HR Planning

HRM Audit
The HRMA (Human Resource Management Audit) uses this framework to try to answer such questions as : Are the mission and strategy of the human resource organization designed to match the business strategy of the organization? Does the design of the human resource organization enhance its ability to accomplish its strategy? Are the kinds of people who run the human resource function good choices for the ongoing tasks?

HR Policy and Manual

HR policies vary considerably from one organization to another, depending on the age of the organization, its size, the nature of the workforce and the position regarding union recognition, but here are the main policy areas.

Role of Human Resource Development Manager

The role of manager of HRD (human resource development) consists of five separate but overlapping components referred to as subroles. Each is vital to the development of an efficient and properly managed HRD department. They include: (1) evaluator of the HRD program's impacts and effects on organizational efficiency, (2) management of the organizational learning system, (3) strategist responsible for long-term planning and integrating of HRD into the organization, and (4) marketing specialist responsible for the advancement of HRD within the organization through well defined and effective networks.

Job Analysis
Job analysis is the process of determining the nature or content of a job by collecting and organizing information relevant to the job. A complete job analysis contains information relating to the following five factors, plus any others deemed appropriate to fully describe the nature of the job.

Competencies for HRD Practitioners

There are five fundamental skill that need to be mastered by Human Resource Development (HRD) practitioners: (1) needs assessment, (2) program design, development, and evaluation (including individual evaluation), (3) marketing of HRD programs, (4) cost/benefit analysis, and (5) facilitation of learning.

Critical Elements of HRD Effectivenss

The following article describes ten key points of HRD effectiveness. These critical elements are discovered through an extensive empirical research conducted by Neal Chalofsky and Carlene Reinhart. These research findings will definitely provide the foundation from which HRD practitioners can begin to effectively deliver the resources their organization need.

Assessment Questionnaire Instruments

There are some principles need to be considered when designing questions items for 360

degree assessment questionnaire. To be useful, they must be constructed carefully. A simple way to test each of your items is to ask if the item can be described as the following.

Redefining The Role of Strategic HR

Redefining the role of strategic HR can be challenging. Here are some reasons. HR may not have credibility with senior managers. Many executives do not view HR as a business. They are used to thinking of HR as an organizational support department and accustomed to telling them what to do. HR will need to achieve the credibility to be accepted in the new role.

The Role of HRM in Knowledge Management

There are several roles that can be played by HR in developing knowledge management system. First, HR should help the organization articulate the purpose of the knowledge management system. Investing in a knowledge management initiative without a clear sense of purpose is like investing in an expensive camera that has far more capabilities than you need to take good pictures of family and friends.

Key Components of Human Resource Development

There are three fundamental component areas of human resource development (HRD): individual development (personal), career development (professional), and organizational development. The importance of each component will vary from organization to organization according to the complexity of the operation, the criticality of human resources to organizational efficiency, and the organization's commitment to improved human resources.

Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)

This is one of the most sophisticated and yet easily administered techniques to analyze job. The PAQ analyzes jobs in terms of 187 job elements. These elements are of a worker-oriented nature, meaning that they characterize or imply the human behaviors that are involved in various jobs.

Job Analysis Interview Guide

Job analysis interview guide is a tool that can be used in conducting job analysis process. It describes list of questions that should be asked to explore the content of a particular job. What is the job's overall purpose? What the incumbent does and, if possible, how he/she does it?

Work Measurement Methods

The purpose of work measurement is to determine the time it ought to take to do a job.There are four main systems of work measurement. First, and most used, is time study. The second system, work sampling, is a statistical procedure for measuring work and requires an understanding of the techniques of statistics and probability.

Writing Job Description

Most widely used job description formats contain the following five sections: (1) job identification; (2) job summary or purpose; (3) job duties and responsibilities; (4)

accountabilities; and (5) job specifications. The most important thing to remember is that all job descriptions within an organization should follow the same format.

Strategies for Designing and HRD Program

Jerry Gillet and Seteven Eggland (2002) identified for managers of HRD an eight-point strategy for designing cost-effective, reputable learning programs that can survive economic crises and internal/external changes affecting the organization. First, there should be a written HRD philosophy that states unequivocally that effective human resource development can improve performance (i.e., change behavior, produce results, increase productivity). This provides a framework for the HRD program. It also provides a common objective for each of the members of the HRD staff on which to focus their efforts.

Job Time Study

Time study is a work measurement technique for recording the times of performing a certain specific job or its elements carried out under specified conditions, and for analyzing the data so as to obtain the time necessary for an operator to carry it out at a defined rate of performance.

Characteristics of Effective HRD Managers

Nadler and Wiggs (1986) identified nine characteristics of effective HRD (human resource development) managers. Each is viewed as essential to the development of a comprehensive and competent HRD program. First, HRD managers must have the ability to plan HRD activities that foster training, development, and education. These activities should be targeted at the needs of employees, supervisors, line managers, customers, and nonemployees of the organization.

Work Study and Employee Productivity

Work study is the systematic examination of the methods of carrying on activities so as to improve the effective use of resources and to set up standards of performance for the activities being carried out. Work study then aims at examining the way an activity is being carried out, simplifying or modifying the method of operation to reduce unnecessary or excess work, or the wasteful use of resources, and setting up a time standard for performing that activity.

