismissal, employers will need to have followed their disciplinary policies and demonstrated that
they have reasonably tried all other methods to solve the problem before resorting to dismissal.
Below are the different types of dismissal:
1. Fair Dismissal

Fair dismissal is when an employer has sound and justifiable reasons for carrying out a
dismissal. Redundancy will also fall under this category, although of course the reasons
why an employee is selected for redundancy must be fair – but that’s a whole other
subject. Reasons for a fair dismissal can relate to an employee’s conduct, capability or
qualifications. Conduct and capability are often the most common reasons for fair

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dismissal. In this situation, an employer would have acted fairly and justifiably, so there
would be very little room to protest the decision made.
2. Voluntary Redundancy

If you know your employer is going to be making redundancies, you can volunteer to put
yourself forward for it, which would count as fair dismissal as you’re volunteering and
therefore wouldn’t be able to challenge this if you changed your mind.
Quite often people will go for voluntary redundancy in order to save themselves the
hassle of waiting and not knowing what’s happening when they know their job is at risk.
However, just because you volunteer for redundancy, it doesn’t necessarily mean your
employer will select you, as they have no legal obligation to do that.
3. Unfair Dismissal

Unfair dismissal is exactly what it says, Unfair . This could include situations where an
employee has not been informed of a sufficient reason for their dismissal, or the
employer has not followed their own policy regarding dismissals or disciplinaries. As
mentioned, dismissal is a last resort and there needs to be a lengthy process that proves
the problem hasn’t been resolved by other means before dismissal is considered. Unfair
dismissal can be a tricky one to prove, so it’s a good idea to consider anything that could
have been a trigger for it. This might include things like you having joined a Union, felt
like you were forced to retire or requested flexible working. Those examples are all
things that fall under your employee rights (along with plenty more examples) so you
cannot be dismissed simply on those grounds alone. Some dismissals will fall under the
category of being “automatically unfair” so it wouldn’t need much probing in order to
demonstrate that the dismissal was unfair.
4. Constructive Dismissal

Constructive dismissal is when you feel you’ve had to leave your job or feel “pushed out”
due to the way your employer treats you. This again can be a difficult one to prove, as
what is considered acceptable or non-acceptable conduct is subjective and open to
interpretation – even when using policies as a guideline. An example of constructive
dismissal is having your salary stopped – this would be a very clear case which would

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stand up in an Employment Tribunal very easily. No matter where an employee might be

in a disciplinary or dismissal process, your pay cannot simply be stopped.
Another example could be where an employee feels bullied and/or harassed in the
workplace. This example could be more difficult to prove as like unfair dismissal, the
evidence is open to interpretation. Before taking any action, you should discuss with an
independent body whether you have a case for constructive dismissal. If you do, leave
your job without hesitation. Although it may be tempting to just stay and try to “ride it
out”, your employer could argue that you staying in the role is a form of you accepting
the way things are.
5. Wrongful Dismissal

A wrongful dismissal could quite easily be confused with an unfair dismissal, although
again does lend itself to its name: wrongful. A typical wrongful dismissal would be when
an employer has plainly breached the terms of an employee’s contract during the
dismissal process or during the processes previously which led to the dismissal. An
example of this would be if you were not given the amount of notice stated in your
contract. A situation where that may be exempt is in the event of gross misconduct, such
as violence at work.

Steps To Help Avoid an Unfair Dismissal Claim

It goes without saying that an unfair dismissal claim is costly and time consuming, not to
mention the effect it may have on other staff and the organization’s reputation. Here are six ways
to help manage an underperforming employee.
1. Clearly define the performance issues

Identify the issues in terms that can be objectively proven. For example, you might think
an employee has an ‘attitude problem’, but what does that really mean? The issues need
to be referenced against key requirements of the employee’s job. For example, is the
employee with an attitude problem failing to meet a key job requirement to effectively
communicate with staff, clients and suppliers? Can you prove this by citing specific
incidents?
2. External contributing factors

