Indian HR

Web-based learning and collaboration tools are driving a new breed of learning management.

 

Social networking, Web 2.0 tools, online collaboration - these are all concepts that have forever changed the technology world and the way we interact with each other online. These solutions also represent a significant milestone in the evolution of learning management. As a result, the learning management system (LMS) has been reborn to include social networking and collaboration tools that capture informal learning and foster internal collaboration.

 

Learning management has evolved in both of these areas to drive workforce productivity and innovation; facilitate information sharing and employee collaboration; and extend formal, informal and just-in-time learning initiatives across the enterprise.

 

Social Networking and Collaboration for the Workplace

 

By breaking out of the traditional "formal" and "informal" learning silos - and embracing the synergy that exists between these two areas - organizations open themselves up to potentially greater results, including more productive employees, shorter time to competency for new employees and partners, and more engaged employees.

 

To do this, LMS solutions have been "reinvented" to incorporate the best social networking, Web 2.0 and collaboration tools alongside powerful LMS capabilities. Social networking and collaboration tools provide organizations with an easy way to connect employees to each other, direct access to information and an environment for them to contribute to the content. These types of tools can help bridge the gaps between traditional or formal learning and less tangible, user-driven, informal learning.

 

In today's "new" LMS, user-driven content should be able to be shared, enhanced, commented on and rated, with the goal of increasing workforce efficiency and productivity. Learners should be able to post questions, documents and best practices and also be able to locate subject-matter experts and information quickly and easily. These shifts in functionality serve to not only make learning more social, but also complement the formal learning capabilities found in traditional LMS solutions.

 

Delivering Learning Using Web 2.0 Technologies

 

Beyond using Web 2.0 and social networking solutions to foster collaboration and capture informal learning, organizations are starting to think about the suitability of learning delivery platforms. For example, just because various types of learning can be delivered via podcast doesn't mean that podcasts are the right format for every learner or topic. Similarly, just because a learner could find the answer to every question on a blog doesn't mean that he or she will.

 

New technologies primarily fall into two categories: Either they replace something we already have, or they add new capabilities. For example, in the 1970s, e-learning took place on mainframe computers. In the 1980s, the transition to the first PCs took place. PCs were cheaper, had better graphics and were more accessible to move training departments, so they became the replacement platform. Next, interactive video via videodisc was introduced into computer-based training (CBT). Although the videodisc died very quickly, the idea of using video in e-learning grew and eventually became an additional capability.

 

A similar type of phenomenon has occurred on the instructional design and learning management side of e-learning. The question we need to answer now is how do all of these new technologies and innovations impact learning, and how do we best use them? In order to do this, we should take a look at how a couple of these technologies evolved and why.

 

How Did We Get Here?

 

In the 1980s, before networks, corporations kept track of training either in books or in a training management system (TMS). Students would actually log into the content itself, and at the end of the course, someone would print out the student record and manually add it to the TMS as part of the learner's record.

 

During the 1990s, companies realized that having all student records in one place along with the ability to launch and track content was important. This was the basis for the modern-day LMS. Over the next decade, the LMS industry took several questionable turns based on what people believed should be included in terms of functionality. Some of these decisions included content authoring and Web conferencing capability. In both cases, the industry was trying to solve a compatibility problem by forcing two different software applications to be part of one. Although some companies sold these combined products successfully, the stand-alone tools were always more powerful and more effective than the combined applications. Eventually, the industry accepted that authoring and conferencing were not really part of the learning management process - although the resulting content produced from these activities needed to be managed within an LMS.

 

In 2000, the e-learning industry began a new era with the introduction of the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). SCORM was promoted as the interoperability solution between content and LMSs. Although the Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training Committee (AICC) standards and other e-learning standards has existed for years, none of them had ever proposed an instructional design strategy or had been as quickly adopted as SCORM. The SCORM book described how you could design content in small, reusable pieces of instruction that could be shared between companies and in multiple courses.

 

As a result of the industry creating all of these small pieces of instruction, the need for a new technology emerged in order to create and manage them. This was the beginning of the learning content management system (LCMS). The LCMS was designed to help create and manage all of these content objects and then reassemble them into new courses.

 

Where We Are Today

 

With the introduction of each new technology and methodology, our industry is trying to make things more efficient and more effective. However, we can't increase the rate at which a learner consumes information, so now the object is to make it more available.

 

This is where formal and informal learning and performance management enter the picture. It is important to acknowledge that every industry, subject and learner has a "best" way to convey whatever knowledge the learner must know. This best solution can range from access to a blog at one end of the spectrum to months in a simulator at the other end of the spectrum. No matter the delivery medium, you first must know who the learners are and what they need to know.

