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5HR01 Assessment – Associate Diploma in People Management

5HR01 Assessment – Associate Diploma in People Management [November 2021-2023] Page 1 of 4

 

LEVEL 5 ASSOCIATE DIPLOMA IN PEOPLE MANAGEMENT

 

UNIT ASSESSMENT

 

Unit Title Talent Management and Workforce Planning
Unit Code 5HR02
Level 5
Credit value 6
Assessment method Written report
Period November 2021 – November 2023
Learning outcomes: 1. Understand key contemporary labour market trends and theirsignificance for workforce planning.2. Understand the purpose and importance of workforce planning.3. Understand the purpose and impact of effective talentmanagement.4. Understand the importance of managing contractual arrangementsand effective onboarding.a. Carry out a study to explain the relative strengths and weaknessesof your organization’s competitors, in terms of their employerbranding, work culture and employee satisfaction.b. Compare your own practices with the competition and discussrecommendations on how you can place yourself strategically tobecome an employer of choice.c. Briefly discuss the significance of tight and loose labour marketconditions on your organization.d. Reflect on the current labour trends in your market using PESTELanalysis and explain the impact on resourcing.e. Applying the Higgs model (2004), identify which of the fourorganisational positions you would place your organisation andthat of your competitors.
Assessment Criteria Assessment briefAssume your company is facing increased labour turnover issues in recent months. As a talent manager you are assigned to present a report on the following:
1.1
1.2

 

5HR01 Assessment – Associate Diploma in People Management [November 2021-2023] Page 2 of 4

 

1.3
2.1 a. Communicate with the recruitment team within your organizationto enquire about the challenges faced in talent acquisition duringthe past one year for a selected job(s).b. Analyse the availability of skilled labour in the local market forthe job position. Assuming you face a shortage to recruit for thisrole, how would you address the gap in supply and demand?
2.2 c. Consider the discontinuities that have occurred in your organisation’s workforce plans over the past two to three years impacting the business environment. How far were these predicted? Evaluate two effective techniques you could use to forecast employee demand for a selected job role.
2.3 d. You are assigned by your superior to design your company’ssuccession planning program for the various departmentalmanagement positions. What guidelines would you suggest?e. Assume that your company is facing an image crisis, due tonegative publicity following a social media video trending onlinewhere some employees have spoken out against allegeddiscrimination and bullying within your workplace. Explain howcontingency planning would support mitigate such risks.
2.4 f. Think about people you know who have been recruited to seniorposts internally and externally. What different qualities do youthink each candidate brings to their role?g. Today’s industries have shifted primarily to recruitments usingonline platforms such as jobsites and social media, includingLinkedIn. Assess the pros and cons of common recruitmentmethods. For a selected job-role in your organisation, whichmethod would you deem appropriate?h. If you were applying for a job, would you like to be interviewedusing behavioural questions? Describe the advantages anddisadvantages from the perspective of the company and thecandidate.

 

f. Give a brief description on the role of government, employers, and trade unions in ensuring future skills needs are met with reference to the Kingdom of Bahrain (or a country of your choice).

 

5HR01 Assessment – Associate Diploma in People Management [November 2021-2023] Page 3 of 4

 

i. Aside from interviewing, what other methods of selection are used in your organization? Discuss their suitability of purpose.
3.1, 3.2 a. Click on the link below to access the ‘CIPD’s 2020 Resourcingand Talent Planning survey’.https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/resourcing-and-talent-planning- 2020_tcm18-85530.pdfBased on the information, summarize the following:• What does the report say about the cost of hiring staff?• What is the current average level of employee turnover?• What are the most popular methods used to improveemployee retention?b. Interview few of your work colleagues to find out why theychoose to remain in your organization. Discuss with theresponsible HR to reflect on the retention trends in yourorganisation. Compare the effectiveness of any 2-3 retentionmethods being used.
3.3, 3.4 c. Prepare an evaluation statement for each of the following termsthat summarizes your understanding of how these are usefulapproaches to build suitable talent pools:• Action learning• corporate university• e-learning• bite sized learning• coaching• mentoring• development centred. Find out how coaching is used in your own organisation – whodoes it, who is coached, what are the intended outcomes?e. Review effective diversity policies from top companies that mightbe suitable to be implemented within your organization. Assesstheir benefits to managing the talent pool.

