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What is Human Resource Planning?

• HR Planning is forecasting the supply and demand for labor in a firm or unit, and planning programs to assure that supply matches demand in the future.

• Who Is Planned For?– Aggregate level (total headcount, headcount in job or job

family)– Individual positions (managerial succession planning)

• When Is Planning Done?– At least annually– Time horizons vary


Figure 3.1 A Model for Human Resource Planning


Figure 3.4: Planning Human Resource Programs


Managerial Succession Planning

• Identify high potential individuals and plan to prepare them for higher level management positions.

• May use replacement charts to identify successors for specific jobs, or

• May focus on creating pools of qualified candidates to service a number of positions.


Figure 3.5 Replacement Chart


Job Analysis

• The Job Analysis Process– Phase 1: The Scope of the Job Analysis– Phase 2: The Methods of Job Analysis– Phase 3: Data Collection and Analysis– Phase 4: Assessing Traditional Job

Analysis Methods


The New Strategic View of Job Analysis

• Job Analysis Methods Should Be:– Future-oriented– Linked to key strategic issues– More generic in their approach


The New Strategic View (cont’d)

• Competency Modelling– Task competencies– Results competencies– Outcome competencies– Knowledge, skill, and attitude

competencies – Superior performer differentiators – Attribute bundles


Job Analysis Adding Value?

• Dollar costs versus dollar benefits• Non-dollar costs versus non-dollar benefits• Dollar and non-dollar costs/benefits difficult to

assess• Critical issue is does job analysis help

employees perform better• Does is help you better understand needs?


Recruitment & Selection

• Overview of the Recruitment Process• Strategic Issues in Recruiting• Internal Recruiting• External Recruiting• The Applicant’s Point of View• Evaluation and Benchmarking of

Recruitment


Figure 6.1a Overview of the Recruitment Process — Organization


Figure 6.1b Overview of the Recruitment Process — Applicant


Recruitment Philosophy

• Internal or External Sources?• Fill current vacancies or hire for long

term potential?• How important is diversity?• Are applicants commodities or

customers?• What recruitment practices are

unethical?


Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal Sources

+ Ability of candidate is known

+ Internal promotion motivates employees

+ Training and socialization time is less

- Internal sources may be insufficient for growth

- Ripple effect, cumbersome procedures

- Inbreeding, loss of flexibility


Advantages and Disadvantages of External Sources

+ Import new ideas and skills

+ Avoid ripple effect

+ May be necessary in turnaround situation

- Expensive

- Time consuming

- More difficult to evaluate candidates


If the applicant pool is too small...

• Recruit in a larger geographical area• Improve or change inducements• Target underutilized labor pools• Sponsor immigration of skilled employees• Acquire a company with desired human

resources• Use temporaries or employee leasing• Outsource the function


Internal Recruiting

– Job Posting and Bidding• Employees self-nominate for open positions

– Search HRIS/Skills Inventory for internal candidates

– Managers nominate candidates– Succession plans are consulted


Planning for External Recruiting

• Liaise with hiring manager to understand job requirements

• Calculate yield ratios• Calculate days-to-hire• Determine when to begin, how

extensively, and where to recruit• Prepare to track applications manually

or with résumé-tracking software


Informal External Recruitment Methods

• Unsolicited applications, walk-ins, gate hires

• Rehire former employees or co-op students

• Ask employees to refer potential candidates

• Consider referral bonuses


Formal External Recruiting Methods

• Recruitment Advertising

• Internet Recruiting

• Employment Agencies– Public Job Service Agencies– Private, For-Profit Agencies

• Executive Search Firms


Source: Based on a survey of 303 HR Professionals, from HR Magazine, December 1996, p. 53. Data on Internetrecruiting is from HR Focus,May 2000, p. 8

Table 6.2 Effectiveness of Recruitment Methods


Recruiting Targeted Groups

• Campus Recruiting

• Older Workers

• Disabled Workers

• Disadvantaged Workers

• Minorities

• Passive Job Seekers


Non-Traditional Approaches

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.


Figure 6.6 Factors Affecting Applicants’ Job Choice


Realistic Job Preview

• Reduces early turnover and dissatisfaction via:– Self-Selection out if the job doesn’t fit– Increased Commitment to an Informed

Decision– Lowered Expectations, less gap with reality– Improved Coping with job difficulties


Evaluation and Benchmarking of Recruitment

• Measures of Recruitment Success– Satisfaction of Internal Clients– Cost per Hire– Time to Fill– Quality of Hires

• Differential Quality of Recruiting Sources


Review

• Overview of the Recruitment Process

• Strategic Issues in Recruiting

• Internal Recruiting

• External Recruiting

• The Applicant’s Point of View

• Evaluation and Benchmarking of Recruitment


Case 6.2 - Recruiting at Health Source• Health Source owns

four drugstores in Houston and will open two more in the next year--one in suburban Houston, one in Dallas. Each start requires 25 employees:– 5 pharmacists– 4 cosmeticians– 1 manager– 1 assist. Manager– Numerous clerks

• How would you go about locating and recruiting the 50 employees needed for the new stores?

• What are your options?• How do the recruiting methods

you considered compare with one another in terms of cost, and how effective do you think it will be?

