Unit 16 assignment 1 In this assignment I am working for a large HR consultancy firm which provide project management and specialist consultancy advice for businesses, such as change management which includes relocation, mergers, acquisitions, expansion and contract negotiation.
I will be producing a report which analyses the impact of Brexit on human resource planning and employment skills. Definitions Human resources- Human resources is quite commonly known as personnel in a company, they work for a company or organization and the department responsible for managing resources related to employees, such as the recruiting and hiring of new employees.it also usually includes the training and orientation of current employees as well as employee benefits and retention. Human resources are the place to go if you are unsure on your rights for example if you were denied a holiday as it a result of a term in the contract of employment, human resources would explain your rights and essentially be the middle man in helping the employee understand the technicalities of being employed by your company and how to find equal grounds. Human resource planning- Human resource planning is used as a link between human resource management and the overall strategic plan of an organization. Human resource planning looks for and identifies the current and future needs of human resources to achieve goals for the company. Employment skills- Employment skills are transferable skills from job to job depending on the company you are working for.
For example, you would need good communication skills in any job as it is a key aspect of any job to be able to understand people this would prevent errors due to miscommunication or just a simple lack of communication. Team work is also expected from an individual this is because employers depend on their employees with different job requirements that all work with one another so if one section of the company were to lack in helping others in achieving the overall goals of the company the whole company would feel the punishment which could include not meeting targets or completing work/ essential documents for a deadline. These are just a few examples of employment skills that make an individual employable. In addition to these good subject knowledge and technical understanding is important. It is most likely that the employer will outline a set of skills that they want from the employee.
Or furthermore demand that the employee has prior knowledge or experience of the job role he or she is applying for or is to take training on and/or off the job. Section 1(P1) Internal planning factors Organizational needs- in a rapidly changing market an organization needs to know the targeted market and specifically what they are wanting in order keep climbing in success and keeping everything that they supply relevant.in an increasingly difficult retail environment it needs to become clear that not all customer needs and purchasing habits are the same. I will show how different companies target different audiences in able to stay relevant to their customers, for example Currys rely on destination retailing, there targeted audience would be People who know what they want but are not sure of the specifics such as the make or model Families wanting choice and value People who have planned what they are wanting to buy as it wouldn’t be an impulse buy due to the type of company it is the products in the shop wouldn’t be seen in a state of ‘window shopping’ as it doesn’t appeal to many people to look around the shop as an activity its more of a need to find something that is also needed in the household. The next company would be Dixons which rely mostly on impulsive retailing their target audience would be Smaller businesses who are wanting a product Mostly male of a younger generation wanting the latest smart technology Customers wanting uniqueness or exclusiveness. The third and final business/organization could be Morrisons supermarket as when the self-checkout was introduced they would need: Staff training on how to maintain the machines Extra security staff to watch over machines Funds to purchase the machines Could cause staff to be made redundant so they would need to pay out staff New products and services- These are the factors that relate to what is happening inside the business only and nothing to do with what is happening externally. This includes how the organization is changing to cope with new methods of working or new demands, such as the introduction of technology or new products or services, as staff would need training on how to preform or manufacture the new products and services and would need to be provided with the proper environment, workspace and equipment. It is also a way of considering the new skills that will be needed in the future and those that the existing staff already have, as some staff may already have the knowledge on how to use the machines to manufacture goods although some staff may need training.
A good example for this would be Morrisons supermarkets, when they introduced self-checkout machines staff would have to be trained on how to quickly fix the machines if anything was to go wrong or faulty with them. Skills requirements- Assessing the skills of the current workforce is an essential part of human resources planning as it enables a business to build up a profile of the training, experience and qualifications that employees already have. This is very important whether the business is capital or labor intensive. As the nature and type of work changes within an organization, so do the skills requirements. For example, the Morrisons manager will need to be assertive, a good team leader with excellent communication skills whereas the cashiers will need to have good people skills and be able to think on their feet with the ability to work well as part of a tea or independently. An organization must measure the skills levels of its workforce to plan – appraisals, awards, certificates, expansion, technological changes, etc. Workforce profiles- This means that a manager can view and monitor the types of employee working for the business.
They usually include details such as age, gender, ethnicity and availability. Knowing ages can help you plan and ensures that you fulfill any legislation requirements. Large gaps in ages can cause problems so this allows you to combat this.
Profiling the qualifications and training of your workforce allows a business to make use of any special skills staff members have. Also, during the peak times when lots of staff are required and everybody needs to work faster it would be smart to use the profiles to find the younger members of staff that work at Morrisons and use then on the tills as they must work fast, and they will be a lot quicker than the older members of staff. Although when the shop is at some of its quieter periods and there is only a small amount of staff working it would be better to use the more experienced staff in these times as if anything goes wrong they will have the skills and knowledge to either fix it or work around whereas the younger lesser experienced members of staff may not have the ability to do this. External Planning Factors These are the factors that influence the business from outside its direct control.
