Introduction
The human resource department is the lifeblood of any organization because it handles its most valuable resources, the employees. The HR department requires a comprehensive plan to execute all of its roles and responsibilities effectively. The HR plan is essential because it is used to determine the human resource needs, determine the recruitment approach, select the workforce, develop training, create a compensation package, and evaluate employee performance. Meeting the requirements within each aspect of the HR plan will enable the human resource department to operate effectively and meet organizational needs. The report will present a comprehensive human resource plan that contains a recruitment and selection plan, training and development plan, compensation package for workers, legal issues, and a performance appraisal system.
Recruitment and Selection Plan
Recruitment and selection procedures are useful for any organization because they help find the most suitable and capable candidates for different positions. According to Kapur (2019) , a comprehensive recruitment and selection plan is designed to make the best use of employee strengths and capabilities to meet the strategic objectives and goals of the organization or employer. The recruitment and selection process should incorporate screening, sourcing, shortlisting, and selecting the correct candidates for available positions. The recruitment and selection plan has five critical elements; these elements include:
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Job Vacancy and Analysis
The first step in the recruitment and selection plan is appraising the vacant position to determine why the position is vacant or establish whether the organization can function effectively without filling that position. If the organization establishes that the position is critical, HR will conduct a job analysis to determine what skills and expertise are required to fill the position. HR will focus on several crucial aspects including, training or education qualifications, level of work experience, skills and knowledge required to function in that position, personal attributes, communication skills needed, and the overall personality required for this position (Fáilte Ireland, 2013). This is important because it helps create a clear picture of the job requirements and the organization's personnel wants to recruit.
Generating Leads
The human resources department should look to generate leads for vacant positions through advertising vacancies. The HR can advertise vacancies in internal recruitment sources such as intranet or transfers from other departments or external sources such as ads over the internet and job centers. The organization needs to look at internal recruitment to establish whether the organization's existing personnel can meet the position's requirements. This is important because it helps to mitigate recruitment costs, leading to the recruitment of personnel who are familiar with the organization (Fáilte Ireland, 2013). If the existing personnel are not able to meet the job requirement, HR can focus on external recruitment by advertising the position through websites, local, national newspapers, and recruitment agencies
Screening Candidates
After advertising the vacant position, HR will receive a large number of applications. HR should ultimately look to interview fewer people for an extended period to establish viability. To attain this, it is important to screen applications to create the most appropriate candidates for the interview (Fáilte Ireland, 2013). This can be done using the employee specification and job description to compare against the applicant's resume. HR can also conduct short telephone interviews to determine the applicant's suitability.
Interviewing Candidates
Comprehensive interviews will help HR to select applicants that are best suited to the position. HR must ensure that the prepare candidates for the interview by offering adequate notice of the date and time for interviews, provide they are cognizant of any information, documents that you would want them to present, and ensure candidates are aware of the location for the interview (Fáilte Ireland, 2013). The interviewers must also prepare by reviewing the applicant's CVs and compare them to the job description. The organization can also prepare on how they plan to conduct the interview. The interviewers can use the WASP strategy to conduct the interview, i.e., welcome the applicants, acquire information, supply information, and plan and part.
Selecting and Appointing Candidates
When making the final decisions on selecting an applicant for a vacant position, HR must create a job description and applicant's profile at the start of the recruitment procedure. HR can use these criteria to assess the suitability of applicants. The applicant with the highest score can be selected for the position. The applicant with the highest score should be the one who is the most suited for the position because they meet the criteria for selection.
Training and Development Plan
The training and development plan is significant because it helps identify suitable training approaches and activities needed to attain new employees' required learning outcomes. This plan will offer a clear and concise comprehension of what must transpire to meet the training requirements outlined; therefore, new employees receive training in the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to support new positions. Some critical aspects of the training and development plan include:
New Employee Orientation
Human resource service should offer a broad employee orientation and a benefits orientation for new employees. Employees will receive a short description of the organization- its history, services and products, and management. Additionally, the employees will receive basic employment conditions, i.e., insurance, pension scheme, holidays, and work hours. Other integral aspects will include company rules and regulations, leave of absence, sickness, pay, company regulations, disciplinary procedures, promotion procedures, and health and safety procedures.