 

Learning management is about connecting the dots between what the learner already knows and what the learner needs to know in order to meet the requirements of his or her job. Learning management has nothing to do with the creation of raw media - though the data collected within an LMS often can help identify areas for new instruction content. The final link is with individual performance; a performance management system provides insight into how a learner performed on the job as well as how others perceive that person's performance.

 

The LMS Is Not Dead - Just Different

 

Regardless of the content and formats available, most jobs require not only that training be documented, but also that learners actually prove that they know the material via a test or simulation. This is what learning management is about.

 

Many companies are actively integrating podcasts, online forums, wikis, blogs and new hardware such as iPhones and BlackBerrys into both formal and informal training. The important thing to remember is that all of these new technologies are simple adding capability to existing practices that already occur within our daily lives. For example, while forums and blogs have often been compared to the informal conversations around a water cooler, neither will ever actually replace those water cooler discussions. They do, however, extend the conversation beyond the water cooler with the added benefit of being able to share it with others.

 

Unlike the early years where people were trying to combine learning management with authoring, the use of learning management to guide individuals toward appropriate sources of informal learning makes sense. For example, having an LMS allows a company to guide employees taking similar courses to the same location. Another example is the ability for an employee to find a blog or wiki written by someone with the same job position at his or her company.

 

The LMS has evolved to enhance social networking and collaboration on a broader scale. By embracing and encouraging adoption of these technologies, learning organizations have a significant opportunity not only to deliver learning in new ways, but also to pair informal learning with formal training, drive improved productivity and deliver increased value to learners.

 

Webjunction Builds A Social Learning Community

 

Supported by grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, online community WebJunction is a unit of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). Library staff and affiliated organizations can gather to solve problems, share knowledge and network with each other.

 

Since its launch in May 2003, WebJunction has provided its nearly 50,000 members with convenient and cost-effective access to online courses and continuing education certification. To date, WebJunction community members have used the site to take more than 30,000 courses.

 

"By blending social communication with marketing communication and competency-based learning content, we are filling a critical need for libraries - particularly small and rural libraries that may not have access to continuing education in other formats," said Linda Lewis, WebJunction's product manager.

 

In 2008, faced with a rapidly growing audience and expanding range of content, WebJunction recognized that it needed to make it easier for users to navigate its course catalog and improve scalability of the site to accommodate increased traffic and new audiences. In addition, WebJunction saw value in creating a centralized, interactive online community for members and users that would bring together the fragmented library field and allow them to engage in discussions, participate in groups, share content and partake in collaborative learning with colleagues and peers.

 

Selecting the LMS

 

"Our mission was to aggregate information to help libraries help each other," Lewis said.

"We had some rudimentary social networking features and a basic LMS, but we wanted to have a scalable platform with more robust community features."

 

WebJunction executives recognized the need for a platform that integrated the features of social community sites and virtual meeting spaces with content and learning capabilities. The initiative required a system that would provide a community experience, including features that would allow for group spaces and a way for individuals to add content to the site. The solution also had to integrate with OCLC's e-commerce solution for payment processing, as well as with WebJunction's own social functionality and content management tools built using Liferay, an open-source enterprise portal solution. Ultimately, WebJunction chose Plateau Systems to be its LMS provider.

 

Since the launch of the new social learning community, WebJunction executives have found that the LMS has allowed them to respond to industry changes and to the breadth of content necessary for meeting the diverse requirements of public and academic libraries as well as state agencies; K-12, law, medical and corporate libraries; and international users. The system allows individual courses to be purchased or libraries to purchase bulk courses through the WebJunction catalog.

 

"Some customers open their catalog to all members; some have strict controls on who may enroll in their courses," Lewis said. "But while our partners can set access permissions the way they want, it's all still being managed by the LMS - and there's a global catalog."

 

Winning Buy-In

 

In one year, nearly 7,000 individuals have enrolled in WebJunction courses, and there are now more than 600 titles, which are mapped to library-specific competencies within the globalized catalog.

 

Lewis said the biggest advantage is that the entire process is seamless.

 

"The interface is always WebJunction. Members just click on courses or competencies and connect to the learning content," she said.

 

Further, once a member clicks on "My WebJunction," he or she can see updates on friends' activities and on relevant content. And by clicking on "My Account," the member can view all his or her courses, comments, activities and affiliations.

 

"It really blends social, learning and marketing content so that it works for the members, for us and for our partners," Lewis said.

 

Creating a Sustainable Platform

 

In addition to the flexibility to grow and evolve along with the needs of the WebJunction community, the LMS also has had measurable business impact. For example, the platform has allowed WebJunction to reduce its support time from 72 hours to two hours, and 100 percent of administrator training is now done with self-paced or instructor-led online learning rather than face to face, further adding to cost savings and resource optimization.

