1. Do you think employees as a resource or a cost? Explain your answer.
- Consider this. By accounting rules, the cost of workers is treated as an expense on the income statement. In fact, personnel expense is one of the highest costs a company incurs. Many managers see this sizable cost every month and conclude that people are expensive. They see people as a problem. By seeing people as a costly expense, these managers think that a quick way to more profits is by reducing people or salaries. They look at employees as an expense or a problem that must be reduced or eliminated.
“Assets are company resources which have future economic value.”
- Great leaders see things differently. They consider employees as an asset. In accounting terms, assets are company resources which have future economic value. Instead of seeing employees as a problem, these leaders see them as a valuable resource. They know that people have the capability to grow sales, satisfy customers, improve processes, innovate products, and do countless other things that add money to both the top and bottom line. As a CEO, I see daily examples of this in my business, Peak Demand.
- If you think of employees as an asset, as I do, you treat them differently. You understand the importance of keeping them happy and operating at peak performance. You recognize the importance of leadership. You realize your team will be at their best when they are loved, appreciated, respected, engaged, and acknowledged.
- It seems simple to me but it’s not often practised. I think one of the problems is the lack of leadership training in business schools. Most graduate and undergraduate students take multiple courses in accounting but they may only attend one or two lectures on leadership. The result is we are sending young managers to the workplace with a belief that numbers are more important than people.
“Great leaders know better”
- In accounting, employees are an expense but great leaders know better. They know people are an asset that represents the future results of a company. They see their team as an important resource that needs to be led properly to maximize performance. They understand their team will be at their best when they are loved, appreciated, respected, engaged, and acknowledged.
- Where do you stand? Do you see employees as an expense or an asset? Have you worked for a manager who treated you like an expense or a problem that needed to be reduced? How did that feel? Have you worked for a leader that treated you like an important asset? What was that like? Let me know in the comment section below.
2. The following is (are) concerned with developing a pool of candidates in line with the human resources plan
a. Developmentb. Training
🚩c. Recruitment
d. All of the above
3. Majority of the disputes in industries is (are) related to the problem of
a. Wagesb. Salaries
c. Benefits
🚩d. All of the above
4. In an organization initiating career planning, the career path model would essentially form the basis for
a. Placementb. Transfer
c. Rotation
🚩d. All of the above
5. The following type of recruitment process is said to be a costly affair.
a. Internal recruitment🚩b. External recruitment
c. Cost remains the same for both types
6. The three important components in aligning business strategy with HR practice:
🚩a. Business Strategy, Human Resource Practices, Organizational Capabilities
b. Marketing Strategy, Human Resource Practices, Organizational Capabilities
c. Business Strategy, Human Resource Practices, Organizational structured. Marketing Strategy,
Human Resource Practices, Organizational structure
7.. __________ is the process of forecasting an organization's future demand for, and supply of, the right type of people in the right number.
🚩a. Human Resource Planningb. Recruitments
c. Human Resource Management
d. Human Capital Management
8. A process that is used for identifying and developing internal people with the potential to fill key business leadership positions in the company is called ______.
a. Highly talented personnel creationb. Investing in human resources
🚩c. Succession planning
d. None of the above
9. The poor quality of selection will mean extra cost on _______ and supervision.
🚩a. Trainingb. Recruitment
c. Work quality
d. None of the above
10. ______ is an objective assessment of an individual's performance against well-defined benchmarks.
🚩a. Performance Appraisal
b. HR Planning
c. Information for goal identification
d. None of the above
11. What do you mean by laying off employees?
- A layoff describes the act of an employer suspending or terminating a worker, either temporarily or permanently, for reasons other than an employee's actual performance. A layoff is not the same thing as an outright firing, which may result from worker inefficiency, malfeasance, or breach of duty.
- In its initial context, a layoff was meant to denote a temporary work interruption, but over time, the term has morphed to describe a permanent lack of work. A layoff may happen to a displaced worker whose job has been eliminated because an employer has shuttered its operation or relocated. A worker may likewise be replaced due to a production slowdown or cessation.
- In some cases, employers conduct layoffs even when their companies are thriving because they foresee economic uncertainty, and so they preempt tough times by boosting earnings.
Understanding Layoffs
- Layoffs may happen for a variety of reasons that may affect an individual or a group of workers, in both the public and private sectors. Generally, layoffs are conducted to reduce salary expenditures, in an effort to increase shareholder value. Layoffs may occur when an employer's strategic business objectives or processes change, in the face of declining revenue, the adoption of automation, or the offshoring or outsourcing.
Related Terms
- Given that layoffs are understandably unpopular with workers, the term has a number of synonyms, as well as several euphemisms. For example, layoffs may also be referred to as a "downsizing," "rightsizing" or a "smart sizing."
