5 Qs

Few historical trends, ratios, or relationships will continue unchanged into the future. ____ is needed to adjust the forecast.

Judgement

Assuming the employer authorizes the manager to fill a position, what is the next step?

Assuming the employer authorizes the manager to fill a position, the next step is to *build an applicant pool.*

What are some of the drawbacks of scatter plots?

1. Historical sales/personnel relationships assume that the firm's existing ways of doing things will continue as is. 2. They tend to reward managers for adding employees, irrespective of the company's needs. 3. They tend to institutionalize existing ways of doing things, even in the face of change.

More employers are using marketing techniques to bolster their recruiting; this usually starts with building their ____.

"employer brand" Most obviously, it is futile to recruit if the employer's reputation is that it's an awful place to work. Effective branding therefore requires effective policies. For example, Google's founders decided early on that they wanted their firm to be known as a great place to work. They then translated this into tangible policies regarding employee benefits, compensation, and recruitment and selection practices. Branding often focuses on what it's like to work at the company, including company values and the work environment.

Name ways in ehich hiring from within can also backfire.

*1. Inbreeding* is a problem if new perspectives are required. 2. The process of posting openings and getting inside applicants can also be *a waste of time* because often the department manager already knows whom he or she wants to hire. 3. Rejected inside applicants may become discontented; telling them why you rejected them and what remedial actions they might take is crucial

What are the six stereotypes about older workers?

*1. They are less motivated.* The study found not a negative but a weakly positive relationship between age and motivation and job involvement (suggesting that as age goes up motivation actually rises). *2. Are less willing to participate in training and career development.* They did find a weak negative relationship between age and trainability. *3. Are lore resistant to change.* Age was weakly but positively related to willingness to change, *4. Are less trusting.* Age was weakly but positively related to being more trusting. *5. Are less healthy.* Older workers were no more likely than younger ones to have psychological problems or day-to-day physical health problems, but were more likely to have heightened blood pressure and cholesterol levels. *6. Are more vulnerable to work-family imbalance.* Older workers did not experience more work-family imbalance. So there was little support for the common age stereotypes

*T/F* It is lawful to give false or misleading information to members of any group, or to fail or to refuse to advise them of work opportunities and the procedures for obtaining them.

*False* It is unlawful to give false or misleading information to members of any group, or to fail or to refuse to advise them of work opportunities and the procedures for obtaining them. The bottom line: avoid limiting recruitment efforts to just one recruitment method; use multiple sources to reach out as widely as possible; and don't do anything to illegally limit classes of people from applying.

What are some guidelines for keeping employee data safe?

*LOOK AT FIGURE 5.5*

What are the pros and cons of online recruiting?

*Pros:* Online recruiting generates more responses quicker and for a longer time at less cost than just about any other method. And, because they are richer and more comprehensive in describing the jobs, Internet-based ads have a stronger effect on applicant attraction than do printed ads. *Cons:* 1. Older people and some minorities are less likely to use the Internet, so online recruiting may inadvertently exclude older applicants (and certain minorities). 2. Internet overload. Employers end up deluged with résumés.

What are the steps in recruitment and selection process

*Step 1:* Decide what positions you will need to fill, through workforce planning and forecasting. *Step 2:* Build a pool of candidates for these jobs, by recruiting internal or external candidates. *Step 3:* Have candidates complete application forms and perhaps have initial screening interviews. *Step 4:* Use selection tools like tests and background investigations to screen candidates. *Step5:* Decide to whom to make an offer, by having the supervisor and perhaps others interview the candidates. *LOOK AT TOWERS WATSON EXAMPLE*

*T/F* Employers should carefully select and train their recruiters.*

*True* The employer should carefully select and train recruiters. This should include interpersonal skills training (such as in communicating), as well as providing basic knowledge about how to recruit, the employer's recruitment process, the pros (and cons) of working for the employer, and about how laws (such as EEO) affect what recruiters can do.

What are the three main types of employment agencies?

1) public agencies operated by federal, state, or local governments 2) agencies associated with nonprofit organizations; and 3) privately owned agencies.

Ineffective use of the application form can cost the manager dearly. Managers should keep what guidelines in mind?

1. In the "Employment History" section, request detailed information on each prior employer, including supervisor's name and e-mail address or phone; this is essential for reference checking. 2. In signing the application, the applicant should certify that falsified statements may be cause for dismissal, that investigation of credit and employment and driving record is authorized, that a medical examination and drug screening tests may be required, and that employment is for no definite period. 3. Doing a less-than-complete job of filling in the form may reflect poor work habits or subterfuge.