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Identify possible reasons for underperformance such as workplace bullying, poor mental
health or inadequate support and take these into account in developing the appropriate
response.
3. Protected attributes or activities

The Fair Work Act’s general protections scheme and anti-discrimination laws protect an
employee from being disciplined for a number of reasons including poor health,
industrial activities or because of raising employment queries or complaints. Consider
whether your performance issue relates to these protected areas and quarantine the
performance reason as much as possible. For example, if poor mental health is
contributing to underperformance, think about reasonable measures to overcome this
incapacity.
4. Developing a performance improvement plan

A fair and reasonable performance improvement plan clearly sets out what has to be
achieved and how achievement will be measured and demonstrated. It also gives an
employee enough time and support for it to be achieved. It should warn the employee of
disciplinary consequences, including possible dismissal, if not achieved. The plan should
be developed after consulting with the employee (a support person is not essential for this
discussion but don’t deny a request to have one). The plan needs to be genuine – the Fair
Work Commission is very good at identifying a ‘tick and flick’ process.
5. Responding to unsatisfactory progress

If the employee fails to meet the plan, you need to be able prove this. If considering
dismissal, you need to tell the employee this and ask them to meet with you to discuss the
situation (and give the employee the option of having a support person present). You
need to explain why you believe the plan is not being met and refer to evidence to
support your assertion. Indicate that you believe this provides grounds for dismissal. Ask
the employee to respond and consider their response before making a final decision.
6. Is dismissal a proportionate response?

Dismissal for justifiable reason, after adopting a fair and reasonable process, may still be
ruled unfair by the Commission if it’s considered harsh. You should be able to show that

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you considered alternative options, such as a further warning or extension of the

performance improvement plan, and be able to justify why you didn’t think this was
appropriate.

VOLUNTARY LEAVERS

Voluntary leaving occurs when an employee resigns to pursue another career opportunity,
relocate with a spouse or simply leave the workforce for personal reasons, such as raising a
family. In this case, the employer starts the recruitment and selection process to find a suitable
candidate to fill the vacant position. Retirement is a form of voluntary leaving; however, if the
employer decides against filling the position left vacant, it is considered attrition. Nevertheless,

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in the case of retirement, the reason the job is vacant is the employee's decision to retire --
classifying it as a voluntary action.

Reasons Why Employees Leave

With training expenses, replacement hiring costs, and lost productivity, turnover can cost
anywhere from one to three times the cost of an employee’s salary. But when employees leave,
there are bigger issues to consider than controlling costs. When you lose an employee, you lose
the experience, skills, and knowledge they bring to the table. And since change can be hard to
adjust to, it can also impact team dynamics and even job satisfaction, engagement, and stress
levels of co-workers and staff – especially if they have to pick up the slack when an employee
quits. When an employee you value resigns, it can be hard for you, your team, and your entire
company. Knowing why they leave can help you expand the reasons for your employees to stay.
You’ve invested in your employees. Keep your workforce strong and retain your most valuable
assets – your people – by making it hard for them to want to leave.

Reasons why employees leave include;

1. Supervisor’s relationship

A supervisor’s relationship with his or her employees plays an integral part in an

employee’s happiness at work. It takes time and effort to build the trust and loyalty you
share with your staff. But, with the hours of meetings and projects you have to deal with
every day, it can be hard to find time for your employees. Just remember, you may have
even less time if you have to train a new employee. Make it a priority to spend time with
your team. Schedule weekly or bi-monthly meetings with each member of your team to
keep abreast of their workloads and provide direction and understanding for the issues
they’re facing. Keep the lines of communication open, and be sure to recognize the
achievements of your employees through private and public praise. People need to know
they’re appreciated and valued, so acknowledging your employees’ accomplishments is
an easy and cost-effective way to increase employee morale, engagement, and
productivity.