 

5HR01 Assessment – Associate Diploma in People Management [November 2021-2023] Page 4 of 4

 

3.5 f. Reflect on a situation in your organization when one (or more) ofthe top performers / key employees left your organization. Couldthe management have predicted and corrected the situation?g. Discuss how the departure of the employee(s) affected yourcompany’s work processes. Include examples of direct andindirect costs related the turnover.
4.1, 4.2 a. You are assigned to release an offer letter to a candidate whohas been appointed in your organisation for the post ofadministrative assistant as a full-time employee. Draft an offerletter with written statements of terms and conditions ofemployment.b. Studies show that millennials are less keen on working full-timejobs and prefer flexible jobs. The Covid-19 pandemic revealedthat working from home is an effective option as well. Write ashort note on trends in the types of contracts, including ‘zerohour contracts’ and the ‘gig economy’. Assess how thesecontracts cater to employer and employee needs.c. Reflect on an occasion when someone’s psychological contractwas breached by an organisation you are familiar with. Discussthe reasons for the breach and its consequences.
4.3 d. Different organizations have their own systems for providingeffective onboarding experiences for staff. Explain some of thevital components for onboarding new employees to improve jobsatisfaction and retention.e. Reflect on your own onboarding experience when you joined yourcurrent organization. Suggest how the process could have beenbetter improved to support your ability to smoothly fit into thejob role while appreciating the organizational culture and norms.
Evidence required from trainee:• A written formal report of up to approximately 3900 words.• Preferred Font: Arial 12, black, double spacing.• Trainee should relate academic concepts, theories and professional practice to the wayorganizations operate, in a critical and informed way, and with reference to key texts,articles and other publications and by using examples relating to both local andinternational organizations for illustration.• All reference sources should be acknowledged correctly, and a bibliography providedwhere appropriate (these should be excluded from the word count).

Talent Management and Workforce Planning

5HR02 – Student PPT Slides LO1

5HR02 – Student Handout LO1

5HR02 – Unit Assessment – STUDENTS

Answer

Talent Management and Workforce Planning

 

1.1(a) Carry out a study to explain the relative strengths and weaknesses of your organization’s competitors, in terms of their employer branding, work culture and employee satisfaction.

The main competitor to our company is known as Airtel PLC. The company has a very good employer branding where its employees use social media to share exciting work, enriching and enticing activities about the company. For instance it achieved great success when it launched Payment bank by its employees capitalizing on social media.  On work culture, the firm is a good company to work in by the virtue that it has shift working and has regular training and developments as well as fun activities. The company’s employees report good satisfaction rates stemming from competitive salaries that they are offered and that their heads of departments guide their employees and their relations are very friendly.

Some of the weaknesses on employer branding is that the company has largely been dependent on outsourced for some of its branding. This dependency on other companies for branding always comes at a cost on the way the company is branded out there. (Apress, 2019). Some of its work culture does not augur well with customers. For instance, only a few staff report to work during public holidays and this affects service delivery. Frequent transfers sometimes are a hiccup to employee satisfaction.

1.1(b) Our company practices compared to competition and how we can place ourselves strategically to become an employer of choice

Our company has good practices that motivate employees. For instance the company has very many give-aways and lunch. It could borrow from Airtel and introduce regular trainings to keep employees abreast with emerging issues. The company should also introduce good salaries that are better or at least matching those of competition.

1.2 (c) The significance of tight and loose labour market conditions on our organization.

           Our company normally sells phones, airtime, calling and SMS services. When the labour market is tight, demand for airtime and other services is high and this means most employees are engaged and the company is forced to hire temporary staff or interns to fill in the gap. The company also sets aside money meant to pay for extra hours worked. The loose labor market conditions happen when not many customers are willing to buy our services (Pedraza, Guzi & Tijdens, 2021). The company at this time only works with a lean staff and the temporary staff get relieved their duties. At this period there is little salary increment.