Selection + Recruitment

Key Indicators for Recruitment Process

A number of factors exert an influence over the kind of recruiting plan an organization enacts. These factors include (1) organizational policies regarding recruiting; (2) type of labor to be recruited; (3) conditions of the labor market; and (4) cost and time constraints.

Types of Selection Methods

Selection methods or screening devices include employment interviews and personality test. The employment interview is a vehicle for information exchange between applicant and interviewer regarding an applicant's suitability and interest in a job the employer seeks to fill.

Recruitment and Job Analysis

Job analysis provides important inputs to the recruiting function in two ways. First, job analysis provides job specifications, the personal requirements deemed necessary to perform each job in an organization. This tells planners and recruiters exactly what skills, abilities, experience, and other physical characteristics will be needed for certain jobs.

Validity of Selection Method

If selection methods are invalid, employee selection decisions are no more accurate than decisions based on a toss of a coin. Validity is the degree to which a measure accurately predicts job performance. Selection methods are valid to the extent that predictors measure or are significantly related to work behavior, job products, or outcomes.

Realistic Job Preview (RJP)

The realistic job preview (RJP), a new concept in recruiting and selection, is a method of communicating to an applicant or new employee what it will be like to actually perform a certain job. RJPs perform a valuable function in employee orientation, reducing reality shock and thus speeding the socialization process.

Selection Error
There are two types of selection error. In the "false positive error," a decision is made to hire an applicant based on predicted success, but failure results. In the "false negative error," an applicant who would have succeeded is rejected based on predictions of failure. An organization that makes a false positive error incurs three types of costs. The first type of costs are those incurred while the person is employed.

Validity of Appraisal Instrument

Regardless of an organization's specific needs for performance appraisal, five general requirements must be met by an appraisal system if it is to accomplish its objectives: reliability, validity, practicality, fairness, and impact. Reliability is the consistency of a measure over time and across different raters. Consistency over time means that at any two points in time, an instrument should yield the same findings or results.

Utility of Selection
Utility refers to the overall usefulness of a personnel selection or placement procedure. The concept encompasses both the accuracy and the importance of personnel decisions. Moreover, utility implies a concern with costs?costs related to setting up and implementing personnel selection procedures and costs associated with errors in the decisions made.

Talent Brand
The challenge to attract attention by differentiating yourself is not a new one, of course. When it comes to their product or service brands, organizations, especially large companies, generally "get it." In hotly competitive industries, such as retail, companies spend millions establishing their name and creating a strong brand image that compels consumers to reach for their

products. Unfortunately, many times companies have not put the same effort into making sure the overall brand is carried through in their efforts to communicate with Great Talent.

Training + Development

Types of Training Program

Types of learning can be categorized into three groups. The first type is cognitive learning or knowledge learning. It not only includes the knowledge per se, but also what to do with it or how to apply it. Thus the investigative process and the principles of problem solving and decision making are part of this group.

Training Need Analysis

There are three types of training need analysis : organizational need analysis, job need analysis, and person need analysis. Organizational need analysis begins with an examination of the short and long-term objectives of the organization and the trends that are likely to affect these objectives.

Designing Lesson Plan

Designing the course involves actually deciding on a plan of action, i.e. a lesson or session plan. This provides you with the orderly procedures for conducting or facilitating a session efficiently. It should not be long (two pages at the most) but should be complete and practical. It should be written or sectioned in a format that is helpful and meaningful to you, the trainer, and it should give you confidence not only is it proof that you have prepared adequately, but it is your 'prop' if you need it.

Optimizing Learning Process

Following employees' exposure to training and development experiences, the environment needs to support the transfer of new behaviors to the job, and their maintenance over time.The following learning principles should be undertaken to increase the success of training. First, providing clear Expectations. If task instructions are unclear or imprecise, learning is hampered. Employees must know what is expected in order to perform as desired. Training expectations should be stated in specific terms.

Learning Objective and Training Content

Learning objectives have also been called performance objectives and behavioral objectives. Whatever the terminology, objectives must be clearly defined. An objective is a precise goal stated in measurable quantitative or qualitative terms. It is of little use to you in designing a course if vague, woolly terminology is used in defining the objectives.

Andragogy Learning Method

The term andragogy was used to differentiate it from the theory of youth learning, pefagogy. This term was used by Malcolm Knowles in his work of developing a unified system of adult learning. It is essentially a process model and is based around the premise that, as an individual matures, his/her need and capacity to be self-directing, to utilize his/her experience in

learning, to identify his/her own readiness to learn, and to organize his/her learning around life problems, increases steadily from infancy to pre-adolescence and then increase rapidly during adolescence.

HRD Learning Activities

HRD or Human Resource Development can best be described as a comprehensive learning system designed to enhance individual performance for the purpose of improving organizational efficiency. As such, HRD includes three types of learning activities: on the job, off the job, and through the job.

