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Overview

The first three units established the fact that in today’s competitive market-place a company’s human capital (human resources) is its most valuable asset.The HR planning and recruitment process then becomes the most critical HRactivity as it seeks to provide the company with the right people for the tasksto be performed, in the appropriate numbers, to ensure effective delivery ofproducts and services. The human resource planning process consists offorecasting, goal setting and strategic planning, and programme implementa-tion and evaluation. Each of these will be discussed in detail.

This Unit will introduce you to the different methods of HR planning andforecasting; explain different types of recruitment and selection activitieswhich are traditionally used in the field; look at application procedures aswell as the relationships that exist between employee and management, andhow these are regulated, or not, by the legal system of a country.

This Unit is divided into three sessions:

Session 4.1 Human Resource PlanningSession 4.2 The Recruitment and Selection ProcessSession 4.3 Employee Relations, Health, Safety and Working Conditions

Learning Objectives

On completion of this unit, you should be able to:

1. Assess the HR needs of a company in keeping with its strategic goals,through any one of the several methods of HR forecasting presented

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2. Evaluate the effectiveness of a human resource planning programme

3. Compare different methods of HR forecasting

4. Explain the process of forecasting personnel requirements

5. Plan and implement an effective recruitment programme

6. Discuss the types of environmental factors which impact recruitment

7. Explore new and innovative methods of recruitment and selection

8. Administer selection/employment tests

9. Discuss the laws in your country which impact on employee/manage-ment relations

Readings

Marilyn Carroll, Mick Marchington, et al., “Recruitment in Small Firms:Processes, Methods and Problems,” Employee Relations, Vol. 21 No. 3.

Timothy Butler and James Waldroop, “Job Sculpting,” Harvard Business Review,September–October 1999.

Martin J. Gannon, Patrick Flood, and Jaap Paauwe, “Managing HumanResources in the Third Era: Economic Perspective,” Business Horizons, May–June 1999.

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Defining Human Resource Planning

We will begin our discussion on human resource planning by giving yousome definitions by various writers, to think about.

• “Human resource planning is the process by which organizationsanticipate future staffing needs and plan programmes to ensure thatthe correct number and type of employees are available whenneeded.” (Fisher, Schoenfeldt, and Shaw1996, p. 89)

• “Human resource planning: The process of determining the staffingrequirements necessary to carry out an organization strategy, alsoreferred to as personnel planning.” (J.M. Higgins 1994, p. 425)

As you may have noted there are many definitions put forward by differentwriters on the same topic – human resource planning. What we have noticedis that they are all basically saying the same thing in different words. How-ever, you must keep in mind that it is important to know at least one formaldefinition.

Now in any consideration of human resource planning, there are some basicunderlying principles which must be understood:

1. Human resource planning represents a major competitive advantage2. Human resource planning is linked to strategic and business planning3. Effective utilisation of human resources is a vital issue4. Effective human resource planning provides a way for assessing current

practices and identifying future needs5. Effective human resource planning can contribute to cost effective and

productive utilisation of human resources6. Effective human resource planning can help manage the dynamics in the

environment impacting on the workforce

The process of human resource planning is another of the key functions ofthe HR manager. This is where the life blood of the company flows. Thus, ittakes an astute expert in the field to maintain the company’s staff strength atthe full capacity needed at the particular point in time, because based on thecurrent market trends in a globalized world trade, this will prove to be the

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toughest part of the human resource manager’s job. Just consider all thefactors that you know are acting in congruence out there in the marketplace.

Perhaps you might want to think about this by mind mapping some of theideas you have identified as you read the preceding paragraph. Jot these downon your notepad before reading the next paragraph. As you read, makemental and physical note of interlocking ideas. If your ideas are different, writedown some questions you might want to ask your Course Coordinator later.

We will now list a few of these factors:

• The reduction of bureacracies resulting in flatter organisations• A strong focus on work teams instead of individuals• Increased worker responsibility for production levels• The move away from job descriptions• The concept of the de-jobbed company as expressed in Unit 4• Worker control over work outputs• The concept of the boundaryless organisation• Less supervision, increased worker responsibility• Workforce diversity – increasing numbers of women in the workplace,

older workers, contract workers• The free market system

The above list gives us an indication of the kind of work environment that isnow emerging, and so leads us into examining a little more closely the broadsocietal trends in HR planning. This develops a rationale for the events thatare currently unfolding in the global marketplace.

These societal trends affect employers in two major ways, through:

1. Consumer markets, which affect the demand for goods and services2. Labour markets, which affect the supply of people available to produce

the goods and services

However, the wide variation in consumer demands creates a correspondingneed to have a flexible workforce that can grow and shrink quickly. Thiswould not necessarily be a desirable situation for either employers or employ-ees in that workers want a secure job and not a situation where they live infear of losing their jobs as fast as consumer demand changes. The employers,on the other hand, want to have the most experienced and competent em-ployees and would also lose their best employees if they had to keep reducingand improving staff strength continuously. Herein lies a dilemma for HRplanners who have the difficult challenge of reconciling these two environ-mental forces. Any firm that can rise to this kind of challenge will gain thecompetitive advantage over its competitors.

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Noe et al., (1996) in their discussion on the topic, suggest that there are threekeys to effectively utilising labour markets to a company’s competitive advantage:

1. Companies must have a clear idea of their current configuration ofhuman resources. That is, they ought to know the strengths and weak-nesses of their present stock of employees.

2. Organisations must plan for their future and know how the presentconfiguration of employees will fit into the future needs.

3. Where there are discrepancies between the present configuration and thatneeded for the future, the organisation needs to address these.

Strategic Human Resource Planning

There are many organisations that engage in human resource forecasting butdo not yet have a system of strategic human resource planning. The reasonmay be that a firm’s environment will affect the degree to which HR planningactivities are integrated with its strategic planning. Foresight is necessary toensure that appropriate staffing will be available to carry out the organisation’splans. If the situation is one of say, a declining economy, planning aheadbecomes even more critical for preventing overstaffing and the subsequentneed for layoffs. It is believed that firms that have experienced staffingproblems and those which exist in unstable environments and face stiffcompetition are more likely to include the HR planners in their corporatestrategic planning process. Let us stop for a minute, and take a peek at howwe in the Caribbean fare in circumstances such as these.

