2.1 Introduction to Human Resource Management

is the function of the management to recruit, train, compensate and develop people employed within the business to meet the aims and objectives of the organisation. 

Human resource management (HRM) is a broad term used to describe the overall management of an organization's workforce. This includes roles such as attracting, selecting, training, assessing, motivating, rewarding, and retaining employees. Essentially, the role of HRM is to make the most efficient use of an organization’s workers. 

Roles:

• Recruitment - hiring the right number of appropriately qualified and suitable workers at the right times to fill job vacancies.

• Induction - training for new employees to get acclimatised with the norms and operations of the organization.

• Retention - retaining/keeping workers at the organization by meeting the needs of employees.

• Appraisals - the formal procedure of assessing the performance and effectiveness of employees in relation to their job description.

• Absenteeism - dealing with issues that arise when employees are unable to attend work.

• Dismissal - letting go of workers no longer needed, often due to underperformance or misconduct in the workplace.

• Redundancies - letting go of workers if/when their jobs are no longer needed, perhaps due to a prolonged economic recession.

• Training and development - improving the competencies, productivity, and skills of workers.

• Performance appraisals - holding workers accountable for their performance/conduct at work.

involves forecasting how many and what type of employees are needed now and in the future. It's a broad term used to describe the overall management of an organization's workforce. 

It is a systematic process that assesses the current and future needs of an organization’s workforce and sets out actions necessary to meet these human resource needs through recruitment, training, financial and non-financial rewards, and organizational structures. 

Includes: 

• Gathering and analysing data about the needs of the organisation. This includes data about the roles and numbers of employees, labour turnover within the organisation and the business objectives. 

• The human resources department also needs to understand the impact of changes in the external environment on the business and its labour needs.

HR managers play a vital role in ensuring that the right people in the right numbers are hired, at the right time, deployed in the right place and at the right time.

The USA spends $10.4bn per year in direct medical expenses - that's around $28,493,150 per day!

The country loses $15.3bn a year from the common flu due to loss of earnings (which is equivalent to 17 million workdays a year!)

Productivity losses amount to more than $21 billion a year (or over $57.53 million per day).

Demography is the study of population and population trends. Demographic change refers to variations in the structure of the population that influence human resource planning. This might include developments and trends in the population, such as:

• Total population

• The average age of the population

• Distribution of the population by ethnicity

• Gender distribution

• Educational attainment levels, and

• Average household income

• Official retirement age in the country.

• Better employment opportunities for women

Labour mobility measures the extent to which workers have the ability and willingness to move between geographical locations and/or occupations for their employment. Increasing and maintaining labour mobility ensures a more efficient allocation of human resources.

There are two types of labour mobility: occupational mobility and geographical mobility.

Occupational mobility refers to the ability and willingness of employees to do another job or pursue a different career. Occupational mobility can be improved if employees have the necessary qualifications, experience and skills to move from one job to another. Occupational immobility occurs due to impediments such as rules and regulations. 

Example: 

• Doctors, accountants, lawyers are limited because need very specialized training and licensing requirements

Occupational mobility refers to the ability and willingness of employees to do another job or pursue a different career. Occupational mobility can be improved if employees have the necessary qualifications, experience and skills to move from one job to another.

Example: 

• Doctors, accountants, lawyers are limited because need very specialized training and licensing requirements

Migrant workers are people who move to other locations or countries in search of job opportunities. 

• For example, many people from rural areas move to the cities in search of employment opportunities as well as better-paid jobs.

Many citizens of one country temporarily work in another country. 

Examples

• Teachers working overseas in international schools. 

• 400,000+ foreign domestic helpers who work in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (HKSAR), representing more than 5% of the population of economy. Most of these foreign workers come from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand.  

Studies have consistently shown that migrant workers contribute net benefits to an economy. Not only do they raise tax revenues for the government and provide marketing opportunities, they also contribute to the economic prosperity of the country. 

Flexible hours agreed and scheduled by the management and the employee.

Flexi-time is a form of flexible work practice that enables employees to work a set number of core hours per week, often at the office during peak periods of the day and/or week.  

The management may decide to change the working practices in the business to ensure more flexibility for employees. 

Examples: 

• may change the working hours

• allow working from home

• provide more opportunities for teamwork

• create job-sharing where two people share a single job. Human resource management will have to change policies, practices and training to ensure that employees are successful with new working arrangements. 

The gig economy (sometimes referred to as the on-demand economy) refers to labour markets in which workers are given short-term or one-off contracts, such as freelance work, rather than long-term or permanent jobs. 

Gig workers (sometime referred to as platform workers) are on-call, independent contractors who enter into formal agreements with on-demand businesses to provide certain services to the firm's customers. This is usually done through an online platform or mobile app. Gig workers are paid for each individual job (or "gig") they do, instead of traditional payment methods such as wages per hour or salaries per month. Essentially, workers in the gig economy are more like entrepreneurs (self-employed) than traditional employees of a business. 

• Workers enjoy freedom and flexibility as they can choose which jobs they want, as well as when and how long to work for. This is ideal for people who prefer part-time employment.

• There is the potential to earn a significant amount of income as gig workers often work for multiple businesses on a job-by-job basis.

• The flexibility also enables some people to have a better work-life balance, such as working parents of young children.

• Businesses can gain from reduced costs of production as they do not need to hire so many full-time workers (along with the pay and benefits associated with full-time employment) and office space.

• The lower costs of production for businesses mean they can provide more price-competitive goods and services to customers.

• A gig economy reduces the need for full-time workers in the traditional economy, possibly limiting people's potential for career development.

• Gig workers do not have fixed employment contracts, so may lack job security and a stable income. This could mean that without sufficient jobs/projects, gig workers are not guaranteed to earn even the national minimum wage. There is also pressure for gig workers to continually look for the next job especially as competition for gigs has increased.

• As self-employed people, gig workers have set-up costs of their own, such as the need to purchase their own bicycles or motor vehicles for delivery-related services.

• The lack of a full-time employment contract also means gig workers may miss out on employee rights and benefits, such as paid sick leave, holiday pay, redundancy pay, and maternity leave. They also often miss out on the social aspects of traditional work with colleagues, managers, and customers .

• Workers and customers who are not tech-savvy or who do not use online services, such as mobile apps, may be left out despite the potential benefits of the gig economy.