STAFFING AND LEADING

Importance of HRM:

The simplest human resource description would be to say it’s the department of a company
or organization that handles the relationship between employees and leadership. Human
resource management (HRM) is the sector of HR that oversees these departments. HR
covers a number of positions, responsibilities, and aspects of company efficiency and staff
well-being—and each area of human resources requires strong leadership from an
experienced manager. Some of the most important responsibilities within the HRM
department include:

• Hiring and Training New Employees: An HR professional holding a management

position is often in charge of recruiting, hiring, and training new employees. This
means the HR team is responsible for finding candidates who meet the necessary
qualifications for specified positions and fully vetting a company’s hires.
• Keeping Employees Safe and Happy: A human resource department is also in charge of
keeping employees safe, healthy, and satisfied. With proper HR management,
workplace policies keep up with necessary protective measures and implementation
and provide solutions to - issues between team members, avoiding risk for the
company and its employees.
• Managing Company Risk: The HR department works with organizational leadership to
help manage risk and compliance. Human resource managers should be well-versed
in business law, ethics, statistics, and problem-solving in order to help manage their
company’s risk.
• Paying Employees and Negotiating Benefits: Even employees who love their jobs
wouldn’t do them if they weren't getting paid. One of HR’s primary roles is managing
payment and benefits for an organization’s staff. Proper management of
compensation, time off, and insurance is what keeps employee satisfaction high.
Human Resource Planning:

Human resource planning (HRP) is the continuous process of systematic planning ahead to
achieve optimum use of an organization's most valuable asset—quality employees. Human
resources planning ensures the best fit between employees and jobs while avoiding
manpower shortages or surpluses.

There are four key steps to the HRP process. They include analysing present labour
supply, forecasting labour demand, balancing projected labour demand with supply, and
supporting organizational goals. HRP is an important investment for any business as it
allows companies to remain both productive and profitable.

• Human resource planning (HRP) is a strategy used by a company to maintain a

steady stream of skilled employees while avoiding employee shortages or
surpluses.
• Having a good HRP strategy in place can mean productivity and profitability for a
company.
• There are four general steps in the HRP process: identifying the current supply of
employees, determining the future of the workforce, balancing between labour
supply and demand, and developing plans that support the company's goals.
There are four general, broad steps involved in the human resource planning process. Each
step needs to be taken in sequence in order to arrive at the end goal, which is to develop a
strategy that enables the company to successfully find and retain enough qualified
employees to meet the company's needs.

• Analysing Labour Supply: The first step of human resource planning is to identify the
company's current human resources supply. In this step, the HR department studies
the strength of the organization based on the number of employees, their skills,
qualifications, positions, benefits, and performance levels.
• Forecasting Labour Demand: The second step requires the company to outline the
future of its workforce. Here, the HR department can consider certain issues like
promotions, retirements, layoffs, and transfers—anything that factors into the future
needs of a company. The HR department can also look at external conditions
impacting labour demand, such as new technology that might increase or decrease
the need for workers.
• Balancing Labour Demand with Supply: The third step in the HRP process is
forecasting the employment demand. HR creates a gap analysis that lays out
specific needs to narrow the supply of the company's labour versus future demand.
This analysis will often generate a series of questions, such as:

i. Should employees learn new skills?

ii. Does the company need more managers?
iii. Do all employees play to their strengths in their current roles?
iv. Developing and Implementing a Plan
• Developing and Implementing a Plan: The answers to questions from the gap
analysis help HR determine how to proceed, which is the final phase of the HRP
process. HR must now take practical steps to integrate its plan with the rest of the
company. The department needs a budget, the ability to implement the plan, and a
collaborative effort with all departments to execute that plan.

Recruitment – Methods & Selection

Every recruiter knows that as much as we’d like to plan ahead so that we can fill vacancies
within the best time to hire hiring metric, things regularly don’t go as we’d hoped. Under
pressure, we fall into old habits (that we know don’t always work) because hiring
managers are turning up the heat.