Manager interested in fostering employee engagement can draw several lessons from FedEx's successful promotion-from-within system:

1. Show a genuine interest in your employees' career aspirations; 2. Provide career-oriented appraisals 3. See that your employees have access to the training they need to develop themselves; and 4. Balance your desire to keep good employees with the benefits of helping them learn of and apply for other positions in your company.

What is the process for forecasting personnel needs/demand?

1. Start with *forecasting revenues/sales.* From a practical point of view, the demand for your product or service is paramount. Thus, in a manufacturing firm, sales are projected first 2. *Determine volume of production needed* to meet the sales requirements. 3. *Estimate staff needed* to maintain this volume of output is estimated 4. *Consider other factors* such as projected turnover, decisions to upgrade the quality of products or services, technological changes resulting in increased productivity, and the financial resources available to your department.

Mow can epartment managers or owners of smaller firms determine which current (inside) employees are qualified or trainable for project openings?

1. They can use manual devices to track employee qualifications, such as creating a *personnel skills inventory* and development record form. For each current employee, list the person's skills, education, company-sponsored courses taken, career and development interests, languages, desired assignments, and other relevant experiences. Computerized versions of skills inventory systems are also available. *2. Personnel replacement charts* are another option, particularly for top positions. They show the present performance and promotability for each position's potential replacement. *3. Position replacement card* For this you create a card for each position, showing possible replacements as well as their present performance, promotion potential, and training.

What are some of the concerns that temp workers have?

1. Treated in a dehumanizing and ultimately discouraging way. 2. Insecure about their employment and pessimistic about the future. 3. Worried about their lack of insurance and pension benefits. 4. Misled about their job assignments and in particular about whether temporary assignments were likely to become full-time. 5. "Underemployed" (particularly those trying to return to the full-time labor market)

what are ways employers recruit outside sources?

1. Word of mouth 2. The Internet 3. Employment agencies 4. Poaching 5. Referrals and walk-ins

What does a typical workforce plan contain?

A typical workforce plan contains workforce projections, provides discussions of how to close skills gaps, and then presents actual specific recruiting and other workforce plans.

Best talent management practice requires what?

Best talent management practice requires paying continuous attention to workforce planning issues. Managers call this *predictive workforce monitoring*.

____ forecasts enable managers to build more variables into their workforce projections

Computerized forecasts Computerized systems and Excel spreadsheets quickly translate estimates of projected productivity and sales levels into forecastable personnel requirements. Many firms particularly use computerized employee forecasting systems for estimating short-term needs. For example, labor scheduling systems help retailers estimate required staffing needs based on weather forecasts and estimated store traffic.

Courts have laid out several criteria for determining whether someone is an intern or an employee. What are these criterion?

Criteria include, for example: 1. Whether both the intern and employer clearly understand that no compensation is expected; 2. Whether the internship provides training similar to that of an educational environment; and 3. Whether the internship is tied to the person's formal education program.

What do experienced advertisers use the to construct ads? Explain the steps.

Experienced advertisers use the guide *AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action)* to construct ads. First, you must attract attention to the ad. Next, develop interest. For instance, "Are you looking to make an impact?" Create desire by spotlighting words such as travel or challenge. As an example, having a graduate school nearby may appeal to engineers and professional people. Finally, the ad should prompt action, such as "call today."

Filling open positions with inside candidates has several advantages. Name them.

Filling open positions with inside candidates has several advantages. 1.You already know the candidate's strengths and weaknesses 2. Current employees may also be more committed to the company. 3. Morale and engagement may rise if employees see their colleagues promoted for loyalty and competence. 4. Inside candidates should require less orientation and (perhaps) training than outsiders. 5. External hires tend to come in at higher salaries than do those promoted internally.. 6. Some apparent "stars" hired from outside may turn out to have excelled more because of the company they came from than from their own skills.

What are the steps for creating the workforce plan? what should this plan include?

First *summarize what positions/skills you will need* (workforce demand), based on your workforce demand analysis. Next, *summarize the internal workforce supply*, specifically, current internal candidates for the new positions. Then for each projected position (or group of positions) *itemize any personnel and skills gaps* (not enough skilled current employees to fill these positions) and your plans for eliminating those gaps. So, at a minimum, the plan should include: 1. Positions to be filled 2. Personnel replacement charts and/or position replacement cards for these positions 3. Potential internal (and if necessary, external) sources for these positions 4. The recruitment, training, development, and promotions that moving people into the positions will entail; and 5. The resources that implementing the plan will require, for instance in recruiter fees, estimated training costs, relocation costs, and interview expenses.

Effective recruiting is not easy. Name some challenges.

