Concern Worldwide, Bangladesh Questions for the Written Test Of Intern HR Time: 60 minutes Total Marks 50 August 25,

, 2013

1. Please prepare a power point presentation on the given Organizational Codes of Conduct using your innovative idea and technology. 2. Briefly explain the fundamentals of human resource processes 3. What is HRIS and how HRIS can benefit? 4. In order to undertake a staff opinion survey, what are the key elements? How do you encourage for engaging staff to take part (share your innovative Ideas preparing a PowerPoint presentation in five slides) Marks 15 Marks 10 Marks 5 Marks 20

Answer no. 2 HRM practices include planning, recruitment, staffing, designing works, compensating employees and develop goods, labor and employee relationship. The fundamentals of HRM are described below: 1. Planning: At first you need to do a plan that how many people do you need for your company to run your organization smoothly. You need efficient workforce so that your organization goals can be achieved in time. 2. Recruitment: Collecting pool of potential employees is called recruitment. 3. Staffing: Place the right person in right time. 4. Training and development: Refers to a planned effort by a company to facilitate employees learning of job related competencies. 5. Designing works: Design the work map and assign jobs to the employees.

6. Compensation and benefits: Salary and wages given to the employees as per terms and condition. Rewards should given to keep motivate the employees so that they could stick to the organization. 7. Performance appraisal: Monitoring the performance of employees and give them feedback. 8. Health and safety: Company must ensure about employees health and safety issues. 9. Labor and employee relationship: There must be some rules and regulations provided by the company to avoid any kind of unfavorable situation. Policies should make so the relationship between the employees and the organization can be stable and both parties interests can be saved.

Answer No.3 HRIS Human resources information system is the online solution for data entry, tracking, information gathering for HR payroll, HR management including its functions, other departments of the organization (accounting, finance, production etc.), performance appraisal, employee hand book, succession planning etc. Benefits of HRIS: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. All employee information in a nutshell. Greater information accuracy. Effective and faster decision making (in case of transfer and promotions.) Enhance employee communication. Faster and easy work in HR.

In order to undertake a staff opinion survey, what are the key elements?

When to use a survey

When determining the need for a survey, departments/agencies should first check that the required information is not already available (for example, conduct library searches, refer to the Office of Economic and Statistical Research).

The option of collecting the required information using existing administrative records should also be explored. Using existing data or records provides considerable advantages in terms of cost, time and the absence of respondent burden. The major disadvantage is the lack of control over the data collected. If existing data is not available or suitable, a number of factors must then be considered when determining which type of survey, if any, is appropriate. For example: Practicality

Can the information be collected cost effectively and accurately via a survey? How complex and how sensitive is the topic? Do respondents have access to the required information? Will they be willing to supply the information? Will their responses to the questions be valid?

Resources

Are the necessary financial, staff, computer or other resources available?

Timing

When is the information required? Is enough time available to ensure that data of sufficient quality can be collected and analysed? When is the best time to conduct the survey? (For example, need to allow for seasonality, impact of school holiday periods etc).

Survey requirements

Do you want to use this information to target program improvements? If so, you may need to identify the key sub-groups you wish to report on (for example, geographic areas, age groups, sex, industry and size of business) and obtain sufficient responses for each group to ensure results are accurate enough for your needs.

Accuracy

What level of error can be tolerated? This depends on how and for what purposes you intend to use the survey results.

Frequency

Is the survey to be repeated? How often?

Legislative powers

Does the department/agency have authority to collect the information through either a compulsory or voluntary survey? For example, the Statistical Returns Act 1896 empowers the (Queensland) Government Statistician to collect statistical information on a wide range of matters on a compulsory basis.

Ethical consideration Ethical considerations must be observed during the survey exercise. This includes that data, where appropriate, is treated confidentially, and that where information is sought on the understanding that the respondent cannot be identified, that such anonymity is preserved. Other ethical considerations include:

Do you need identifiable information (for example, names, addresses, telephone numbers) relating to respondents for follow-up research or matching with other data? If so, you need to clearly explain why you need such details and obtain their consent. Will respondents be adversely affected or harmed as a direct result of participating in the survey? Are procedures in place for respondents to check the identity and bona fides of the researchers? Is the survey being conducted on a voluntary basis? If so, respondents must not be misled to believe it is compulsory when being asked for their co-operation. Is it necessary to interview children under 14 years? If so, the consent of their parents / guardians / responsible adults must be obtained.

These factors must all be taken into consideration when developing an appropriate sample design (that is, sample size, selection method, etc.) and survey method. Depending on the expertise within the department/agency, this may be done with advice or assistance from the Office of the Government Statistician or a consultant.

