Integrating HR Technology

HR Technology is a major growth market with increasingly sophisticated HR information systems (HRIS), HR management systems (HRMS), applicant tracking software and other IT products become available. Web-based HRIS is fast becoming a basic element of people management. Large corporations use HRIS extensively and more and more providers are addressing the potential of web-based HRMS solutions for medium and smaller businesses.

The 13th Annual HR Technology® Conference and Expo that took place in Chicago from September 29 to October 1 2010 saw a number of new and award-winning products on show. Among this year's developments is Aquire InSight, selected by Human Resource Executive magazine as one of its 2010 Top HR Products. Developed by workforce planning and analytics specialists Aquire, it is aimed to fill a void in the business analytics marketplace. It is claimed to improve HR planning decisions by delivering workforce analytics related to talent management initiatives and workforce trends directly to top managers. Aquire hosts a secure reporting engine enabling users to provide managers with access to workforce-performance metrics specific to their particular departments. The deal includes dedicated access to a certified workforce analyst, who can hypothesis test business drivers and link workforce trends to business trends.

Aquire InSight can integrate information from HRIS and talent management systems, presenting disparate data in a comprehensive format directly to decision makers when they need it. The Talent Pipeline shows the movement of talent throughout the organization and can focus on each individual manager’s staff development results. Aquire InSight also lets users match business events with workforce trends on a timeline.

Meanwhile, HumanConcepts has launched Workforce Monitor™ described as an intuitive, analytical dashboard that allows managers to analyze their organization based on measures such as organizational unit, headcount or span of control and dimensions including age, gender, tenure, salary and ethnic origin. As an example, users can look at the overall headcount of the organization and then analyze this by department to identify units which are out of alignment. The system can provide a visual representation of headcounts across departments, by ethnic origin, by salary ranges, and a host of other dimensions.

In a survey of 200 global enterprises and medium-sized businesses, SumTotal® Systems conclude that integrating 'talent functions' within one software platform can eliminate the need for separate data silos and make cross-functional reporting easier. This allows significant benefits as organizations can obtain more holistic views of workforce productivity and growth potential without time-consuming manual abstraction and collation of information. They identified the top five HR benefits of integration as:

Reduced voluntary turnover
Higher workforce productivity
Better workforce alignment to overall business strategy
Improved internal talent mobility
Faster on-boarding (time-to-productivity)

SumTotal also looked at fifteen possible HR process integrations and concluded that the top five were:

Employee Development & Succession Planning: Enable employee development planning for future roles
Employee Development & Learning Management: Enable employee development plans to be executed via learning and training
Learning Management & Performance Management: Enable learning and training activities as a key component of goal completion
Reporting & Core HR: Enable a single, centralized reporting repository across all HR functions
Performance Management & Compensation Management: Enable merit-based pay-for-performance

Christopher Faust, vice president of global marketing at SumTotal Systems, said:

"Seamlessly linking HR processes and technologies to facilitate real-time business intelligence for improved decision making is a critical priority for HR leaders today. More and more global enterprises are experiencing firsthand the business benefits that a single, complete talent platform can deliver. Our research continues to validate the top strategies that drive tangible business value which help organizations to accelerate their growth, retain their top performers, and improve overall workforce productivity."

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Posted in: HR Technology

Employee Performance Reviews

A half of the participants in an online survey* conducted for Globoforce think that employee performance reviews do not provide accurate appraisals of their work.

The Workforce Mood Tracker survey found that U.S. employees were dissatisfied and disconnected overall about the frequency and effectiveness of performance reviews. Based upon the survey's findings, it can be concluded that organizations should be concerned about motivational issues at review time. Main findings were:

Only 25% of those surveyed had performance reviews more than once a year
Just 18% were given feedback on a semi-annual basis
7% received monthly reviews
22% said they never had a review
24% dreaded their annual review more than anything else

Eric Mosley, CEO of Globoforce, a provider of strategic employee recognition solutions for enterprise-level companies, said:

"Our survey results show what many in the HR community and business world feel right now: the annual performance review is broken. Providing employees with feedback and recognition only once a year is a huge missed opportunity and simply unfair, given the fact it’s based on a biased sample. An ongoing, 365-day performance management solution that accurately measures employees’ year-round performance not only drives engagement, it uncovers the true leaders and influencers across the organization. This type of approach, driven by a strategic recognition program, provides employees with the feedback, appreciation, and direction they need to approach their peak performance level."

