ch. 12 managing human talent

Performance appraisal

refers to observing and assessing employee performance, recording the assessment, and providing feedback to the employee. Managers give feedback and praise concerning the acceptable elements of the employee's performance and also describe performance areas that need improvement.

process of finding the right people

predict needs use recruiting procedures to communicate select best candidate welcome new employee

compensation

refers to (1) all monetary payments and (2) all goods or commodities used in lieu of money to reward employees.

strategic issues for managers

Hiring the right people to become more competitive on a global basis Hiring the right people for improving quality, innovation, and customer service Knowing the right people to retain after mergers, acquisitions, or downsizing Hiring the right people to apply new information technology (IT) for mobile business All of these strategic decisions determine a company's need for skills and employees.

halo effect

Occurs when a manager gives an employee the same rating on all dimensions of the job, even though performance may be good on some dimensions and poor on others.

Discrimination

(1) Making hiring and promotion decisions based on criteria that are not job-relevant. (2) When someone acts out their negative attitudes toward people who are the targets of their prejudice.

nondirective interview

A conversation where the interviewer asks broad, open-ended questions and permits the applicant to talk freely with minimal interruption, in an attempt to bring to light information, attitudes, and behavioral characteristics that might be concealed when answering structured questions.

exit interview

A discussion conducted with departing employees to determine reasons for their departure and learn about potential problems in the organization.

matching model

A human resources (HR) approach in which the organization and the individual attempt to match each other's needs, interests, and values.

wage and salary surveys

A questionnaire that shows what other organizations pay incumbents in jobs that match a sample of key jobs selected by the organization.

TOOLS: application form

A selection device that collects information about the applicant's education, previous work experience, and other background characteristics. used to collect information about the applicant's education, previous job experience, and other background characteristics. avoid irrelevant questions avoid questions with adverse impact

Recruiting

Activities or practices that define the desired characteristics of applicants for specific jobs; sometimes called talent acquisition. many organizations use internal recruiting, or promote-from-within policies, to fill their high-level positions

panel interviews

An interview in which the candidate meets with several interviewers who take turns asking questions. In addition, some firms are using offbeat approaches, sometimes referred to as extreme interviewing, to test job candidates' ability to handle problems, cope with change, think on their feet, and work well with others.

Skill-based pay systems

Employees with higher skill levels receive higher pay than those with lower skill levels. Also called competency-based pay, skill-based pay systems encourage people to develop their skills and competencies, thus making them more valuable to the organization, as well as more employable if they leave their current jobs.

blind hiring

Focuses managers on an applicant's job skills and performance rather than educational credentials, appearance, or prior experience.

Affirmative action

Requires that employers take positive steps to guarantee equal employment opportunities for people within protected groups. Failure to comply with EEO legislation can result in substantial fines and penalties for employers. Suits for discriminatory practices can cover a broad range of employee complaints. One issue of growing concern is sexual harassment, which is also a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The EEOC guidelines specify that behavior such as unwelcome advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal and physical conduct of a sexual nature becomes sexual harassment when submission to the conduct is tied to continued employment or advancement or when the behavior creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.

employer brand

Similar to a product brand, except that rather than promoting a specific product, its aim is to make an organization seem like a highly desirable place to work Employer-branding campaigns are like marketing campaigns to "sell" the company and attract the best job candidates.

human resource management (HRM)

The design and application of formal systems to ensure the effective and efficient use of human talent to accomplish organizational goals. This includes activities undertaken to attract, develop, and maintain an effective workforce. Managers have to find the right people, place them in positions where they can be most effective, and develop them so that they contribute to company success.

Human capital

The economic value of the combined knowledge, experience, skills, and capabilities of employees.

Human resource planning

The forecasting of human resource needs and the projected matching of individuals with anticipated job vacancies. Human resource planning begins with several big-picture questions: What new technologies are emerging, and how will these affect the work system? How much is the volume of the business likely to change in the next five to ten years? What is the turnover rate, and how much, if any, is avoidable? The responses to these questions are used to formulate specific questions pertaining to HR activities, such as the following: What types of engineers will we need, and how many? How many administrative personnel will we need to support the additional engineers? Can we use temporary, part-time, or virtual workers to handle some tasks?

