HR GD-PI GUIDE - 2015

Compiled by HR Direction

Version Edited By Batch

1.0 Meenu Sasidharan 2014-16
2.0 Srajan Shrivastava 2015-17

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Table of Contents

S. No. Topic Page No.

1 Sub-domains of HR 3
2 Key Definitions 8
3 Changing Trends in HR 9

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Sub-domains in HR

Broad Sub - domains of HR are depicted below -

The primary objective of Human Resource Management is to ensure the availability of a

competent, willing and engaged workforce to an organization. Hiring, Developing and

Retaining the “Right Talent” for a firm could be the source of competitive advantage for
the firm. HR Management involves discharging functions viz. HR Planning, recruitment,
selection, L&D (Learning and Development), C&B (Compensation and Benefits),
Performance Management, Trade Union Management, Legal and procedural
compliance, formulation of company policy and procedures et al.

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Recruiting & Selection


Recruitment:

The process of searching for prospective employees and attracting them to apply for
jobs in the organization. This involves –

• Discovering the sources of manpower to meet the requirements of the staffing

schedules

• Employing effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate

numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient workforce for a vacant
job position.

Recruitment Process:

• Finding out the requirement (hiring vs. exit), upcoming vacancies, kind of
employees needed

• Developing best techniques to attract suitable candidates – attracting talent pool

Selection:

It is the process of differentiating between applicants in order to identify and hire

those with a greater likelihood of success in a job. Selection Process Involves
(Sequential Steps) –

1. Preliminary Interview

2. Administering Selection Tests

3. Employment Interview

4. Reference and Background Analysis * ( Important, Latest Trend picking up )

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5. Selection Decision

6. Physical Examination

7. Job Offer and Employment Contract

Performance Management System (PMS)

Performance Appraisal + feedback + coaching = Performance Management

System

Performance Management system (PMS) is a continuous process of identifying,

measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and team and aligning
performance with the strategic goal of the organization.

It is based on three pillars:

i. Setting clear and measurable goals
ii. Implementing concrete actions
iii. Imposing rigorous consequences
iv. Objectivity

Performance Appraisal:

A performance appraisal (PA) system is an objective assessment of an individual’s

performance against well-defined benchmarks. Performance appraisals are a part of
career development and consist of regular reviews of employee performance. Other
aspects of individual employees are considered as well, such as organizational
citizenship behavior, accomplishments, potential for future improvement, strengths and
weaknesses, etc.

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Compensation & Benefits

This function involves creating and implementing Compensation policies for the
employees.

• Payroll Administration
• Performance Appraisals
• Rewards & Recognition
• Provide Wage Comparisons
• Group Health, Dental & Vision Insurance
• Life & Disability Insurance
• Accident, Sickness & Cancer Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Retirement Plan Administration
• Employee / Employer Relations
• Intermediary between Parties
• Open-door Policy for Employee Questions & Concerns
• Strict Privacy Policy on Employee Records, Exit Interviews

Learning and Development

The need for Training and Development is determined by the employee’s performance
deficiency, computed as follows.
Training & Development Need = Standard Performance –Actual Performance.

Training: Training refers to the process of imparting specific skills. An employee

undergoing training is presumed to have had some formal education. No training
program is complete without an element of education. Hence we can say that
Training is offered to operatives.

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 Development: Development means those learning opportunities designed to help
employees to grow. Development is not primarily skills oriented. Instead it provides
the general knowledge and attitudes, which will be helpful to employers in higher
positions. Efforts towards development often depend on personal drive and ambition.
Development activities such as those supplied by management development
programs are generally voluntary in nature.

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the measure of how involved and committed the workers
are towards their organization and values. A well engaged employee is well aware of
the day to day happenings of the organization and work with his or her fellow
colleagues to improve the performance of the individual and works towards the
betterment of the organization. It is an optimistic attitude that the employees hold
towards their organization.

Health & Safety

Safety implies absence of accidents ie ensuring protection of workers from workplace

hazards. Providing safety to employees has moral dimension as well as a legal
requirement. Thousands of employees suffer from accidents everyday – this could
lead to total, temporary or permanent disability. There are laws covering occupational
health and safety, and penalties for non-compliance. An employer needs to ensure
that an accident doesn’t lead to incapacitation/death of an employee. Monetary
compensation does not bring back a person as a healthy individual.

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Industry Relations

Industry Relations (IR) is concerned with management of relations between workers

and employer (management) and the role of regulatory mechanism in resolving any
dispute. Employers, Employees, Unions, Government and Judiciary have stakes in
IR. IR assumes its significance owing to its direct linkage with productivity, ethical
dimensions and legal compliance.