 

 

[About the Author: Ed Cohen is chief technology officer of Plateau Systems, a provider of Web-based software for developing, managing and optimizing organizational skills and talent to increase workforce productivity and business operations performance.]

Total rewards embraces everything that employees value in the employment relationship. It integrates a number of classic human resources disciplines and adds some not-so-classic ones. 
Sandra O'Neal, Towers Perrin (1998). 

More and more, we are all recognising that in order to differentiate our own organisation from others in the jobs market it is necessary to offer more than just a good salary and pension. The past few years have seen an increase in the development of total reward programmes by benefits consultants. In an era of skills shortages, potential recruits and existing employees are becoming more sophisticated in seeking a more congenial work-life balance. 

This bulletin summarises the Executive Briefing, Total Reward, which provides a comprehensive introduction to the concept and offers practical tips and real-life case studies. In the current climate - full employment, a shortage of workers with key skills, and a more mobile workforce - employers have to ensure that they stand out from the crowd in order to be seen as the employer of choice. It is clear that each organisation needs a tailor-made system to address its particular needs, and that a 'one size fits all' approach will not succeed. Therefore it is critical for all employers to review and enhance their total reward offerings. 

Of course, there is nothing new in asserting the importance of non-financial factors in motivating people. Cash-constrained public and voluntary organisations have for years been forced to come up with creative and broadly based reward packages to attract and retain staff who could earn more money elsewhere. Even blue-chip employers with generous and expensive, but uniform, pay and benefits packages have found that not all, or even most, employees are satisfied. 

The trick is to maximise the perceived value of the rewards at an equivalent and acceptable cost to the employer. But, so far, few employers have made the switch from a traditional pay scheme to a total reward system, largely because of the daunting task of making such a wholesale change. The few organisations that have made the change have done so mainly because of outside pressures - for example, to harmonise benefits following a merger or take-over. 
Key findings 

The organisational benefits that flow from a total reward scheme are: 

* easier recruitment of better-quality staff 
* reduced wastage from staff turnover 
* better business performance 
* enhanced reputation as an employer of choice. 

Conclusion 

The psychological contract between employers and employees requires trust on both sides. The provision of a total reward scheme demonstrates that the employer takes into consideration the needs of the individual employee and is prepared to be flexible in meeting those needs. The employee also feels to some extent in control by being able to select various options from a range of benefits. 

The summary of the literature and of approaches to the concept shows that cost and efficiency are also important drivers of the total reward approach. We all want different things from our jobs at different stages in our lives, and we all place different values on what our work and employer provides. At certain times we may be able to concentrate on the luxury of job interest and personal development, while, at others, security and paying the mortgage are paramount. All of these factors are documented, and Total Reward promotes a 'total reward' way of thinking to address these various personnel issues in your organisation. 

In our global knowledge- and service-oriented economy, CIPD research clearly demonstrates that people are potentially the most valuable and powerful source of sustained competitive advantage. But in an environment of continuing and widespread skills shortages, increased diversity and changing social values and expectations, people are also the most difficult asset to manage. They walk out of your office door each evening. Voluntary commitment and engagement underpin business success and are at the heart of a total reward approach.

According to Edwin B. Flippo, recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation”. Recruitment is the activity that links the employers and the job seekers. A few definitions of recruitment are:

A process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applications from which new employees are selected.

It is the process to discover sources of manpower to meet the requirement of staffing schedule and to employ effective measures for attracting that manpower in adequate numbers to facilitate effective selection of an efficient working force.

Recruitment of candidates is the function preceding the selection, which helps create a pool of prospective employees for the organisation so that the management can select the right candidate for the right job from this pool.

The main objective of the recruitment process is to expedite the selection process.

Recruitment is a continuous process whereby the firm attempts to develop a pool of qualified applicants for the future human resources needs even though specific vacancies do not exist. Usually, the recruitment process starts when a manger initiates an employee requisition for a specific vacancy or an anticipated vacancy.

RECRUITMENT NEEDS ARE OF THREE TYPES

PLANNED
i.e. the needs arising from changes in organization and retirement policy.

ANTICIPATED
Anticipated needs are those movements in personnel, which an organization can predict by studying trends in internal and external environment.

UNEXPECTED
Resignation, deaths, accidents, illness give rise to unexpected needs


PURPOSE & IMPORTANCE OF RECRUITMENT

The Purpose and Importance of Recruitment are given below:

Attract and encourage more and more candidates to apply in the organisation.

Create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organisation.