First we will ask, are our HR managers involved or included in the developmentof the strategic plan in Caribbean organisations? If the answer is yes, then towhat extent? Let us examine this a little further. For those of you who re-sponded positively, explain the extent of the HR manager’s participation in thestrategic planning process. Is it a situation where the planning takes place andthe HR manager is handed some instructions stating what is required of him orher? Or, is it a situation in which he or she was part of the decision makingcommittee that arrived at those decisions through discussion and dialogue?You may want to ask your HR manager this, the next time you both have a talk.

Factors to Consider in Forecasting HR Needs

Like all good plans, employment plans are built on premises or basic assump-tions about the future. The purpose of forecasting is really to develop thesebasic premises. So when you are planning for your employment requirementsthere will be a need for three sets of forecasts: one for personnel needs; one forthe supply of inside candidates and one for the supply of external candidates.

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Dessler (1997, p. 120) points to some factors that he considers important inforecasting personnel needs:

• The demand for the firm’s product or service is one very importantfactor. That is why in a manufacturing firm, for example, the volumeof sales is first projected, then the volume of production required tomeet the volume of sales is determined. Then an estimate of the staffneeded to maintain this volume of output is carried out

• Projected turnover, that is, in terms of resignations, terminations,death and migration

• Quality and nature of the employees; that is, in relation to what theplanner sees in terms of the changing needs of the firm

• Decisions to upgrade the quality of products or services, or to enterinto new markets

• The technological and administrative changes resulting in increasedproductivity

• The financial resources available to the planner’s department

Forecasting is the first step in the HR planning process in which the HRmanager seeks to identify the supply of, and demand for, the various humanresources. The primary aim here is to predict areas in the organisation wherethere will be shortages and where there will be surpluses. For both the supplyand demand sides, forecasting can be done in two ways, using either statisticalmethods or judgemental methods. However, because of the complementarystrengths and weaknesses of the two methods, firms which engage in HRplanning tend to take a balanced approach by using both statistical andjudgmental methods.

Statistical Methods Used in HR Forecasting

There are special techniques or quantitative (statistical) methods available tothe HR manager for performing HR forecasting activities. The names may benew to you but they are easy to remember, and easily understood. Thesemethods are:

1. Trend analysis2. Ratio analysis3. Scatter plot analysis4. Computerised forecasting5. Simple mathematical methods, e.g., productivity ratio; learning curve

analysis6. Complex mathematical methods, e.g., multiple regression, linear

programming

Let’s discuss these in further detail.

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Trend Analysis

Trend analysis involves the study of a firm’s past employment needs over anumber of years, for example, five years, in order to be able to predict whatthe future needs will be. For example, you could compute the number ofemployees in your firm at the end of each of the last five years, or perhaps thenumber in each subgroup (like sales staff, production staff, secretarial, andadministrative staff) at the end of each of those years. The purpose is toidentify employment trends that you think could continue into the future. Asthe HR manager breaks down this study into departments or job groups, atthe end of the period a trend will be observed. This will help to predict thefuture needs of the department or the job group.

Trend analysis is quite valuable as an initial estimate, but one must keep inmind that the factors do not remain rigid. So there could be changes in thesales volume or in the volume of production and these changes can affect thefuture staffing needs.

Ratio Analysis

Ratio analysis is a forecasting technique for determining future staff needsusing ratios between sales volume and number of employees needed. Thehuman resource manager or the line manager can use this technique to makeprojections for staff needed in the future by simply making estimates basedon the ratio between factors such as (a) sales volume and (b) the number ofemployees needed.

Example: Your company sold $10m worth of ginger roots in 1998, using fivesales persons. Now the projected sales figure for the year 2001–2, is $20m.How many sales persons will the company need to accomplish this, assumingthat all things remain equal? Did you say 10 sales persons? You got it!

Ratio analysis can also be used to forecast other employee requirements. If,for example, the sales volume went up dramatically over the last two yearsand there is a bright projection for the trend to continue, you can use ratioanalysis to compute how many new secretaries you will need to deal with thenew projected volume of sales for your company.

Scatter Plot Analysis

This technique is defined as a graphical method used to help identify therelationship between two variables. If, for example, the HR manager wantedto know if the business activity and the staffing levels are related, thistechnique is the one he or she will use to find out. Dessler (1997, p. 121) givesa very good illustration of this technique which we will now examine.

Example: A 500-bed hospital projected to expand to 1200 beds over the nextfive years. The HR manager needs to forecast the requirements for registered

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nurses. So the question arises, what is the relationship between the number ofbeds (size of hospital) and the number of trained nurses? To find this out,data are collected from five other similar institutions of different sizes and thefollowing figures were received:

Size of Hospital Number of

No. of beds Registered Nurses

200 240

300 260

400 470

500 500

600 620

700 660

800 820

900 860

If we were to draw this example, the hospital size would be shown on thehorizontal axis and the number of nurses would be shown on the verticalaxis. If the two factors are related, the points will tend to fall along a straightline. If you carefully draw a line to minimise the distances between the lineand each one of the plotted points, you will be able to estimate the numberof nurses needed for each given hospital size. So for a 1200 bed hospital theHR manager needs to recruit 1210 nurses.

The scatter plot technique is also referred to as the correlation coefficient,which is defined as a measure of the degree to which two sets of numbers arerelated. We mention this because you may see this term elsewhere and youshould be able to recognise it and know what it means. Noe et al. (1996, p.266) give us an example of the correlation coefficient and explain it this way:“We may believe that the demand for labour in a production assembler jobcategory in one year is related to the inventory levels of the company in theprevious year.”

One could go back historically and find that each time inventories of the autoindustry were above average, the demand for auto parts and hence thedemand for production assemblers were below average. The correlationcoefficient expresses the strength of these kinds of relationships in numericalform, where a perfect positive relationship equals + 1.0 (that is as one set ofnumbers goes up, so does the other) a perfect negative relationship equals-1.0, ( that is as one goes up, the other goes down), and no relationship equals.00. So plotting the two sets of numbers on a two-dimensional graph oftenhelps one to appreciate the meaning of the various levels of correlation.

Statistical planning models are useful in times of long, stable economichistory that can be used to reliably detect relationships among variables. Itshould be noted, however, that these models almost always have to becomplemented by the subjective judgments of the experts because there aremany once-in-a-lifetime changes that can occur and that have to beconsidered, but that cannot be accurately captured in statistical models.