Strategic planning

HRM makes strategic management effective by supplying human capital that is

competent and committed and works in sync with organizational strategic goals.

Key Definitions
 Key Performance Areas
The areas within the business unit, for which an individual or group is logically
responsible.

 Competency
Measurable clusters of Knowledge Skill and Abilities (KSA) that are critical in
determining how results will be achieved. Examples of competency are customer
service, written or oral communication, creative thinking and so on.

 Job Description

A job description is a brief description about the job, designed by the employers for
the employee. This is a list that contains the general tasks, responsibilities and
functions that the individual appointed for the job position has to perform or is held
responsible for.

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  Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)

Both are aspects of strategic management, corporate finance and management

dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and
similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of
origin, or a new field or new location, without creating a subsidiary, other child entity
or using a joint venture. M&A can be defined as a type of restructuring in that they
result in some entity reorganization with the aim to provide growth or positive value.
Eg.
 Acquisition: Flipkart- Myntra
 Merger: TCS- CMC

Changing trends in HR

1. What is HR Analytics?

As HR has become more aligned with business, evidence-based HR and HR analytics

are increasingly important. Without rigorously tracking HR investments and outcomes,
HR decisions and priorities remain whims not science. With HR analytics, line managers
and HR professionals can better justify, prioritize and improve HR investments. While
many HR decisions require insight and judgment, improved HR metrics helps HR move
towards professional respectability and decision – making rigor.

Big Data & HR Analytics:

Big Data in HR refers to the use of the many data sources available to your organization,
including those not traditionally thought of in HR; advanced analytic platforms; cloud
based services; and visualization tools to evaluate and improve practices including talent
acquisition, development, retention, and overall organizational performance. This
involves integrating and analyzing internal metrics, external benchmarks, social media
data, and government data to deliver a more informed solution to the business problem

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facing your organization. Using these tools, HR organizations are able to perform
analytics and forecasting to make smarter and more accurate decisions, better measure
efficiencies and identify management “blind spots”.

2. What are some of the next generation HR metrics which need to be focused
on for better performance of HR in organizations?

i.) The end of HR is to create value; improved HR analytics are a means to help codify
and to make value happen. Some companies are so concerned about the HR scorecard
or dashboard that they make metrics the end, not the means. Effective HR metrics means
doing more predictive than descriptive analytics. Descriptive analytics have scorecards
and dashboards that can be used for comparisons across time or with others. Predictive
statistics emphasize a path with lead indicators and outcomes of interest.

ii.) Avoid measuring what is easy and focus on measuring what is right. Just because
something can be measured does not mean it should be. In the past, HR would measure
activities (eg. how many managers received 40 hours of training or how much people
liked attending a training program). In future, we need to measure the outcomes of those
activities. When focusing on outcomes, it is important to have a clear sense of
what the desired outcomes of HR should be.

iii.) Third, keep measures simple and focused on decisions. Too often, the desire to
quantify HR leads to more HR data than insight. Turning valid data into thoughtful
decisions should be the focus of HR analytics. Sometimes this starts with data, when HR
information warehouses about employee attitudes, turnover, compensation, performance
and so forth can be used to improve decision-making. In these cases, HR professionals
need to learn how to cull key messages and trends from the data. Turning complex data
into simple messages requires that HR professionals can see themes or
stories in the information warehouses they access to make more informed decisions.

iv.) Fourth, keep ownership and accountability of HR analytics with line managers. Line
managers are the ultimate owners of HR work; they have final accountability for what is
done and how well it is done. HR professionals are architects who build blueprints for

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actions and lay out choices that can be made. To gain line manager buy-in and support
for HR analytics, it is important to involve line managers in determining the goals of the
HR metrics, in defining which HR metrics should be used and applying those metrics for
improved decision – making.

3. What is gamification, its use in learning and development?

Gamification is the process of enabling the participants to learn in the learning and
development scenarios through applying games and make it more engaging for the
learner. In this process, the learner competes with the co – participants or participates
individually and through this interactive exercise learns and earns rewards for his/her
performance.

The digital gaming technology which has been fast growing is used for the purpose of
implementing gamification in learning. The technological development in HR has helped
in implementing e-learning techniques in different organizations, but usage of
gaming is a completely different and new concept which is still evolving.

There are many computer/ online/ smart phone based games available in the market for
the organizations to impart training to their employees, but the ones which lead to
effective development of employees are those which are aligned with the business
objectives. So, identifying the requirements is the first step to be carried out before a
company implements this process. After identifying, the company can collaborate with
game developers to identify/ develop (if necessary) games which would be suitable to the
company’s requirements. The design should be such that the actions and achievements
are visible to the trainees and not just entertaining.

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