The Relationship Between Human Resources (HR) Functions and Other Business Functions

Management Level 3

Principles of People Management

Understand the principles of workforce management

The relationship between Human Resources (HR) functions and other business functions

HR has a strategic role in an organisation and links into operations and finance through the people being employed, recruited and trained. Linking closely to finance because of the cost of taking on new employees.

The link to operations will cover employees being trained within roles and also employed to carry out operational activities within the organisation.

HR could also link into legal departments in larger organisations, as recruitment, grievance and disciplinary procedures may need to be looked at to ensure compliance with latest legislation.

The purpose and process of workforce planning

This is an integrated approach and process of proactively planning ahead to find new talent and thus avoid shortages or surpluses of talent (people with appropriate experience, expertise, knowledge). By doing this, it enables organisations to grow, survive lean times commercially and also allows for future innovation and productivity.

How employment law affects an organisation’s HR and business policies and practices

This helps to ensure that an organisation is operating within legislation and offers appropriate support and protection for and to employees as well as the organisation. It shapes policies in relation to:

·  training

·  health and safety

·  working conditions

·  finance

·  hours worked in line with contracts

·  employment law

Employment law helps organisations to develop and implement sound policies in relation to staff conduct, working etc. This is also given to employees through having staff handbooks. By having this it will minimise any possible future claims being made against an organisation in relation to employment and breach of employment.

Evaluate the implications of utilising different types of employment contracts

Full and part time contracts – implications for an organisation around:

• Having to give a written statement - contract

• Give employee statutory minimum holiday entitlement

• Not allowing workers to work longer than the maximum allowed

• Paying employees minimum wage

• Having employers liability insurance.

Evaluate the implications for an individual of different types of employment contracts

All of the above if not adhered to and followed could cause an organisation to be involved with legal action from the employee and as a result this could end up tarnishing the organisation’s public image and reputation.

If too many people are employed on full time and part time contracts, and the organisation suffers financial losses, this could then lead to redundancies and a reduction in staffing.

Fixed term contracts – implications for an organisation around

• Not giving the employees the same rights as a full time employee

• Ending a fixed term contract prior to a specific project or task end date, unless there are grounds for dismissal

• Not setting fixed term contract dates in advance of working with the employee

• Employing the fixed term casual worker for more than 6 months at peak times.

Zero hours contracts - implications for an organisation around

• Using workers continuously for work that would amount to part time or full time work

• Workers not agreeing to work during hours and days requested by employer. This could lead to staff shortages and subsequent loss of service and profits

• Workers want to have fixed hours of work and work on specific days. This could result in the business not having the necessary flexibility with staffing.

Full and part time contracts – implications for an individual around

• Lack of flexibility within working hours

• Inflexibility around holidays and when they can be taken.

Fixed term contracts – implications for an individual around

• Longevity of work and security of work

• Lack of flexibility within employment contract.

Zero hours contracts - implications for an individual around

• Permanency of work regularly

• Insecurity of little or no work

• Breaks in contract affecting holiday rights

• Workers have to accept all working hours given.

Understand equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion.

Explain an organisation’s responsibilities and liabilities under equality legislation

Responsibilities :

•  Treating people fairly, regardless of age, gender, disability, ethnicity, race, etc. when recruiting, employing, disciplining, persons working for or being interviewed for work with an organisation.

•  To ensure that any procedures, rules do not adversely affect people regardless of age, gender, disability, ethnicity, race, etc.

•  Ensuring that equality is respected and fully embedded into its philosophy, ethos and values. This is fully understood by all staff

•  Acting upon any allegations of inequality seriously and fully.

Liabilities:

•  Not responding appropriately to acts of discrimination (direct or indirect), harassment, victimisation or inequality

•  Refusing absence on the grounds of pregnancy

•  Organisations can be acting unlawfully if they try to prevent employees discussing pay terms between one another.

The benefits that effective equality of opportunity, diversity and inclusion policies bring to individuals and organisations

Individuals:

•  Increased security within work environment

•  Motivated employees

•  Co-operative working with others

•  Staff with positive wellbeing outlook

•  Staff sensitive to others needs and feelings

Organisations:

•  Increased profitability

•  Increased sales

•  High staff morale

•  Stable workforce

•  Positive external impression (customers)

•  Better staff communication and co-operation

The language and behaviour that support commitments to equality opportunity, diversity and inclusion

Type of Language:

•  Using positive language that shows understanding of differences between people and their values, beliefs and needs

•  Communication is clear and inclusive

•  Positive use of words

•  No derogatory or abusive language to be used

•  Use of more than one language when wide number of languages are used within the organisation

•  Minimised use of jargon/technical words if not necessary

Type of Behaviour:

•  Ensuring staff act professionally and positively to others

•  Use non-aggressive body language

•  Provide information, training and development to all staff regardless of hours worked, gender, beliefs, disabilities etc.

•  Understanding of differences between people and their values, beliefs and needs.

How to measure diversity within an organisation

•  Carry out employee surveys to gain feedback on their thoughts in respect of diversity

•  Keep recruitment tracking records across gender etc. (to see where organisation recruitment stands on ethnicity, gender etc. recruitment)

•  Examine and analyse information regarding suppliers, pay, turnover in terms of parity with competitors etc.

Understand team building and dynamics.

Explain the difference between a group and a team.

Difference between a group and a team:

A group is generally 3 or more people who work independently to achieve the organisation goals.