First, some recruiting methods are superior to others, depending on the job. Second, recruiting depends on nonrecruitment issues such as pay scales. Third, employment law prescribes what you can do.

A filled-in application provides what four types of information.

First, you can make judgments on *substantive matters*, such as whether the applicant has the *education and experience* to do the job. Second, you can draw conclusions about the applicant's *previous progress and growth*, especially important for management candidates. Third, you can draw tentative conclusions about the applicant's *stability* based on previous work record (although years of downsizing suggest the need for caution here). Fourth, you may be able to use the data in the application to *predict* which candidates will succeed on the job.

Recruitment sourcing involves determining what your recruitment options are, and then assessing which are best for the job in question. Recruitment sources include internal and external sources. What effectiveness metric are uor assessing which source is best for the job?

For assessing which source is best for the job, most employers probably still look first at the number of applicants the source produces. However *quantity doesn't necessarily mean quality.* Therefore other effectiveness metrics would include, for each source, how many of its applicants were hired, how well its applicants performed on the job, how many failed and had to be replaced, and applicants' performance in terms of training, absence, and turnover.

What are some factors that may modify your initial forecast of personnel requirements?

Illustrative factors that may modify your initial forecast of personnel requirements include: 1. decisions to upgrade quality or enter into new markets 2. technological changes resulting in increased productivity; and 3. financial resources available, for instance, a looming budget crunch.

What are some practical rules to use in determining whether to go outside or promote from within?

It's best to look outside if you: *1.* need specific skills that aren't available in your company *2.* Have to embark on a tough turnaround *3.* Face a situation in which your current succession planning or skills inventory systems are inadequate But if your company is thriving and you have the skills you need internally, and have a unique and strong company culture, then look within.

Job applicants view ads with more specific job information as ____.

Job applicants view ads with more specific job information as *more attractive and more credible.* If the job has big drawbacks, consider a realistic ad. the ad should comply with equal employment laws, avoiding features like "man wanted.

When it comes to determining which current (inside) employees are qualified or trainable for project openings, larger firms can't track the qualifications of hundreds or thousands of employees manually. How do they accomplish it?

Larger firms computerize this information, using packaged software systems such as Skill-Base's skills inventory software. *1. Skills inventory systems* such as these enable employers to collect and compile employee skills information in real time via online employee surveys. Skills inventory programs help management anticipate staffing and skills shortages, and facilitate workforce planning, recruitment, and training. They typically include items like work experience codes, product knowledge, the employee's level of familiarity with the employer's product lines or services, the person's industry experience, formal education, foreign language skills, relocation limitations, career interests, and performance appraisals. Often the employee, supervisor, and human resource manager will enter information about the employee's background, experience, and skills via the system. Then, when a manager needs a person for a position, he or she uses key words to describe the position's specifications (for instance, in terms of education and skills). The computerized system then produces a list of qualified candidates. The succession module helps us to identify who the next senior managers could be and build development plans to help them achieve their potential. *2. Markov Analysis.* Employers also use a mathematical process known as Markov analysis (or "transition analysis") to forecast availability of internal job candidates. Markov analysis involves creating a matrix that shows the probabilities that employees in the chain of feeder positions for a key job (such as from junior engineer to engineer, to senior engineer, to engineering supervisor, to director of engineering) will move from position to position and therefore be available to fill the key position.

Like any good plans, workforce plans are built on ____

Like any good plans, workforce plans are built on forecasts—basic assumptions about what the future will be

How do most firms start a supply forecast of available job candidates?

Most firms start by determining which current (inside) employees are qualified or trainable for the projected openings before looking to determine the supply of outside candidates.

Private employment agencies are important sources of what type of personnel? when should you use them?

Private employment agencies are important sources of clerical, white-collar, and managerial personnel. Use one if: 1. Your firm doesn't have its own human resources department and feels it can't do a good job recruiting and screening. 2. You must fill a job quickly. 3. There is a perceived need to attract more minority or female applicants. 4. You want to reach currently employed individuals, who might feel more comfortable dealing with intermediaries. 5. You want to reduce the time you're devoting to recruiting.

Name the basic tools for projecting personnel needs and explain what they are.

The basic tools for projecting personnel needs include; *1. Trend Analysis.* Study of a firm's past employment needs over a period of years to predict future needs. Trend analysis provides an initial rough estimate of future staffing needs. However, employment levels rarely depend just on the passage of time. Other factors (like productivity), will influence impending workforce needs. *2. Ratio Analysis.* making forecasts based on the historical ratio between (1) some causal factor (like sales volume) and (2) the number of employees required (such as number of salespeople). Like trend analysis, ratio analysis assumes that things like productivity remain about the same. If sales productivity were to rise or fall, the ratio of sales to salespeople would change. *3. The Scatter Plot.* A graphical method used to help identify the relationship between two variables—such as sales and your firm's staffing levels. If they are, then if you can forecast the business activity (like sales), and you should also be able to estimate your personnel needs. If the two varoables are related, then the points you plot will tend to fall on a straight line. If you "fit" a line to minimize the distances between the line and each one of the plotted points, you can project how many employees you'll need, given your projected volume.