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Computerised Forecasts

These are defined as “The determination of future staff needs by projecting afirm’s sales, volume of production and personnel required to maintain thisvolume of output, using computers and software packages.” Withtechnological advancement every company is trying to minimise cost, andreduce time used manually for various activities. There are computer packagesavailable to aid in the implementation of HR activities. The forecast ofpersonnel requirement is one area that can benefit from the help of thecomputer. In this regard, the HR manager working with the line managercompiles the information needed to develop a computerised forecast of theHR requirement. Here are some of the data which are required to establishthis system: Direct labour hours needed to produce one unit of product (ameasure of productivity); and three sales projections – minimum, maximumand probable – for the product line in question. Based on these data, a typicalprogramme will generate figures on average staff levels required to meet theproduct demands. It will also generate a separate forecast for direct labour, forexample, assembly workers, indirect staff (such as secretaries), and exemptstaff (such as executives).

This system is fast and economical, and employers are able to quickly trans-late estimates of projected productivity and sales levels into forecasts of HRrequirements. They can also estimate the effects of various levels of productiv-ity and sales on human resource requirements.

Simple Mathematical Methods

With the simple mathematical method of labour forecasting, only one factoris used to predict demand. The manager could examine the staffing levelsduring the last few years, for example, to note the trend and then extend thistrend to the upcoming year. But there is a better method he or she could use;that is, using the coming year’s sales, production or another business factorrelated to the need for labour. He or she could then combine this informationwith the productivity ratios to predict the number of direct employeesneeded.

Productivity Ratios

The productivity ratio is the average number of units produced per directlabour employee per year. Example: Let us examine how Courts BrothersJamaica Ltd. (a furniture store) could do this. If the company produces sofasand knows from past history that the productivity ratio is about five sofas perfurniture assembler per year, and the marketing department expects to sell10,000 sofas in the coming year, then Courts needs 10,000/50 = 200 furnitureassemblers. Direct to direct labour staffing ratios are also used to calculate thenumber of individuals required to staff other jobs. If Courts Bros. Jamaica Ltd.has one supervisor for every 25 assemblers, then they would need eightsupervisors for the 200 assemblers. Based on their past experience too, they

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may find that three shipping and receiving clerks are required for every 50assemblers. What this really means is that the company needs a total of 12clerks.

In the use of productivity and staffing ratios which are based on historicaldata, this can be modified judgmentally if the ratios are expected to change.Let us suppose that the unions in their negotiations agreed on a shorterworking day, say by half an hour, and asked for more paid holidays. Then, theexpected productivity ratio should be adjusted downward. On the otherhand, if the firm should propose to introduce labour-saving personal comput-ers, the staffing ratio will change, with fewer clerks needed to service the samenumber of direct workers.

Learning Curve Analysis

To do an elaborate job of forecasting based on productivity ratio involves theuse of the learning curve. There is an underlying assumption about thelearning curve which is that the productivity ratio changes with experience.That is, the curve increases as increasingly more units are produced after theinitial start-up period. The learning curve analysis is used most when a firmbuilds relatively large items. For example, when Boeing, the aircraft builders,made the second aircraft it took less time. The reason was that workers gotmore competent at what they were doing, and labour hours per unitcontinued to decline while efficiency increased.

The manager who wants to use the learning curve analysis at the start upproject, has to first of all calculate the progress index (PI) for similar past startups. The PI is the percent of learning that occurs each time output is doubled.PI between 80 and 90 percent are often observed. Such PI indicate that eachtime the total output since start up doubles, the number of labour hours forthe second half of the production run declines to 80 or 90 percent of theamount needed for the first half of the run.

Complex Mathematical Methods

Some forecasting methods use more complicated statistical techniques, andare done especially in large organisations where they have been doing HRplanning for a long time. In your statistics class you would have met thetechnique called multiple regression. Well this technique is also used inhuman resource planning and forecasting. It uses several factors such as sales,profits, capital investments, and gross national product, to correlate withlabour demand and provide the forecast for future demand. This process canbe used by the manager when a lot of historical data are available. In thisprocess (multiple regression), the historical data are used to derive anequation which describes the relationships of these factors to employmentlevels. The manager then uses the current or predicted values of the factors toinsert into the equation to predict future demand. However, the manager hasto be careful in using this technique as it works only under certain

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conditions: if enough historical data exists that will allow for the derivationof stable regression equations; when fairly strong relationships exist betweenthe factors and labour demand; and when no dramatic changes inproductivity or product mix are anticipated.

There is another forecasting method that employs linear programming todetermine optimal staffing levels, given a set of constraints. Now, as you haverightly guessed, constraints can be compensation budgets, minimum andmaximum ratios between various kinds of jobs, or minimum and maximumoutput figures.

There are many other complex mathematical methods that can be used inhuman resource planning and forecasting; we have introduced these few toyou just to demonstrate how useful mathematical tools are in human re-source management.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Statistical Methods

Advantages1. They are excellent for capturing the historical trends of the firm’s demand

for labour2. They give predictions that are more precise, under the right conditions

DisadvantageImportant events which occur in the labour market may have no historicalprecedent. Therefore, statistical methods which work from historical trendswould be of no use in this regard.

Managerial Judgment in HR Forecasting

We will examine managerial judgement as a technique for forecasting thesupply of inside candidates and external candidates.

It really does not matter which forecasting technique the manager uses;managerial judgment will still have a huge role to play because it is hardlylikely that any historical trend, ratio, or relationship will continue unchangedin the future. Thus, managers need managerial judgment to modify anyforecast based on factors that may change in the future. Dessler (1997) hasmade some suggestions of factors he believes could modify the initial forecastof human resource requirements:

Decisions to upgrade the quality of products or services or enter into new markets.These factors would of necessity have strong implications for the type ofemployees who would be required in the changed circumstances. The HRmanager would be faced with questions such as: Will the current employeeswith the available skills in-house fit in the organisation’s new thrust, orproducts and services?

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Technological and administrative changes resulting in increased productivity.This situation can come about as a result of increased efficiency in terms ofoutput per hour. This could result from the installation of new equipment orthe introduction of a new incentive plan. If this should occur, then theimplications for the human resource aspect would be a reduction in thenumber of employed persons.

The financial resources available.In the situation where the manager has a large budget, he or she can hiremore employees and pay higher wages. However, in a situation where there isa crunch on the budget, the results would be a contraction of work and areduction in employment.

