As a human resources (HR) officer I have a clear understanding of my organisation’s business objectives and able to devise and implement policies which will select, develop and retain the right staff needed to meet these objectives(Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Copyright 1997-2007). The exact natures of the work activities will my organisations are likely to include:

Finally as a Human Resources Officer my core objective is act as a mediator between management and employees to achieve overall business objectives. I carry out variety of tasks in order to meet management and employees demands. Which were already clearly mentioned on above.

Role and Responsibilities of Line managers in Human Resources practices

In a mature organization, there are three participants in human resources management: the Board, Executive Director and Line Managers. Line Managers are managers who directly supervise the work of other staff. A line manager is a person who has direct responsibility for employees and their work [] .

This is a simple technique where a group of participants are asked to carry on a discussion about some topic for a specific period of time, e.g. Performance issues, or internal/external alliances or relationships. No-one is appointed leader and assessors do not participate in the discussion, but remain free to observe and rate the performance of each participant. Skills and attributes such as leadership, coaching, customer service orientation, teamwork, building relationships, etc. can be evaluated.

The in-tray test

This is an individual test designed to simulate important or regular tasks associated with the position. Different types of in-tray tests may be designed to correspond to the various requirements of the position, e.g. writing a memo, researching information or analysing data. At the conclusion of the exercise the candidate will have produced notes, memos, letters, etc., which constitute the record of his or her behaviour in completing the task. In-tray exercises permit direct observation of individual behaviour within the context of a job-relevant problem situation.

Planning exercises

These test the candidate’s ability to prioritise, plan activities, schedule and allocate resources, and adapt to last minute changes. This allows assessors to evaluate a candidate’s skills and attributes in planning and judgement. Exercises might involve providing the candidate with some information about a typical project and asking them to draft a project plan or schedule, determine a budget or allocate resources.

Analysis exercises

These evaluate a candidate’s aptitude in analysis and judgement. Candidates are provided with quantitative and qualitative data about a fictitious organisation and asked to draw conclusions, make recommendations, assess the organisation’s situation or improve matters such as productivity, customer relations, organisational structure and morale.

Assessment centres

The assessment centre is traditionally used for large scale or bulk recruitment exercises. Assessment centres vary in complexity and are typically conducted by trained consultants. They can be expensive and complex to administer and are usually more cost effective when recruiting large numbers of people. A typical assessment may run over the course of one or two days and involve trained assessors evaluating a number of candidates using a range of techniques such as interviews, written tests and individual and group exercises. Assessors assimilate evidence from candidate performance across all exercises and incorporate this into a final collective decision (CHIUMENTO, R. 2003).

Physical Testing

Some jobs demand their candidates to meet necessary physical condition to carry out the job safely .E.g. pilots; Truck drivers. Although physical limitations can be expected by the employer, these issues under very scrutiny by the laws. E.g. Discrimination Act .Physiological test can be used for variety of reasons

To revoke conditional employment offers to persons who are found to be physically unable to perform the essential functions

To prevent the spread of contagious diseases to current employees or customers

To document pre-existing injuries and illnesses to prevent fraudulent group insurance or workers compensation claims.

Presentations

Presentations can be used to assess a candidate’s ability to present and speak publicly or to assess his/her knowledge on a given subject area. Applicants should be informed of the criteria on which the presentation will be judged and this criterion should be representative of the person specification.

Applicants should be given guidance on the length of the presentation, be informed who will be in the audience and advised of the facilities available e.g. PowerPoint, overhead projector, flip chart. Likewise the audience should be fully briefed on what they are assessing and asked to rate the presentation against the agreed criteria; all observers should be provided with a copy of the person specification. As a consequence, the audience is more likely to view the performance objectively and less likely to merely record a subjective impression of the presenter.

Redundancy

Redundancy is one of the most traumatic events an employee may experience. Announcement of redundancies will invariably have an adverse impact on morale, motivation and productivity (COLE, K. 2007).

The negative effects can be reduced by sensitive handling of redundant employees and those remaining.

A genuine redundancy only arises when either there has been, or is going to be:

A cessation of business

A cessation of business at the employee’s site

A reduction or cessation of work.

Redundancy selection criteria

Unfair selection for redundancy

An employee dismissed for reasons of redundancy will be found to have been unfairly dismissed if he or she was unfairly selected for redundancy:

for participation in trade union activities, for membership or non-membership of a trade union and in respect of trade union recognition or de-recognition

for carrying out duties as an employee representative or candidate for election for purposes of consultation on redundancies or business transfers

for taking part in an election of an employee representative for collective redundancy purposes

for taking action on health and safety grounds as a designated or recognised health and safety representative, or as an employee in particular circumstances

for exercising or seeking to exercise the right to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing

requesting flexible working arrangements

It should be noted that a redundancy dismissal may also be found to be discriminatory under the Sex Discrimination, Race Relations or Disability Discrimination Acts where selection was on grounds of age, sex, marital status, race, disability, sexual orientation, or religion or belief. Furthermore dismissal may also be considered automatically unfair where the reason or principal reason is redundancy but the circumstances apply equally to other employees who have not been selected

Fair selection for redundancy

If a selection matrix has been agreed in advance with a union or an employee representative body, generally this should be used. Otherwise it is a case of the employer choosing fair criteria. Objective criteria commonly include a selection of the following (see IDS Employment Law Handbook, Redundancy, and Chapter 8):

‘Last in first out’ (LIFO) – an outdated method of sole selection, which can amount to unlawful indirect discrimination against women returning to work after child care

Skill and knowledge – this must be clearly defined and assessed objectively

Attendance records – this can amount to unlawful discrimination against disabled employees and therefore care should be taken as to whether ‘one-off’ illnesses, long-term absences or work-related injury absences are to be included or excluded

Sickness absence – this overlaps with attendance records and care should be taken to avoid any discriminatory effect

Age – at present age discrimination is not unlawful, although it may be unfair, i.e. as the Code of Practice on Age Discrimination may be taken into consideration by tribunals – it may also amount to indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex

Adaptability/flexibility – this is difficult to measure objectively and an unwillingness to relocate may indirectly discriminate against women who tend to be primary carers

Performance – the scoring should be measured as objectively as possible

Disciplinary record

Appeals procedure

Management is also advised to consider the establishment of a redundancy appeals procedure to deal with complaints from employees who feel that selection criteria have been unfairly applied in their case. This can be achieved by involving a more senior member of management or by setting up a committee of management and trade union or employee representatives, to consider individual grievances and any subsequent remedies. An advantage of such a procedure is that complaints about selection for redundancy may be resolved internally and thus reduce the likelihood of complaints to employment tribunals.

Clear HR planning will reduce the cost associated with redundancies. This includes Advance manpower planning, retraining and redeployment programmes. Encouraging early retirements, Etc. ACAS and The Employment protection Act 1975 clearly laid out plans to deal with redundancies. If we follow those steps, we can avoid conflict with employees.

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