- Similarly, a laid-off worker may become unemployed as part of a "workforce reduction," "reduction in force," "redeployment" or an "excess reduction." Employees in a late-career layoff may be given "early retirement," meaning they will stop working and cease collecting a paycheck but will remain eligible for retirement benefits.
The Psychological Effects of Layoffs
- While workers bear the brunt of layoffs with lost wages and the uncertainty of unemployment, the effects of layoffs are also felt in local and national economies. They likewise impact the workers who remain employed, following such workforce reductions.
- For example, workers who have witnessed their colleagues being laid off report greater anxiety and increased concerns over their own job security. This often results in reduced motivation, and employee attrition. Workers who have been subject a layoff may also feel a level of distrust toward future employers, which is why some companies may try to lay off multiple workers at once, in order to soften the psychological blow and make sure people do not feel singled out.
- Mass layoffs may create a sizable impact on the economy and tax base of a community or region and may create a ripple effect among related industries across a country.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- A layoff is the unpleasant act of an employer terminating a worker for reasons other than an employee's actual performance.
- A layoff vastly differs from an outright firing, which may result from an inefficient on-the-job performance or unacceptable workplace behaviour.
- Layoffs may have a psychological impact on the workers who remain employed, by causing increased concerns over their own job security.
- In the United States, data on layoffs is collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks unemployment insurance claims. It's Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program collects reports on mass layoff actions that result in workers being separated from their jobs. A mass layoff in this context involves 50 or more workers.
12. What does freeze recruitment mean?
Hiring Freeze
- A hiring freeze is when an employer temporarily halts non-essential hiring to reduce costs — usually when an organization is under financial duress. Such a cost-cutting effort may also be undertaken by management due to a recession or other economic or market dislocation or crisis, such as one that causes production overcapacity or redundancy. Hiring freezes may be short term or long term and are often used to otherwise avoid laying off employees. Hiring freezes may be accomplished by not filling open positions caused by worker terminations or natural attrition. In addition, no new positions may be created.
Hiring Freeze Explained
- Hiring freezes can happen at struggling companies but also successful ones that have unexpected challenges to their balance sheets. A sudden economic downturn, catastrophic event, product failure, unexpected cost or rise in costs may lead management to conclude that cost-cutting is the best short-term solution. Hiring freezes allow companies to reduce or eliminate non-essential positions, in effect hitting a reset button on payroll expense growth. With hiring freezes, management may be able to restructure workgroups and consolidate employees to create greater efficiency in producing the essential goods and services for its customers. A company still must do everything it can to maximize revenue, even during a hiring freeze.
- A hiring freeze may not mean that all hiring is stopped. Companies may still fill positions that are essential to meeting the demands of customers or for specialized job roles that are key to an organization's operations. Such positions are easier to fill with freelance, part-time, hourly (non-salary) or contract position workers, which allows managers to circumvent full-time hiring freeze rules. Even during hiring freezes organizations need to maintain their core activities, such as product development, production, and sales.
Hiring Freeze Impact
- A hiring freeze can put a strain on existing employees, as there might not be any replacements for individuals that leave the company (e.g., retirement, maternity leave, or regular turnover). If the situation gets too extreme, the overall performance may suffer, along with employee job satisfaction.
- A hiring freeze may also compel managers to retain low-performing employees rather than dealing with their underperformance, either through remedial action or termination. In addition, the hiring of temporary, freelance, or other casual employees may result in the clawing back of some of the cost savings of a hiring freeze, and may also create a lack of continuity or erosion of transferrable job skills or intelligence when hiring resumes.
13. What do you mean by fringe benefits?
⛱ The majority of employers in the private and public sectors offer their employees a variety of benefits in addition to their salaries. These on-the-job perks, typically referred to as fringe benefits, are viewed as compensation by an employer but are generally not included in an employee’s taxable income. A wide range of fringe benefits exist, and what is offered varies from one employer to another. The most common benefits include life, disability, and health insurance bundles; tuition reimbursement or education assistance; fitness centre access or discounts; employee meals and cafeteria plans; dependent care assistance; and retirement plan contributions.
Insurance Coverage
The most common fringe benefits offered to employees include combinations of insurance coverage. Typically, employers offer up to $50,000 of group term life insurance, short- and long-term disability coverage, and health insurance options. Employers commonly share the cost of premiums with employees in an effort to offset the total cost to the employee.
Education Assistance
Another common fringe benefit is education assistance or tuition reimbursement for college courses or the completion of an advanced degree program. Employers offering education assistance may allow employees to work flexible schedules so they can balance their education and work obligations. Employees may also be provided tuition reimbursement for all or part of the expenses.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- A wide range of fringe benefits and employee perks exist from one employer to another.
