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Q.

3
Let's begin our discussion of performance appraisal by defining the concept.
Performance appraisal is a formal system of measuring, evaluating, and influencing
an employees job-related attributes, behaviors and outcomes. The objective is to
to determine how productive an employee is and/or to determine if an employees
productivity can be improved. As such, performance appraisals serve an important
purpose in managing people and meeting company goals.
Ref: http://www.oocities.org/wilfratzburg/performanceappraisal.html
(PERFORMANCE

APPRAISAL

HRMNotes.htm by Wilf H. Ratzburg, N.D.)

Performance appraisal links to employee recruitment, training and


development and is vital for carrying out the strategic objectives of the
organization. It signals the mnagaers and the employees on what is
important, provides wways to measutre on what is important, provides
justification for the behaviour and results and helops to improve
performance.
It is an ongoing process of evaluating employee performance. It reviews
employee performance over and time and measures the effectiveness of the
organization. As the performance improves so does the productivity and
image of the organization. Managers are continuously observing and judging
their employees. It directly impacts on the increase of pay, promotions and
training and career development.
Managing and appraising employee performance has become an important
focus for many organizations in their attempts to achieve competitive
advantage over others.

Objectives:
i.)

Discrimination
Managers must be able to sel;ectbetrween those who are
contributing tio the organizations objectives and those who are not.

The only validation would be to know of hiring the right people


when the performance of the new staff is measured.
Any dhuman resource decision (transfer, promotion, termination)
can be challnegd in labour courts.

The organization must prove that decision was made on merit alone
(provide firm detail on performance record) and not on any other
issue.

Prescriptions for legally defensible appraisal


systems...

system should be formal

appraisal should be based on job analysis

rating should be on specific work dimensions


rather than on overall or global measures

performance standards must be


communicated to employees

raters should be trained

evaluators should be given specific, written


instructions about the standards and the
process

use more than one independent evaluator of


performance

evaluators must have ample time to evaluate


performance

use objective data whenever possible

ii.)

data should be empirically validated

procedures for appraisal must not differ as


a function of race, sex, color, national origin,
marital status, or age

avoid ratings on traits, personality, or


aptitude

behavioral documentation should be given for


extreme ratings (critical incidents)

employees should be given an opportunity to


review their appraisals

a formal appeal system should be available

Reward
To encourage performance and must be given to the employees
who contribute more to successfully achieving the strategic
objectives of the organization.
Determining Compensation Changes. This is another classic use of
performance appraisal. Almost every organization believes in pay for
performance. But how can pay decisions be made if there is no measure
of performance? Performance appraisal provides the mechanism to make
sure that those who do better work receive more pay.

2.6 Performance Appraisal, Productivity and Rewards


Performance appraisal systems began as simple methods of income justification (Dulewicz, 1989).
That is, appraisal was used to decide whether or not the salary or wage of an individual employee
was justified. The process was firmly linked to material outcomes. If an employee's performance was
found to be less than ideal, a cut in pay would follow. On the other hand, if their performance was
better than the supervisor expected, a pay rise was in order. Little consideration, if any, was given to
the developmental possibilities of appraisal. It was felt that a cut in pay, or a rise, should provide the
only required impetus for an employee to either improve or continue to perform well. Sometimes this

basic system succeeded in getting the results that were intended; but more often than not, it failed.
For example, early motivational researchers were aware that different people with roughly equal
work abilities could be paid the same amount of money and yet have quite different levels of
motivation and performance. Pay rates were important, yes; but they were not the only element that
had an impact on employee performance. It was found that other issues, such as morale and selfesteem, could also have a major influence. As a result, the traditional emphasis on reward outcomes
was progressively rejected. In the 1950s in the United States, the potential usefulness of appraisal as
tool for motivation and development was gradually recognized.
Performance appraisal may be a structured formal interaction between a subordinate and supervisor,
that usually takes the form of a periodic interview (annual or semi-annual, etc), in which the work
performance of the subordinate is examined and discussed, with a view to identifying weaknesses
and strengths as well as opportunities for improvement and skills development. In many
organizations - but not all - appraisal results are used, either directly or indirectly, to help determine
reward outcomes. That is, the appraisal results are used to identify the better performing employees
who should get the majority of available merit pay increases, bonuses, and promotions. By the same
token, appraisal results are used to identify the poorer performers who may require some form of
counselling, or in extreme cases, demotion, dismissal or decreases in pay. Whether this is an
appropriate use of performance appraisal - the assignment and justification of rewards and penalties is a very uncertain and contentious matter.
Ref: http://ir.knust.edu.gh/bitstream/123456789/614/1/Sterlington%20Kofi%20Horsoo.pdf
Author: Sterlington Kofi Horsoo
Title: EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL, REWARDS & RECOGNITIONS A
CASE STUDY OF BARCLAYS BANK OF GHANA LIMITED (Thesis)

