Human resource management
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| human resource management/ˈhjuːmən rɪˈzɔːs ˈmænɪdʒmənt/ | The management of an organisation's people, including recruitment, development, performance and employment relationships. |
| workforce/ˈwɜːkfɔːs/ | workforce |
| recruitment/rɪˈkruːtmənt/ | The process of attracting and selecting people to fill job vacancies. |
| selection/sɪˈlekʃn/ | Choosing suitable applicants for a job by assessing their qualifications, skills and other relevant qualities. |
| training/ˈtreɪnɪŋ/ | Organised learning and practice intended to develop particular skills or knowledge. |
| retention/rɪˈtenʃn/ | Keeping employees in an organisation rather than losing them through departures. |
| applicants/ˈæplɪkənts/ | People who formally seek a job by submitting an application. |
| person specification/ˈpɜːsn ˌspesɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/ | A description of the skills, qualifications, experience and personal qualities required for a job. |
| internal/ɪnˈtɜːnl/ | Within an organisation, system or specified boundary. |
| promote/prəˈməʊt/ | promote |
| external/ekˈstɜːnl/ | Outside an organisation, system or specified boundary. |
| induction/ɪnˈdʌkʃn/ | Training that introduces a new employee to the organisation, workplace and requirements of the job. |
A business is its people
- You can have the best product and the smartest plan, but without the right people it goes nowhere.
- Human resource management 人力资源管理 (HRM) is how a firm gets, keeps and develops those people.
Human resources decision lab
Classify HR actions by the job they do inside the workforce.
Human resource management is mainly concerned with:
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
HRM manages the workforce across its whole cycle.
Forecasting the number and skills of staff a firm will need is workforce ______.
Difficulty 1/5 · 100 coins + a small bonus on first completion today
Workforce planning precedes recruitment.
What HRM does
- Workforce 劳动力 planning: forecasting how many staff, with what skills, the firm will need.
- Recruitment 招聘, selection 甄选, training 培训, and retention 员工保留 of employees.
Managers plan and organise the workforce: the core of human resource management
Match each stage to what it does.
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Recruit then select; planning comes first.
Recruitment and selection
- Recruitment attracts applicants 求职者 (job description, person specification 人员规格, advert).
- Selection chooses the best (application forms, interviews, tests, references).
- It can be internal 内部 (promote 晋升 from within) or external 外部 (hire from outside).
Worked example. A growing firm needs five new salespeople. HR writes a person specification, advertises, shortlists, interviews, and selects — then plans their induction 入职培训 so they are productive quickly.
Recruitment: describe the job, advertise, then select the best applicant
An advantage of internal recruitment is that it:
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Internal recruitment is cheaper and motivating, but adds no new ideas.
External recruitment can bring new skills and ideas into a firm.
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Hiring from outside introduces fresh expertise, though at higher cost.
Internal vs external recruitment
- Internal: cheaper, faster, motivates staff — but no fresh ideas and leaves another gap.
- External: brings new skills and ideas — but is costly, slower and riskier.
You've got it
- HRM plans, recruits, trains and retains the workforce
- recruitment attracts applicants; selection chooses the best
- recruitment can be internal (cheap, motivating) or external (fresh skills)
Write from 4 posts filled
- External advertising draws 40 applicants.
- The firm has 4 posts to fill.
- Say what recruitment did and what selection must do.
External advertising attracts 40 applicants for 4 posts. Which part of HRM attracted the applicants, and which part should choose the 4 people?
Recruitment builds the list. Selection picks from it.
How many posts does selection have to fill?
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Selection chooses people for the vacant posts.