Determine present and future requirements of the organization in conjunction with its personnel planning and job analysis activities.

recruitment is the process which links the employers with the employees.

Increase the pool of job candidates at minimum cost.


Help increase the success rate of selection process by decreasing number of visibly under qualified or overqualified job applicants.

Help reduce the probability that job applicants once recruited and selected will leave the organization only after a short period of time.

Meet the organizations legal and social obligations regarding the composition of its workforce.

Begin identifying and preparing potential job applicants who will be appropriate candidates.

Increase organization and individual effectiveness of various recruiting techniques and sources for all types of job applicants


RECRUITMENT PROCESS

The recruitment and selection is the major function of the human resource department and recruitment process is the first step towards creating the competitive strength and the recruitment strategic advantage for the organisations. Recruitment process involves a systematic procedure from sourcing the candidates to arranging and conducting the interviews and requires many resources and time. A general recruitment process is as follows:

Identifying the vacancy:

The recruitment process begins with the human resource department receiving requisitions for recruitment from any department of the company. These contain:

• Posts to be filled
• Number of persons
• Duties to be performed
• Qualifications required
Preparing the job description and person specification.


Locating and developing the sources of required number and type of employees (Advertising etc).


Short-listing and identifying the prospective employee with required characteristics.


Arranging the interviews with the selected candidates.


Conducting the interview and decision making




The recruitment process is immediately followed by the selection process i.e. the final interviews and the decision making, conveying the decision and the appointment formalities


SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

Every organisation has the option of choosing the candidates for its recruitment processes from two kinds of sources: internal and external sources. The sources within the organisation itself (like transfer of employees from one department to other, promotions) to fill a position are known as the internal sources of recruitment. Recruitment candidates from all the other sources (like outsourcing agencies etc.) are known as the external sources of recruitment




FACTORS EFFECTING RECRUITMENT

The recruitment function of the organisations is affected and governed by a mix of various internal and external forces. The internal forces or factors are the factors that can be controlled by the organisation. And the external factors are those factors which cannot be controlled by the organisation. The internal and external forces affecting recruitment function of an organisation are:




RECRUITMENT POLICY OF A COMPANY

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, a well defined recruitment policy is necessary for organizations to respond to its human resource requirements in time. Therefore, it is important to have a clear and concise recruitment policy in place, which can be executed effectively to recruit the best talent pool for the selection of the right candidate at the right place quickly. Creating a suitable recruitment policy is the first step in the efficient hiring process. A clear and concise recruitment policy helps ensure a sound recruitment process.

It specifies the objectives of recruitment and provides a framework for implementation of recruitment programme. It may involve organizational system to be developed for
implementing recruitment programmes and procedures by filling up vacancies with best qualified people.

COMPONENTS OF THE RECRUITMENT POLICY

The general recruitment policies and terms of the organisation

Recruitment services of consultants

Recruitment of temporary employees

Unique recruitment situations

The selection process

The job descriptions

The terms and conditions of the employment

A recruitment policy of an organisation should be such that:

It should focus on recruiting the best potential people.

To ensure that every applicant and employee is treated equally with dignity and respect.

Unbiased policy.

To aid and encourage employees in realizing their full potential.

Transparent, task oriented and merit based selection.

Weightage during selection given to factors that suit organization needs.

Optimization of manpower at the time of selection process.

Defining the competent authority to approve each selection.

Abides by relevant public policy and legislation on hiring and employment relationship.

Integrates employee needs with the organisational needs.


FACTORS AFFECTING RECRUITMENT POLICY

Organizational objectives

Personnel policies of the organization and its competitors.

Government policies on reservations.

Preferred sources of recruitment.

Need of the organization.

Recruitment costs and financial implications.


RECENT TRENDS IN RECRUITMENT

The following trends are being seen in recruitment:

OUTSOURCING
In India, the HR processes are being outsourced from more than a decade now. A company may draw required personnel from outsourcing firms. The outsourcing firms help the organisation by the initial screening of the candidates according to the needs of the organisation and creating a suitable pool of talent for the final selection by the organisation. Outsourcing firms develop their human resource pool by employing people for them and make available personnel to various companies as per their needs. In turn, the outsourcing firms or the intermediaries charge the organisations for their services.

Advantages of outsourcing are:

Company need not plan for human resources much in advance.

Value creation, operational flexibility and competitive advantage

turning the management's focus to strategic level processes of HRM

Company is free from salary negotiations, weeding the unsuitable resumes/candidates.