The End of Lifetime Employment

The new contract is based on the concept of employability rather than lifetime employment. Individuals are responsible for developing their own skills and abilities and demonstrating their value to the organization. The employer, in turn, invests in creative training and development opportunities so that people will be more employable when the company no longer needs their services. This means offering challenging work assignments, opportunities to participate in decision making, and access to information and resources. In addition, an important challenge for HRM is revising performance evaluation, compensation, and other practices to be compatible with the new social contract.

selection

The process of assessing the skills, abilities, and other attributes of applicants in an attempt to determine the fit between the job and each applicant's characteristics.

Job evaluation

The process of determining the value of jobs within an organization through an examination of job content. Job evaluation techniques enable managers to compare similar and dissimilar jobs and to determine internally equitable pay rates—that is, pay rates that employees believe are fair compared to those for other jobs in the organization.

Job analysis

The systematic process of gathering and interpreting information about the essential duties, tasks, and responsibilities of a job. To perform job analysis, managers or specialists ask about work activities and work flow, the degree of supervision given and received in the job, knowledge and skills needed, performance standards, working conditions, and so forth.

Pay-for-performance

Tying at least a portion of compensation to employee effort and performance. Also called incentive pay.

360-degree feedback

Uses multiple raters, including self-rating, to appraise employee performance and guide development. Members of the appraisal group may include supervisors, coworkers, and customers, as well as the individual, thus providing a holistic view of the employee's performance. When used appropriately, 360-degree feedback can lead to a more valid assessment of performance as well as identify greater development opportunities for employees.

acqui-hiring

When established companies such as Facebook, Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn, and Salesforce.com buy early-stage start-ups, often shutting them down, simply to acquire their engineering talent.

on-the-job training (OJT)

an experienced employee is asked to take a new employee "under his or her wing" and show the newcomer how to perform job duties.

corporate university

an in-house training and education facility that offers broad-based learning opportunities for employees—and frequently for customers, suppliers, and strategic partners as well—throughout their careers. promotion from within

TOOLS Selection: interview

cannot dilate EEO guidelines structured interview non-directive panel

job description

clear and concise summary of the specific tasks, duties, and responsibilities

behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS)

developed from critical incidents pertaining to job performance. Each job performance scale is anchored with specific behavioral statements that describe varying degrees of performance. By relating employee performance to specific incidents, raters can more accurately evaluate an employee's performance

strategic role of HRM

drive organizational performance human capital cited as top factor in competitive success talent management is a top concern for all managers

TOOLS

employment tests cognitive ability physical ability personality brain teaser ONLINE CHECKS

performance review ranking system

forced ranking system, stack ranking, or "rank and yank." This method is increasingly controversial because it essentially evaluates employees by pitting them against one another. As most commonly used, these systems rank employees according to their relative performance: 20 percent would be placed in the top group of performers; 70 percent have to be ranked in the middle; and 10 percent are ranked at the bottom. The bottom tier are given a set period of time to improve their performance, and if they don't improve, they are fired. The idea behind the forced ranking of employees is that everyone will be motivated to improve performance.

realistic job previews (RJPs)

give applicants all pertinent and realistic information—positive and negative—about the job and the organization. RJPs contribute to greater employee satisfaction and lower turnover because they facilitate matching individuals, jobs, and organizations. People have a better basis on which to determine their suitability to the organization and "self-select" into or out of positions based on full information.

internship

is an arrangement whereby an intern (usually a high school or college student) exchanges free or low-cost labor for the opportunity to explore whether a particular career is appealing or to gain valuable work experience in a particular field.

Social learning

learning informally from others by using social media tools, including mobile technologies, social media, wikis and blogs, virtual games, and so forth. The majority of organizational learning occurs through informal rather than formal channels, so managers are supporting the use of social media technology for learning in day-to-day work

job-based pay,

linking compensation to the specific tasks an employee performs.

Employment tests

may include cognitive ability tests, physical ability tests, personality inventories, and other assessments. Cognitive ability tests measure an applicant's thinking, reasoning, verbal, and mathematical abilities. IQ tests, for example, have been found to be the most consistent predictor of good performance across a variety of jobs because a high IQ shows a candidate's ability to learn

Structured interviews

use a set of standardized questions that are asked of every applicant so comparisons can easily be made. These may include biographical questions, which ask about the person's previous life and work experiences; behavioral questions, which ask people to describe how they have performed a certain task or handled a particular problem; and situational or case questions, which require people to describe how they might handle a hypothetical situation.

job specification

which outlines the knowledge, skills, education, physical abilities, and other characteristics needed to perform the job adequately.