Date: 2009
Retrieved: 11/5/2015
iii.)

Development
Builds strengths and weaknesses as managers should remove
barriers that could affect the performance of the employees so that
they can grow and develop.

Encouraging Coaching and Mentoring. Managers are expected to be good coaches to their
team members and mentors to their proteges. Performance appraisal identies the areas where
coaching is necessary and encourages managers to take an active coaching role.
Supporting Manpower Planning. Well-managed organizations regularly assess their bench
strength to make sure that they have the talent in their ranks that they will need for the future.
Companies need to determine who and where their most talented members are. They need to
identify the departments that are rich with talent and the ones that are suffering a talent drought.
Performance appraisal gives companies the tool they need to make sure they have the intellectual
horsepower required for the future.
Determining Individual Training and Development Needs. If the performance appraisal
procedure includes a requirement that individual development plans be determined and
discussed, individuals can then make good decisions about the skills and competencies they need

to acquire to make a greater contribution to the company. As a result, they increase their chances
of promotion and lower their odds of layoff.
Determining Organizational Training and Development Needs. Would the organization be
better off sending all of its managers and professionals through a customer service training
program or one on effective decision making? By reviewing the data from performance
appraisals, training and development professionals can make good decisions about where the
organization should concentrate company-wide training efforts.

Training Needed
These appraisals also identify the necessary training and development the
employee needs to close the gap between current performance and desired
performance.

Performance appraisals identify performance gaps. As such, they provide an


excellent opportunity for a supervisor and subordinate to recognize and agree upon
individual training and development needs.
Performance appraisal discussion may identify the presence or absence of work
skills. Further, the need for training can be made more relevant if attaining the
requisite job skills is clearly linked to performance outcomes. Consolidated
appraisal data can also help form a picture of the overall organizational training
requirements.

iv.)

Feedback
Managers must evaluate performance of their employees and
communicate assessment. They must identify their deficiencies and
determine how they could be overcome, know which training is
needed and create opportunities.
Providing Feedback. Providing feedback is the most common
justification for an organization to have a performance appraisal system.
Through its performance appraisal process the individual learns exactly
how well he/she did during the previous twelve months and can then use
that information to improve his/her performance in the future. In this
regard, performance appraisal serves another important purpose by
making sure that the bosss expectations are clearly communicated.
Improving Overall Organizational Performance. This is the most
important reason for an organization to have a performance appraisal
system. A performance appraisal procedure allows the organization to
communicate performance expectations to every member of the team

and assess exactly how well each person is doing. When everyone is clear
on the expectations and knows exactly how he is performing against
them, this will result in an overall improvement in organizational success.

From the employee's perspective, performance appraisal informs them about what
is required of them in order to do their jobs, it tells them how well they have
achieved those objectives and helps them take corrective action to improve their
performance, and, finally, it may reward them for meeting the required standards.

The firm, on the other hand, needs a performance appraisal system in order to
establish principles of managerial accountability. Clearly, where employees are
given responsibilities and duties, they need to be held accountable. One of the
functions of performance appraisals is to ensure that people are accountable for
their organizational responsibilities.
Perhaps the most significant benefit of performance appraisals is the
opportunities they provide supervisors and subordinates to have one-on-one
discussions of important work issues. During appraisals, subordinates and
supervisors can focus on work activities and goals, identify and correct existing
problems, and encourage better future performance.