A team can come from different parts of an organisation but all work collectively and collaboratively to achieve a set target, project or goal.

Outline the characteristics of an effective team?

Characteristics of an effective team could be:

• Having a meaningful common purpose and goal

• Diversity of skills and personalities within the team

• Clear performance goals for the team

• Good communication and collaboration between the team and management

• Trust and commitment amongst the team members

Explain the techniques of building a team

Techniques that can be used to build a team – setting common objectives for the team, have good internal processes so that team members know how to react and act, have good work ethics amongst the team, keep everyone on the team focused on the objectives and tasks at hand, ensure that the team has good balance in skill sets e.g. people understanding their own strengths and weaknesses, have a team that shows mutual respect to one another.

Explain the techniques to motivate team members

Techniques that can be used to motivate team members - give team members challenging and meaningful work to complete, set clear expectations and targets and ensure that progress for each team member is monitored, give regular supportive feedback directly to each team member, play to people’s strengths (give tasks that will help to show team members strengths), recognise individual and team achievements and progress.

Explain the importance of communicating targets and objectives to a team

It is vitally important so that the team can visualise and understand the objectives being set for the team as a whole and for each person within the team, the timescales being given for each part of the objective, helps the team to work co-operatively, collaboratively and uniformly, thus helping to ensure that objectives are met (this will also be monitored regularly).

Theories of Team Development

Examine at least two theories of team development.

Theories of team development can be:

• Tuckman’s four stage model – forming, storming, norming and performing

• Belbin’s team roles – used to identify team members’ strengths and weaknesses in the workplace. Nine team roles: plant, resource investigator, co-ordinator, shaper, monitor evaluator, team worker, implementer, completer finisher and specialist

• Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model – telling, selling, participating and delegating

• Tannenbaum and Schmidt continuum – use of authority by manager and area of freedom for team members (situational and contingency leadership model), emphasis on control by manager and the team members’ maturity and capabilities.

Common causes of conflict within a team – resources (lack of or other teams needing the same resources at the time), differences in working styles, differences in perception of events e.g. asking someone else to do a job done by another member of the team normally, conflict in goals e.g. speed, quality of work expected, conflict from pressure on urgent tasks being needed, power struggles e.g. through a person taking on extra responsibilities, differences in personal values and ethics, poor organisational policies and procedures.

Techniques for managing conflict within a team – acknowledge that there is conflict within the team and discuss it with team members, discuss the impact of the conflict on the dynamics and performance of the team as a whole, agree a co-operative process in order to resolve the conflict (this needs to be agreed with all team members), ensure that communications throughout the resolution process is open, honest and constructive, understand team members stances and perspectives setting out facts, positions and assumptions of team members, analyse each position in smaller groups and then reach agreement on appropriate course of action to take in order to resolve conflict fully.

Understand performance management.

Identify the characteristics of an effective performance management system

• Clear objectives

• Valid and reliable information

• Performance indicators should be well defined

• Be a vehicle for feedback for employee and manager and have a follow up system set up

Explain the use of specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART) objectives and priorities

It gives employees motivation, helps to organise resources and focus knowledge on what needs to be used and allows you to organise your time to focus on what is urgent and most important. By having SMART targets it allows employees to achieve their goals and take pride and satisfaction in the work completed. It helps to increase confidence which in turn will increase productivity and motivation.

Describe best practice in conducting appraisals

You should have “buy in” from the top down in an organisation, appraiser and appraise should have a clear understanding of the appraisal process and have had appropriate training on it, appraisals should be planned by both parties and should be carried out in an informal atmosphere, should be fully agreed by both appraiser and appraise and be based around mutual trust and respect, should be reviewed against performance targets that are SMART and improvement actions should take place and be tangible and seen to happen, the process should be flexible and not bureaucratic and onerous.

Explain the factors to be taken into account when managing people’s wellbeing and performance

•  workload

•  person’s ability to cope with change and extra demands

•  any interpersonal conflict that may be occurring in work e.g. bullying, clarity of job role and job specifications

•  level of resources being given for work allocated

•  personal information surrounding employee, level of person’s personal health if known,

•  external and internal threats for organisation e.g. legislation changes and threat of redundancy or staff reductions

•  training and development needs

•  levels of involvement

•  communication within the decision making processes.

Explain the importance of following disciplinary and grievance processes

This is in order to ensure that everyone is treated individually and the same in similar situations and circumstances, lets employees know what processes are and what to expect when in a disciplinary or grievance situation, enable employers and employees to agree timescales and agreed goals for an employee’s performance improvements, ensures that employers and employees follow an agreed set out procedure in line with employment legislation and law.

Understand training and development.

•  The benefits of employee development

•  Increased motivation, morale and job satisfaction

•  Increased skills and knowledge giving greater flexibility to the organisation

•  Increase in profits due to increase in productivity and innovation potentials

•  Decrease in workplace conflict e.g. harassment, bullying

•  Decrease in staff turnover

•  Better organisational external perception, reputation and image.

The advantages and limitations of two different types of training and development methods

Methods can be:

Off the job (classroom based) –

Advantages: allows employees to be trained without any other interruptions and in a more learning conducive environment, may be cost effective to train all employees in one go, all employees get the same training at the same time to the same level, minimises business disruption.

Limitations: May not suit all employees’ learning styles, may not benefit the business as it takes too many people from day to day work, may cost the business more in lost revenue, time, resources etc, quality of training may be more difficult to monitor.