Therefore, managerial judgment is very important regardless of which fore-casting technique is used. Judgmental methods do make use of knowledge-able people to forecast the future and also consider the quantitative data, butmake allowances for intuition and expertise to be factored in. One will findthat small organisations and those which are new to HR forecasting and donot have the database or expertise to use the more complex mathematicalmodels will rely on the judgmental method. If the environment or the firm isin a state of transition or turmoil then the judgmental method is preferredwhen forecasting, because on such occasions past trends and correlationscannot be used to make accurate predictions about the future.

We will look at the following forms of managerial judgment:1. The bottom-up or unit method2. The top-down method3. Best and worse case scenarios4. The Delphi technique

The Bottom-up, or Unit Method

The bottom up, or unit method is the simplest form of judgmental method offorecasting. This means that each unit, branch or department estimates itsown future need for employees. Thus, the sum of the estimated unit needs isthe demand forecast for the whole firm.

Top-down Forecasting

There is also top-down forecasting, another judgmental method. This is whenexperienced managers and executives get together to discuss how trends,business plans, the economy and other factors will affect the need for humanresources at the various levels of the firm.

Best and Worse Case Scenarios

It is also possible for these experts to make forecasts based on best and worsecase scenarios. An example would be a forecast of what the need for labour

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will be if almost everything that could go wrong, went wrong. For example:an economic recession, the firm loses a lawsuit it has in court, the firm doesnot win the goverment contract it had bid for. In situations like these theexperts can, with some measure of certainty, predict the actual demand forlabour will fall somewhere in between their best and worst case predictions.

The Delphi Technique

There is one highly structured judgmental expert forecasting method which isknown as the Delphi technique. This method, as explained by Fisher,Schoenfeldt and Shaw (1996, p. 96), is used mainly to arrive at a consensus,but the participant experts do not meet in a face-to-face situation. This is toavoid any kind of disruptive personality clashes and to ascertain qualitydecision making. This is how it works:

Step 1. The experts are placed in different locations, where each is given ananonymous questionnaire that asks for an opinion and the reasonfor that opinion.

Step 2. The results of the questionnaire are compiled and returned to eachexpert, along with a second anonymous questionnaire. This givesthe experts a chance to learn from each other, and modify or elabo-rate their positions in the second questionnaire.

Step 3. The process continues through several more rounds until theexperts agree on a judgment.

The Delphi technique is very effective but also very time consuming. Acomplete Delphi process may take months to complete, so this method is notappropriate for instances where quick results are needed. As with any expertforecasting method, participants should be knowledgeable about the topic.Their existing knowledge can be supplemented by providing information onpast and current staffing, business performance and business plans.

Pro and Con of Judgemental Methods

One advantage of judgemental methods is that they do not rely on historicaltrends. A disadvantatge is that they are not very precise, as they are based onthe subjective judgement of the experts and the managers.

Can you think of any other advantages and disadvantages to judgementalmethods?

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We have examined both statistical and judgemental methods of HR forecast-ing. Now, you need to do some research. Maybe you could do this as a groupactivity for the best results. In groups of four, where possible, with each persontaking one company or organisation, find out which, if any, of the forecastingmethods just discussed, are used in the organisation. If none of these methodsis used, find out why.

Share your findings at your teleconference session so that all participants willhave a better idea of the application of HR forecasting practices in the Caribbean.

Information Gathering and HR Forecasting

The fundamental employment planning decision will be whether to fillprojected positions from an internal or external supply of candidates. Infor-mation gathering is the first step in human resource planning. The quality ofthe forecast or plan depends on the data collected.

Human resource planning requires two types of information: that is, datafrom the external environment and data from the internal environment.

Data from the external environment: This includes information on currentconditions and predicted changes in the economy; the economy of thespecific industry; the relevant technology; the competition; labour marketconditions; unemployment rates; the availability of skills; age; race; sex;distribution of the labour force; and institutional rules and regulations.Companies need to establish a systematic programme of environmentalscanning which will assist in informing them of what is likely to happen sothey can prepare for the shifts in the external environments.

Data from the internal environment: This would include information onthe short-term and long-term organisational plans and strategies; any plan tobuild and expand or to close or to automate the facilities would have HRimplications, as will any plan to modify the organisation’s structure, to buy orsell businesses, to enter or to withdraw from markets. A decision to competeon low cost rather than on personalised service could also have staffingimplications. Information is also needed on the current status of the staffcomplement; that is, the number of employees overall and a breakdown innumbers according to job, location, skill levels, and numbers who are likelyto leave or retire in the forecast period.

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Recruitment Information Systems

Before beginning to recruit candidates the HR professional must have asystem for tracking applicants as they move through the recruitment andselection process. The system may be manual or computerised, depending onthe number of applicants handled. The efficient HR manager will ensure thatcandidates do not get lost but instead move through the process and stayinformed of their status. A candidate who is not suitable should receive apolite letter to that effect as soon as possible after the decision has beentaken. Good candidates who are pending should receive encouraging lettersto keep them interested in the firm. Such conscientious communicationenhances an organisation’s image even among candidates who were rejected.

According to Higgins (1994, p. 432), recruitment is a series of activitiesintended to attract a qualified pool of job applicants. It involves the HRmanager’s actions taken from job design through to the filling of anapplication form by a prospective employee. Once that first contact has beenmade, the selection process has begun. Individuals who are recruited haveabilities that match the job specifications determined in the human resourceplanning process. Once a pool of qualified applicants has been obtained, theselection process will determine which applicant will be hired to perform thejob.

Recruitment can take place either internally or externally. Common industrialrelations practice, supported by law in most Caribbean countries, entitlesemployees to apply for, and in most cases get new jobs, which were advertisedin-house. Companies, through their HR policies, also seek to promote fromwithin as well as to recruit from external sources. While these practices arecarried out, the HR manager is always mindful of the fact that if vacancies areonly filled from inside through promotion, the company will not benefitfrom new ideas. Similarly, if promotion does not occur then morale will sufferand demotivation will set in.

Recruitment can also be conducted either actively or passively. Active recruit-ment involves placing advertisements in various media such as newspapers,magazines, television, radio, trade journals, university career fairs, colleges theInternet and anywhere applicants can be found, using the services of employ-

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ment agencies or head hunters. Passive recruitment is the situation in whichapplicants walk in and apply. Passive recruitment is quite common in someindustries, for example, in the banking industry. Most organisations mustconduct active recruitment because of their location, specialisation, low pay,the condition of the economy, competition for employees and poor workingconditions.