2. Work Satisfaction

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Given that most of our adult lives are spent at work, it’s important to understand and feel
that the work you do is meaningful. When you spend eight hours a day, five days a week,
month after month, year in and year out at work, your sense of purpose and
accomplishment in life is often tied to what you do. Whether you work on an assembly
line or in an executive suite, you need your work to be meaningful and valuable, so it can
add meaning and purpose to your entire life. Employees surveyed by SHRM ranked work
itself as one of the top five contributors to job satisfaction. So, when employees are
unsatisfied with their work, it could mean retention issues for you.
If your employees aren’t satisfied with their work, find out why. Make sure you
communicate how important their job actually is and help them understand why it
matters. Be sure to encourage them in their day-to-day activities and show them they’re
making a difference. Find ways to challenge them. Ask for their input to make work more
exciting and relevant. You may not be able to eliminate every tedious task, but you can
help balance their current tasks with new ones to minimize the monotony they may be
experiencing and eliminate the risk of losing your employee. Find ways to utilize other
skills sets they have that aren’t being used. And, if your worker’s knowledge exceeds his
or her current position, consider promoting them to a new job. The more valued and
effective your employees feel, the more engaged, motivated, and happy they’ll be.
3. Compensation

It may surprise some employers to know that compensation is not the number one reason
employees leave a job. Not even close. In fact, compensation was ranked as less
important than job-specific training on SHRM’s job satisfaction survey. But, while it may
not be the biggest reason employees leave, noncompetitive compensation can be a deal
breaker for your employees.
To prevent your workforce from leaving for compensation reasons, start by restoring pay
or merit increases to pre-recession levels as soon as possible if you cut or froze
compensation in the last two years. Also, be aware that as the economy continues to
bounce back, companies are looking for top talent. So, make sure you’re offering
competitive salaries by researching the market in your area to keep competitors from
wooing away your most gifted employees.

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4. Greener Pastures

If an employee feels the company they work for doesn’t have room for growth, they may
move on to greener pastures. So, make sure your employees have career paths they can
work toward. Nearly six out of 10 employees rated opportunities to use their skills and
abilities as the third most important contributor to their job satisfaction, according to
SHRM. Find ways to utilize the skills and abilities your employees have to increase their
satisfaction at work. And, offer training to help expand their knowledge and expertise.
Advancement opportunities are important to your workers. They are looking for ways to
improve their abilities and skills. Encourage them in their endeavors. Guide and teach
them what you can. And, if they do get to a point where they can’t grow in your company
any more, be willing to provide them with the support they need to look elsewhere.
You’ll demonstrate to all your employees how much you truly care about them as
individuals, not just company assets.
5. Health Issues

Health related issues for an employee, his or her spouse, or another family member is
another reason employees resign. You probably can’t do anything about an employee
quitting for health reasons, but you can help keep your workforce healthy and strong by
developing a health incentive program that works for your company. Also, make sure
your team is following the safety procedures in place to protect them from injury. Your
workers need to know they’re more than just employees to you. So, if you have an
employee leave for health reasons, be sure to let them know how much you appreciate
their hard work before they go. Check in on them from time to time, and if you can, offer
some assistance like a home-cooked meal or a run to the grocery store to let them know
you care.
6. Relocation
When employees leave to be closer to their family or to follow a spouse relocating for a
job, there’s usually not a lot you can do about it. If they’re an employee you can’t live
without and their job allows them to work from home, look into telecommuting options.
And think about going above and beyond the extra mile by offering to help load the
moving truck or giving them your empty packing boxes. You’ll show your entire team

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how much you care about each of them, when you show care and consideration to
employees who leave. Your actions will go a long way to becoming the company that
employees are willing to invest their time and talents in.

7. Early Retirement and Personal Reasons

Some workers resign for personal reasons like staying home to raise children, early
retirement, going back to school or fulfilling a life’s dream. You can’t control personal
reasons employees have for leaving, but you can respect their decisions and wish them
well in every endeavor. You never know, they may decide to come back to work when
their kids go to school or find that early retirement is just not for them. The respect and
understanding you provide will help keep even the employees who quit loyal to you and
your company.
You can’t control every reason why employees leave. But, knowing why they leave can
help you change the things you can do to keep your employees happy, engaged, and
satisfied in their jobs and your workforce strong, productive, and thriving.