A Model for Great Mentoring

Great mentoring process requires four core competencies, each of which can be applied in many ways. These competencies form the sequential steps in the process of mentoring. All four have been selected for their ability to blend effectively with. Not accidentally, the first letters of these four competencies (and steps) spell the word SAGE a helpful mnemonic as well as a symbolic representation of the goal, the power-free facilitation of learning.

Experiencing Work-based Learning

How can we introduce learning as an organizational property that extends to all managers? The answer lies in making learning arise from the work itself. Learning has to become natural, even fun. Unfortunately, we have become conditioned to a classroom model hat separates theory from practice, making learning seem impractical, irrelevant, and boring. But what if we make our worksite a perfectly acceptable location for learning?

The Qualities of Great Mentoring

Great mentors are not immune to traps; great mentors recognize the traps they are likely to fall into and work hard to compensate for them. How do they do that? They do it by understanding the qualities of a mentor-protege relationship focused on discovery and learner independence and then learning to be living, breathing models of those qualities. First and foremost, great mentoring is a partnership. And partnership starts with balance

Performance Appraisal

Performance Appraisal Methods

There are many types of performance appraisal method. Some of them are job results/outcome; essay method; ranking; forced distribution; graphic rating scale; behavioral checklist; behavioral anchored rating scales (BARS); and management by objectives.

Evaluation Criteria in Performance Appraisal

In choosing an appraisal system, HR professionals should consider their own organization's needs for performance appraisal. Key considerations are (1) whom the company should evaluate, and (2) what criteria should be used to evaluate.

8 Steps to Higher Performance

The following eight steps will help you and your employees interact in ways that make you work more efficiently and effectively. These steps will help you help your employees feel more motivated on the job and build the connection between their own interests and the interests of the organization.

Performance Coaching Process

There's no one single script you can develop that will ensure productive, effective performance appraisal interviews. But avoiding the following five common interviewing errors will give you a good margin for success : 1) Failure to prepare for the interview. This is the number one reason why appraisal interviews fail. You and the employee should know what the job requirements are, and how the employee is meeting them, before you even schedule the interview.

Giving Negative Feedback

When negative feedback is necessary, the best time to give it is now before the problem gets any worse. Early attention to developing problems lets you turn the painful experience of negative feedback into the more constructive process of corrective feedback.

Personal Characteristics in Performance Appraisal Process

Does a relationship between the personal characteristics of the rater and the ratee affect the favorability of the rating? Rand and Wexley used a simulated employment interview to help answer that question. Although the employment interview and performance appraisal are two separate aspects of the human resource function, they have a similarity that seems appropriate to the question.

Appraising Team Performance

The primary dilemma with performance appraisals and teams is that appraisal forms and processes were built with individuals in mind. Using an individually based instrument to measure the performance of a team is difficult. Where does the work of the individual stop and the team begin? The appraisal job gets even tougher when the teams are cross-functional, not homogeneous.

The Attributes of a Good Coach

A good coach is positive, enthusiastic, supportive, trusting, focused, goal-oriented, knowledgeable, observant, respectful, patient, and clear. Let's look at how each characteristic comes into play in the workplace. A good coach is positive. Your job is not correcting mistakes, finding fault, and assessing blame. Instead, your function is achieving productivity goals by coaching your staff to peak performance.

Executive Coaching and Business Strategy

Successful executive coaching requires sophisticated understanding of organizations as well as of individuals. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the intersection of business strategy and the executive coaching that supports it. Senior leaders play a critical role in setting direction, defining strategic positions, and providing focus for the business operations needed for

successful execution. Through executive coaching, a leader can be more effective, as an individual, in guiding the execution of the strategy.

Six Roles of Employees in the Performance Review Meeting

Wise managers ask each of their subordinates to create an accomplishments list to begin the performance assessment phase. This list is intended to provide the manager with a record of those achievements and accomplishments that the individual felt were the most important during the appraisal period. In the meeting, the individual should review the accomplishments list he prepared to make sure that the appraiser has appropriately incorporated his achievements during the review period.

Seven Roles of Managers in the Performance Review Meeting

Performance review is the final phase of an effective performance management system. It involves the individual and the manager discussing the performance appraisal document that the manager has created. The performance management process both ends and begins anew with the performance review meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, the individual's past year's performance is reviewed and the success of the development plan is evaluated. At the end of the meeting, the appraiser and the individual set a date to create the plan for next year's goals, objectives, and development.

Framework for the Strategic Executive Coaching Process

This article describes the process component of executive coaching by breaking it down into five key steps. The exact determination of dividing lines between the individual steps is less important than the approach to issues that arise during the process as a whole. In step one: Careful Contracting, we should create a trusting environment in which open dialog can occur and underlying issues can be brought to light. A great deal of honest communication and feedback will set the parameters of the executive coaching process.

Traps to Avoid in Mentoring Process

There are countless traps along the path of mentordom. Mentoring can be a power trip for those seeking an admirer, a manifestation of greed for those who must have slaves. Mentoring can be a platform for proselytizing a cause or crusade, a strong tale told to an innocent or unknowing listener. However, the traps of power, greed, and crusading all pale when compared with the subtler description listed below. There are other traps, of course, but these are the ones that most frequently raise their ugly heads to sabotage healthy relationships.