It is a top-down assessment from supervisor to employee. It is an annual


process and uses ratings to measure performance. Concentrating largely on the
employees inabilities and flaws over a period of a year instead of looking forward
by identifying the development needs of the employees and improving them.
Traditionally, the performance appraisals were organized in a bureaucratic manner
and suffered from unnecessary delays in decisions and corruption. It involves a lot
of paper work, tedious and owned by HR department.

Fletcher (2008) gives an excellent summary of the objectives of implementing an appraisal


process.
The evaluation is the starting point of the appraisal process. After this comes the reward and
encouragement of effort and ability. This may also involve telling someone that they are doing
badly. The systematic evaluation of training and development needs allows the measurement of
the requirements of the job against the skills of the jobholder. This enables the organisation to
determine its training needs, both in the case of the employee in question and the organisation
overall. This process allows the organisation to gather data about staff capabilities, which is

essential to human resource planning. Finally, the appraisee and their line manager agree the
future agenda, specifically for the next appraisal period. This will include key objectives for their
post along with addressing training needs in terms of the needs of the specific post, the
individual's professional development needs and any other training needs, if relevant.
From the organisational perspective, appraisal deals with people as aspects of organisations.
When an employer takes on employees, part of the process involves people being socialised into
organisational norms. Within any organisation, there tends to be a dominant coalition, which
dictates the values of the organisation. Such cultural factors have an important bearing on the
values which are held within an organisation. These in turn dictate the values which are at the
foundation of employee appraisal along with underpinning the competencies against which
employee performance is measured.

Fletcher (2008) points out that employees will see themselves as benefitting if these
organisational objectives are met (i.e. they want to be properly rewarded, discuss opportunities
for development etc.). If appraisal does nothing else, it causes manager and subordinates to get
together and discuss the subordinate's performance. However, this situation has the potential to
be quite socially uncomfortable and it only works if the jobholder wants to be appraised. Fletcher
(2008) identifies three factors that are particularly important in determining whether the
employee engages in the process to help meet the objectives of appraisal. They are:

The employee's perception of the assessment as fair

The quality of the employee's existing relationship with the person / persons doing the
appraising

The impact that the appraisal has on employee reward and their own well-being

Clearly, this presents a rich agenda for occupational psychologists. Undoubtedly, appraisal has a
'technical element' in terms of how performance is measured. However, it is also a very social
process.

Theoretically, appraisal is intended to be about the development of the appraisee, both in terms
of their professional development and in terms of their role within the organisation. To achieve
this, it is essential that the appraisal is about behaviour rather than about personality or similar
personal attributes (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996).
This is because a person can change their behaviour, that is, it is within the control of the person.
Personality is a different matter and even if one were to argue that it can be changed, there are
related ethical issues. Personality appears to be stable during adult life. The two essential issues
are that appraisal is about behaviour, rather than personality and appraisal should be about things
which the individual can control. That said, tools such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can be

used to help employees understand how their personality helps or hinders them in a variety of
different situations at work (and thereby raises self-awareness).
When referring to change in behaviour in the workplace, we are talking about the appraiser and
appraisee agreeing a commitment to change. This is not about appraisee compliance, and it may
well involve the appraiser or others changing their behaviour in order to facilitate behavioural
change in the appraisee.
As with other aspects of occupational psychology, for example, personnel selection, there are
issues of power inequality at play in the appraisal process. While theoretically the appraisal
interview may be intended to be a discussion between appraiser and appraisee, the very setting
implies a situation of unequal power between the two parties, and as the appraiser is most often
the appraisee's line manager, this inequality is exacerbated. This issue increases the importance
of keeping the focus on job performance. It is neither just a process of filling in forms, nor a
judgement on the appraisee as a person.

Performance appraisal is a formal management system that provides for the


evaluation of the quality of an individuals performance in an organization.
The appraisal is usually prepared by the employees immediate supervisor.
The procedure typically requires the supervisor to
fill out a standardized assessment form that evaluates the individual on
several different dimensions and then discusses the results of the evaluation
with the employee.
An effective appraisal process begins with a performance-planning meeting
where the manager and the individual discuss the upcoming year, set goals,
review the competencies that the
organization expects people to demonstrate, and identify the key job
elements. They may also discuss the subordinates development needs and
goals in this hour-long meeting.
Over the course of the year the manager and the individual regularlytalk
about performance. They adjust objectives as priorities change and as goals
are met. The manager solves performance problems if any arise and creates
the conditions that motivate. She also conducts a midyear review to more
formally discuss the individuals performance
halfway through the annual cycle. Performance assessment is the third phase
of an effective performance appraisal process. The manager evaluates
exactly how well the
individual has performed in each area covered in the appraisal instrument,
writes narrative descriptions of the performance, and assigns the
appropriate ratings.

