Staffing Requirements - Assignment Example

Human Resource Management Name Institution Lecturer Course Date Human Resource Management Assessment Task 1 1) Describe how you might go about assessing staffing requirements in your organisation i) Conduct organisational skills analysis to determine skills and workforce requirement ii) Perform workforce analysis to identify available skills. It is also important to forecast future needs of the organisation based on planned expansion, possible retirement and strategies underway iii) Conduct gap analysis by establishing the difference between required and available skills to identify skills or workforce deficiency. Gap analysis will provide staffing requirements for the organisation. 2) List three questions you might ask yourself when developing a job specification i) What skills are critical to the success of my organisation? ii) What position do I need for my organisation to achieve its strategic objectives? iii) Must I hire full time or can part time employees perform the required role? 3) Why is it important to consult others when developing a job specification? i) To avoid missing out key skills and attributes which are critical to the success of the organisation 4) Outline one of the biggest challenges relating to staff recruitment which is common to the early childhood education and care sector i) One of the challenges is establishing gender diversity through recruitment of men and women. Many candidates are usually women and it becomes a challenge attracting men applicants. 5) List three factors that you need to consider when making decisions relating to work allocation i) Nature of work and work requirements ii) Skills and experience iii) Physical ability and health 6) Outline a situation in your current position where you have to re-evaluate work allocation decisions i) The re-evaluation was necessitated by high staff turnover. After analysis, I realised that employees were dissatisfied due to overworking. After re-evaluation, I realised the we had allocated too much work per employee. We therefore, reduced the work allocated, which reduced staff turnover and consequent reduction in costs associated with high staff turnover. Our staff now has ample time to deliver client-centered service that has increased customer satisfaction rates. 7) Describe a process you have put in place in your current position which allows work practices in your area/team to be continually evaluated/or improved upon i) We are quality oriented and the quality of our work is measured in terms of customer feedback and satisfaction. When these metrics show that we are delivering low services to our clients, we reevaluate our work practices including work allocation so that we can identify reasons for poor service delivery. If we realise that our staff is overwhelmed, we increase workforce to reduce work allocation per employee. If we realise that poor service delivery is due to skills inadequacy, we come up with strategies to improve skills. 8) When providing feedback to a team member, suggest three ways that you could encourage them to assess their own performance i) Assure them that own performance assessment is critical to their development because they will help the organisation to establish appropriate development strategies for them ii) Inform team members that they should use time for self-evaluations to ask the team leader for opportunities for career development iii) Show team members that they should be proud to report notable accomplishments while being sincere to report underperformance so that necessary steps can be taken to ensure that they report high performance on those areas in the future 9) Sometimes it may be appropriate and necessary to make a referral to counseling services for a staff member in your team or organisation i) When might this be appropriate? (a) When the team member or employee is unable to solve his/her problem by his/herself ii) Outline three things that you might be required to do as part of making/arranging a referral to a counseling service (a) Consult the counseling service provider prior to the referral (b) Let the employee or team member know that the referral is meant to help them improve their work performance (c) Initiate the meeting between the employee and the service provider 10) As a manager, it is important to ensure that the workplace is safe and free from discrimination and bias i) Outline three measures you could take or mechanisms you could put into place to ensure that this was the case (a) Lead by example (b) Establish policies against discrimination and let them be known to every employee (c) Enforce or apply these policies to the letter to ensure that staff abides by the rules ii) Choose one of the measures or mechanism identified in Part (a) above and explain how you go about implementing it (a) I chose lead by example mechanism. To ensure that employee treat others fairly with no bias and discrimination, I would eliminate my own biases or reduce their impact so that employees see me to be fair. 11) It is important that managers understand the potential causes of conflict in the workplace and have the skills and strategies necessary to minimise their impact. i) Identify three potential causes of conflict in the workplace (a) Misunderstandings (b) Poor communication (c) Lack of planning ii) Outline one or more strategies to address each of the causes identified in Part (a) so as to minimise their impact on the workplace (a) Misunderstandings 1. Let everybody be on the same page regarding objectives, values, beliefs and priorities by allowing time to discuss these issues (b) Poor communication 1. Have frequent meetings with employees to inform them new and upcoming issues 2. Communicate all rules (new and old) through communication channels accessible to all employees (c) Lack of planning 1. Dedicate some time to be used in planning upcoming issues so that everybody understands his/her position and role 12) Use three legal and/or policy considerations that may need to be met when undertaking staff disciplinary action i) Disciplinary action should be equally applied to all employees as stipulated in the policy ii) Disciplinary