Outsourcing is when a company hires a third party to perform services that it would normally perform in-house.
Outsourcing is important to HR because it saved time and money. If an HR Manager is overwhelmed and does not have the time to screen resumes and conduct interviews, this task can be outsourced. A staffing agency is retained, screens resumes, interviews candidates, and sends the chosen three to five candidates to the company for a final interview with management (Dessler, 2013, p.660).
A job analysis is performed to determine the responsibilities and skillset necessary to perform the job. Job analyses are vital to HR because without this analysis, HR could hire the wrong employee for the job. If an opening calls for a computer programmer, the programmer may be required to sit for extended periods of time. The employee might also need C++ and HTML experience. With an analysis, HR will not hire a programmer that only knows Java (Dessler, 2013, p.658).
Structured interviews are interviews that follow a sequence of questions. This is important because this gives the interviewer a good look at the candidate. By asking questions in order, such as describe yourself, what degrees do you have, what is your experience, what are your strengths and weaknesses, and so on, the answers from the candidate will give the interviewer insight into the candidate (Dessler, 2013, p.661).
The Equal Pay Act is an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act which requires employers to pay men and women equally. This is massive for HR, since this will attract female top talent to any company. Men and women can earn the same college degrees and have the same job experience, so it is only fair that both genders receive the same pay (Dessler, 2013, p.657).
The Americans with Disabilities Act is another milestone for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act mandates that employers make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, and forbids discriminating against this protected class. Persons with disabilities can still work and perform job functions, and this act helps these people to find work (Dessler, 2013, p.655).
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a direct result of Title VII, investigates discrimination complaints, and sues employers for the employees. This commission ensures that employees have a place to lodge complaints and an agency to look out for the best interests of the employee. The commission ensures the workplace will be discrimination free, and if not, they will step in to correct this (Dessler, 2013, p.657).
The National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act certain unjust procedures and allowed secret ballot elections and majority rule for employees to decide if they want a union. This act protects the employees from retaliation from employers who do not want the company unionized. The employees are free to choose to bring in a union, which will act as a liaison between the workers and management. Some employers may not want the employees to join a union because the employer is abusing the employees, or the employer believes the union will take away control with the company. A union will come in if a majority of the employees vote to bring the union in. (Dessler, 2013, p.659).
The Taft-Hartley Act prohibits unfair union methods and specifies the employee’s rights as union members, as well as the employer’s rights. The purpose of this act is to bring employers to the same level as the unions during collective bargaining and labor relations issues. This act shifted the balance of power to even the playing field for both sides (Dessler, 2013, p.661).
Employee orientations are a crucial part of HR. This is where the new employee learns about the company, policies, procedures, benefits, and so forth. The employee learns what the acceptable company standards are, dress code, jewelry, who is in charge of what department, signs up for health benefits, and where to go with a complaint or issue. The employee also learn what can cause termination, and what should be reported to management, such as a new arrest or conviction (Dessler, 2013, p.657).
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale is a performance evaluation that identifies the top responsibilities of his or her job, and then measures the employee’s behaviors while performing the job. There are usually five ratings, from excellent to poor. This evaluation system will help management effectively evaluate employees; determine the areas an employee excels in, and areas that the employee needs work in. This can also be used as a baseline for promotions and raises, and also provide grounds for termination (Dessler, 2013, p.655).
ADDIE is a five step training process that management can use to train employees. It consists of Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. These steps help management to analyze the need for training, design a training program, develop a training program, implement the training, and finally evaluate the effectiveness of the program. This can help management to have top notch employee training, and fix areas that may not be effective. If a department does not have a training program in place for certain departments, this system can review the needs of the department, and create a training program to set the employees on the path to success. Other departments, such as Information Technology, are often changing at an expedient rate. Because of this, employees in this department need to stay on top of the new trends, programs, operating systems, and hardware so the company can function at the top with the best systems in place (Dessler, 2013, p.655).
A job description is a list of the responsibilities and duties an employee is expected to perform. This is a result of the job analysis, and this is beneficial to both management and the employee. The description also covers what the minimum requirements for the job are, the educational requirements, and necessary experience. This description is what is expected, so if a manager asks an employee to perform a task that is not on the description, he or she can address this issue with HR. Additionally, a properly completed job description will attract qualified candidates to fill a position (Dessler, 2013, p.658).
The most interesting fact learned from this course was the detail on creating a job. It is more than just putting a three line ad in the newspaper. Creating a new position, and updating a current position, takes a lot of work. First, the need for the position has to be established. Either a department is shorthanded, or an employee retires, quits, or is terminated. A job analysis is then conducted, and the duties are evaluated. This is how the job description is created, and employers will use the description to advertise the position. When HR receives the resumes, the department now has a baseline to compare the resumes to. If the applicants meet the minimum, experience, and educational qualifications, he or she will be schedules for an interview (Dessler, 2013).
Once the new employee is hired, the employee first meets with HR for employee orientation, where he or she is briefed on the policies and procedures of the company. The employee is advised of what is expected and allowed, what a violation of company policy is, and what can be grounds for termination. This covers dress code policies, notice of arrests and conviction policies, drug testing policies, and benefits. HR will cover health benefits, transportation benefits, and any fringe benefits, such as pension, 401k, college funds, if the company helps to pay student loan debt, and any other programs the company offers. Once this is completed, the employee will either start the position or receive training specific to the job (Dessler, 2013).
- Dessler, G. (2013). Human Resource Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
