Policies and Procedures That Govern the Hiring Practices - Article Example

?LESSON 4.3 DISCUSSION FORUM The policy and procedures of human resource management serves as a guideline which the organization can regularly follow regarding employment, evaluation and improvement of staff. Standardization of such practices facilitates hiring of competent employees that can help attain the goal of the organization. In addition, basing the company policies and procedures to state and federal laws helps the organization in avoiding any unlawful action. One of the easy ways this can be done is by using the standards set forth by the National Labor Relations Board. Indeed, there is no better way to ensure that everyone in the organization abides by the rules of state by hiring employees that are competent and compliant. For Catholic Charities Spokane, their ultimate goal of providing consumer satisfaction within the means of the organization has guided them to the careful establishment of processes regarding recruitment, encouraging productiveness, work evaluation, and feedback. The Human Resources Coordinator is in charge of posting job vacancies, evaluating candidates, and organizing interviews. Productiveness of employees is encouraged through retreats and yearly evaluation. On the other hand, employees are given the voice to air their concerns regarding their work environment. The organization has made its stand regarding issues such as sexual harassment, discrimination and nepotism to prevent the occurrence of such activities. Ultimately, the human resource practices are annually evaluated using employee satisfaction ratings and retention. In any human resource management, knowing and understanding the law is important, as it decreases the chance of committing a federal or state crime (Yoder-Wise, 2003). The policy and procedures of human resource management should thus be based on what the law stipulates. The human resource practice in Catholic Charities Spokane is grounded on the aim of providing a stable of qualified work force for the ultimate consumer satisfaction within the means of the organization. There is no best way for nursing managers to ensure that practices and procedures abide by law is that the staff they hire complies with hospital policy and procedure, as well as competently provides nursing care (Yoder-Wise, 2003). The Catholic Charities thus annually reassesses its workforce, through the Program Directors, based on any changes in employee workloads, current management practices, service objectives, and quality improvement. The Catholic Charities are also open to practicum students and volunteers. The recruitment and hiring process has been carefully planned out. Briefly, the availability of a position and its respective job description is promulgated in-house and around the community by the Human Resources Coordinator, in accordance to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) standards (Siegel, 2002). For those who have completed the minimum requirements, two structured interviews are conducted to screen all applicants. The interview questions comply with employment and labor laws, as implemented by NLRB. What is important is that the set of questions asked of each applicant is consistent (Siegel, 2002). Aside from the competence of getting the job done, the commitment to empowering others by being culturally and socioeconomically sensitive as well as to community involvement. An employee’s sensitivity is ascertained using a set of questions inquiring about empowerment of others, belief in the value of family, establishing and maintaining respectful relationships, and knowing one’s limits. This is in accordance to NLRB’s suggestion that the interview questions be focused on what was previously done by the interviewee, in the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, in case of employment (Siegel, 2002). Finally, a letter of hire will be given to the person most qualified for the job. The manpower is maximized by providing an equitable work environment that supports organizational productivity and stability despite individual differences, in accordance to state and federal law. In fact, creativity and innovation in program development and service delivery among employees are highly encouraged. Instead, work opportunities will be made available to employees based on education, experience, state or provincial registration, as well as job requirements. However, since the Catholic Charities is a ministry of the Christian Community, the employees, contract personnel, volunteers, and trainees are expected to respect the Catholic character of their employer. The complete criminal history requirements through a Washington State Patrol Criminal Background check, civic child abuse and neglect registries, as well as sex offender registries should also be fulfilled as required by law. In addition to its workforce and contract personnel, the Catholic Charities collaborates with area colleges and universities to provide goal-oriented experience of actual working environment to students, interns and work studies even before they graduate. Volunteers of any age, as well as court-ordered community service volunteers are also welcome. Opportunities for volunteerism and matching the volunteer’s interest/needs to opportunity at hand are done by the Coordinator of Volunteers. They are deployed to different programs after proper orientation and Diocesan Code of Conduct training. The presence of an adult, in a ratio of 1:10, is mandatory for volunteers below 16. The education and training they will be getting from Catholic Charities open doors for new learning and skill enhancement. To protect the employees from unproductive work environment, sexual harassment of employees, participants and volunteers in the workplace is prohibited. Although the federal and state’s laws regarding sexual harassment are being followed, the Catholic Charities also released a statement against sexual harassment, defined clearly the kinds of behavior that are recognized as sexual harassment, penalized violators up to and including termination, and laid out a process for reporting incidents to the Program, Associate, or Executive Director. Included in providing equal opportunities is to prohibit even the appearance of favoritism, bias and nepotism with regard to hiring, supervision and promotion. In particular, the Catholic Charities maintain that no employee shall hold a position, while he/she or a member of his/her immediate family belongs on the board or committee that has supervisory, appointive and disciplinary authority. If such relations occur after employment, one of the two may be transferred or terminated. The Catholic Charities aims a high level of satisfaction and retention of its personnel. The organization thus promotes open communication among departments and staff levels by organizing regular team, organizational and divisional meetings to promote cooperation. Feedbacks from employees are also encouraged. The employee’s capacities are also gradually improved through annual reviews of performance and job descriptions, as well as trainings and retreats. Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium, Homeless coalition, Chamber of Commerce, Providence Services of Eastern Washington Board of Directors, and Washington State Catholic Conference Board are just some of the community activities that employees of Catholic Charities can participate in. Because of the importance of the organization’s leaders in the replenishment and continuous improvement of the workforce, it is important that the Executive Director and program managers have advanced qualifications in terms of education, experience, community orientation, administrative competence and management that will be determined using the tedious recruitment and selection procedures. In the end, the Catholic Charities annually measures the rate of turnover and satisfaction of independent contractors, volunteers and temporary employees. After identification of problems, the organization takes prompt action, may it be in the management of organization, personnel development, work environment compensation, communication, and company policies and procedures. A formal mechanism through which employees can express and resolve complaints has also been established. This is similar to the Protected Concerted Activity NLRB is enforcing, which gives the employees the right to voice out concerns and do definitive actions regarding their job-related issues. There is no mention in the policy and procedures of Catholic Charities Spokane Human Resources Development regarding the formation of union. References Catholic Charities Spokane. Policy and Procedures Human Resources Management. Spokane, W. A.: Catholic Charities Spokane National Labor Review Board. Employee Rights. Retrieved from: http://www.nlrb.gov/rights-we-protect/employee-rights Siegel, R. A. (2002). Interviewing Applicants for Employment. (OM Memo 02-31). Washington D. C.: Office of the General Counsel Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2003). Leading and Managing in Nursing. Amsterdam: Elsevier Read More