MCH 501 – HEALTH SERVICES MANAGEMENT

Human Resource Management

Prof. W. Odero
May 18, 2021

1
 HR MANAGEMENT
Objectives
1. Explain the definition and role of human resource
management (HRM)
2. Understand differences between personnel
management and HRM
3. Explain the skills needed to perform HR
management roles
4. Understand HR planning and recruitment processes
5. Explain the definition, benefits, challenges and
strategies of effective time management
 Human Resource Management (HRM)
• Definition:
o HRM is a management function that helps managers to
recruit, select, train and develop members for an
organization. It is the process of employing people,
training them, compensating them, developing policies
relating to them and developing strategies to retain them.
o HRM - can also be defined as management systems
designed to ensure that human talent is used effectively
and efficiently to accomplish organisational goals
― Every manager has some role relating to human resource
management; most managers deal with some aspect HRM, e.g.,
discipline, motivation, attraction and retention of employees
 What is the role of HRM?
There are 7 main roles that HRM plays in organizations.
1) Staffing - is one of the major tasks in HRM, it involves
the entire hiring process and has 4 main steps:
i. Development of a staffing plan - allows HRM to see how
many people they should hire based on the need and
revenue expectations.
ii. Development of policies to encourage diversity of people at
the workplace.
iii. Recruitment - involves finding the right people to fill the
vacant positions.
iv. Selection – involves interviewing and selecting people, and
offering a proper compensation package.
2) Development of Workplace Policies
HRM person should recognize the need for a policy
or a change of policy, seek opinions on the policy,
write the policy, and then communicate that policy
to employees.
― Examples of HR policies:
• Staff discipline policy
• Vacation/Leave policy
• Dress code policy
• Ethics policy
• Internet usage policy
3) Administration of Compensation and Benefits:
–Compensation and benefits include pay and other
non-monetary privileges an employee receives for his
or her work. HRM professionals need to make sure
the pay is comparable to what other people
performing similar jobs are being paid elsewhere.
–Other than pay, employee benefits include:
•Health care benefits
• Retirement benefits
• Vacation time/Leave
• Sick leave
• Bonuses/Allowances
• Tuition reimbursement or waiver
4) Retention: involves keeping and motivating
employees to stay with the organization.
―Compensation is a major factor in employee
retention, but there are also other factors, such
as:
• Concerns about the job they are performing
• Challenges with their managers
• Poor fit with organizational culture
• Poor workplace environment
5) Training and Development: - Once
employees have been hired, the organization should
make sure they not only are trained to do the job but
also continue to grow and develop new skills
• Training is a key component in employee motivation
• Examples of type of trainings include:
―Job skills training, in-service courses
―Training on communication
―Team-building
―Policy and legal training, e.g., sexual harassment training
and ethics training
6) Laws Affecting Employment: The legal
environment of HRM is always changing, HRM must always
be aware of changes taking place and then communicate
those changes to the entire management organization. HR
professionals also must be aware of all the laws that affect
workers at the workplace. Such laws include:
―Labour laws; workers’ rights and unions
―Discrimination laws
―Health-care requirements
―Compensation requirements, such as the minimum wage
―Worker safety laws
7) Worker Protection: - Safety is a major
consideration in all organizations. Often laws and
regulations are created with the goal of setting
national standards to ensure worker safety.
― HRM must be aware of worker protection
requirements and ensure the workplace is meeting
the standards.
― Examples of worker protection issues include:
• Chemical hazards
• Smoking zones
• Heating and ventilation requirements
• Protection of employee information
 Personnel Management vs HRM
• What is personnel management?
– Human resource departments in the past were called
personnel departments. This term implies that the
department provided “support” for the rest of the
organization.
– Personnel management mostly involved distinct
activities surrounding management of employees in an
organization, such as hiring process, promotion,
disciplinary issues and legal compliance; while HRM
human resources involves much more, including
strategic planning – partnership with the organization
 Differences between Personnel
Management and HRM
Personnel Management HRM
Focus Focus