So, these are all things that happen outside of the business and none of these things occur internally. Supply of labor- What are the trends of the area the business is in? Is there any trade in that area? Nationally, the supply of labor is dependent on trends in unemployment and the types of skills that are needed by employers. In areas of high unemployment, they will be able to employ a high number of staff although they may not have the right skills.
Labor costs- The cost of labor, as a percentage of the other costs within a business, will depend on whether the business is capital or labor intensive, as well as the extent to which the skills needed by that organization are available and accessible. In the UK, labor costs are also governed by the national minimum wage. Workforce skills- Using published national statistics, organizations can see the types of skills that are available in their local area or region.
Businesses need to consider their future needs and those of their competitors to make sure they attract the right people – this may mean extra incentives being offered. This will mean that Morrisons can get staff experienced in the field of work their looking for, e.g. butcher, fish monger, cashier, security, engineer etc.
.. Government policy- Government policy and changes to education policies can lead to gaps in skills, or gaps in skills being addressed. For example, the government may introduce an education system that provide the engineering skills required to fix the cashier machines and/or self-check-out systems therefore making staff more employable. Labor market competition- As a business plans its workforce needs for the future, so do other businesses within the same industry. There may not be enough skilled employees for each business, so you may need to offer more money to attract the right staff, however, you need to manage your funds well to make a profit.
So, a lucrative wage could attract the already skilled members of staff with more experience away from the other companies such as ASDA, LIDL or Sainsburys and to Morrisons or they can offer other things. Such as the opportunities for career breaks, bonuses if targets are met, commission on certain things or the change of promotion as these can all attract the already skills members of staff from other organizations in the same market that dint offer these things. Changing nature of work- ‘A job for life’ used to be a standard idea in the workplace, but now employees need a wider range of skills and be willing to change employer and job role to stay in work. Overnight working, flexible working hours and working from home are now commonplace in the workplace. Flat organizational structures mean employees may have to move to get a promotion.
Whereas, morrisons supermarkets have a tall organizational structure so don’t struggle with this therefore keep a good staff retention rate. Employee expectations- Differing types of contracts (part-time, full-time, temp, casual, permanent) Everyone is different, and employees may have business at home to take care of meaning they cannot work full-time. So, different members of staff will be expected to work a different number of hours and do certain shifts that other members of staff can’t. And there as certain job roles that will only be delegated to certain members of staff and not others. For example, in Morrisons they will have some staff delegated to filling up the shelves and some that are delegated to working the cashier tills and some staff may be put on the day time shift as they can’t do the night-time shifts due to having a family where as people without a family may be asked to do the night-time shifts. Impact of automation- This addresses the changes in technology over time and how this affects organizations – such as the internet and email, no need for phone operators, customers entering their own details online. At Morrisons they will need to replace their cashier tills with newer faster more modern tills and even scrap them all together to replace with the self-checkout tills.
Demand for products and service- A business may have to alter or change its HR requirements or staff levels based on the natural changes in demand for goods or services. Hotels being affected by natural disasters for example. A competitor bringing out new technology making yours obsolete. Excess capacity is when an organization has too many goods or services on offer compared to the number of customers. Section 2(P2) The skills and talents of employees are very important to businesses/organization as they can add value to the business/organization.
This means that they can make the organization even better or more efficient if full use is made of the individual employees and they play on their best skills. Humans, like other resources such as finance or buildings, need to be used efficiently and usefully for a business to be successful. Like other resources they also need to be paid and planned for, especially if the skills that are required are hard to find as Morrisons wouldn’t want their employees that are highly skills moving to one of their competitors such as TESCO or ASDA. People as organizational Resources: As human resources, are just one of many parts of the set of resources that any organization has available to it (other include; buildings, vehicles and funds etc…), humans should be considered in an objective way and treated like any other resource.
This can be difficult though, due to the nature of human feelings. Therefore, you need to make sure staff are happy and content in the work place. Skill set: The types of human skills that are required to do any job are more commonly known as the skills set someone has. Examples of skills in a skill set could be: -speaking -presenting -confidence -clearly spoken -data analysis -coaching -time management -organized -working machinery -using software -etc.
.. Different jobs have different levels of skills and needs different skill sets. If a job is complicated and demands a high level of education and training, it is going to need a high level of skill from an employee and not an unskilled employee. If it is a job that can be performed with a minimum amount of training, then it is likely to be low skilled.
Considering the range and complexity of skills that are needed is important for human resource planning. A lower skilled job however, can have a high number of tasks associated with it. But a highly skilled job can also have a lot of tasks associated with it, such as a teacher, or any form of educator.
there are also job specific skills that are needed for some jobs to be able to perform their job to the best of their ability and efficiently. Impact of technology Technology is changing the way we work, and it has a significant impact on the number of workers that organizations need to employ, their other resources and the level of technical expertise required. The e-mail, internet and mobile phone has had a massive impact as it has drastically improved communication, so stores can contact other stores they can contact suppliers, staff or communicate between each other to discuss important thing or arrange meeting etc..
. The skills needed of employees to use technology and of organizations to manage the impact on employees and the business will continue to change at the fast pace of technology itself. Changes do not always mean fewer employees, but they often mean changes to the skills required.