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REFERENCES
References should be sought routinely as part of the selection process for all organizational
appointments, in combination with an interview and other forms of selection assessments.
References should never be used as the sole grounds on which to base a recruitment decision as
they provide a limited perspective of an individual´s abilities and performance.
Requesting references encourages candidates to be honest about the claims made at application
stage, but as the candidate selects who to nominate as a referee it is reasonable to expect that a
favourable representation of her/him will be presented. Therefore, additional tests are required to
establish a fuller picture of the candidate.

When to Request References

At the outset of your selection action planning, agree at what stage in proceedings you will seek
references:
a) seek references for all shortlisted candidates in advance of the interview/selection tests day in
order that the interview/selection panel may consider the information provided as part of the
decision-making process

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b) Undertake your interview and selection tests, identify a recommended appointee and seek
references for that individual and only formally offer the post if satisfactory references area
received.
Once you have decided which option to take, be aware of the following:
a) it is important that you are consistent in your treatment of all shortlisted applicants
b) if references are not received for all applicants in time for interviews as requested, this should
not have a negative effect on the candidates in question
c) consider the effort involved in providing references and only approach referees for this
information if it is genuinely required.

Requesting a Reference
Once you have agreed when to seek references, consider which format of reference you will
seek. The main format options for requesting a reference are:
a) Open request - which asks the referee’s opinion on the candidates to undertake the job as
detailed within the About the Job for the post.
b) Structured reference request - which asks the referee to grade the candidate’s suitability on a
number of areas identified as relevant to the About the Job requirements, and general areas
eg attitude, trustworthiness etc. This is often presented within a summary table format.
Legislation has had a considerable impact on the format and content of references in recent
years. The risk of potential claims of damages against referees on the grounds of negligence
means that the factual content of the reference must be accurate and that the referee should
clearly differentiate between fact and opinion. However many referees now write references with
extreme caution and will limit their response to factual information only. In certain sectors, eg
insurance, legal areas, employers may only provide confirmation of employment start and end
dates only. This is not a reflection of the candidate, but an industry norm.

Structure Your Reference Request

Considering this background information, it is recommended that you structure your reference
request in order to receive a relevant and useful reference. The benefits of a structured approach
include:

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a) ensuring that you receive information directly relevant to the post./assessment process
b) reduces the possibility of avoiding difficult issues e.g. use of phrases such as “any
employer would be lucky to have Mr XXX work for them”, which could be an
ambiguous way of saying that it is difficult to motivate him into action
c) reducing the time commitment of the referee to provide a response, thereby reducing
effort involved and hopefully enabling a speedy turnaround time
d) creating a level playing field approach for candidates, as the bias that is inherent in
unstructured reference responses is reduced. The reference should be a measure of the
candidate’s abilities, not the referee’s writing talents or determination to sell the applicant
in order to move them on to another employer.
Clearly, within this structured approach it is essential to include the opportunity for the referee to
provide additional information about the applicant beyond that requested, if s/he so wishes.

As with any recommended proforma, the document should be adjusted to meet the requirements
of the post in question, as detailed within the job description/person specification.

Conducting Effective Reference Checks

Conducting reference checks can be one of the most important steps in the selection process.
Since past performance is often the best indicator of future performance, references allow you to
talk to past supervisors in order to determine if the applicant being considered is suited for the
role. Reference checking allows you to ensure that you are finding the most qualified person who
is also a good match for the position. By conducting reference checks, you can avoid costs
associated with failed probation periods and poor performance, which can impact your guests or
clients and damage your image or reputation.

Why Perform Reference Checks?