1. Direct advertising: Placing job adverts on your careers site, job boards, social media
and industry publications is an excellent way to find lots of applicants. It also gives
exposure to your employer branding and boosts your company’s reputation. The
downside is that external advertising can be very expensive.
2. Talent pool databases: You should always search your talent pool databases for
applicants and candidates that were not hired but were suitable enough to save.
Most hiring decisions involve deciding between at least two or three candidates.
3. Employee referrals: Most companies have some kind of employee referral program
in place. Employee referrals is a combination of internal and external recruitment.
Existing staff are encouraged to refer people they know for vacancies.
4. Boomerang employees: Rehiring past employees is gaining popularity. Known as
boomerang employees, these are people who worked well at a company but then left
on good terms for a myriad of reasons. Employers are seeing the value of rehiring
them because they know their abilities and the employee knows and fits into the
 company culture. Bringing a boomerang employee back on board reduces time to
hire, eliminates the risk of a bad hire and reduces cost per hire.
5. Promotions and transfers: Promotions and transfers aren’t quite the same thing, but
the concept is the same. Internal employees are identified to fill open roles. A
promotion means that the person moves up the ladder and is given more
responsibilities and also a pay increase. A transfer usually doesn’t involve greater
responsibilities or more money and is a horizontal move.
6. Employment exchanges: Although not available in all countries, employment
exchanges are mandatory in others. An employment exchange is a government-run
initiative that keeps record of unemployed job seekers.
7. Recruitment agencies: You can outsource your hiring process to a recruitment
agency. Agencies manage full cycle recruiting on your behalf. Although the cost of
using an agency is high, it frees up your time to focus on more pressing matters.
Recruitment agencies are a great option for hard-to-fill positions and for companies
that don’t have the internal HR resources to focus on hiring.
8. Professional organizations: When you need to fill a highly skilled position,
professional organizations can be an excellent source of candidates. Many
professions require that on qualification, people register with the appropriate
professional association.
9. Internships and apprenticeships: Offering internships and apprenticeships is an
excellent way to get to know the strengths of individuals and can be considered to be
a working interview. During the contact period, line and hiring managers can evaluate
the potential to identify interns and apprentices who can be upskilled and developed
to fill future roles.
10. Recruitment events: For big organizations, or companies planning expansion,
recruitment events are perfect for attracting the type of people you need. Events can
range from hosting open days to being at job fairs, holding a hackathon and graduate
recruitment drives on campus. Events can be costly.
11. Word of mouth: Big brands and multinationals can easily use word of mouth
methods of recruitment because unsolicited job seekers approach them daily. Their
employer brand is established, and they’re recognized as an employer of choice. All
they need to do is put the word out that they’re hiring and they will get a good
response.
12. Bulletin boards: There are still jobs that can be advertised on bulletin boards. Factory
and agricultural jobs are typical examples. Unemployed people often wait at factory
gates for day or contact jobs to be announced. In agriculture, seasonal workers
gather at local markets or co-ops to see job lists put up by local farms.

Below are the essential steps you need to create an effective recruitment process and find
the right people for your organization.

1. Identify the hiring need: You can’t get what you want unless you know what you’re
looking for. At the end of this process, you’re hoping to find the ideal employee, so
you have to start by determining what “ideal” means for this position. This step will
impact every other part of the recruitment process.
2. Prepare a job description: A job description is often a potential candidate’s first
impression of your company, so make it a good one. It should accurately reflect what
you need from this employee—required skills and responsibilities of the position—but
it should also show candidates what they can expect to receive in return.
3. Develop and execute your recruitment plan: With some initial preparation and your
job description in hand, you should be ready for the part of the recruitment process
where you actually recruit candidates.
4. Review applicants: Before you put valuable time into interviews, narrow down your
list of candidates with these steps:
• Compare the candidate’s resume and other materials to the job description you
wrote. Does this person’s prior job experience and skills line up with the essential
requirements?
• Look at the time spent in previous roles. Does the candidate’s history demonstrate
progression and drive or a tendency to bounce from job to job?
• Conduct phone screenings. Before you bring someone into the office, a quick phone
screening could determine whether you can accommodate the candidate’s
availability and desired salary. You can also ask questions related to the resume if
an otherwise qualified candidate didn’t mention an essential skill.
5. Conduct interviews: So, we’ve arrived at the most crucial step of the recruitment
process. Don’t worry. Since you have already established the qualities you would like
in a candidate, and since you have vetted the incoming applications, you have set
yourself up for success—or at least not a total disaster.
6. Check references and make an offer: As a final check in the recruitment and
selection process, you will want to contact the candidate’s references. Gather
information to confirm responses during the interview, such as:
• The person’s relation to the candidate
• The circumstances around the candidate leaving his or her previous company
• The candidate’s strengths
• Any skills or ability that the candidate might lack that kept him or her from
progressing at this company

Motivating Employees – Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier

model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. From the
bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological (food and clothing), safety
(job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization. Needs
lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher
up.

