investing in people

Question 1

what factors determine the business’ people investment planning?

Answer 1

skills audit - review all skills and experience and compare it to what business needs
future business needs - anticipate future gaps in workforce

Question 2

advantages of people investment planning?

Answer 2

business can operate with minimal disruption
better staff retention
business can make plan for training needs

Question 3

disadvantages of people investment planning?

Answer 3

costs may increase to fund training
business has to focus on external change
staff motivation may drop if they have to cover for staff being trained

Question 4

what is recruitment

Answer 4

obtain and retainment of the best available candidate to meet needs of business

Question 5

what is job analysis?

Answer 5

identifies skills necessary to carry out the job

Question 6

what is a job description?

Answer 6

sets out overall purpose and key tasks/responsibilities involved

Question 7

what’s a person specification?

Answer 7

concerned with identifying people who have the qualities needed to fulfil vacancy

Question 8

ways of internal recruitment?

Answer 8

notice boards, emails, company newsletters

Question 9

advantages of using internal recruitment?

Answer 9

employees know how business works
internal promotions make employees work harder
strengths n weaknesses of staff already known

Question 10

disadvantages of internal recruitment

Answer 10

promoted employees need replaced using external
promotion of one may upset others who felt they deserved it
external candidate may of been better fit and not considered

Question 11

ways of external recruitment

Answer 11

social media, newspaper and employment agencies

Question 12

advantages of external recruitment?

Answer 12

wider pool of potentially more experienced candidates
external person can bring new ideas to business
external employee can give constructive criticism

Question 13

disadvantages of external recruitment?

Answer 13

can upset internal employees who felt they deserved promotion
external people may need period of time to settle in
lack of promotion may be demotivating

Question 14

what is an application form?

Answer 14

template used by applicants summarising personal and professional details

Question 15

advantages of application form?

Answer 15

candidates asked questions so easy to complete
easy to sort info speeding up process

Question 16

disadvantages of application forms?

Answer 16

takes time to design and costly to print
may not provide space for all employees info

Question 17

what is an application letter?

Answer 17

letter writing to business stating personal details and qualifications

Question 18

advantages of application letter?

Answer 18

summerise all ur info
can add additional info

Question 19

disadvantages of application letter?

Answer 19

more difficult to fill out not standardised
only focuses on positives

Question 20

what is a cv?

Answer 20

list of all applicants qualifications, experience and interesting details to date

Question 21

advantages of cv?

Answer 21

written communication can be assessed
can discuss other relative info

Question 22

disadvantages of using cv?

Answer 22

info may not be specific to job
difficult to shortlist

Question 23

what is testing?

Answer 23

provides a more accurate picture of candidates ability to preform tasks

Question 24

what are aptitude tests?

Answer 24

how well a candidate can cope with business situations

Question 25

what are attainment tests?

Answer 25

measures ability in a skill that candidate claims to have

Question 26

what are psychometric tests?

Answer 26

provides description of personality of applicants

Question 27

advantages of using psychometric tests

Answer 27

gives upfront info on applicants strengths n weaknesses useful when dealing with large no. applicants

Question 28

disadvantages of using psychometric tests

Answer 28

potential for discrimination extremely costly

Question 29

what are interviews?

Answer 29

when applicant meets representatives to answer questions and discuss the job

Question 30

advantages of interviews?

Answer 30

clarify key details and give info everyone gets equal consideration

Question 31

disadvantages of interviews?

Answer 31

time consuming costly to train staff applicants may try to give answers that make them look better

Question 32

advantages of training and developing staff?

Answer 32

improved efficiency reduction in accidents greater staff morale

Question 33

disadvantages of training and developing staff?

Answer 33

very expensive time taken out of work decreasing productivity

Question 34

advantages of induction training?

Answer 34

relatively inexpensive allows new staff to settle in workers become more confident

Question 35

disadvantages of induction training?

Answer 35

time consuming experienced workers may have bad habits

Question 36

e.g of on the job training

Answer 36

work shadowing, role-plays

Question 37

advantages of on the job training?

Answer 37

relatively inexpensive gain familiarity with tasks

Question 38

disadvantages of on the job training

Answer 38

mistake on job could tarnish rep dependant on quality of worker often rushed process

Question 39

e.g of off the job training?

Answer 39

lectures, role plays

Question 40

advantages of off the job training

Answer 40

gaining additional experience can be motivating cost easily calculated

Question 41

disadvantages of off the job training

Answer 41

expensive employee away from workplace decreasing. productivity

Question 42

what is CPD?

Answer 42

expanding on your knowledge to gain new skills and experience

Question 43

advantages of CPD for employees ?

Answer 43

keeps skills up to date maintains professional standard beneficial for career progression

Question 44

advantages of CPD for employers

Answer 44

reduces labour turnover motivates staff increases efficiency and productivity

Question 45

benefits and drawback of observation appraisal

Answer 45

observed in usual surroundings gives true picture of work employee may find it off putting

Question 46

benefits and drawback of interviews as appraisal?

Answer 46

opportunity to discuss work issues employee can speak their mind employees need to be well briefed or else useless

Question 47

benefit and drawback of self appraisal

Answer 47

employee given more responsibility (motivating) employee may not be aware of flaws

Question 48

benefits of appraisal

Answer 48

opportunities for promotion identifies training needs sets objectives

Question 49

advantages of business recruiting online?

Answer 49

cuts cost of recruitment allows for a wider search of candidates receive applications quicker

Question 50

disadvantages of business recruiting online?

Answer 50

some applicants may be unable to access page some applicants may have difficulty filling out page may attract unsuitable candidates

Question 51

advantages of using social media to recruit?

Answer 51

allows business to attract large pool of candidates can advertise vacancies quickly can check social media backgrounds

Question 52

disadvantages of using social media to recruit?

Answer 52

might negatively influence perception of applicant pre interview not all applicants use social media data leaks may occur