Factors that Affect Recruiting

There are many factors which can affect recruitment of satisfactory candidatesby the firm. For example: government policy, unions, labour market conditions,the composition of the workforce, the location of the firm, the preferences ofthe job applicants, and available resources. However, because of the changingcharacteristics of the labour force, the recruitment practices will of necessityhave to change. The recruiting process is a specialised area and so in someorganisations there is one person in the HR department who is responsible forrecruiting. Before the recruiter can find capable employees for theorganisation he or she needs to know the job specifications for the positionsneeded to be filled. The job specification is a statement of the knowledge,skills, and abilities required of the person performing the job. Higgins (1994,p. 88) gives an example of a job specification for the post of a seniorpersonnel analyst as follows:

• Graduation from a four-year college with a major course work(minimum fifteen hours)

• Three to five years’ experience in employee classification and compen-sation or selection or recruitment

• Two years’ experience in developing/improving job-related compensa-tion and testing instruments and procedures.

Job specification serves an essential role in the recruiting function because itestablishes the qualification required of job applicants. Job specifications alsoprovide a basis for attracting qualified candidates while discouraging unquali-fied ones.

Matching the Recruit with the Organisation

Once job descriptions and job specifications have been determined, theorganisation advertises the job and contacts applicants. A preliminary screen-ing process usually disqualifies some applicants because they fail to meet thejob requirements. Once the initial pool of applicants has been determined,line managers get involved and the selection process begins. Whoever doesthe recruiting must be very familiar with the recruiting process. In some cases,recruiting is carried out by individuals and outside agencies; otherwise, it isdone by the human resource department.

Regardless of who is doing the recruiting, the initial treatment of the poten-tial applicant is extremely important. Applicants will form a negative impres-sion of the company if they feel or perceive that they are being treated casu-

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ally. Since the recruiter is the first person from the firm that the applicantmeets, it is very important that he or she gives a positive impression of thefirm. External recruiters can include employment agencies that placeprofessional or managerial candidates. These serve a vital function for em-ployers because they help internal recruiters in areas with which they are notfamiliar such as conducting a national or international search for very techni-cal skills.

Sources of Job Applicants

Internal means of attracting job applicants include posting jobs, advertisingjobs in the company media, recruiting friends of current employees, andsearching human resource databases for people with the needed skills.External sources include employment agencies, educational institutions,advertisements, unions, and walk-ins.

Innovative Recruiting Methods

Special approaches to recruiting may become necessary under certain circum-stances, such as when the job market is tight, and some skills may be in shortsupply, for example engineers, technical football coaches, and scientists.Higgins (1994, p. 434) has suggested a number of techniques which gobeyond the traditional help-wanted advertising and may have to be used inthe special circumstances. Here is the list of these approaches and this is ofcourse not exhaustive:

• Tele-recruiting• Talent scout cards• Point-of-sale messages• Hiring from other companies’ layoffs or closings• Posters and door hangers• Direct mail campaigns• Radio ads• New recruitment agencies• Employment hotlines (provide job information 24 hours a-day)• Newspaper ads (other than help-wanted)• Public relations and marketing• Recruiting via databases• Government-funded programmes• Information seminars• Welcome wagons and realtors• Referral incentives• Sign-on bonuses• Video help wanted ads on cable TV – These reach millions of viewers

at a reduced cost• Resumé databases – companies claim that an electronic search of a

good resumé database is as effective as, and much less expensive than,using an employment agency or executive search firm

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Creative ways in recruiting job candidates can be interesting and cost effec-tive, and Higgins has cited one example of this. The Dime Savings Bank ofNew York faced a scarcity of qualified candidates. It ran a series of ads piggy-backed to its customer service system. When customers called in about theiraccounts, a voice-mail system provided descriptions of job opportunities.Interested parties could leave a voice-mail message, and applicants withsuitable qualifications were called by an interviewer. In a little over a year, 24employees were hired at a savings of $1,529 each, compared to normal re-cruitment methods.

Think of at least two other creative ways in which you might recruit employees.Be prepared to discuss these with your Course Coordinator at the next session.

Selection

Selecting the best candidates to hire is a very difficult task under any circum-stance and becomes exceedingly difficult when a firm must handle and screenmany candidates for a single position. But one company has found a system-atic way to do this and perhaps we can learn something from it when dealingwith this problem. L.S. Kleiman (1997, p. 139) relates the case of South WestAirlines (SWA) and how they managed this problem and improved theircompetitive advantage. In 1994 South West Airlines received more than126,000 applications for 4,500 position openings as flight attendants, pilots,reservation agents and mechanics. Twelve hundred applicants were hired inthe first two months alone. The solution: Implementing Targeted Selection.SWA used a system called Targeted Selection which is based on the followingprinciples:

• Identify the critical job elements for the position• Organise selected elements into a comprehensive system• Use past behaviour to predict future behaviour• Apply effective interviewing skills and techniques• Involve several interviewers in organised data-exchange discussions• Augment the interview with observations from behaviour simulations

SWA began its selection process by:

• Conducting a job analysis to identify the specific behaviours,knowledge and motivation needed to be successful in the job

• Devising interview questions to measure those qualities• Preparing questions based on the assumption that past behaviours is a

good predictor of future behaviour• Designing interview questions to discover how well the applicants

have demonstrated the needed capabilities in previous situations

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Listed below are some qualities that SWA looked for in certain jobs, and alsothe questions they asked to assess these qualities.

Judgement

• What was the toughest decision you had to make in your last job?• Describe the circumstances surrounding that decision, the decision

itself, and the outcome of the decision.

Team work

• Tell me about a time in your previous job when you went above andbeyond to assist a co-worker, or tell me about a time when you had aconflict with a co-worker.

It is believed that this approach to selection is much more objective, andfocuses on what the applicant has actually done, which provides a muchbetter and less subjective view of the applicant’s abilities than the traditionalapproach in which people are evaluated based on their responses to theoreti-cal questions.

Linking Selection Practices to the Competitive Advantage

The effectiveness of a firm’s practices can impact its competitive advantage inmany ways. For example:

1. Improving productivity: When the company identifies and selects the mostsuitable candidates productivity increases.

2. Achieving legal compliance: In some countries like the United States,companies run the risk of having unsuccessful job applicants filing law-suits against them for conducting discriminatory selection processes. Thusthe firms always seek to provide evidence to show that their selectionprocedure was job related or legitimate and non-discriminatory.