1. Physiological needs - Our most basic need is for physical survival, and this will be the
first thing that motivates our behaviour. Once that level is fulfilled the next level up is
what motivates us, and so on. These are biological requirements for human survival,
e.g., air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, sleep. If these needs are not
satisfied the human body cannot function optimally. Maslow considered
physiological needs the most important as all the other needs become secondary
until these needs are met.
2. Safety needs - Once an individual’s physiological needs are satisfied, the needs for
security and safety become salient. People want to experience order, predictability
and control in their lives. These needs can be fulfilled by the family and society (e.g.,
police, schools, business and medical care). For example, emotional security,
financial security (e.g., employment, social welfare), law and order, freedom from
fear, social stability, property, health and well-being (e.g., safety against accidents
and injury).
3. Love and belongingness needs - After physiological and safety needs have been
fulfilled, the third level of human needs is social and involves feelings of
belongingness. Belongingness, refers to a human emotional need for interpersonal
relationships, affiliating, connectedness, and being part of a group. Examples of
belongingness needs include friendship, intimacy, trust, and acceptance, receiving
and giving affection, and love.
4. Esteem needs are the fourth level in Maslow’s hierarchy and include self-worth,
accomplishment and respect. Maslow classified esteem needs into two categories:
(i) esteem for oneself (dignity, achievement, mastery, independence) and (ii) the
desire for reputation or respect from others (e.g., status, prestige). Maslow indicated
that the need for respect or reputation is most important for children and
adolescents and precedes real self-esteem or dignity.
5. Self-actualization needs are the highest level in Maslow's hierarchy, and refer to the
realization of a person's potential, self-fulfilment, seeking personal growth and peak
experiences. Maslow (1943) describes this level as the desire to accomplish
everything that one can, to become the most that one can be. Individuals may
perceive or focus on this need very specifically. For example, one individual may have
a strong desire to become an ideal parent. In another, the desire may be expressed
economically, academically or athletically. For others, it may be expressed creatively,
in paintings, pictures, or inventions.

Behaviour leading to self-actualization:

• Experiencing life like a child, with full absorption and concentration;

• Trying new things instead of sticking to safe paths;
• Listening to your own feelings in evaluating experiences instead of the voice of
tradition, authority or the majority;
• Avoiding pretense ('game playing') and being honest;
• Being prepared to be unpopular if your views do not coincide with those of the
majority;
• Taking responsibility and working hard;
• Trying to identify your defences and having the courage to give them up.

Motivating Employees – Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory

The Herzberg two-factor theory, also known as the Herzberg's Hygiene Theory, posits that
job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not opposites. The research underpinning this theory
identifies characteristics of jobs that related to job satisfaction - while a different set of job
factors lead to dissatisfaction. Thus, eliminating dissatisfaction will not necessarily create
satisfaction and vice versa.

The conclusion was that to remove dissatisfaction, the manager must identify and remove
the factors causing it. To improve satisfaction, you must add those desired factors. Though,
this can only be effective after removing aspects of dissatisfaction.

Frederick Herzberg proposed the two-factor theory based upon what employment
characteristics satisfy employees. He was able to conclude that satisfying and dissatisfying
characteristics are different.

• Hygiene Factors - Dissatisfying factors are labelled as hygiene factors - as they are
part of the context in which the job was performed (rather than functions of the job
 itself). Common hygiene factors include: work conditions, company policies,
supervisions, salary, safety, and security.
• Motivators - Satisfying factors were labelled as motivators. Motivators, in contrast to
hygiene factors, are factors are intrinsic to the job. Common hygiene factors include:
personal recognition, achievement, engaging work, meaningful responsibilities,
career advancement, and personal growth opportunities.

Herzberg's research found that motivators were far more effective in motivating employee
productivity. This theory provided a way to motivate through improved work conditions -
which led to a burgeoning of job enrichment programs. These programs contained higher
numbers of motivators.

The primary criticisms of this approach concern the definition of job satisfaction. Also, there
are issues in the ability to differentiate hygiene from motivators. In some instances,
variations of a factor could be each. Also, it fails to address the quality of the relationship
between management and subordinates. In any event, the theory is foundational in modern
leadership and management education and practice.

Transformational v/s Transactional Leadership

Transactional Leadership

A leadership style whereby the objectives and goals are predefined and the leader uses
reward and punishment to motivate his followers is known as Transactional Leadership. It
focuses on improving the current situation of the organisation by framing the steps and
controlling the organisational activities. The basic purpose of this type of leadership is to
revamp the existing corporate culture and to enhance current policies & procedures.

In this leadership style, the leader uses his authority and responsibility as his power as well
as the style has a formal approach. Prize and penalties are the two primary tools employed
by the leader to inspire his subordinates i.e., if an employee achieves the target within the
stipulated time, he is given initiative for his work, whereas if the task is not completed within
the required time, then he will be penalised for the same.

Transformational Leadership

The style of leadership in which the leader uses his influencing power and enthusiasm to
motivate his followers to work for the benefit of the organisation. Here, the leader seeks the
requirement for a change in the existing organisation culture, gives a vision to his
subordinates, incorporates mission and implement the change with the dedication of his
followers.