Once the performance appraisal form has been written, reviewed, and
approved, the employee and the manager get together for the final phase of
the process: performance review. They discuss the managers evaluation of
the individuals performance and come to an understanding of what was

accomplished over the course of the year and how those accomplishments
were evaluated. At the end of this meeting, they set a time to get together
again to plan for the upcoming year, and the process begins anew.
Ref:http://vulms.vu.edu.pk/Courses/HRM713/Downloads/The
%20Performance%20Appraisal%20Question%20and%20Answer
%20Book.pdf

Q.4

define motivation
(own words & 2 examples)

Relationship to employee motivation


(one or two sentences)

Factors influencing motivation and the most effective ones

Motivation is the process of directing and setting goals that promotes


behavior and performance. Thje inner desire that pushes a person to act or
perform. It allows ort gives opportunity to employees to be able to feel that
they have a responsibility and contribute to the well being of the
organization and have the power to influnece result by their actions.
Owners and managers know that positive motivation leads to better
performance and higher productivity. This can be positively reinforced by
bonuses, sales commissions, pay raises and promotions. In contrast bad
performance reviews, verbal and written warnings, suspensions, pay
reduction or dismissal warnings can prove unfavorable and lower morale of
the worker. Employees need to be regularly engaged on the business issues
that affect productivity and their performance. There also has to be clear
communication on being focused and meeting the goals and objectives and
build team spirit in the organization.
The business environment today is very competitive which is faced with a lot
of difficult challenges in order to motivate emoployees. It could be the choice
of a particular behavior or to achieve a certain goal. There are cetain factors
that influence thew ability of worker(s) to perform.

Leadership Style
This determines how a leader runs an organization in meeting the
gloas and objectives of an organization, controls its workforce and
intereact with the outside environment.
A leader to flexible and respect the knowledge, skills and abilities of its
workers to do its job. Other styles could be telling, selling, persuading
and participating. Sometimes the m,anager is required to use a
different style for different people.
When you give your power away, you are allowing your employees to
share your responsibility and authority (Bruce, c2003, p.66) and is
mainly a resource, a means to an end so as to get better results and
the jobs are done effectively and efficiently.

Consecutively, there is endless possibilities which is to build trust for a


better tomorrow (Bruce, c2003, p.73) in having a brighter future that
opens up possibilities and reinforces employees to be committed to do
work.

Reward System

People are affected by incentives. Managers respond to increasing or


decreasing rewards for behaviours that try to meet specific goals. They
need to be clear about rewards and recognition (p.49) and let the
employees know what to expect from the standards set, see the
benefits of effort understand and what to expect after achieving them.

Organizational Climate

Make employees feel like partners (p.17) and ownership in the


organization.
Managers could change the names of their employees positions and
encourage
business thinking and instill attitudes of feeling like a boss so that they
can take pride in
their work. There should be a respect for the individual which enhances
the positive
attitude to inspire creativity and increase productivity. It should be a
great place to work
and consists of the way people treat each other up and down the
line.

Structure of work
Employees need to have control and be able to redesign and reshape
their jobs. The amount of work needs to be made exciting and
challenging. Team spirit and bonding encouraged, that involves
interacting with other employees so that with their cooperation a job
could be done quickly and bring out the best energies of the individual.
It should excite workers to seek new opportunities so that they can
look forward to come to work every day.