These checks help you confirm information on the candidate's application form and resumes.
You will also gain greater insights into the candidate's skills, knowledge and abilities from
someone who has actually observed the candidate perform. It is important that during the
interview process, you obtain consent from the applicant to contact their references and ask

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employment-related questions. A common mistake managers often make is asking candidates to

choose their references. Instead, you should tell the candidates that you wish to speak to the
people who actually supervised them. It is good practice to speak to two or three work-related
references. If the candidates’ current employers do not know they are seeking work elsewhere,
then go to the previous employers. Before making the calls, it is good practice to make a list of
questions so that you are asking the same set of questions, giving you a consistent frame on
which to base your decisions. All questions should be job-related and legal. You cannot ask
questions during a reference check that you are prohibited from asking during an interview.

How to Conduct Reference Checks

a) Identify yourself, your title, organization name and tell them you are calling about
a reference for a candidate you are considering
b) Ask if now is a good time to talk or whether they would rather schedule a call at a
later time
c) Make sure they understand that you have the consent from the applicant and that
all responses will remain confidential
d) It is important to give a brief description of the role you are considering the applicant
for, so that they can comment in context
e) Give them time to answer your questions. Let them respond, and do not cut them off
or put words in their mouth
While it is important to tailor reference check questions to your organization, the job and the
applicant being considered, the following are some common examples of questions that can be
asked:
In what capacity were you associated with the applicant, and since what date?
a) In what capacity was the applicant employed, and what were their job responsibilities and
salary?
b) Was the applicant successful in fulfilling his or her duties?
c) What was it like to supervise the applicant?
d) Was the applicant a valuable member of the team?
e) What unique skill did the candidate bring to your organization?

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f) What were their strengths?

g) What were their weaknesses or areas that needed improvement?
h) How would they describe this applicant's absenteeism record in relation to other
employees?
i) Did you ever find it necessary to reprimand or discipline this person? If so, what were
the circumstances?
j) Considering the job being applied for, do you think the applicant is suitable?
k) Why did they leave your employment?
l) Would you rehire the candidate; why or why not?
m) Is there anything else you would like to add?
This simple list of questions helps narrow down your list of top candidates in order to select the
best person for the job, your organizations, your clients and your bottom line.

Seeking Information about Disability and Health Concerns

Employers may not seek information about disability and health concerns in relation to an
individual´s ability to undertake a role as a blanket measure for all applicants. Such
information can only be sought of a candidate who is at offer stage to ensure that the need for
any adjustments does not have a negative impact on the decision-making process. Exceptions to
this will be posts which have a clear physical requirement as an essential part of the role eg
driving or lifting heavy items. As the final appointment will be subject to organizational
Occupational Health assessment on this criterion, it will be featured in the about the Job as an
essential criterion and at interview stage all applicants will be reminded that the appointment will
be subject to this criterion being met.

Referees
E-Recruitment requests the candidate to confirm her/his relationship with the nominated referees.
The reference should focus on seeking evidence about a candidate´s abilities and experience in a
working environment. This will be provided most effectively by current or previous employers.
Evidence of voluntary work roles, and other interests where candidates have held responsibility,
may be useful if paid employment history is limited. However, general character references are

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less relevant than professionally focused ones and references from friends and family should be
avoided due to risk of potential bias.
If you are not satisfied that the proposed referees will provide the information you need, discuss
other options with the candidate.

Always seek a reference from the candidate´s current, or most recent, employer wherever
possible prior to confirmation of the job offer. Be aware of the timing of such a request if the
candidate has confirmed that s/he does not wish for his/her current employer to be contacted
prior to interview. If s/he asks that references are not sought prior to the offer of appointment,
ensure that any provisional offer is explicitly made subject to satisfactory references being
obtained, and check with the candidate before seeking such references.

Receiving Reference Information

You are advised to only use reference information sought and received in a formal manner
within the selection decision-making process. Information about candidates received via an
informal route may be incorrect and biased, and if you use this information to inform your choice
you will have no recourse with the provider in the future. The use of informal information is
unprofessional and increases considerably the risk of unfair discrimination within the selection
process, thereby raising your vulnerability of receiving a legal challenge and also potentially
missing out on the best person for the post.