Mosley considers that the disenchantment with the performance review process and the consequent negative perceptions among the workforce can affect the prevailing culture and employee performance. He suggests three keys to unlock the full potential of employee feedback programs and enhance employee engagement:

Connect daily performance to company goals and values. The performance assessment process tends to be viewed negatively and many people believe that the annual ritual is 'a fruitless corporate exercise lacking substance'. This is often a missed opportunity to make a significant impact. HR professionals should align all types of reviews (recognition and feedback) to specific organizational goals or values, giving employees a better understanding of the value they can deliver. This approach emphasizes behaviors that are desired and performance to be repeated.
Give feedback regularly and in the moment. There is no point trying to remember everything an employee has achieved over the course of a year. Few managers systematically track performance details for every activity or project. The result is a process that looks superficial and may encourage employees to disengage. On-the-spot recognition and review, on a daily basis, provides more effective feedback so that employees can align their performance to desired goals and values. It also provides a more accurate picture of employees’ skills, achievements, and influence to HR departments.
Be honest with yourself and your employees. Regular feedback is essential for employees to achieve maximum performance and productivity and understand the goals and behaviors desired by an organization. Annual performance reviews can be supplemented with new performance management strategies, enhancing the existing employee feedback cycle with year-round social recognition programs. This amplifies an organization's knowledge about its workforce and maximizes employee performance throughout the year.

* The Globoforce Workforce Mood Tracker™ study of 631 respondents was conducted on January 7-8, 2011 by independent market research firm MarketTools, Inc., through an online panel of fully employed persons (age 18 or older) in the USA.

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Posted in: Performance Reviews

Involuntary Part-timers

A recent report from the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago found that a record number of U.S. employees are involuntarily working part-time as a result of a reduction in their hours or being unable to find a full-time job. This effect of the recession is in addition to unemployment currently affecting nearly 10 per cent of the workforce.

Susan Lambert, associate professor, commented:

"Certainly the current recession is contributing to underemployment, as evidenced by the proportion of American workers classified as 'involuntary part-time'."

Researchers explain that the U.S. Census Bureau applies the term "involuntary part-time" to those working less than 35 hours a week because they could not find a full-time job or because of "slack demand". There were 9.2 million workers in this category in November 2009. Although the largest recorded figure, it reflects trends seen in earlier recessions. The labor market added 1.5 million involuntary part-time workers between 1981 and 1982 (for a total of 6.8 million workers) and 2.3 million between 1992 and 1993 (for a total of 6.7 million workers). The current study investigated management and employee aspects of scheduling practices in a national retail apparel firm. Researchers explain that the majority of waged and salaried employees are hourly and/or part-time workers who are particularly vulnerable to imposed changes. They receive limited formal employee benefits, and many are ineligible for public benefits (such as unemployment insurance, cash assistance, or family and medical leave). Their work schedules are typically arranged with little prior notice and are often unpredictable. The researchers call for changes in public policy as well as company practices to address these issues.

Susan Lambert said:

"I think it is important to underscore that employment has become increasingly precarious over the past 30 years, not just during recessionary periods, due to structural changes in the economy, reductions in labor protections and evolving employer practices that pass risk from the market onto workers. The current recession highlights these insecurities, bringing much-needed attention to the plight of disadvantaged workers who are struggling to keep their jobs as well as maintain sufficient hours to make ends meet. The problems faced by hourly, low-level workers are unlikely to go away when the economy fully recovers."

Whatever the economic conditions, employers frequently use "just-in-time" practices to maintain control over costs and demand. Hourly workers' schedules are used to accommodate fluctuations often with limited notice. This disadvantages workers trying to manage their finances, childcare arrangements and other aspects of family life.

Julia Henly, associate professor, said:

"Unpredictable work schedules can translate into instability in family routines and practices, placing additional burdens on already strapped and busy families, their caregivers and extended family members. We find that hourly retail employees with more predictable work schedules report lower levels of stress, less work-to-family conflict and fewer work interferences with non-work activities such as scheduling doctor's appointments, socializing with friends and eating meals together as a family."