1.2 (d) Reflection on the current labor trends in the market using PESTEL analysis and the impact on resourcing.

Political factors: Individuals at the company earn different salaries even if they have similar title and experience as one another. There is lots of individualism at the company. There is no maintenance of the same salary of the job for qualified employees. Every employee has to fight for what they want.

Economic factors: The company like many others is being affected by globalization. The HR in keeping up with market changes has opened a talent tool. This has enabled it to hire remote workers as well as overseas workers too.

Social factors: The company no longer hires employees based on location as was the case before. It now hires employees from all over the world. The company accommodates all categories of employees and fathoms that employee rights differ by location.

Technological factors: The company has adopted various technologies which has enabled it send communication easily with its employees. Technology has made it easy to do recruitment as it keeps CVs in databases where they can easily be retrieved when needed.

Environmental: The company has cut much on paperwork and focused on digital space for keeping information. This means that there is less carbon emission.

Legal factors: The employer hires employees based on legally binding contracts. The HR abides by many legalities like confidentiality. A background check is done on all employees before they are hired so that it does not face legal consequences later on.

1.2 (e) Higgs model organizational position to be applied

I would say that my organization applies the employer of choice component of Higgs model. The company remunerates its employees well and they are treated well. Our main competitor also applies this component of the model. Airtel Company is also credited for paying its employees well and offering them good growth opportunities but not as better as our company.

1.3 (f) Role of government, employers and trade unions in ensuring future skills needs are met

         The government should create friendly trade policies so that companies are able to employ different skills from different areas. The government should be able to give employee permits even for outsiders so that companies are able employ from a wide pool of people (Aylott, 2014). The government can come up with future skills platforms which will help in reskilling in the tech sector. This will help in ensuring that new technologies like IoT, blockchain and AI is well received since these skills will be available. The government should also have a program of prioritizing skills over degrees. It should work closely with the industry in formulating relevant training programs. The world of the future is not pegged on degrees as employers are keen on skills, critical thinking, problem solving and agility. The government should move towards reskilling in the effort to promote more inclusiveness and employability. It can also develop a vision of lifelong learning so that companies and public institutions can respond quickly to changes in the economy.

The employers on the other hand should be able to sensitize training needs that they need in the workplace. This will enable schools to be able roll out courses that equip people with the necessary skills that are needed in the business. The employers should work closely with universities and other schools as well as graduate recruitment programs so that degrees that are developed meet skills of the future. This way the graduates that are churned out every year get equipped with the necessary skills that will enable them handle the future.

The employers should introduce apprenticeships and traineeships in their recruitment strategy. This should start by targeting students who get prepared with skills and knowledge that prepare them for the future business. The employers should encourage its workforce to always learn new things and they should be able to support them financially (Aylott, 2014). They should keep them informed and inspired to follow the industry statistics and information from other parts of the globe.

. Trade unions should make sure that employers practice fairness and abide by rules that make the working environment comfortable. They should also fight oppressive and unfair rules to employees. They should also identify the skills that corporates need in the future. Most workers are unable to admit they lack some skills for fearing that they might lose their jobs. However, they will be at ease communicating the same to their unions. Trade unions are able to easily win confidence of their members and this gives them insights regarding the current and future skill needs.

 

 

 

  • (a) The challenges faced in talent acquisition during the past one year for selected job(s).

One of the main challenges in talent acquisition happens to be finding and engaging quality talent (Chun & Evans, 2014). It becomes rather hard to quickly find the required roles through the conventional methods. 40% of employees always consider changing jobs year in year out. The other challenge happens to be high recruitment costs. In order to cut costs, it is always common to find companies taking shortcuts in recruitments making them not get the right talent. Companies are also unable to implement and use technology effectively and developing the right strategies for talent acquisition. They also face the challenge of getting a diverse and inclusive workforce which is what most potential employees look for when seeking employment. Implementing a talent acquisition strategy that supports a company’s ideal requires quite a time which may not be forthcoming.

2.1(b) How to address the gap in supply and demand when faced with shortage to recruit for roles.