• How long will it take?• What if:

– Health Source plans no further expansion after these two new stores; or

– Health Source plans to pursue an aggressive expansion policy for several years?


Assessing Job Candidates: Tools for Selection

• The Selection Process• Application Blanks and Biodata• Tests• Interviews• Physical Testing• Reference and Background Checks• Selecting Managers• Criteria for Choosing Selection Devices


Benefits of Careful and Strategic Selection

• Tradeoff with training/socialization– Hire more carefully, less training may be needed– Hire less carefully, train more afterwards

• Improved performance• Effective strategy implementation

– Hire the kind of people needed to implement strategy

• Sustainable competitive advantage– Match strategy to the unique human resources

you have


Figure 8.1 The Process of Selection


Application Questions

• Problematic Questions:– Age, gender, religion, all handicaps, all

arrests/convictions, photo, birthplace– Any questions that indirectly get at the

above.

• Acceptable Questions:– Job-relevant characteristics, qualities, and

abilities– Bona fide Occupational Qualifications


Figure 8.2 Constructing a Weighted Application Blank (WAB)


Developing a Weighted Application Blank


Biodata

• Biodata is any personal history information, from WAB, biodata questionnaire, or experience/accomplishment record

• May be valid because:– verifiable, non-fiction– only relevant items are weighted– point-to-point correspondence with job demands– may reflect job-relevant personality traits/values– assesses both cognitive and non-cognitive

attributes


Tests

• A test is a standardized sample of behavior, allowing candidates to be compared easily.

• Cognitive ability tests are often highly valid predictors of job performance.

• Tests are legal if they produce no adverse impact OR validly predict job performance.


Work Sample and Trainability Tests

• Work sample tests are used to select individuals who already must know how to perform critical job tasks.

• Trainability tests are used when candidates are not expected to know the job, to assess their aptitude for learning it.

• Both have face validity, content validity, and usually predictive validity.


Personality Tests

• Can predict non-cognitive aspects of job success with low to moderate validity

• May have incremental validity over cognitive tests


“Big Five” Personality Dimensions

1. Extraversion --- introversion2. Friendliness, agreeableness ---

hostility, non-compliance3. Neuroticism --- emotional stability4. High conscientiousness ---

low conscientiousness 5. High openness to experience --- low

openness to experience


The Interview

• Interrater reliability of interviews may be low• Validity of interviews depends on structure

– Unstructured interviews are least valid– Semi-structured interviews have some pre-planning and

some tailoring to the candidate– Structured interviews (same questions asked of each

candidate) based on a job analysis are most valid


Interviewer Errors and Biases

– Similarity Error– Contrast Error– Overweighting of Negative Information– Race, Sex, and Appearance Bias– First Impression Error– Halo Error– Nonverbal Factors– Faulty Listening and Memory


Figure 8.7 Cone Method of Semistructured Interviewing


Effective Structured Interview Formats

• Situational Interview– What would you do if two of your

subordinates were having a conflict?

• Behavior Description Interview– Tell me about a time two of your

subordinates were having a conflict.• What did you do?• How well did it work?• What else did you try?


Improving the Interview

• Base questions on a thorough job analysis• Use a more structured format• Use situational and/or behavior description questions• Have interview conducted by a trained panel of

interviewers• Assess only qualities that are visible in interviews


Physical Testing

• The Physical Examination– May not be required until after a conditional

job offer is made – Often not as reliable or valid as strength

and fitness testing based on verified job demands.

– May be used for placement or to allow accommodation if unable to perform a “marginal” job function.


Drug Testing

• Drug use is NOT a handicap under ADA• Drug tests can be done prior to a

conditional offer, also randomly during employment

• Tests are reliable but expensive and invasive

• Advisable in safety-sensitive jobs• Perceived fairness is essential


Obtaining Reference/Background Information

• Written references or phone interviews may be used

• Ask nominated referees for additional people to contact

• Ask job-related questions of referees• Disclose to applicant that you are

seeking reference information or doing a background check


Validity and Legality of Reference Information

• Validity may be low

• Check references to avoid “negligent hiring” and because résumé fraud is common

• Beware defamation suits when giving reference information


Selecting Managers

• Assessment Centers– Multiple assessees– Multiple assessors– Multiple exercises: In-basket test,

leaderless group discussion, interview, tests

• Valid but expensive


Criteria for Choosing Selection Devices

• Validity• Utility

– Cost, Base Rate of Success, Selection Ratio, Incremental Validity, etc.

• Legality/Likelihood of legal challenge• Acceptability to Managers• Applicant Reactions• Societal Impact


Table 8.9 Average Validity and Incremental Validity of Selection Devices

Source: Data from F.L. Schmidt and J.E. Hunter, “The Validity and Utility of Selection Methods in Personnel Psychology: Practical and Theoretical Implications of 85 Years of Research Findings,” Psychological Bulletin, Vol.124, 1998, pp. 262-274. Note that the correlations in the

second column are correct upwards to account for restriction in range and unreliability in the measurement of performance.


Review

• T Selection Process• Application Blanks and Biodata• Tests• Interviews• Physical Testing• Reference and Background Checks• Selecting Managers• Criteria for Choosing Selection Devices

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