Departmental Orientation
After the initial orientation, employees must go through departmental orientation. Employees should be taken to their workplace and introduced to their team leaders or managers for the departmental orientation program. The departmental induction will help new employees learn their roles and responsibilities, safety issues, and expected performance (WSU training and development plan, 2009). This is critical because it will allow employees to settle seamlessly within the organization.
Training
Human resource services should ensure that employees regularly receive appropriate on- and off-the-job training to balance business needs with organizational requirements. Employees should receive management and supervisory training to help employees build leadership competencies (WSU training and development plan, 2009). Additionally, employees should be subjected to diversity and equity training to help build a strong working environment by offering sexual harassment, workplace discrimination, and diversity training.
Compensation Package for Employees
It is possible to link employees' compensation package to an organization's business structure, staff recruitment, motivation, retention, performance, satisfaction, and feedback. HR should not look at compensation as to how much employees are paid and how much they are valued. A compensation system entails many essential features, including promotion, recognition, allowances, incentives, bonuses, and salaries ( Osibanjo et al., 2014). A compensation package should be a total reward system that encompasses non-monetary, indirect, and direct elements.
Non-Monetary Compensation
Non-financial compensation refers to the benefits employees receive from the organization that does not encompass any tangible value. Non-monetary compensation offered at the organization will include social and career rewards such as flexible work hours, job security, friendship, task enjoyment, growth opportunities, holidays, employee involvement in decision-making, and praise and recognition ( Fogleman & McCorkle, 2009 ). Non-monetary compensation can be effective in motivating employees to improve performance and increase productivity.
Indirect Compensation
Indirect compensation refers to non-financial benefits offered to employees in addition to their salaries or wages. The organization's indirect compensation package will include a retirement program, moving expenses, child care, health insurance, and social security. Indirect compensation also helps to motivate employees to increase productivity and also helps to improve employee satisfaction which minimizes attrition and increase retention.
Direct Compensation
Direct compensation refers to monetary benefits that encompass an employee's base wage, which can be an hourly wage or annual surgery, in addition to any performance-based pay that may include profit-sharing bonuses ( Osibanjo et al., 2014 ). Direct compensation at the organization will include base pay (salary), incentive pay (bonus pay when specific job requirements are met), stock options (right to purchase a piece of the business that may be given to an employee to reward exemplary service), and bonuses (gift occasionally offered to rewards outstanding performances). HR will determine employees' cash wages by determining their decision-making authority, job description, supervisory capacity, and skill level. The job evaluation strategy can create an equitable wage rate ( Fogleman & McCorkle, 2009 ). This technique uses a rational and systematic method to internal equity since it apprises workers according to responsibility, experience, skills, and education.
Legal Issues
The Human resource department is tasked with strategically managing company employees while remaining compliant with standing laws that govern employer obligation and employee rights. Failure to comply with standing regulations and legislations leave the organization exposed to the risk of financial losses, lawsuits, and reputation damage. There are several topics the HR should focus on to ensure compliance within the organization; these topics include:
Discrimination Laws
The human resource department must ensure compliance with workplace discrimination laws. The human resource department must ensure compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws that protect employees from any form of discrimination based on their religion, age, pregnancy, disability, national origin, sex, genetic formation, or race/ethnicity (Joubert, 2020). The organization will ensure equality and diversity within the organization by ensuring compliance with EPA, ADA, PDA, and ADEA.
Hour and Wage Laws
The human resources department should ensure compliance with laws that protect employee wages and working hours. HR will ensure compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by implementing several critical policies. They include establishing 40 hours of work every week, establishing favorable wages within an organization that complies with the national minimum wage, and establishing overtime pay (Joubert, 2020). Implementation of these regulations will help protect the interest of employees within the work environment.
Workplace Safety Laws
The human resource department will ensure compliance with OSHA to ensure employees can work in a safe working environment. The organization's compliance with OSHA will be overseen by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Joubert, 2020). The organization will also ensure compliance with the worker’s compensation laws to ensure appropriate compensation for employees who got injured at the place of work.
Immigration Law
HR will ensure compliance with the Immigration and National Act (INA) to guarantee that the organization can only employ candidates eligible to work within the United States. Some groups eligible to work for the organization include U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, non-citizen nationals, and foreigners authorized to work (Joubert, 2020). While the organization ensures compliance with immigration laws, HR will also be mindful of existing anti-discrimination laws.