How do you encourage for engaging staff to take part

Here are top ways managers can encourage employees to take initiative and make a difference at work: 1. Think how things could be improved. It's the person who does a job who knows best how it can be done better. Encourage employees to ask silly questions such as, "Why do we do it this way?" For example, a secretary at Johnsonville foods asked why the

company didn't sell directly to customers and soon was put in charge of what became a multi-million dollar direct-sales division. 2. Think like a customer. Have employees look at the business from the customers' perspective, asking what would make it easier to do business with your company. An employee at Kacey's Fine Furniture in Denver suggested changing the store's operating hours to times that were more convenient for working customers, and sales instantly rose 15 percent. 3. Track your own performance. Encourage employees to track activity in their own jobs to build a case for improvements that could be made. An assembler for United Electric Controls tracked his numbers and was able to devise a simpler way to inventory parts that saved the company much money. 4. Take action on your ideas. Having ideas is good, but let employees know they can't just plop them on the table and expect others to run with them. They need to be an advocate for their ideas. An employee at Starbuck's pushed a frosty new coffee drink she believed in and with time the Frappuccino became a $100 million product for the company. 5. Do your homework. Show employees how to think through their ideas, what steps need to be taken, what the costs and benefits are, and how to collect supporting data. A part-time employee of the State of Massachusetts independently researched the state's Medicaid rules on her own time and was able to uncover an accounting glitch that enabled the state to obtain higher reimbursements. She received a cash award and special thanks from the governor. 6. Build consensus. Suggest employees start with those who will most likely be interested in their idea to get them involved in supporting it. In the early days of the internet, an IBM employee sent an internal memo out to employees urging them to "get connected," along with action items they could take. He immediately got support for his initiative from others around the vision he saw for the future. He later was named Chief Technology Officer. 7. Speak up at meetings. We've all been in meetings that have gotten sidetracked or bogged down. Encourage others to play an active role in meetings, for example being the person who speaks up to say, "It may just be me, but have we covered this ground before? Perhaps we should summarize the choices and take a group vote for how we want to proceed." Others in the group will appreciate your intervention and you will help move the group closer to its goals. 8. Volunteer for new assignments. Whether it is a pressing problem, a special task force, or someone else in the department that needs help, encourage employees to be the person to step forward to help out. A new employee at The Gap in Toronto who noticed the company's policy manual didn't cover half the issues that came up in the store drafted a concise training manual that is now used throughout the country.

9. Manage your manager. Explain to employees how they need to understand their manager's priorities and fit their ideas into those. Encourage them to tell you what they need to do the best job possible. An employee at CP Corporation in San Jose told her manager she wanted to meet once a month to review her work and get feedback about her progress. These short meetings kept her manager informed of her needs and successesand re-energized her. 10. Stick with your ideas; persevere. It's infrequent that ideas are met with open arms. Encourage employees to stay the course with those ideas they most believe in that will help the business. When management nixed one employee's idea for a flextime work schedule, she simply waited until a new manager came on board to propose the idea again, which was then accepted. Encouraging them to initiate a new task or solve a long-standing problem engages employees and unleashes a tremendous amount of motivation and creativity. After all, there is nothing that pumps up an employee's energy more quickly or completely than when he or she is supported for showing personal initiative or for going out on a limb to provide better service or products to a customer.

In contrast, Human Resources professionals ranked these ten factors as most important in employee satisfaction:

job security, relationship with immediate supervisor, benefits, communication between employees and senior management, opportunities to use skills and abilities, management recognition of employee job performance, job-specific training, feeling safe in the work environment, compensation/pay, and overall corporate culture.

Effective Satisfaction Surveys Require Employer Actions If an employer decides to use a satisfaction survey, the employer must be committed to making changes in the work environment based on employee responses to the survey. This is the bottom line for employers who are considering administering a survey to employees. The employer who chooses to use a satisfaction survey with employees must be committed to report the results to employees. Additionally, the employer should be committed to making changes to the work environment, with the help and involvement of employees and teams of employees. Communicating transparently about the changes, their impact, and future plans are all part of a positive satisfaction survey process. Without the transparent communication, results reporting, and employee updates, employees will not trust the employer's motives in collecting survey data. Over time, employees will cease to respond or respond only with answers that they believe the employer wants to hear. This makes the data collected on the survey useless. The involvement of employees in improving the work environment based on survey results creates an environment of shared responsibility for workplace culture and improvements. Employers should avoid leading employees to believe that satisfaction at work is the employer's responsibility. Employee satisfaction is a shared responsibility. So, is the response to a satisfaction survey. Employee satisfaction surveys and facilitated focus groups help the employer identify areas of employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction. For accurate, reliable results, employee satisfaction surveys or focus group questions need to be:

developed by professionals who understand how to put questions together that obtain unbiased information; administered appropriately with care and consideration for the organization's culture andcommunication; and analyzed by people who understand survey research and can provide effective analysis.