Q.5

People who feel recognized demonstrate a stronger desire to help the


company grow and succeed.
Therefore, having a pay for performance or incentive program worked into
your organizational structure could leverage employee engagement and
overall organizational performance.
However, before an incentive or rewards program is implemented into an
organizational structure, the organizations core purpose must be defined.
Leaders must establish the goals, align the rewards to meet the
organizational needs and make sure the incentive programs are practical and
achievable by the employees.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Pay-forPerformance Policies


by Ruth Mayhew, Demand Media

Considerations
Many organizations conduct annual performance appraisals. These appraisals when properly
administered are based on performance standards. Standards are what an employer wants an
employee to accomplish to meet the company's expectations. For example, if an employer
requires its sales representatives to close 15 sales each month, employees who close fewer than
15 sales are rated as falling below expectations. Employees who close more than 15 sales each
month would be rated as exceeding expectations. For a P4P system to be effective so employers
and employees reap the benefits of tying performance to compensation, employers must clearly
communicate their expectations and conduct performance appraisals according to performance
standards.

Guidelines
Employers must give workers and managers guidelines on how the P4P system is connected to
performance ratings. The advantage of setting guidelines for P4P systems is to address questions
about the type of wage increase, bonus or other incentive an employee receives for meeting or
exceeding expectations. Employers who don't communicate the company's standards and
guidelines are creating a P4P system that's likely to fail.

Consistency

With a P4P system, employees receive wage increases, bonuses and even special perks for
achieving performance goals. For an employee to receive the base wage increase, she must meet
her employer's performance expectations. If she exceeds expectations, it improves her chances of
receiving additional monetary incentives. Consistency in performance appraisals is key in P4P
systems. Supervisors and managers must conduct their subordinates' performance appraisal in
the exact manner approved by the human resources department or executive leadership team.
Too much subjectivity is one of the disadvantages of a P4P system because it results in
inconsistent evaluation of job performance and, ultimately, an ineffective P4P system and
dissatisfied employees.

Incentive
Employers and employees alike benefit from a P4P that provides incentives for job performance.
Employees in such a system strive for higher ratings by working harder and hopefully smarter.
While incentives push employees to achieve higher performance ratings, consistent application
of performance standards and P4P guidelines encourage employees to maintain those high
ratings. Employees who show strong performance, but drop off after they've received their raise
or bonus, introduce one of the disadvantages of P4P systems inconsistent performance.

Performance
For employers and employees to reap the benefits of a P4P system, there need to be guidelines
and incentives for employees who maintain high performance ratings. For example, awarding
employees with a wage increase that compounds their salary is the truest form of incentive,
rather than a one-time bonus that doesn't increase employee long-term earnings. Employers
avoid P4P disadvantages from performance drop-offs when they use a system that rewards
achievement and the employee's ability to maintain good job performance long after a
performance appraisal.
Advantages and Limitations of Performance-Linked Pay

The issue of merit pay has remained a subject of considerable debate in both the private and public sectors. A
business organization must evaluate the pros and cons of merit pay carefully while devising its pay policies for the
employees. Conventional wisdom in business has usually favored the existence of merit or performance linked pay.
However, the downside of this pay system often gets ignored. Each organization is unique and it must evolve the
best pay method that matches its needs in the best possible manner.

Time-Tested Tool of Employee Motivation


Merit pay has traditionally been one of the most effective tools of motivating employees to perform to the best of
their ability. It is recognition for the employees who achieve the highest productivity and results for the business. A
monetary reward in terms of a better pay is the strongest incentive for an employee who is working with a greater
enthusiasm, commitment and skills than the other employees around him.

Healthy Competition among Employees


A healthy competitive spirit among employees can propel them to achieve superior results for the organization.
Competition is a natural human instinct, and merit pay capitalizes on that instinct to extract the best performance
from the employees. Employees like to be recognized as achievers, and performance- based pay is one of the best
ways to award that recognition.

Helps to Attract and Retain Top Talent


In absence of a merit based pay system, there is the risk of non-motivation for the highest performing employees.
Talented employees are aware of their strengths and like to accept the challenges of a performance linked pay. If
they find that all employees are awarded a uniform pay without any regard to individual merit, there is a risk of the
best performing employees leaving and joining other organizations that are willing to recognize their exceptional
talent.

Difficult to Evaluate Performance Objectively


Despite the obvious advantages of performance linked pay, the pros and cons of merit pay should be evaluated
carefully before implementing such a pay system. Performance evaluation can be a highly subjective issue in many
areas of the business. Therefore, enforcing a system of merit pay regardless of the nature of job may prove to be
counter-productive for the organization.