In transformational leadership, the leader acts as a role model and as a motivator too who
offers vision, excitement, encouragement, morale and satisfaction to the followers. The
leader inspires his people to increase their abilities and capabilities, build up self-confidence
and promotes innovation in the whole organisation.

BASIS FOR TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP

COMPARISON
 Meaning A leadership style that employs A leadership style in which the leader
rewards and punishments for employs charisma and enthusiasm to
motivating followers is inspire his followers is
Transactional Leadership. Transformational Leadership.

Concept Leader lays emphasis on his Leader lays emphasis on the values,
relation with followers. ideals, morals and needs of the
followers.

Nature Reactive Proactive

Best suited for Settled Environment Turbulent Environment

Works for Developing the existing Changing the existing organizational

organizational culture. culture.

Style Bureaucratic Charismatic

How many leaders Only one More than one

are there in a
group?

Focused on Planning and Execution Innovation

Motivational tool Attracting followers by putting Stimulating followers by setting group

their own self-interest in the first interest as a priority.
place.

Group v/s Team

Group: A group is a collection of individuals with separate priorities united by their shared
interests or experiences. Group members have individual goals and accountability for their
own success or failure. While they work separately, group members have a related interest
that brings them together. Groups may exist informally because of common interests or
formally because of decisions from company management.

Team: A team is a collection of interdependent people who join together with a shared goal.
Team members have individual and shared accountability for the team's success or failure.
They work together to solve problems, create new products or fulfil other assignments.
There are several different types of teams, such as cross-departmental, self-managed and
process teams.

Group vs. Team

Groups and teams share resources like information, space and equipment. Besides their
differences regarding priorities and relationships, here are some distinctions between these
arrangements:

• Accountability: The members of a group are only accountable to themselves and

their superiors. In contrast, besides tracking their own goals and reporting to
managers, the members of a team are also accountable to one another. This is
 because team members must work together and collaborate on projects, so each
person's performance affects the entire group's progress.
• Leadership: A single leader takes control of a group of people to assign individual
tasks and manage meetings. The leader of a team is a facilitator who helps people
achieve their shared goals through collaboration. A team may also have multiple
leaders to guide and assist its members.
• Output: In a group, members create separate work for managers to judge separately.
For example, a group might work in a shared space and have the same tasks, but
each person is responsible for their own work. Meanwhile, the members of a team
create a single, collective work or project that managers assess in its entirety. A
software development team, for instance, might work together to create a single
computer application.

Benefits of groups at work:

• Takes little time to establish

• Generates more diverse ideas
• Improves communication
• Promotes deeper understanding
• Encourages self-motivation

Benefits of teams at work:

• Improves communication
• Increases interpersonal skills
• Boosts motivation
• Provides support
• Leverages individual strengths
• Focuses efforts

Group Formation Stages

Tuckman was responsible for coining the 5 main stages in the process of group discussion.
They are also known as Tuckman’s 5 stages of group development. Moreover, these stages of
group formation are meant to be followed in the exact sequence as they are below:

1. Forming: This is a beginning stage and lasts only a few days (or weeks). Members
begin by planning their work and their new roles. Moreover, the emotions here are
positive. The groups should begin by learning about team processes in preparation for
the rough times ahead. However, it is crucial for them to learn the aspects of conflict
resolution, communication, group decision-making and time management.
2. Storming: There exists a considerable number of fights and arguments in this stage.
People begin to feel the stress of frustration, resentment, and anger. Moreover, as the
problem festers, the job remains undone. Managers also experience frustration and are
worried about the situation, thereby, are tempted to intervene. Members experience a
drastic emotional roller coaster from elation to depression. Moreover, the situation
seems bleak. Usually, the storming period may last 1-2 months. Also, without effective
training and support, the team may experience retarded growth.
3. Norming: In the norming stage, the group works through individual and social issues.
The group establishes its own norms of behaviour and begin to trust each other.
Moreover, as the group develops interpersonal skills, it becomes all the more skilled.
 Members begin the art and knack of problem-solving. They also cross-train and learn
new and adequate job skills. This stage usually lasts for 4-12 months.
4. Performing: In this stage, the group is ready to begin performing its respective task and
assigned jobs. In this stage, the group has become well acquainted with one another
and has clarity with regard to what needs to and has to be done. The performing stage
begins when the group is comfortable to work and ends when the job is completed.
5. Adjourning: Post the performing stage, the group is adjourned. The adjourning stage
ends the process of group formation. Because the group is adjourned once the task
that is assigned to the group is completed.