Further, in the interest of building a relationship of honesty, integrity, and trust, among organization employees, the results should be communicated effectively and acted upon by the organization. Finally, the organization's managers need to track progress and communicate implementation successes and failures.

This article does not attempt to provide a comprehensive guide to performing employee satisfaction surveys and leading employee focus groups. It does pinpoint five practices to embrace when conducting employee surveys and focus groups. Communicate the Fact That While Employee Responses Are Confidential, the Data Gathered Will be Used to Improve the Workplace I have mixed emotions about confidential or secret surveys. On the one hand, I want the employees comfortable responding in a truthful manner. On the other, the reason employers do employee satisfaction or customer satisfaction surveys is to telegraph their openness to employee input. The second is to genuinely understand what is on their employees minds. While I recognize that some employers have differing motivations, companies that are employee-oriented, are unlikely to use the information gathered negatively. If you start with an open process, employees will learn that their employer can be trusted to use the information in their best interests. As an external consultant, I always explain to employees that my purpose in talking with them is to share information for the common good. Consequently, my promise about confidentiality is that I will use the information to assist the company to make positive progress. The Questions Asked Really Do Matter No one is as familiar with your company culture as the people who work in the company every day. A small group of employees should determine the topics of the questions to ask. These questions will relate to the perceived likes, dislikes, and challenges your employees might experience in your organization. Once youve determined the topics of the questions to ask, develop questions. Your questions should be evaluated to make sure they are not leading to a desired response, vague, or open to interpretation, depending on the employee reading the question. Leading questions or statements are a problem when unqualified individuals develop the survey questions. An example of a leading statement that will also

receive a biased answer is: My managers door is always open to me. An example of an unclear statement is: My career development and job satisfaction are improved by the performance development planning (PDP) process. Some professional survey firms have developed databases of questions that have been determined to be effective through years of employee or customer satisfaction surveys in different organizations. You might tap into this service even if you dont want to employ an external company to administer your survey or lead your focus groups. Hold Employee Focus Groups or Survey Processes at Your Work Site If you take employee groups offsite to participate in surveys and focus groups, you are sending a clear message that it is not safe to talk about employee satisfaction in the company. This is exactly the opposite of the message that you really want to send. Your message? It is safe to share what you think. The company cares about what you think and the employer is providing the space and privacy necessary for your participation. In the second part of this article, two more tips for employee satisfaction survey success are highlighted. Never Lose Control of Your Data While you don't want to know that Mary made that observation, you do want to know that three versus thirty employees made the observation. If you work with a consultant to administer an employee satisfaction survey or run employee focus groups, make sure you will have access to the data. This access to the data and analysis will allow you to assess the degree to which various opinions permeate your workforce. The data will allow you to make your own assessment of employee satisfaction. Particularly correlation analysis and other data charts and graphs are important for you to access. I was once asked to analyze the data from an employee diversity survey that superficially appeared to indicate that the Human Resources department surveyed had serious diversity appreciation issues. With statistical analysis not my specialty,

I hired a statistician to professionally analyze the data for me and we found the opposite. No statistical proof of a lack of diversity appreciation existed upon data analysis. So, maintain access to the data and the analysis. Never Allow Employees to Self-select for Participation in Surveys and Focus Groups Employees should never self-select to participate in an employee focus group or survey. When you allow self-selection, youll generally find that less satisfied or very satisfied employees sign up for the group. Or, your more communicative employees are more comfortable expressing their opinions in a group. Your less communicative staff is guaranteed to be unrepresented. In a recent debrief of a clients employee focus group process, several of the more negative findings were stated in the exact words a disgruntled employee had used to express the exact sentiments to me the week before. How many employees actually feel that way? We'll never know for sure. Access to the resultant data and the selection process for participation in the focus groups was controlled by the external consultants. For valid and reliable results, either every employee should be included in the survey process or a random selection method should be employed to decide who will be included. To ensure widespread participation, perhaps offer an incentive, either company-wide or for individuals. Conclusions About Employee Satisfaction Surveys You can use a simple paper and pencil instrument, an online survey, or a much more sophisticated process to assess your employees' satisfaction. I've used everything from a data analysis by the internal IT department of an online, internally produced survey to an outside survey consulting firm with tried and true questions. Some fundamentals for successful, trustworthy employee satisfaction surveys and focus groups exist in each instance. I have reviewed five important factors here. Ignore them and you may obtain a false understanding of your employees' satisfaction.

Your results may skew positively or negatively based on the skills of your facilitators or survey producers and the employees who decided to participate. Worst, you may have sent the wrong message to your employees about the safety and worth of communication in your company. Do this at your peril.