3. Reducing training cost. If the selection procedure is ineffective, it is possibleto find that newly hired employees won’t have the needed knowledgeand skills for the job, which means that they will have to be trained. Thiswill be added training costs to the company, which could have beeneliminated or minimised if the selection procedure was effectivelycarried out.

Selection Methods

Let us now examine some methods of selection as practiced by firms. Theseinclude the application blank, biodata inventories, background investigation,reference checks, employment interviews and employment tests.

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The Application Blank

Most firms require outside candidates to complete an application blank formas the first step in the selection procedure. The typical application blank asksfor background information such as name, address, position desired, dateavailable for work, education, work and salary history, reasons for leavingprevious jobs and the names of personal references. The completedapplication blank serves three primary purposes:

1. To determine whether or not the candidates meet the minimum qualifica-tions for the job

2. To help the employers judge the presence (or absence) of certain job-related attributes. ( for example, years of service which directly relate tothe current position)

3. Information contained in the application form can be used to “red flag”any potential problem areas concerning the applicant (for example,frequent job hopping may be an indication of instability)

An employer should refrain from asking any question that could be used todiscriminate against a candidate, for example, questions relating to age, sex,religion, ethnicity, height, strength, colour, marital status.

Biodata Inventories

This is a selection technique in which an applicant’s responses to backgroundinformation questions are objectively scored.

These two selection services, that is, the application blank and the biodatainventory, are different in terms of how the firm interprets applicant re-sponses: application blanks responses are evaluated subjectively; biodatainventory responses are objectively evaluated just as they would be on awritten test; that is, applicants can earn a number of points for each questionon the biodata inventory. The completed inventory is scored by summing thepoints earned on each question. Item weights (that is, the number of pointsone can earn on a question) vary depending on the statistical relationshipbetween the item and some job success criterion – for example, jobperformance, tenure or some form of dysfunctional behaviour such asabsenteeism, drug usage, or theft. The closer the relationship, the greater theweight of the item.

Background Investigation

One major activity of the selection process is conducting a background checkon the potential candidate. This is a common practice carried out by all firms.Background investigation is an in-depth probe of an applicant’s backgroundusually conducted by an investigative agency. These agencies gatherinformation through applicant interviews and written or verbalcommunication with employers, neighbours, relatives, and references.

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Additionally, information is gathered from law enforcement agencies andcredit bureaux. The results of these investigations are used in screeningapplicants for positions of “trust” in such occupations as law enforcement,private security and nuclear power. Background investigation is a littledifferent from reference checks.

Reference Checks

Reference checks involve collecting information from applicants’ previousemployers (usually by phone). This provides another potentially useful meansof assessment. A reference check is usually done when the selection process isalmost completed. The reference check provides additional information aboutthe applicants which may be predictive of job performance. The topics usualaddressed in a reference check include:

• Date of employment• Job titles held• Rate of pay• Attendance records• Performance evaluation• Discipline problems• Character traits• Ability to get along with others• Strengths and weaknesses• Overall opinion of candidate• Person’s reason for leaving• Willingness to re-hire that person

Employment Interviews

Just about every company considers the employment interview to be veryimportant to the selection process. The interview is sometimes conducted bythe HR manager along with other top level officials in the business andselection is based on the consensus of all these persons. Interviewers may seekfour types of valuable information during an interview and these are listedbelow:

Technical Knowledge

An applicant’s technical knowledge about the position is very important. Soone approach to assessing technical knowledge is to inquire about theperson’s educational history and work experience. The potential hazard tothis approach is that interviewers often misinterpret the information byassuming incorrectly that a person who has done something or studiedsomething has learned it well. The interviewer can get a better picture of theapplicant’s technical knowledge by asking specific questions – for example,how many bites does this chip hold?

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Self-Evaluate Information

This type of information examines the applicant’s likes and dislikes, strengthsand weaknesses, goals, attitudes, and philosophies. This is very valuable tothe interviewer as it helps to determine whether or not the applicant will “fit”the job and if his or her career goals are in line with the opportunitiesprovided by the organisation.

Situational Information

This examines how the applicant would react in a hypothetical job-relatedsituation. An example is: “What would you do if you saw your subordinatebeing rude to a customer?” The applicant’s response would be assessed basedon a predetermined set of preferred responses.

Behaviour Description Information

This examines how the applicant behaved in past situations which are similarto those of the present job. An example: the interviewer asks the applicant“Tell me about the last time you faced the situation in which your subordinatewas not performing well. What was the situation, how did you deal with it andhow did the employee respond?” These are examples of questions interviewerscan ask prospective candidates to be able to assess them and be able to makethe right decisions. L. S. Kleiman (1997) highlights the point that the“behaviour description interview” has been found to be extremely valid as itis patterned along the lines of the behaviour consistency model – applicantsare being assessed on their previous behaviour in situations that closely matchthose they would encounter on the new job. It is important to note that theinterview raises the same legal concerns as the application forms and so theinterviewer should be mindful of not asking any questions which could bedeemed illegal or unlawful.

Employment Tests

Another tool in the HR professional’s bag of selection devices is employmenttesting. There are many types of employment tests on the market, but in thisdiscussion we will only mention three types: mental ability tests, personalitytests and work sample tests.

Mental ability tests are designed to measure intelligence or aptitude. In additionto reflecting a combination of mathematical and verbal skills, aptitude alsoreflects the ability for deductive reasoning, the ability to visualise objects inthree-dimensional space and the ability to solve mechanical problems. Theseaptitudes are not necessarily mutually inclusive. That is to say, for example, aperson who has very strong verbal skills may not necessarily have strongmechanical skills.

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Mental ability tests are used primarily for assessing entry-level applicants forjobs that do not require specific job-related skills at the time of hire. Thesetests determine whether or not the applicant has the capacity to learn theseskills successfully. The employer must therefore determine the aptitudesneeded for the job and then select tests that measure them accurately.

Personality tests are designed to assess a variety of personality characteristicssuch as: independence, assertiveness, self-confidence. These characteristics areessential to perform some types of jobs; for example: a sales person may needto be assertive, extroverted and have strong interpersonal and social skills,while a manager may need to be self-confident, and the social worker mayneed to be tolerant and open-minded.