Administering of policies Helping to achieve strategic goals of an

organization through people

Stand-alone activities, HRM recruitment and training

such as hiring processes that are integrated with
company’s mission and values
Personnel department Line managers share joint responsibility
responsible for in all areas of people hiring and
managing people management
Creates a cost within an Contributes to the profit objectives of
organization the organization
 Skills Needed for HRM
A successful HR manager should have specific skills to
deal with a variety of situations. The key skills include:
i. Organization skill – since HR person manages people’s
pay, benefits, and careers. E.g., having organized files
on computer and good time-management skills are
crucial for HRM
ii. Multi-tasking skill — multitasking is working in more
than one task at a time - is crucial for HRM. A typical
HR person have to deal with an employee issue one
minute, then switch and deal with recruiting,
promotions or unions.
iii. Communication skill - the ability to communicate with
a variety of personalities in the organization the good
news, bad news or changes to policy is needed for
effective HRM
iv. Knowledge of specific skills , e.g., computer
skills for managing employees’ database,
understanding employment laws, and knowing
how to write and develop a strategic plan are
also useful skills for HRM
v. Ethics and fairness/ non-discrimination – HRM
must ensure compliance with confidentiality and
ethics standards within the organization. HR
personnel should have skills to design codes of
ethics and develop policies for ethical decision
making.
 HRM Planning and Recruitment
Process

• What is HRM Planning?

― Human Resource Planning is the process of

systematically reviewing HR requirements to ensure
that the required number of employees with the
required skills is available when they are needed.
HRM Planning
An HRM Plan normally has the following 6 parts:
1) Determine human resource needs:
― The first part consists of determining how many people
are needed. Involvement of other departments,
managers, and executives is necessary to obtain an
accurate estimate of staffing needs for now and in the
future.
― Once the HR manager has performed the needs
assessment and knows exactly how many people,
positions and time frame they need to be hired, he/ she
can proceed to recruit
2) Determine recruiting strategy.
― Recruitment is the process of attracting individuals on a
timely basis, in sufficient numbers, and with appropriate
qualifications, and encouraging them to apply for jobs with an
organization. It involves a systematic procedure from sourcing
the candidates to arranging and conducting the interviews.
This can be an expensive process, so it is important to hire the
right person from the beginning.
―Recruitment process has the following steps:
i. Identifying the vacancy: the HR department receives requisitions
for recruitment from any department of the organization
ii. Job Analysis: Preparing the job description and job specification
iii. Advertising - the HR manager can place advertisements on the
web, newspapers or use social networking sites
iv. Short-listing and identifying the prospective employee with
required characteristics.
v. Arranging the interviews and inviting the shortlisted candidates.
vi. Conducting the interview – this is a direct confrontation
between the interviewer and interviewee, and serves to secure
more information from the candidate to determine suitability
for the job
― Sometimes an organization can use head hunting to
find the best person for the job
3) Select employees.
― The selection process is the process of choosing the most the
potential candidate from the pool developed during the recruitment
process. It consists of the interviewing and hiring process.
― After the interviews are conducted, there may be reference checks,
background checks, or testing that will need to be performed before
an offer is made to the new employee. Once the applicant has met all
criteria, the HR manager will offer the selected person the position.
4) Determine compensation
― This aspect is important, since most organizations want to use
compensation to attract and retain the best employees.
― Pay systems must therefore be developed that motivate employees
and embody fairness to everyone working at the organization
― The HR manager should determine pay scales and other compensation
such as health care, bonuses, and other perks.
5) Develop training.
― The HR manager should address plans to offer training in
the HRM plan. Once we have planned the staffing, recruited
people, selected employees, and then compensated them,
we want to make sure our new employees are successful.
Training can be in three main areas:
• Company culture – is the organization’s way of doing things, this
type of training is usually performed at an orientation, when an
employee is first hired.
• Skills needed for the job - are e.g., a particular software the
organization uses
• Human relations skills – are non-job-specific skills employees need
to do their jobs and also to make them all-around successful
employees, e.g., communication skills
6) Appraise performance: Performance appraisal is a
method by which job performance is measured
―The HR manager should develop sets of standards for
rating performance of employees
―Performance evaluation includes metrics which should
be based on the job description of the employee
―Performance appraisals can be beneficial in motivating
and rewarding employees, and also in deciding whether
an employee should continue or be terminated
 Conclusion
• HRM is a strategic process that involves staffing,
compensation, retention, training, and employment law
and policies aspects of the organization in line with the
mission and objectives of the organization. HR manager
needs certain skills such as organization, multitasking
and communication skill to be effective. HRM planning
is critical, consists of 6 parts: assessment of HR needs,
developing recruitment strategy, selection of
employees, determining compensation and training
plans, and appraisal of performance.
 Time Management
• What is time management?
– Time management is the process of organizing and
planning how to divide your time between specific
activities; or the process of planning and controlling how
much time to /.spend on specific activities
– It is the process of planning and exercising conscious
control of the time spent on specific activities to work
smarter than harder
• Good time management enables an individual to complete
more in a shorter period of time, lowers stress, and leads to
 improved efficiency and productivity, and career success.
 Benefits of Time Management
• There are many advantages that come along with proper
management of time. In your professional life, time
management can benefit you in the following ways:
1. Deliver work on time
― Allocating a finite time period to tasks help you complete
them on time
2. Provide a better quality of work
― As a dedicated employee, you are expected to provide
work of certain quality and standards. With the proper
utilization of time and prioritization of activities, one can
easily provide a better quality of work
3. More productivity and efficiency
― Effective time management skills make you more productive
and efficient as a working professional. These skills help you
finish tasks as early as possible without compromising on the
quality of work.