                  The first thing would be to train the existing employees in order to make up for the shortage in skilled workers to prepare them to fill the existing gaps. Knowledgeable employees can be used to teach others using their expertise. Outside training can also be used where employees are taken back to school. Secondly, the existing employees can be advised to apply their skills in a different way. The company can also partner with the nearby educational facilities and offer training on skills that are needed (Chandor, 2017). The company can also open itself up to apprenticeships to help cultivate the next generation of workers. The company can also fill in the gap by hiring contingency workers. It can hire consultants, contingent workers or contractors on a short term basis. This set of employees is ideal as they bring in their expertise within the confines of the stated timeframe, the budget and project.

 2.2(c) Consider the discontinuities that have occurred in your organisation’s workforce plans over the past two to three years impacting the business environment. How far were these predicted? Evaluate two effective techniques you could use to forecast employee demand for a selected job role.

               Our company has adopted using performance contracting as a form of hiring employees. This has had good and bad side. The good side is that the company has reaped big since productivity has increased a great deal (Kristiansen, 2017). The fact that employees have to sign performance contracts has translated to good performance. The downside is that employees have been forced to work extra hours in order to meet targets set. Most of the employees have been unable to take in this pressure and have opted to leave the company. It takes a lot of time and resources to train another employee which disadvantages the company.

To forecast employee demand for a selected role, the company will use the Markov model. It will list all the employees with their skills, training, experience, ability level and their current role as well as the roles that desire to be in future. These reports will help the HR management forecast demand probability and the number of hires needed for a particular role and also know the role that most employees desire to be in. The company will also rely on the opinion of leaders who through their own judgment will be able to tell the most demanded roles in the company.

2.3(d) Guidelines for succession planning program in the company

The first guideline will be to pinpoint succession candidates that will replace candidates that are supposed to shift or be moved to other department or retire. This should be based on experience and seniority (Mason, Dies & Morgan, 2020). The employees will also be asked to apply for various positions that emerge and filling these positions will be based on experience as well as education level. There will also be a policy for letting employees know that they will be singled out for positions as they increase in performance. There will also be professional development efforts for various roles so that employees can fill in easily roles that other employees vacate. The employees will be asked to pick the training programs that they want to learn or participate in. The HR manager will also offer an advisory role on how employees can do this training and the particular training programs that will be rolled out at a certain time. The succession plan will also be integrated in the hiring strategy.

  • (e) How contingency planning would support mitigate of negative publicity by discriminated employees in the workplace

Contingency planning would help put in place money and finances that can be used to deal with such problems. It would help the management prepare and know how to handle such a situation when it emerges.

  • (f) Think about people you know who have been recruited to senior posts internally and externally. What different qualities do you think each candidate brings to their role?

The company has the operations manager who has over 18 years of experience and is well versed in handling telecommunications. The company’s human resources manager has over 15 years’ experience in handling employee settlement and other claims. The CEO has worked in 7 different companies and brings in sizeable amount of knowledge and experience that is required to push the company further.

  • (g) The pros and cons of common recruitment methods.
  • Recruitment agencies

Pros

  • The hiring speed is quick
  • They help in getting quality candidates since recruitment agencies professionally source quality candidates

Cons

  • They are costly
  • They hardly ensure a cultural fit
  • Outsourcing providers

Pros

  • Does not require to hire additional employees internally
  • Has an access to a larger talent pool

Cons

  • Results in communication issues
  • The employer or the company does not have a level of control

(iii) Offshoring

  • There is reduced labor costs
  • There is improved efficiency and staff satisfaction

For a selected job-role in your organisation, which method would you deem appropriate?

       I would settle on using recruitment agencies in order to benefit from the rigorous process that they use which will enable me get high quality employees.

2.4 (g) The advantages and disadvantages of using behavioural questions from the perspective of the company and the candidate.

The advantages

The candidate gets the advantage in that the exercise focuses on his experience. The company is able to get insights into how a candidate thinks.

The disadvantages

Candidates are required to prepare more for this kind of interview. The interview questions also tend to focus more on negative situations and they take more time. The company has to prepare also for the interview which is not an easy undertaking.

2.4 (i) Aside from interviewing, what other methods of selection are used in your organization? Discuss their suitability of purpose.