- The most common benefits include life, disability, and health insurance, tuition reimbursement, and education assistance.
- Other perks include a fitness centre or discounts, employee meals, cafeteria plans, dependent care assistance, and retirement plan contributions.
Fitness Assistance/Access
For larger employers with ample space, access to an on-site fitness centre is a common fringe benefit to employees. Smaller employers may also offer gym memberships at a discount or a fitness equipment reimbursement up to a certain limit each year.
Meals and Cafeteria Plans
Meals or discounted cafeteria plans may also be offered to employees as fringe benefits. Employers recognize that the cost of lunch or dinners when employees work late can add up quickly and, as such, meals are provided by some employers at no cost to the employee.
Dependent Assistance
Childcare assistance is another benefit offered through some employers, as working full-time with children can present scheduling conflicts and prohibitive daycare costs. Some larger employers offer employees dependent care on-site, either at a discount or for no cost. Smaller companies may provide a monthly bonus to employees for the specific purpose of paying for dependent care.
Retirement Plan Contributions
One of the most important fringe benefits an employer can offer is contributions to an employee’s retirement plan. Some companies offer matches on employee 401(k) paycheck deferrals, while others make qualified contributions to retirement plans without requiring employees to make contributions themselves. These plans can be powerful tools in saving for the long-term and provide compensation to employees above and beyond their salaries.
Most employers offer some variation of fringe-benefits to employees to make the overall work environment pleasant to current workers and more attractive to prospective employees. The combination of any of the nontaxable compensation listed above can be a valuable bonus to employees and a retention planning tool for employers.
Some fringe benefits come in the form of reduced prices on goods and services. Often, workers can get employee discounts on products that their company or one of its subsidiaries makes. Some employers provide staffers with cell phones, and cell phone providers offer corporate discounts on their plans to certain large companies. Museums and cultural institutions might offer free admission to employees whose firms are major donors or event sponsors, too.
In terms of lifestyle, some firms reimburse employees for commuting or moving expenses. They might provide daycare services or assistance with care for dependents. Financially, employee stock options are a key fringe benefit. Firms give workers shares in corporate stock outright or the chance to buy at a discounted price.
14. What is the difference between wages and salary?
Definition of Salary
The term salary is the agreed-upon amount of money between the employer and the employee that is extended at regular intervals on the basis of an individual’s performance. Salary is generally a fixed amount of package calculated on an annual basis. When divided by a number of months the amount to be disbursed monthly is ascertained. The same is given to the employee on the basis of his productivity.
An employee is supposed to work for certain fixed hours daily but if Sometimes the work is not finished in time the employee has to devote his extra time without any additional pay. An employee is entitled to leaves, perks, and benefits, i.e. salary will be given if an employee has availed a leave and didn’t turn up for the work.
Salaried persons are generally said to be doing “white-collar office jobs” which implies that an individual is well educated, skilled and is employed with some firm and holds a good position in the society.
Definition of Wages
Wage is termed as compensation that is given on the basis of the amount of work done and the hours spent in doing that. Wages are variable and do vary with day to day functioning of an individual. Wages are given to labours who are engaged in manufacturing processes and get compensation on a daily basis.
Labour is paid on the basis of hours and in order to increase the pay, extra hours have to be devoted to fetch more. An individual is paid for his presence, not for his absence i.e. in case a person does not come for the work he will not be paid for that day.
The waged person is said to be doing “blue-collar labour job” which implies that an individual is engaged in the unskilled or semi-skilled job and is drawing wages on a daily basis
15. What do you mean by new blood?
🚨new blood means new member coming to the company.
16. What do you mean by offboarding practices and what are the benefits?
Employee offboarding is an essential stage of the employee life cycle, yet many companies often overlook it. Make no mistake, though. Last impressions count, too. Let’s find out how employee offboarding can be beneficial both for your business and for departing employees.
How To Create Effective Employee Offboarding
You’ve probably read time and again about onboarding best practices. Which makes perfect sense. Employee onboarding is essential for newcomers. It helps them familiarize themselves with company procedures and feel at ease.
But what about employee offboarding? Most companies have a standard procedure for existing employees. It mostly involves paperwork and focuses on minimizing the risk of legal or security issues. And that’s the end of it.
But if you put in a little extra effort, staff offboarding comes with multiple benefits. Like the opportunity to gather feedback, which you can use to improve your workplace and prevent employee turnover. At the same time, your honour and support the people that have contributed to your company’s success.