Higher Employee Conflict and Non-Motivation Issues


Some employees may believe they deserve to be included among the meritorious candidates for higher pay. If such
employees are ignored for any reason, it may result in a higher degree of employee conflict within the organization.
Some employees may feel let down by the system, and may begin to lose their motivation if they are not considered
deserving of merit based rewards.

Emphasis on Individual Performance and Compromise of Team Spirit


If on one hand merit pay leads to healthy competition, on the other hand it may also lead to a compromise of the
team spirit of a unit or division that is working together on a project. Pay differentiation may result in dampening of

the enthusiasm to work together as a team, and not as rivals. Individual


goals may tend to take precedence over group goals, which may do more
harm than good for the organization in the end.

Definition:
Merit pay is an approach to compensation that rewards the higher performing employees with
additional pay or incentive pay. Merit pay has advantages and disadvantages for the employees
and the employer. But, all-in-all, merit pay is the best way to reward the employees that you most
want to keep. Here's more about why you might want to consider merit pay.
Advantages of Merit Pay

These are reasons why you might want to consider merit pay.

Merit pay helps an employer differentiate between the performance of high


and low performing employees and reward the performance of the higher
performers.

Merit pay, unlike profit sharing or similar bonus pay schemes, allows an
employer to differentiate between the performance of the company as a
whole and the performance of an individual. While many merit pay programs
also provide an overall reward that is distributed to all employees, to promote
such values as team work, a portion of the available compensation is
reserved for strong performers.

Merit pay also provides a vehicle for an employer to recognize individual


performance on a one time basis. This is useful for rewarding employees who
may have participated in a one-time project such as implementing a new
HRIS or opening up a new sales territory.

Disadvantages and Challenges Inherent in Merit Pay


These are the challenges employers experience with merit pay.

There is no way, with 100% accuracy, to differentiate the performance of


various employees to determine deservers of merit pay. The most desirable
accomplishments and contributions are almost never measurable so the
manager's or supervisor's opinion remains a constant in determining merit
pay.

The amount of time and energy that organizations invest in an attempt to


make performance measurable for merit pay, including developing
competencies, measurements, base lines for performance, and so forth, is
better spent on delivering service for customers.

Given the limitations of metrics, the ability of the supervisor to communicate


to each employee the value of his or her contribution, and what superior
performance worthy of merit pay entails, is an ongoing challenge. Some
supervisors communicate better than others and communication about what
entails superior performance is easier in some jobs than others.

Even with the limitations that exist in the awarding of merit pay, merit pay is your best
opportunity to ensure that your outstanding performers remain with your company and continue
to make their astonishing contributions. Nothing demotivates a high performer faster than
knowing that employees who have contributed much less in the organization, have received the
same pay increase or bonus.
Ref: http://humanresources.about.com/od/salaryandbenefits/g/merit-pay.htm

performance related pay


Definition
A financial reward system for employees where some or all of their monetary
compensation is related to how their performance is assessed relative to stated
criteria. Performance related pay can be used in a businesscontext for how an
individual, a team or the entire company performs during a given time frame.
ref :http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/performance-relatedpay.html

A system of pay that rewards employees on the basis of their performance


(Stone, 2007, p.452).

Q.1

Business strategy can change and must change in response to changes in the business and
economic environment.
The strategies adopted during times of plenty differ from those during recessions. Recruitment
strategy must change accordingly.
The use of strategy in recruitment is intended to attain the objective "Matching People with
Jobs." With the absence of this approach, your organization may have to change its plan and may
end up "Matching Jobs to People." This goes against the direction of your business plan.
What is Strategic Recruitment?
It means identifying the real recruitment needs of your organization and fulfilling those needs.
The organizational needs are tied to the overall strategic business plan.
The needs are in terms of number, quality, and specialized skills and talents in every area of the
organization's activities.
The organization's people needs range from the immediate to medium and long terms needs.
These are considerations to make in recruitment.
Measurement of Recruitment Effectiveness
The quality of people that you can recruit will determine the future of your organization. You
need to have the right mix of experience, skills and talents in order to grow stronger in every
way.
The strategic recruitment approach requires your organization to measure the effectiveness of
your recruitment policy and activities. This is important because a lot of money is involved in
recruitment.
Recruitment metrics include:

Cost per hire which includes all the costs involved from the time the
recruitment process commences until the selected candidate reports for duty.