Employment Benefits Laws
The human resource department will ensure compliance with employee benefits laws to protect staff access to benefits. HR will ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act to increase healthcare access for employees from marginalized groups, i.e., those living below the national poverty line. The organization will also ensure compliance with other legislation such as ERISA, HIPAA, and COBRA.
Performance Appraisal System
Performance evaluation is integral for the organization because it offers the employer an opportunity to appraise the contribution of his/her employees. Performance appraisals are central to developing a powerful work team. A performance appraisal system can be used to motivate employees to excel for their growth and for the practice of promoting employee recognition and enhancing communication. The human resource department within the organization will perform appraisals objectively and consistently to protect the organizational performance and ensure efficiency. An effective performance appraisal system should be built on set criteria that will be used to determine effective job performance (Van Dijk & Schodi, 2015). Several elements will be contained in the performance appraisal system. They include standardized appraisal forms, performance measures, disciplinary procedures, and feedback guidelines.
Evaluation Form
HR will ensure that the appraisal is conducted fairly and objectively to shield the organization from legal liabilities and protect the employees' interests. One way HR can ensure consistency in the assessment is by developing an evaluation form. The appraisal form will focus on critical job areas. The evaluation form should include vital aspects, including skills and expertise, quality of work, the volume of work, attitude, and work habits. In every job performance area, the appraiser will have an array of descriptors to choose from (and they include far surpasses requirements, surpasses requirements, satisfy requirements, below requirements, and far below requirements). The appraiser with use the descriptors to determine the overall rating of the employee.
Performance Measures
The human resource will use standard performance measures to appraise an employee's job performance fairly. HR will have to create a current job description for all the employees and develop a standard of performance measure. This will measure an employee's output against the desired quality and quantity goals attached to every task listed within the job description. According to Van Dijk & Schodi (2015), employees will typically raise their performance levels if they know they are being measured or observed.
Feedback Mechanism
HR will also offer procedures for feedback. HR will communicate with all the organization employees to make sure they know the kind of feedback to give and which channel to use, and what to expect from the employer. The feedback mechanism will act as a link between management and employees.
Reward and Disciplinary Procedures
The human resource will also create a reward system for employees who exceed set objectives and a disciplinary process for employees underperforming (Van Dijk & Schodi, 2015). Employees who exceed expectation can receive acknowledgments such as employee of the month. Employees who fail to deliver set objectives will receive warnings and/or termination if they fail to deliver consistently.
Evaluation Schedule
HR will conduct employee appraisals every month. This will help motivate employees to meet their monthly targets. Evaluations must be conducted consistently to ensure that the process does not hurt morale or make employees feel devalued.
Conclusion
The human resource department plays an integral role in the performance of any organization. Developing a comprehensive HR plan will help the HR department operate effectively and dispense its roles and responsibilities. A thorough recruitment and selection procedures will guide the department to hire competent personnel who fit vacant positions within the organization. Developing a training and development plan will help equip new employees with the skills and competencies needed to perform their roles and responsibilities satisfactorily. A compensation package plan will offer guidelines on how employees can receive benefits and remunerations. The human resource department will also look at the legal issues to ensure compliance with state and federal law. The performance appraisal system will evaluate employee performance to motivate employees to increase productivity. The HR plan is integral to the effective operations within the HR department.
References
Fáilte Ireland. (2013). Recruitment and selection: a guide to help you review your existing approach to recruitment and selection. Online Business Tools .
Fogleman, S. L., & McCorkle, D. (2009). Human Resource Management: Employee Compensation Guide. Texas FARMER Collection .
Hughes, C. (2018). Ethical and legal issues in human resource development: Evolving roles and emerging trends . Springer .
Joubert, S. (2020). Laws and regulations every HR professional should know. Northeastern University , https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/hr-laws-to-know/
Kapur, R. (2019). Recruitment and Selection. University of Delhi , https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323829919_Recruitment_and_Selection
Osibanjo, A. O., Adeniji, A. A., Falola, H. O., & Heirsmac, P. T. (2014). Compensation packages: a strategic tool for employees' performance and retention. Leonardo Journal of Sciences , (25), 65-84.
Van Dijk, D., & Schodi, M., M. (2015). Performance Appraisal and Evaluation. Elsevier Ltd., https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282613144_Performance_Appraisal_and_Evaluation
WSU training and development plan. (2009). https://hrs.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Training-and-Development-Plan.pdf