Remember, that when speaking to referees it is important to make them aware that the
information they provide will be used as the reference. If, due to time constraints, you must
conduct a reference `interview´ by telephone, work through the pre-prepared questions covered
by your reference request, record the responses on a copy of the document and inform the referee
that you will retain this as the formal reference.

Reference Requests – Essential Action Checklist

a) referees should know the candidate in a professionally focused capacity

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b) a structured approach will enable you to efficiently seek evidence from the referee on
factually based areas relevant to the post and help to avoid bias.
c) ensure that all questions asked are not discriminatory to any group of candidates
d) always seek a reference from the candidate´s current, or most recent, employer, but be
sensitive of issues around timing in line with candidate´s wishes
e) ensure that you provide the referee with a reasonable response time, a stamped addressed
envelope or a confidential fax number/email address in order to encourage the referee to
respond promptly
f) follow up any contradictory or ambiguously worded information provided in references
with the referee/candidate if you have concerns
g) share all received references securely

Access To References Received As Part Of The Recruitment &Selection Process

1. Access within the recruiting department

Any reference received within a recruiting department must be considered a strictly

confidential document and treated appropriately. Access should be restricted to those
members of staff involved in the interview process only.
2. Access by the applicant

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, an applicant has the right to request access to the
content of any reference received regarding her/him as part of a selection process.
However, as part of this information disclosure, the rights of any third party referred to,
or whether it is appropriate to disclose the identity of the author, have to be considered.
Therefore, if you receive a request from an applicant to access the content of a reference,
it is essential that you seek guidance from your customary HR contact before any aspect
of this document is disclosed.
3. Storage and Retention

Personal information about applicants should not be retained for longer than is necessary
to provide feedback on their application and defend an Employment Tribunal claim, if
necessary.

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References may be uploaded to e-Recruitment for storage. All data within e-Recruitment
will be will be held for up to 5 years and then will be archived anonymously. This
complies with the data privacy statement that applicants accept before they are able to
submit an application. Departments do not need to delete applicant information held in e-
Recruitment, this is managed centrally.

If any paperwork is retained within the recruiting department this should be disposed of
securely (e.g. via confidential waste or shredded) within six months of the appointment
date.

It is essential that all staff involved in any element of the recruitment and selection
process adhere to the University´s guidelines at all times. Recruiting departments should
gives individuals the right to access copies of personal data held on computer or in a
paper-based filing system, including any short listing and interview notes and emails
relating to the individual. A request to view such information is known as a `Subject
Access Request´. A Subject Access Request to view documentation associated with the
recruitment process should be discussed with your customary HR contact before you
respond.

Other Forms of Pre-Employment Checks

For certain organizational appointments it may be necessary to seek more specific information
about candidate´s suitability for the post beyond references, interviews and selection tests
e.g. criminal records check, Work Health Assessment etc.

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RETIREMMENT
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-
retire by reducing work hours. An increasing number of individuals are choosing to put off this
point of total retirement, by selecting to exist in the emerging state of Pre-retirement.
Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits,
although some are forced to retire when physical conditions no longer allow the person to work
any longer (by illness or accident) or as a result of legislation concerning their position.
Previously, low life expectancy and the absence of pension arrangements meant that most
workers continued to work until death.

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Nowadays, most developed countries have systems to provide pensions on retirement in old age,
which may be sponsored by employers and/or the state. In many poorer countries, support for the
old is still mainly provided through the family. Today, retirement with a pension is considered a
right of the worker in many societies, and hard ideological, social, cultural and political battles
have been fought over whether this is a right. In many western countries this right is mentioned
in national constitutions.

Basing on a country's tax laws and/or state old-age pension rules usually mean that in a given
country a certain age is thought of as the "standard" retirement age.
The "standard" retirement age varies from country to country but it is generally between 50 and
70 (according to latest statistics, 2011). In some countries this age is different for males and
females, although this has recently been challenged in some countries (e.g., Austria), and in
some countries the ages are being brought into line.

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