Many personality tests are commercially available and the personality charac-teristics that they most often measure are:

• Extroversion• Emotional stability (temperament) – is the person secure, even-tempered

or laid back?• Agreeableness (good natured and easy to get along with)• Conscientiousness (how dependable and responsible the person is)• Openness to experience (a person’s broad-mindedness, sensitivity and

flexibility)

Work sample tests require the applicant to actually demonstrate a knowledgeof the job by doing some tasks or duties required by the position. For example, aforklift operator may be asked to demonstrate the use of the equipment; ateacher may be asked to conduct a lecture. Kleiman (1997, p. 162) illustrateshow an HR professional developed one of these work sample tests:

• Conduct a job analysis to identify the important tasks of the position• Choose a representative sample of the tasks to be included in the test• Develop a scoring procedure for assessing how effectively an applicant

performs each task• Administer the test to applicants under standardized conditions

Work sample tests may be used to assess manual skills such as handlingvarious pieces of equipment; clerical skills such as typing ability; and manage-rial skills such as leadership, administrative and diagnostic skills. These testsare appropriate for situations in which an applicant is expected to be skilledfor hire.

When the firm properly constructs and implements work sample tests theyare usually valid because they provide a direct measure of job performance.Practical examples of persons who use these methods for their selectionprocess are football coaches and movie makers. You can add to this list.

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It is interesting to note that in Caribbean organisations these tests are hardlyconducted. Instead, our advertisements for the various jobs ask the prospec-tive employees if they possess these various abilities and skills and aptitudes.If the response is positive, then it is assumed that they are the right candi-dates for the job and none of these tests are done by the firm. The onus orobligation rests with the applicant. The HR manager is responsible for makingthe job offer after the selection process has been completed. There are twoprinciples that he or she must bear in mind, and they are:

• The offer should not be perceived as a gift; it must be sold to thecandidate

• The offer should not remain open awaiting response for too long,which would preclude making an offer to another candidate

The HR manager plays two primary roles in the selection process: providingtechnical support and helping managers to conform to legal and technicalstandards throughout the selection process. Kleiman (1997, p. 166) suggestsnine ways in which the HR professional can provide technical support to themanagers of the firm:

1. Conduct job analysis and write job descriptions2. Set minimum qualifications for jobs3. Determine which selection method to use4. Develop application blanks5. Select, develop and administer employment tests6. Conduct initial screening of applicants (review application forms,

conduct initial interviews)7. Conduct or commission background or reference checks8. Approve selection decisions made by line managers9. Monitor the firm’s hiring practices for government compliance and

validity

We have discussed some new and innovative techniques that can be used inthe interviewing and selection process. Now the challenge is yours. Find out towhat extent any of these innovations are used in your environment. Discusswith your Tutor.

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Employers and employees each have their own set of needs and values, andso a successful relationship between these two sides requires that some bal-ance be reached. This balance often takes the form of a psychological con-tract, an understood agreement between employer and employees whichdefines the work relationship. This contract, with or without the support of aformal collective bargaining agreement, influences the outcomes achieved byeach side.

In the Caribbean, employee safety is regulated by government regulationsand agreements between the unions and employers. However, to fully maxi-mize the safety and health of workers, employers need to go beyond the letterof the law and embrace its spirit. With this in mind we will first spell out thespecific protection guaranteed by government legislation and then discuss theareas mentioned above regarding the safety programmes which attempt toreinforce these standards.

There are many pieces of legislation that have been enacted over the years inrespect to the protection of the Caribbean worker. In the case of Jamaica, theFactories Act is just one such piece of legislation which speaks to the healthand safety of the worker: “This Act provides for employers operating factoriesto observe certain regulations regarding safety, health, and welfare of theworker” (Kirkaldy 1998, p. 235). This law originally covered premises whereinor within the close curtilage or precincts of which, steam, electric, water ormechanical power was used in the industrial or manufacturing process oper-ated for gain. Subsequently, the Act was amended to include operations onthe docks and the loading and unloading of ships, and operations in thebuilding and construction industry.

The law, in its pursuit to protect the worker, went further to ensure thatfactories were registered and stipulated that new building plans should beapproved by the Ministry of Labour. The regulations under the Act call for anumber of requirements listed by Kirkaldy (1998) as follows:

Safety

• Dangerous parts of machinery should be properly guarded and fenced• Efficient devices should be provided whereby power can be promptly

cut off

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• Proper fire escapes to be provided and maintained• Floors, passages, and stairs to be soundly constructed• Ropes and chains to be examined every six months• No person shall be allowed to operate any dangerous machinery

unless he has been fully instructed as to the dangers thereof and theprecautions to be taken

• No person shall let or hire for use in a factory any mechanically drivenmachine which does not comply with the safety regulations set out

• No boy under 16 years of age or woman shall be allowed to clean anydangerous part of a machine whilst it is in motion

Health and Welfare

• Suitable sanitary conveniences are to be provided• The space to be allowed for every worker shall not be less than 400

cubic feet• Effective lighting and temperature to be provided• Change rooms and women’s rest rooms to be provided• First-aid equipment to be provided and operated by responsible persons• Protective clothing, boots, goggles are to be provided where necessary

It is very obvious that the provisions of the legislation are quite limited intoday’s working environment and until there is a revision or amendmentthen the interest groups at the workplace will have to take the initiative toimprove workplace health and safety environment. In this regard companieshave begun to recognise and accept that a healthy workforce benefits bothemployers and employees. The benefits which accrue to the employers in-clude: a reduction in absenteeism, lower medical costs, reduced workers’compensation costs, greater productivity, reduced staff turnover and animproved public image. On the other hand, the employees also benefit fromstaying healthy and their benefits include: lower medical costs, less work-related stress, increased energy levels, a greater sense of wellness and well-being.

Linking Employee Safety and Health to the CompetitiveAdvantage

L. S. Kleiman (1997) referring to the American workforce and the employers,has argued that one of the biggest issues facing employers today is the safetyand health of their workers. He states that workplace accidents are increas-ingly common and the general physical and mental health of the workforce ison the decline. This observation can also be made of the workforce in theCaribbean islands. He continues by saying that many workers’ unhealthylifestyles place them at high risk for heart attacks, strokes, cancer, diabetesand many other ailments. Many suffer from emotional disorders such as drugdependency, stress, and depression that have physical consequences as well.He holds the view that organisations have a moral responsibility to ensure thesafety and well-being of their members. Many are meeting this obligation by

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helping the society to tackle some of today’s serious health problems such assubstance abuse and HIV/AIDS. Organisational practices that promote safetyand health can also help a company to establish a competitive advantage byreducing health-related costs and complying with the safety laws.