action should be based on in-depth investigation to ensure that fairness is observed iii) The disciplinary action should not be discriminative 13) Imagine you had to conduct a performance management process for a staff member in your team who had been consistently taking longer lunch breaks than was permitted according to organisational policy. Using the appropriate forms from your workplace and using a fictional name, complete the necessary record(s) that would be required to administer this process. Name of employee Mark Twain Employment Number 45/2010 Department Community Outreach Position Project Coordinator 1 Rating Poor Good Excellent Comments 1. Time Management Early arrival to work * Sometimes arrives late with as much as one hour Timely completion of tasks * Missed two critical deadlines Timely utilisation of breaks * Overuse of tea and lunch breaks. Late resumption to work after breaks 14) Outline each of the steps of your organisation’s grievance procedure and briefly explain how you would implement each i) Reception of the complaint: I would establish a form that employees and customers can fill to lodge a complaint against an employee ii) Complaint investigation: I would seek more information from the person who lodged the complaint or from necessary documents to validate the complaint. I would ensure that all parties involved are protected especially their privacy by not disclosing them iii) Action taking: I would then take the necessary action, such as disciplinary action, based on the results of the comprehensive investigation 15) Who might you seek advice from in the event that you have encountered difficulties in implementing a grievance procedure? i) I would seek advice from a human resource manager because human resource managers have knowledge regarding human resource management ii) Legal expert: lawyers can help me to understand possible legal consequences of taking certain disciplinary actions 16) Select an item of information technology that you use in your workplace. As part of undertaking this task, answer the following questions i) Explain how you use it effectively (i.e. how you use it to achieve a work outcome or purpose and why using it is the most effective way to achieve that outcome or purpose): (a) The information technology I use is computer particularly electronic email. I use this technology to communicate with our suppliers, inviting applicants for interview and sometimes communicating with employees especially those who are away. E-mail presents me with an excellent opportunity to communicate effectively. ii) Outline two aspects of the way in which you use the technology identified above that meet the relevant work and safety guidelines associated with it (a) I ensure that screen brightness is the recommended one- not too high to destroy my eyesight (b) I avoid using the computer for too long by taking regular breaks when using it for a long time 17) Outline an example of when you have established and maintained a network with an external organisation, group or agency in order to provide a benefit to your team. As part of undertaking this task, answer the following questions: i) Identify with who you networked: a teambuilding consultant ii) Explain why you established the network: I realised that my team often requires teambuilding in order to perform more effectively iii) Explain how you established and maintained communication with the network: we keep in touch through e-mail and sometimes have face-to-face meetings especially when I need the consultant to conduct teambuilding for my team iv) Outline the benefits that having the network provided to your team: the consultant has helped my team to overcome various challenges. He has also helped me to motivate my team, which has resulted to improved performance. Assessment Task 2: Workforce Analysis of My Current Workplace Future Workforce Needs In accordance to the work procedures at our organisation, workforce analysis should be done once every year or when need arises, such as during expansion plans or when implementing strategic plans. This task is in accordance with our work procedure because of the proposed expansion of organisational tasks and scope of operations. For the last two years, we have managed to establish key relationships with funders, which has resulted to an increase in our source of funds. As such, we plan to increase the scope of our community development programs by engaging in more community development programs. This means that we need to develop or expand our current workforce to meet our future needs. One of our objectives is to invest in programs that promise high returns to the community. This implies the need for cost-benefit analysis of all proposals so that only proposals that promise good returns to the community receive funding from us. Gap Analysis Analysis shows deficiency or lack of financial analysis skills required in evaluating potential projects. The lack of these skills results from lack of a financial manager or analyst while the current workforce does not have a person with these skills. The impact of the lack of these skills will be more pronounced when we expand our operations as per our strategic goals, which means that we shall be handling more projects of higher scope than we are currently doing, which means that financial analysis skills will be required more than now. In order to establish exactly what we want, we shall consult financial consultants/professionals because these people have deep understanding of financial analysis. We shall present our case from which they shall advice us on the particular skills to look for. In case we shall be hiring, financial consultants shall help us in selecting the best candidate with the best combination of skills as per our needs. Strategies to address the identified workforce gaps The first strategy is to develop current employees through training so that they can gain the necessary skills. Gap analysis identified deficiency in financial analysis skills, which means that we can subject our current managers to further training particularly on financial analysis. The most appropriate training method is for the selected managers to