Among other significant findings:

Hours vary substantially for both part-time and full-time hourly workers, with full-time employees working more hours but also experiencing the greatest fluctuations in hours from week to week.
The more hours employees work and the less their hours fluctuate, the longer they remain at the firm, even after accounting for factors such as age, race and job status.
Job turnover is high, particularly for part-time sales associates, younger workers, African Americans and recently hired workers.
Management practices contribute to job turnover irrespective of individual worker characteristics. Managers who strategically limit staff numbers with the goal of providing each sales associate with sufficient hours have lower turnover and higher retention rates.

The researchers acknowledge the importance of workplace flexibility in public policy debates as more parents try to reconcile competing demands of work and family life. Common flexibility options include allowing workers to work reduced hours, work at home, or vary the start and end times of the working day. These may make sense for managerial and professional roles but are less applicable to many low-level hourly workers. This issue will be addressed in four government- sponsored regional conferences scheduled for the next twelve months.

The authors comment:

"Fortunately, policy makers, advocacy groups and researchers are becoming increasingly interested in developing and promoting flexibility options for U.S. workers in hourly jobs. As these initiatives proceed, it will be important that they reflect the range of work conditions found in hourly jobs, including low-wage jobs in service industries."

The third author is Anna Haley-Lock, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin.

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Posted in: for Job Less

US Employment Situation

"In March, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 216,000, and private-sector employment rose by 230,000. The unemployment rate was little changed at 8.8 percent; the rate has declined by one percentage point since November 2010. Since a recent low point in February 2010, nonfarm payroll employment has risen by 1.5 million. Private-sector employment rose by 1.8 million over the same period, an average of 138,000 per month. In March, job growth occurred in professional and business services, health care, leisure and hospitality, and mining. Manufacturing employment continued to trend up over the month.

"Professional and business services employment rose by 78,000 in March. This industry has added 692,000 jobs since a recent low point in September 2009. In March, employment in temporary help services rose by 29,000. Temporary help services has added about a half million jobs since August 2009.

"Employment in health care continued to rise in March (+37,000). The increase was spread among several components, including ambulatory health care services (+18,000), hospitals (+10,000), and nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000). Since the start of the recent recession in December 2007, health care employment has risen by 902,000, while total nonfarm employment has declined by 7.2 million.

"The leisure and hospitality industry added 37,000 jobs in March. Growth in food services and drinking places (+27,000) accounted for most of the increase.

"Within goods-producing industries, mining employment rose by 14,000 in March, mostly due to an increase in support activities for mining (+9,000). Since a recent low point in October 2009, mining employment has risen by 96,000.

"Employment in manufacturing continued to trend up in March (+17,000). Factory job gains continued to be concentrated in durable goods, with over-the-month increases in fabricated metal products (+8,000) and machinery (+5,000). Construction employment changed little over the month.

"Employment in local government continued to trend down over the month (-15,000). This sector has lost 416,000 jobs since its employment peak in September 2008.

"Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm payrolls were unchanged in March at $22.87. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 1.7 percent. From February 2010 to February 2011, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 2.2 percent.

"Turning to measures from the survey of households, the unemployment rate was little changed at 8.8 percent in March. The jobless rate has declined by one percentage point since November 2010. Over that period, unemployment declined by nearly 1.5 million, and employment rose by 1.4 million, leaving the labor force nearly unchanged on net (after accounting for the population adjustment in January).

"In March, the labor force participation rate held at 64.2 percent, and the employment-population ratio, at 58.5 percent, was little changed. The number of long-term unemployed remained high at 6.1 million, 45.5 percent of total unemployment. Over the month, the number of individuals who were working part time although they would have preferred full-time work was 8.4 million, down from 9.0 million a year earlier.

"In summary, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 216,000 in March, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 8.8 percent."

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Discrimination and Job Loss

It has been known for some time that there is bias against the unemployed in the job market. Research at UCLA and the State University of New York-Stony Brook now shows that jobless Americans face discrimination unrelated to their skills or to ways in which they lost their previous jobs.

The researchers recruited a random cross-section of Americans over the Internet and asked them to appraise fictitious job candidates. They found that even when the participants were rating the same evidence about job applicants, unemployed applicants were at a disadvantage compared with employed applicants. For example, in one study, participants were presented with the same fictitious resume. Researchers Geoffrey Ho and Margaret Shih told half of the participants that it was the resume of an employed applicant. The other half were told that it belonged to an out-of-work person. Participants were then asked to rank the worker on a number of qualities known from psychological research to be critical in forming a desirable impression of an individual.