4. Much less procrastination

“I will do it later” – is an excuse that we all have made at some
time.
― Good time management enables you to reduce the urge to
delay and procrastinate over important tasks. It eliminates
procrastination by ensuring that you’re familiar with the tasks
added in your to-do list and when it needs to be finished.
5. Less stress and anxiety
―There are times when employees feel overwhelmed due
to too much work. This can hamper productivity and also
lead to poor health, such as stress, depression and other
diseases. Good time management can reduce
unnecessary stress, anxiety and its adverse health effects.
6. Improved quality of life
― Effective time management skills can also improve your
life outside of the office. If you keep things under control
on the professional front, you get more time to focus on
your personal life and relationships. As you feel calmer
and less stressed out, your quality of life improves
automatically.
7. More opportunities and career growth
― Good time management, like being punctual with your
work will not only increase your effectiveness but will
also help you earn a good reputation at work. When
managers and seniors know that you always complete
your tasks on time, it could lead the way for more
promotional opportunities at work.
8. More time for leisure and recreation
―With good time management, you get more free time to
do the leisure and recreational activities that make you
happy. This helps you to create the perfect balance by
working smart all day and having time for leisure in return.
Effective Time Management – some ways to manage time
effectively
1. Set goals correctly
Set goals that are achievable and measurable. Use the SMART
method when setting goals - make sure the goals set
are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.
2. Prioritize wisely
Prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency. Review your
daily tasks and decide which ones are:
• Important and urgent: Do these tasks right away.
• Important but not urgent: Decide when to do these tasks.
• Urgent but not important: Delegate these tasks if possible.
• Not urgent and not important: Set these aside to do later.
3. Set a time limit to complete a task
Setting time limits for completing tasks helps you to be
more focused and efficient
4. Take a break between tasks
When doing a lot of tasks without a break, it is harder to
stay focused and motivated. Allow some time between
tasks to clear your head and refresh yourself.
5. Organize yourself
Write down the deadlines for projects, or for tasks that are
part of completing the overall project. Think about which
days might be best to dedicate to specific tasks. Match your
highest priority work to your highest productivity hours.
6. Remove non-essential tasks
Determine what is significant and what deserves your time.
Removing non-essential tasks/activities frees up more of
your time to be spent on genuinely important things.
7. Plan ahead
Make sure you start every day with a clear idea of what you
need to do – what needs to get done that day. Consider
making it a habit to, at the end of each workday, to write
your “to-do” list for the next workday.
 Implications of Poor Time Management

Time is an irreplaceable asset. It is more valuable than money.

•Failure to manage time or poor time management skills at work can result
in the following:
1.Missed deadlines
Poor time management results in wasted time, missed deadlines and
appointments
2.Procrastination and lack of focus
The habit of postponing work often leads to lack of focus and low
productivity
3.Poor workflow
If you have several important tasks to complete, an effective plan would be
to complete related tasks together or sequentially. The inability to plan
ahead and stick to goals means poor efficiency and lower productivity.
3. Loss of control
By not knowing what the next task is, you suffer from loss of
control of your life. That can contribute to higher stress levels and
anxiety. 
4. Poor quality of work
Poor time management makes the quality of your work suffer.
E.g., having to rush to complete tasks at the last minute usually
compromises quality.
5. Poor professional reputation
If clients or your employer cannot rely on you to complete tasks
in a timely manner, their expectations and perceptions of you are
adversely affected. If a client cannot rely on you to get something
done on time, they will likely take their business elsewhere.
• In conclusion,
– Time is more valuable than money, you can get more
money, but you cannot get more time. Be sure that you
spend your time where it matters most.
– Effective time management skills can have a positive
impact on your professional work and life in general.
– When you learn to take control of your time on a
daily basis, you improve your ability to get things
done, make better decisions, increase work
productivity and gain ultimate control of your key
priorities.
• Key References
1. Human Resource Management. University of
Minnesota Libraries Publishing, 2011
2. Joan Bragar Galer et al. Managers who Lead: A
Handbook for Improving Health Services.
Management Sciences for Health, 2005