The best medium depends on what? the positions for which you're recruiting.

The best medium depends on the positions for which you're recruiting. For example, the local newspaper can be a good source for local blue-collar help, clerical employees, and lower-level administrative employees. On the other hand, if recruiting for workers with special skills, such as furniture finishers, you'd probably want to advertise in places with many furniture manufacturers, such as the Carolinas. *The point is to target your ads where they'll reach your prospective employees.* For specialized employees, advertise in trade and professional journals like American Psychologist, Sales Management, Chemical Engineering, and Women's Wear Daily. Help wanted ads in The Wall Street Journal can be good sources of middle- or senior-management personnel.

What are the two main goals of the campus recruiter?

The campus recruiter has two main goals: One is to *determine if a candidate is worthy of further consideration*. Usual traits to assess include communication skills, education, experience, and technical and interpersonal skills. The other aim is *to attract candidates.* A sincere and informal attitude, respect for the applicant, and prompt follow-up letters can help sell the employer to the interviewee. And employers who build relationships with opinion leaders such as career counselors and professors have better recruiting results.

The forecast of supply of outside candidates depends first on what?

The forecast depends first on the manager's own sense of what's happening in his or her industry and locale. For example, falling unemployment rates recently suggested that finding good candidates might be getting tougher. The manager then supplements such observations with formal economic projections, for instance, from the U.S. Congressional Budget Office For example, falling unemployment rates recently suggested that finding good candidates might be getting tougher. The manager then supplements such observations with formal economic projections, for instance, from the U.S. Congressional Budget Office and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Your planning may also require forecasting specific occupations. O*NET reports projections for most occupations. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes annual occupational projections. With more jobs technology-based, many applicants will lack required skills, such as in math and teamwork; the manager will therefore have to factor such things as training and development into the workforce plan.

Why is line and staff cooperation in recruitment is essential?

The human resource manager charged with filling a position is seldom very familiar with the job itself. He or she will therefore work with the supervisor to ascertain what the job really entails and its job specifications, as well as informal things like how the team gets along.

What is the key question in all recruitment procedures?

The key question in all recruitment procedures is whether the method limits qualified applicants from applying. So, for example, gender-specific ads that call for "busboy" or "firemen" would obviously raise red flags. The bottom line: avoid limiting recruitment efforts to just one recruitment method; use multiple sources to reach out as widely as possible; and don't do anything to illegally limit classes of people from applying.

When forecasting labor demand workforce needs, the manager will need what three forecasts?

The manager will need three forecasts: 1. forecast for personnel needs (demand), 2. forecast for the supply of inside candidates 3. forecast for the supply of outside candidates. With these in hand, the manager can identify supply-demand gaps and develop action plans to fill the projected gap

*T/F* Employers can't rely on word-of-mouth dissemination of information about job opportunities when its workforce is substantially all white or all members of some other class such as all female or all Hispanic.

True

*T/F* Forecasting the supply of outside candidates can help you anticipate and adapt to problems finding qualified candidates.

True

*T/F* Some employers use statistical methods to analyze application information ("biodata") to predict employee tenure and performance.

True Examples of predictive biodata items might include "quit a job without giving notice," "graduated from college," and "traveled considerably growing up." Choose biodata items with care. Equal employment law limits the items you'll want to use (avoid age, race, or gender, for instance). And, some applicants will fake biodata answers in an effort to impress the employer.

How is workforce planning part of the firm's strategic and business planning processes?

Workforce planning is part of the firm's strategic and business planning processes. Strategically, for example, plans to enter new businesses or to reduce some activities all influence the types of positions to be filled and, therefore, the firm's workforce plans.

Workforce planning should culminate in a workforce plan. In essence, this plan shows what?

Workforce planning should culminate in a workforce plan. In essence, this plan shows the employer's projected workforce skills gaps, as well as plans for filling these gaps.

The ____ forecast only answers the question: "How many employees in what positions will we need?"

demand or workforce forecast

Workforce planning begins with ____.

forecasting workforce

Digital recruiting is replacing traditional help wanted ads, but print ads are still popular. Here employers should address what two issues?

the advertising medium and the ad's construction.