A Level Business Studies: Training Revision Notes

Recruitment

Recruitment is identifying the need for new employees, attracting the ‘best’ candidates for the job and then selecting the most suitable candidate in order to meet the staffing requirements of an organisation.

Human resource planning

Needs to be determined by the use of human resource planning techniques. Many organisations decide to fill vacancies without really considering if there are alternatives to recruitment. Good human management will consider alternatives; redeployment, increased overtime, temporary workers, new technology and outsourcing.

Person specifications

This provides the details of the ideal candidate by listing the desirable characteristics of that person. It is used to identify the criteria that should be used in short-listing and then in selecting the best candidate from those who apply for the position. Specifications should include:

• Skills, aptitude, knowledge and experience
• Qualifications
• Personal qualities relevant to the job e.g. work as part of a team

Internal or external recruitment

Internal recruitment means filling a vacancy by selecting a person who is already employed in the organisation. External recruitment means filling a job vacancy by advertising outside the firm.

For internal recruitment

• Abilities of person are known already
• Internal promotional opportunities are motivating
• Recruitment and selection is quicker
• Shorter induction period required
• Less expensive
• Reduces the risk of employing the wrong person

For external recruitment

• Often provides larger choice of well-qualified applicants
• Brings in ‘new blood’ with new ways of thinking
• Overcomes jealousies that may occur is one member of a group is promoted over colleagues
• Help a firm improve understanding of how other firms operate

Advertising media

Decisions must be made about the most appropriate advertising media to attract the most suitable candidates.

• National/local newspapers
• Trade/professional magazines
• Job centres
• Commercial employment agencies
• Specialist careers centres e.g. army
• Universities
• Local schools or colleges
• Local radio, internet and social media
• Word of mouth
• Newsletters
• Headhunting – recruitment consultants seek the right person. Tends me be used to recruit senior managers and top-ranking professionals. It is expensive and labour intensive but it may find someone who is suitable for the job and isn’t looking.

Interviews and other methods of assessment

Suitable candidates are then called for interview and/or asked to take part in other methods of assessment. Research suggests that although interviews are traditional and the most popular method of selection, they are not necessarily most effective. Interviewers tend to be swayed by appearance and personality, influenced by first impressions. Other selections techniques are often used in addition to interviews:

• Aptitude and attainment tests – measure how the applicant copes when presented with a particular business situation or how good they are applying a certain skill
• Psychometric or personality tests – measure the personality, attitude and character of applicants, for example, whether they are team players or loners, passive or assertive, how good their problem-solving skills are, how good they deal with the unknown and how creative. These tests are more common for graduate and management jobs. Criticisms about the effectiveness arises, e.g. whether it is wise to want all managers to have similar characters and the extent to which people answer questions truthfully.
• Assessment centres – a group of candidates are invited to a location for a day or two for an in-depth assessment. Likely to be observed performing a range of tasks including oral and written activities, role-play, teamwork, presentations, simulations and case studies that reveal their leadership, team-working and problem-solving skills. Research suggests this method is the most effective in predicting successful job performance. But it is expensive and time consuming and tends to be restricted to large firms and government departments and to the selection of those people likely to fill senior positions in the future.

Interview or assessment method chosen should be most appropriate one for ensuring the most suitable candidate is selected. It is increasingly the case that human resources departments provide support to functional departments, allowing departmental or line managers to be much more involved in recruitment and selection decisions.

Training

The provision of work-related education, either on-the-job or off-the-job, involving employees being taught new skills or improving skills they already have. Need for training arises when the knowledge required by the firm exceed those that workers currently have. It is a response to change, internal or external. Possible changes are:

• Development and introduction of new products and services
• Restructuring of a firm
• Development and introduction of new technology
• Changes to procedure, including improvements to customer service
• High labour turnover
• Low morale
• Changes in legislation

Benefits of training

• Helps employees reach the level of performance expected of experienced workers
• Ensures employees have necessary skills for the job, at present and in the future.
• Develops a knowledgeable and committed workforce, with increased motivation and job satisfaction.
• Increases efficiency and productivity, enabling a business to produce high quality products and services which may lead to higher profits.
• Can identify employees’ potential and thus increase employees’ job prospects and chances of promotion which is motivating.
• Reduces costs in long term by reducing number of accidents, wastage and poor quality work, increasing productivity.
• Encourages employees to deal with change more effectively and be more flexible e.g. about new technology.
• Encourages employees to work towards an organisation’s aims and objectives.
• Improves image of a company. Customers will have confidence in ell trained staff.

Induction training

Aim of induction training is to help new employees settle in quickly, to ensure they reach the level of performance expected of experienced workers. It includes familiarising new recruits with the layout of an organisation, health and safety issues, security systems, key personnel, the hierarchical and departmental systems, the main policies of an organisation, job descriptions, culture of an organisation, an organisation’s history and development, terms of employment including disciplinary rules, employees’ benefits and services, and physical facilities. An effective programme is likely to:

• Reduce labour turnover
• Improve employees’ understanding of both the corporate culture and the situation in which an organisation is placed
• Enable employees to contribute to an organisation more quickly
• Increase motivation

On-the-job and off-the-job training

On-the-job is where an employee learns a job by seeing how it is carried out by an experienced employee. It is likely to be cheaper as existing employees and equipment can be used. Such training takes place in a realistic environment, therefore avoiding any problems in adjusting between a college environment and a work situation. There is also no loss of output. However, the quality of the training depends on the ability and willingness of the instructor and the time available. The employee who is chosen to be an instructor might be unable to teach the proper skills, or might have developed bad habits or short-cuts that are passed on to the trainee. In addition, the work situation might be noisy and stressful and not conducive to effective learning.

Off-the-job training involves all forms of employee education apart from that at the immediate workplace. Off-the-job training may be conducted internally – in a conference room – or externally – at a college. Either way, there is less immediate pressure from work. Employees might attend college during working hours through either day release or block release or in the evening or at weekends. Such training can also involve online training. The training will be focused on skills, attitudes and theories that relate to work, and is likely to include generic skills and knowledge that are useful at work, rather than job-specific content. Off-the-job training often uses specially trained experts to do the teaching. This may result in training being more highly valued by employees, leading to increased motivation. If it is also external, off-the-job training will give employees an opportunity to meet staff from other organisation and to learn about their systems. In general, it is more straightforward to estimate the costs of such training and it is easier to monitor progress. However it can be expensive and there is a question as to whether the skills learned can be transferred effectively to the actual work environment.