Despite having seen exactly the same resume, participants rated the "unemployed" resume as belonging to a less competent, warm and proactive individual than the "employed" resume. Consequenly participants said that they would be less likely to interview or hire the unemployed individual than the employed person.

Similar results were found when participants were shown a short video of a job interview. The researchers considered this to be a richer source of information about the supposed applicant. Subjects who thought the applicant was employed found the interview to be more impressive than participants who believed the applicant was unemployed.

Lead researcher Geoffrey Ho, a doctoral student in human resources and organizational behavior at the UCLA Anderson School of Management said:

"We were surprised to find that, all things being equal, unemployed applicants were viewed as less competent, warm and hireable than employed individuals. We were also surprised to see how little the terms of departure mattered. Job candidates who said they voluntarily left a position faced the same stigma as job candidates who said they had been laid off or terminated."

The findings were presented at an April 10 conference on "Reconnecting to Work: Consequences of Long-Term Unemployment and Prospects for Job Creation" at UCLA. Margaret Shih, a co-author on the study with Ho and an associate professor of human resources and organizational behavior at UCLA Anderson said:

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the psychological stigma of unemployment. We found that individuals tend to make negative associations with those who are unemployed, which often leads to unfair discrimination."

It is known that the longer individuals remain unemployed, the lesser their chances of finding work. But this has been attributed to recruiters' concerns over inadequate skills or lack of persistence in looking for jobs. Margaret Shih explained:

"Economists have tended to chalk up long-term unemployment to the probability of skill decay or discouragement, or employers' perceptions of skill decay. But we're finding that when there's no evidence that skills have deteriorated, out-of-work job applicants are still at a disadvantage. The stigma may help explain why the unemployed may have systematically lower chances of reconnecting to work."

Providing different reasons for unemployment - leaving voluntarily, being fired or laid off - did not seem to make any difference. Only when the loss of a job was could not be attributed to the individual in any way, for example bankruptcy on the part of the employer, did the stigma of being unemployed disappear.

The study authors also included Todd L. Pittinsky, an associate professor of technology and society at Stony Brook, and Daniel Walters, a UCLA Anderson M.B.A. student. The UCLA-Stony Brook team's future plans include exploring what, if any, role the state of the economy plays in the psychological stigma of unemployment. They also plan to sample HR professionals to see if they share the same prejudices as the general public.

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Posted in: for Job Less

Human Resource Management Organizational Behavior and Entrepreneurship

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Posted in: HRM Videos

What is Human Resource Management

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Posted in: HRM Videos

Employees must learn to work for higher performance

Business competitions in a globalized economy is stiffer than before. I will not wary stressing that fact. Hence the challenge for organizations, especially small business owners, is greater. Not only employees, but everyone in the organization must strive to put their best in their individual roles to ensure that business plans and strategies are implemented and goals are met. “Getting things done right at the first time and always,” is no longer a TQM (Total Quality Management) fad. It is now a driving force behind performance.

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Posted in: Basics of HRM

Human resource must be managed for performance at all times.

By the way, what is performance management? For the sake of this brief post, let me use Carter Mac Nara’s definition:

    “Simply put, performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. “

Performance management here entails looking beyond what your people are currently doing but aligning these things to your organizational goals and objectives. Unfortunately, sometimes we tend to assume that when employees are busy, they are actually producing results. No! You are actually putting those efforts into waste when they are not checked. Results must be paramount for all those activities. Your employees should be exerting efforts towards meeting your business goals.

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Posted in: Basics of HRM

HRM Basics: Human Resource Management for Performance

Posted by Nor Be the first to comment under Basic HR Management, HRM Notes, Performance Management
Organizations, however the size, who seek and strive to be competitive must do so by motivating and empowering their human resource for greater job performance. Easier said than done. Measuring human performance at work is not easy as it seems. Let alone, motivating and empowering employees for exemplary performance is difficult.

As employers or small business owners, we tend to think that employees are easily motivated by good salary and benefits packages. That is partly true. When employees’ basic needs are met, they are likely motivated to work harder. However, this could only go at certain point. Material rewards is only effective at a level where employees are given the reasons to work. But performing beyond what they are doing, satisfactorily, takes more than the “carrots” or “carrots and sticks” for some.

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Posted in: Basics of HRM