enroll for a short course in financial analysis at one of the leading colleges offering such courses. This means that we have to give study leaves to managers who shall be selected to undertake this course. Potential candidates to take this course include the program development manager and the community development manager. The advantage with this approach is that it will be cheaper in the long-run than hiring a new person with financial analysis skills. However, the managers selected to undertake this course must be given study leave so that they can dedicate full time to learning and acquiring the skill, which will interfere with normal operations of the organisation. Fortunately, we have some employee who can handle their tasks for the time being. To implement this strategy, we need finances to pay training fees amounting to about $2,600, which we can source from the money we have set aside for workforce development. The second strategy is hiring a person who has these skills as the core skills. The organisation does not have a finance manager; therefore, we can hire a finance manager who will handle all financial operations of the organisation. Although this strategy will be expensive in the long-run because of added workforce, it will result to the enhancement of our workforce for smoother operations. Hiring a finance manager will cost us about $119,000 per year on salaries and remuneration, which we can source partly from our funders and partly from the revenues. Assessment Task 3: Planning for Staff Recruitment Proposal Necessity of the New Role Our funders want to see value for their money through community development. On the other hand, we expect to receive many proposals from community members especially after implementing our expansion plans. This means that we need to conduct critical appraisal of every proposal by conducting cost-benefit analysis in order to ensure that we invest on projects and programs that promise good returns to the community. Therefore, a financial analyst is a critical requirement for the fulfillment of our objectives. Work Tasks that Would Be Allocated to the New Role 1) The candidate shall analyse and interpret financial data, make comparisons and then recommend necessary course of action 2) The person shall analyse and compare actual results with forecasts/plans in order to identify the financial status of each project/program 3) The candidate shall increase the productivity of every program and the entire organisation by gathering and coordinating information requirements with program managers 4) The person shall establish accounting procedures and applications for use in the organisation 5) The person shall determine operational costs for every program/project by collecting, analysing and storing actual cost data 6) The incumbent shall ensure that the financial information of the organisation is confidential and securely stored 7) The person shall prepare and present financial reports as deemed necessary or at the close of every financial year Proposed Position Description Our organisation offers an exciting career opportunity for a financial analyst. The position shall be involved in day-to-day operations of the organisation through financial analysis, forecasting, budgeting, ad hoc reporting and annual reporting. Responsibilities Analyse and interpret financial data, make comparisons and then recommend necessary course of action Analyse and compare actual results with forecasts/plans in order to identify the financial status of each project/program Increase the productivity of every program and the entire organisation by gathering and coordinating information requirements with program managers Establish accounting procedures and applications for use in the organisation Determine operational costs for every program/project by collecting, analysing and storing actual cost data Ensure that the financial information of the organisation is confidential and securely stored Prepare and present financial reports as deemed necessary or at the close of every financial year Qualifications a) Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting or Economics with a minimum of three (3) years experience in financial analysis in a busy organisation b) Knowledge in accounting GAAP c) Advanced knowledge in accounting software with emphasis on Microsoft Access and Excel d) Excellent communication skills e) Ability to meet critical deadlines Recruitment Process The recruitment process shall start with vacancy identification and need evaluation, which have already been done. This will be followed by the development of the position description, which has already been done as well. The recruitment plan shall then be developed. In accordance with the organisation’s affirmative action policy, and the fact that candidate must be a legal citizen of Australia aged above 18 years, recruitment for this position shall be made throughout the country. In order to reach every part of the country, the position shall be advertised on local dailies and on social media. The position shall also be advertised on online recruitment agencies (websites) as well as on the organisation’s website. The position will be advertised for two weeks to ensure that as many people as possible shall have the opportunity to apply for the position. In the mean time, a search committee comprised of program managers and a financial analyst consultant shall be established to receive applications, review them and develop a shortlist. The team shall then invite shortlisted candidates for interviews and then conduct interviews after which they shall select the best hire in order to finalise the recruitment. Resource Requirement The process is estimated to cost about $2200 that we be used for advertisement, inviting shortlisted candidates for interviews, interviewing and consultation fee. The selection committee shall be comprised of four people, one of whom shall be the financial analyst consultant while others shall be program manager, program coordinator and human resource manager from the organisation. According to the human resource manager, the incumbent’s annual salary shall be $119,456 including allowances. Read More