The company uses a resume sorting process. This involves going through resumes that are sent from time and then picking the one that has what the company needs.  The company also gives assignments that potential employees are asked to do. Those that answer the questions to the expected level are given the jobs. The other means includes candidate references. This involves employees in the organization recommending potential employees who can be given jobs when they emerge.  These methods are used mostly when there is no time to do formal interviews.

  1. ‘CIPD’s 2020 Resourcing and Talent Planning survey

3.1 The report states that the cost of hiring senior management has gone down while that of hiring other category of employees has remained the same. The current average level of employee turnover the report notes is 16%.  The report notes that the most popular methods used in improving employee retention include increasing learning and development prospects, increasing salaries and revising the manner in which employees are rewarded so that their efforts are better recognized.

3.2. Employees state some of the reasons why they chose to stay include the fact that they feel respected, recognized and valued. They also acknowledge that they are inspired to work smarter, are paid well and that there are good benefits and incentives. Upon discussion with the employee I would say that paying employees well stands out as the best method of having employees sticking. This way, they feel appreciated and that the company recognized their effort. Inspiring employees to work smart inspires the employee to be always on top of their game and when they get the recognition upon delivering, they feel motivated to stay in the company.

3.3 (c)

  • Action learning. This involves grouping individuals into small groups of people with the intention of equipping them with skills that a company will need in the near future.  
  • Corporate university. This involves setting up a university-style campus by a company to provide tailored learning, training and development activities for its staff.
  • E-learning. This involves putting learning materials on the company’s intranet where employees can obtain information
  • Bite sized learning. Involves breaking down e-learning content into small bits that are easier for employees to digest at their own pace.
  • Involve one employee teaching others information that he has based on experience or book knowledge
  • Development centre. Forum where employees share their experience of job related development policies.

3.4 (d) How coaching is used in our organisation

Coaching in our company is normally done by top managers to the junior employees. This is normally done so that the senior employees can impart good lessons and skills to the upcoming managers of the future (Rael, 2018).

3.4 (e) Effective diversity policies from top companies that might be suitable to be implemented within our organization. Assess their benefits to managing the talent pool.

The company will need to hire from outside the country. This will enrich the culture diversity that exists in the institution. The company will also need to do regular benchmarking trips so that employees get to learn what happens in other similar companies. This will enable the company borrow best practices from them.

3.5(f) Reflection on a situation in our organization when one of the top performers / key employees left your organization. Could the management have predicted and corrected the situation?

One senior manager came up with an idea that got shot down by the senior managers. This employee believed in the idea and went to pitch it to a rival competitor. The competitor bought the idea and asked the employee to shift to them. This idea went on to work well for the rival. The company could have corrected the situation by not merely dismissing it. They should have given it a try rather than dismiss it altogether.

3.5 (g) Discuss how the departure of the employee(s) affected your company’s work processes. Include examples of direct and indirect costs related the turnover

                    The employee left with a very good idea. He also went to the rival with very good secrets of the company that began to be implemented there. Our company’s revenues dipped as a result and the competition with the rival company became even stiffer.

4.1 (a) Offer letter to a candidate who has been appointed in our organisation for the post of administrative assistant as a full-time employee spelling out terms and conditions of employment.

+17098888885

ahaha@ghiju.com

22.10.2022

Appointment for the position of admin assistant.

Dear Nabi

I am writing to congratulate you on the appointment for the position of admin assistant as advertised in the local dailies. Welcome to partner with us as we push the company to great heights.

Your roles will include but not limited to

  Handling administrative requests and queries from senior managers

  Organizing and scheduling appointments with admin software

  Planning meetings and taking detailed minutes

Your monthly salary will be USD 3000 per month. You will also be entitled to company pension and company medical cover.

Regards,

 

Riya Ashok

 

4.2(b) Trends in the types of contracts, including ‘zero-hour contracts’ and the ‘gig economy’. Assess how these contracts cater to employer and employee needs.

 

Zero hour contracts also referred to as casual contracts. Most of the generation Z takes comfort in such kind of an arrangement. They mostly comprise someone working when they are needed only (Roberts, 2015). They normally do not involve a specified work. The workers under this contract are entitled to statutory annual leave and the national minimum wage.