Reducing Costs

Workplace injuries and illnesses can be quite expensive, and this seems to bean international problem or concern. Kleiman (1997) states that foremployers in the USA, the annual accident costs alone is in excess of $60billion which include medical and insurance costs, workers’ compensation,survivor benefits, damaged equipment and materials, production delays,other workers’ time losses, selection and training costs for replacementworkers and accident reporting. An employer can minimise safety and healthproblems and costs by taking very stringent and effective preventativemeasures which can net some added profit for the company in real dollarterms.

For example, programmes designed to reduce or minimise employee healthproblems can also create significant cost advantages by reducing absenteeism,turnover, medical costs and increased productivity. Companies are gettinginvolved in what is essentially a potential cost effectiveness programme oforganisational health in today’s business world. One way in which this isdone is through company compliance with government regulations. Thegovernment views safety and health violations very seriously, and the penal-ties for violating these laws can be quite severe. In addition to being issuedlarge fines, employers who violate safety and health regulations can be heldliable for criminal charges.

What are the benefits your company offers in relation to health and welfare?List them.

Employee Safety: Accidents and Accident Prevention

Despite laws designed to ensure safety at the workplace, companies’ accidentrates are still high. Kleiman (1997, p. 401) cites the situation in the US, whereit is estimated that employees lost 60 million work days in 1989 due toworkplace injuries, and more than 10 million people suffer traumatic injurieson the job each year. He also classifies workplace accidents as follows:

Causes of Workplace Accidents

Employee error: Misjudged situations; distractions by others; neuromuscularmalfunctions; inappropriate working positions; and knowingly usingdefective equipment.

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Equipment insufficiency: Use of inappropriate equipment; safety devices beingremoved or inoperative; lack of such things as engineering controls; respira-tory protection; protective clothing.

Procedure insufficiency: Failure of procedure for eliciting warning of hazard;inappropriate procedures for handling of materials; failure to lock out or tagout; and a lack of written work procedures.

There are preventative strategies that companies can use to reduce and pre-vent workplace accidents. Kleiman suggests that workplace accidents poseserious problems for employees and for the firm’s competitive advantage, but,as he posits, employers can prevent most of them by improving employeeselection to eliminate certain risks.

Some people seem to be Accident Prone Employees: an accident waiting tohappen. If some people do have inherent tendencies towards accidents,Kleiman suggests that the organisation should be able to lower accident ratesby stringent screening out of accident-prone applicants. He states that re-search has shown that individuals with certain characteristics are more likelyto be involved in industrial accidents; another study found that people withhigher accident rates tend to be impulsive and rebellious. A third study,according to Kleiman, identified the following four “high-risk” personalitycharacteristics:

1. High risk-takers actually seek out danger rather than trying to minimiseor avoid it.

2. Impulsive individuals fail to think through the consequences of theiractions.

3. Rebellious individuals tend to break established rules including safetyrules.

4. Hostile individuals tend to lose their tempers easily and thus engage inaggressive acts, such as kicking the jammed machine.

Organisations are now using personality tests to screen out individuals withaccident prone tendencies.

• Employee training: Employers who provide all new employees withtraining on safe and proper job procedures experience fewer accidents

• Safety incentive programmes: This is a programme designed to moti-vate safe job behaviours by providing workers with incentives foravoiding accidents (as they do in our local bauxite companies)

• Safety audits: An audit of unsafe job behaviours aimed to preventunsafe acts on the part of workers

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• Accident investigations: Accident investigations determine the causesof accidents so that changes can be made to prevent the recurrence ofsimilar accidents.

• Safety committee: This is a committee comprised of both manage-ment and non management personnel, which is responsible foroverseeing an organisation’s safety functions.

There are many other health problems at the workplace which managementhas to address, for example, HIV/AIDS which has become one of the leadingpublic health problem in the world. Legally, managers cannot discriminateagainst victims of AIDS, so although other workers may object to workingwith them, the only intervention that the company can take is that ofeducating the workforce on the matter.

What is the situation in your country with respect to accident and accidentprevention? Are statistical reports on the subject kept? Find out, and shareyour findings with your colleagues.

UNIT REVIEW

1. There are three keys to effectively utilising labour markets:

(a) Know the strengths and weaknesses of the present stock ofemployees.

(b) Organisations must plan for their future and know how thepresent configuration of employees will fit into the futureneeds.

(c) Where there are discrepancies between the present configura-tion and that needed for the future, the organisation needsto address these.

2. The human resource planning process consists of forecasting,goal setting and strategic planning, programme implementationand evaluation.

3. Forecasting is the first step in the HR planning process. Forecastingis used to predict the supply and demand for human resources inthe firm, considering all possible changing circumstances.

4. Two methods are used for forecasting: (a) statistical methods;(b) judgmental methods.

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5. Factors that affect recruitment include: government policies, tradeunions, labour market conditions, the composition of theworkforce, and the location of the business.

6. Targeted selection is an aid to performing the difficult task ofrecruiting.

7. Two common methods of selection are application forms/blanksand employment tests.

8. Employee relations, health and safety are areas of serious concernto government, employers, employees and unions.

KEY TERMS

• Labour market • Targeted selection• Configuration of employees • Trend analysis• Forecasting • Ratio analysis• Statistical methods • Acquired immune deficiency• Judgmental methods syndrome

• Health• Safety audit

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

1. Briefly describe two ways in which the use of effective safety and healthpractices can enhance a firm’s competitive advantage.

2. Describe the causes of workplace accidents.

3. Describe three strategies which may be employed to minimiseworkplace accidents.

4. Group Activity: Choose an industry/sector in your community, andselect at least three firms in this sector. Conduct a small survey tofind out how many accidents occurred in these firms over a five-year period. Write down the type of accident, company/union/government intervention and the outcome.

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References

Dessler, Gary. Human Resource Management, 7th ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall,1997.

Fisher, Schoenfeldt and Shaw. Human Resource Management, 3rd ed. Boston:Houghton Mifflin Co., 1996

Higgins, James M. The Management Challenge, 2nd ed. Macmillan CollegePublishing Company, 1994.

Kleiman, L. S. Human Resource Management: A Tool for Competitive Advantage,St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1997.

Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright. Human Resource Management: Gaining aCompetitive Advantage, 2nd ed. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 1996.

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