Speed of Hire also referred to as Time to Hire referring to the time the
position fell vacant to the time a replacement is found.

Customer Satisfaction. This refers to the satisfaction of the requester for the
new employee and customers of the section where the new recruit is
stationed.

Quality of Hire. Some consider this as the most important measure. This
means that the requesting department or unit now have the right people in
order to be more productive.

Determining Staffing Needs


You can predict or determine staffing needs based on:

Gaps between what skills you have available and the skills needs to
accomplish organizational goals

Employee turnover as the result of resignation, termination, retirement, and


dismissal

Number of employees working overtime on a regular basis

Also take into consideration the number of employees promoted or deployed to different
divisions or departments.
What is the immediate and future expansion plan of your organization? Are you going to cease
certain activities?
Use this information to strategize your recruitment plan.
Recruitment During Hard Times
The importance of strategic recruitment becomes pronounced during economic downturns and
during times when the organization is not performing well financially.
Cutting costs become a prime concern of organizations. Reducing headcounts is one of the
common cost-cutting methods.* (see below)The effect becomes apparent very fast.
However, a survey by Deloitte Group shows that managing human capital is still a very
important issue in industries.

A lot of organizations prefer restructuring jobs more to reducing headcount. Many choose to
adopt people management strategies such as reducing bonus, benefit and salary, hiring more parttime employees and encouraging early retirement.
Surely it is logical to conclude that employees who are retained are those in critical areas of
operations.
Whether during times of plenty or when hard times come, it is a good strategy to always adopt a
strategic recruitment plan.
The future of strategic recruitment

Link the business strategy to recruitment strategy.


It is stated in "Staffing the Organization":
"strategic recruiting may sometimes need to go beyond just filling empty
positions. It can focus on discovering talent before it is needed, capitalizing
on windfall opportunities when there is an abundance of highly qualified
people..."

This is proactive action to ensure that nothing is left to chance. Strategic recruitment is a
response to dynamic market conditions, whether local or global or both.

Ref: http://www.strategic-human-resource.com/strategicrecruitment.html
Definition of
Position Requirements

Specifying what potential


executives will likely need to
accomplish in the short and long
term in the targeted positions

Delineation of Desired
Candidate Attributes

Specifying what would be the


attributes and qualifications
of the ideal candidate

Recruitment of
Potential Applicants

Building a pool of applicants


from within and/or outside
of the organization

Assessment and
Evaluation of Candidates

Determining the candidates


standing on the targeted attributes

Selection of
Desired Candidate

Using decision processes


and metrics to determine
the best candidate for
the targeted position

How to Create a Road Map


Be specific about what should be accomplished in the positionboth short
and long term.
Include both current and future job requirements.
Consider how the executive position differs from positions at other levels of the
organization.
Understand the growth and performance of your organization and how this affects the
executive position.
Know the strategic challenges and imperatives of your organization and how they
relate to the position requirements.
Clarify how your global strategic position influences the requirements.
Expand your definition of the positions requirements to cover what is needed for
overall career success in your organization.

All these factors should contribute


to the final definition of executive
performance requirements, and
when done properly, this analysis
will provide a road map for the rest
of the selection process. Without a
shared understanding of performance
requirements, the selection process may
wander off course from the start.
Social Attributes

Communication skills
Social awareness skills
Social judgment skills
Persuasion and negotiation skills
Collaboration skills
Team-building skills
Relationship-building skills
Behavioral complexity
Multicultural awareness and
Sensitivity

Strategic Attributes

Systems-level awareness skills


Visioning skills
Complex problem-solving skills
Ability to map operating
environment
Organizational change skills
Innovation skills
Adaptability
Talent management skills

Cognitive Attributes

Intelligence
Basic problem-solving skills
Critical thinking
Creative thinking
Ability to learn
Absorptive capacity

Business Attributes

Business acumen
Finance management skills
Organization management skills
Global networking skills

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