Gig economy involves temporary jobs and part time positions by independent contractors. They come with the advantage of flexibility and independence but offer little security to the employee (Roberts, 2015).

Freelancing is the other kind of employee arrangement where an employer advertises some type of work that they need to be done and then someone who matches the skills required takes the job and handles it. The employee and the employer do not need to meet and can be in different regions.

All these forms of employment are advantageous to an employee as they give them room to exercise other side jobs. The employers are disadvantaged in that they cannot guarantee loyalty. However they get the advantage that they can always have someone who can do any of their work.

4.3 An occasion when someone’s psychological contract was breached by an organization. I am familiar with. Discuss the reasons for the breach and its consequences

Our company had this unwritten contract that there was supposed to be a salary increment every year at the month of April. So there is this year when the increment was not effected on the said month. The increment was postponed to the month of October. The reason was that the company was not well financially that year. The management decided that the increment was going to be done once the business fortunes came to stability and this only came to happen in October. The problem with this change is that some employees had already started budgeting for the increment and when it did not come as usual, their plans were thrown into disarray.

4.3 (d) Different organizations have their own systems for providing effective onboarding experiences for staff. Explain some of the vital components for onboarding new employees to improve job satisfaction and retention.

The first component happens to be initial orientation. This sets the tone for a new employee by introducing him or her to the institution (Arthur, 2019). The employee is updated on the going-ons of the company that they are working for. This helps in shaping the new employee’s vision and their culture for the institution.

The second component is functional training. This enables employees get an overview of what the institution offers and also makes them familiar regarding the systems of the company like the IT systems, the pillars of the company and others. Training can be system training, role specific training and on the job training. The third component is the role clarification sessions where expectations, priorities, deliverables and decision making preferences are stated. The fourth component is team assimilation where the new employee just joins the system and learns the going-ons step by step until they can pull all the strings by themselves. The last component is leadership assessment. This normally happens after an employee has stayed in the company for a while. The leaders will do their own assessment and pick those that they feel have obtained the necessary skills with time.

4.3 (e) My own onboarding experience when I joined my current organization. Suggestion on how the process could have been better improved to support my ability to smoothly fit into the job role while appreciating the organizational culture and norms.

           When I joined my company I was taken through an orientation process for three months. This involved being rotated through all the departments in the company and learning what happens in every department. This better prepared me to know what happens in every department. It also enabled me to know the best department that suited me to my liking. I feel that this process can be improved by adding training.  This training should happen once the employee is employed. Being rotated through all the departments is not enough. There are things that this rotation will not teach you. Therefore combining the rotation process with formal training or induction would bring out a quality on boarding experience.  I also think it would be advisable for the employee to be taken through an exam once the induction is done.    Having an exam will make employees becomes serious with the entire process. There is no one who likes to be seen as a failure.

 

 

References

Apress. (2019). Branding and design.

Arthur D. (2019). Recruiting interviewing selecting & orienting new employees (Sixth). Harpercollins Leadership an imprint of HarperCollins.

Aylott E. (2014). Employee relations. Kogan Page Limited.

Chandor A. (2017). Choosing and keeping computer staff : recruitment selection and development of           computer personnel. Taylor and Francis.

Chun E. B. & Evans A. (2014). The new talent acquisition frontier : integrating hr and diversity          strategy in the private and public sectors and higher education (First). Stylus Publishing LLC.

Kristiansen M. B. (2017). Performance contracting. The International Journal of Public Sector Management 170–188.

Mason S. R. Dies K. G. & Morgan L. (2020). The leaders within : engagement leadership             development and succession planning. Health Administration Press

Pedraza P. Guzi M. & Tijdens K. (2021). Life satisfaction of employees labour market tightness         and matching efficiency. International Journal of Manpower 341–355.

Rael R. (2018). The traits of today’s cfo : a handbook for excelling in an evolving role (Second).        CGMA.

Roberts S. (2015). Zero hour contracts. Advocate: Journal of the National Tertiary Education       Union 5–5.