Are you curious to find out more? Here are 6 employee-offboarding best practices that can make all the difference for your business:
1. Gather Insight
An exit interview is an indispensable part of the employee offboarding process. Alternatively, you can carry out a termination of employment survey. Many employees may be hesitant to express their opinion while they’re still with the company. They might want to avoid conflict or feel like there’s no point. An exit interview is your best chance to gather honest feedback.Try to be open to any criticism you receive. Be prepared to hear about situations that you didn’t know were going on, and some you won’t be happy about. After all, this is the whole point behind this procedure. You are not looking for pleasantries, but to identify problem areas. It’s the only way to resolve workplace issues, and better retain employees in the future.
With that in mind, don’t focus only on why the employee is leaving. Instead, ask for suggestions on how you can create a better, inspiring working environment.
In any case, it’s best to leave the exit interview to the HR department. They’re trained for situations like this. Besides, a leaving team member is more likely to open up to an HR employee than their former manager.
2. Retrieve Company Assets And Revoke Digital Access
Retrieving company assets from offboarding employees is not optional. As much as you trust your employees, you can’t leave the office keys with them. It’s just not good sense.Other items you might need to collect are laptops, mobile phones, access cards, ID badges, etc. In some cases, even company cars or corporate credit cards.
To make sure you don’t forget anything, keep a list and track all the company assets you’ve given employees. A simple spreadsheet will do. Or you can use asset management software if your company is large.
You also can’t risk any sensitive information or data leaving your company along with the departing employee.
To that end, you need to revoke access to all their digital accounts, such as the company email and workplace communication platforms.
3. Start The Knowledge Transfer Process Early
Knowledge transfer is another task to check off your employee offboarding checklist. Finding a replacement for a departing team member can take a while. In the meantime, employee productivity takes a serious hit.That’s why it’s good practice to be proactive. Don’t wait until team members depart to start the knowledge transfer process. Instead, make it part of their ongoing work responsibilities.
Experienced staff members have a vast knowledge that goes beyond formal procedures and everyday tasks. Get them to add their unique knowledge into an LMS. This way, when it’s time for them to say goodbye, they’ve already done the bulk of the work. And all their knowledge is safe in the LMS, ready for their replacement to study.
While looking for a replacement, make sure the departing team member has thoroughly documented their tasks and responsibilities. Everybody needs a cheat sheet during their first days at work, right?
Oh, and if you can get them to train a new employee, all the better. They can give them valuable insights about your company culture and tips to make the transition smoother.
4. Say A Proper Goodbye
Before an employee leaves the company, show them once again that you appreciate their contribution and effort. Especially so if they have been with you for years.So why not organize a farewell party or a lunch in their honour? The end of a successful collaboration is at the same time a new beginning. So these are two reasons that call for a celebration!
Another idea is to get everyone to write their wishes on a card. Or, better yet, funny memories. People tend to get emotional when they part ways. Sharing a good laugh is the best option to lift everyone’s spirits and ease the awkwardness.
5. End Things On A Good Note
It’s relatively easy to handle employees that leave on good terms. But how do you manage employee offboarding when a person leaves due to poor performance or conflict?Even when this is the case, do your best to create a positive atmosphere. Point out the employee’s strengths instead of their weaknesses. If they have any unresolved conflicts with a coworker, try to help them make amends. You don’t want an employee leaving the company feeling wronged and bitter. Even if they keep their opinions to themselves.
And what if they don’t? A dissatisfied employee is likely to leave negative reviews on popular career communities, like Glassdoor. Which will not only cause serious damage to your reputation as an employer, it will also make candidates sceptical about joining your company.
A positive employee offboarding experience, on the other hand, can go a long way. An employee who’s exiting the company with a positive experience will do more than speak nicely of you.
They might refer a qualified replacement, or even return to the company when the time’s right. Rehiring former employees (the so-called boomerang employees) has numerous benefits. That’s why companies have become more open to the idea of returning employees. It’s a possibility you shouldn’t rule out, either.
6. Don’t Turn Your Back On Departing Employees
The single best way to show your existing employees your appreciation is to stay in touch and support them.Alumni networks and LinkedIn groups are getting increasingly popular. They give former and current employees a place to share their news or seek advice and support. You can also use the alumni network to post job openings and get referrals.
Be sure to support the employees you have let go, as well. A recommendation letter is the least you can do for an employee that has always been diligent and eager to learn. You can also refer them for a position they are a good fit for. Or you can introduce them to people that may offer them a job in the future. Let them know that your door, too, will always be open.
A laid-off employee will also benefit from constructive feedback. Let them know what they need to work on to become more efficient and competitive. Go further than that and give them practical advice. For example, suggest courses or seminars they can attend to improve their skills. They’ll appreciate the guidance.
Wrote by Hansi