Company can save a lot of its resources and time


POACHING/RAIDING

“Buying talent” (rather than developing it) is the latest mantra being followed by the organisations today. Poaching means employing a competent and experienced person already working with another reputed company in the same or different industry; the organisation might be a competitor in the industry. A company can attract talent from another firm by offering attractive pay packages and other terms and conditions, better than the current employer of the candidate. But it is seen as an unethical practice and not openly talked about. Indian software and the retail sector are the sectors facing the most severe brunt of poaching today. It has become a challenge for human resource managers to face and tackle poaching, as it weakens the competitive strength of the firm.


E-RECRUITMENT
Many big organizations use Internet as a source of recruitment. E-recruitment is the use of technology to assist the recruitment process. They advertise job vacancies through worldwide web. The job seekers send their applications or curriculum vitae i.e. CV through e mail using the Internet. Alternatively job seekers place their CV’s in worldwide web, which can be drawn by prospective employees depending upon their requirements.

Advantages of recruitment are:

Low cost.
No intermediaries
Reduction in time for recruitment.
Recruitment of right type of people.
Efficiency of recruitment process.


RECRUITMENT Vs. SELECTION

Both recruitment and selection are the two phases of the employment process. The differences between the two are:

1. The recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organisation WHEREAS selection involves the series of steps by which the candidates are screened for choosing the most suitable persons for vacant posts.

2. The basic purpose of recruitments is to create a talent pool of candidates to enable the selection of best candidates for the organisation, by attracting more and more employees to apply in the organisation WHEREAS the basic purpose of selection process is to choose the right candidate to
fill the various positions in the organisation.

3. Recruitment is a positive process i.e. encouraging more and more employees to apply WHEREAS selection is a negative process as it involves rejection of the unsuitable candidates.

4. Recruitment is concerned with tapping the sources of human resources WHEREAS selection is concerned with selecting the most suitable candidate through various interviews and tests.

5. There is no contract of recruitment established in recruitment WHEREAS selection results in a contract of service between the employer and the selected employee



TYPES OF JOB SEEKERS

1. Quid Pro Que
These are the people who say that “ I can do this for you, what can you give me” These people value high responsibilities, higher risks, and expect higher rewards, personal development and company profiles doesn’t matter to them.

2. I will be with you
These people like to be with big brands. Importance is given to brands. They are not bothered about work ethic, culture mission etc.

3. I will do you what you want
These people are concerned about how meaningful the job is and they define meaning parameters criteria known by previous job.

4. Where do you want me to come
These people observe things like where is your office, what atmosphere do you offer. Career prospects and exciting projects don’t entice them as much. It is the responsibility of the recruiter to decide what the employee might face in given job and thus take decision. A good decision will help cut down employee retention costs and future recruitment costs

Vacancy triggers recruitment process

Recruitment is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization


Recruitment process –

.. Identification of vacancy

.. Analyzing the vacant job

.. Applying the sources of recruitment (internal & external sources)

.. Screening of suitable resumes for interview

.. Initial interview with the candidates and shortlisting the suitable

.. Call candidates for further / final rounds of interviews

.. Selection of suitable candidates for the positions vacant

.. Complete the documentation process and verification

.. Issue offer letter

.. Perform the joining formalities

.. Recruit the personnel

.. Schedule induction programme for new joinees

.. Follow up of other HR activities


Sources of Recruitment –

(1) Internal sources

.. Internal job posting

.. Considering previous and current employees of the orgn.


(2) External sources

.. Employee reference

.. Application data bank

.. Advertising

.. Employment agencies

.. Schools & colleges

.. Job portals


Interviews

.. Personal interview is the most universally used tool in any selection process

.. Generally, an employment interview will serve 3 purposes

Obtaining information – About prospective employees background, work history, education and interests

Giving information – About company, specific job and personnel policies

Motivation – It will also help in establishing a friendly relationship between the employer and the applicant and motivate the satisfactory applicant to want to work for the company or orgn.


.. But in reality, it is not so. It helps only in obtaining information about the candidate. The other 2 purposes are generally not served


Types of interviews –


.. Informal interviews

It is not planned and is used when labour market is tight and we need workers badly. Sometimes a friend or relative may take a candidate to the house of the employer, where this type of interview may be conducted.


.. Formal interviews

It’s a planned interview. This is held in a formal atmosphere in employment office with a well structured questions. Here the interviewer has a plan of action, time to be devoted to each candidate, modality of interview and so on.


.. Patterned interviews

A well planned interview with higher degree of accuracy and precision. A list of questions and areas is carefully prepared. The interviewer goes down the list of questions, asking them one after another.


.. Non-directive interviews

Under this type, the candidate is allowed to express his opinion freely.

Interviewer is a careful and patient listener, prodding whenever the candidate is silent. The purpose of the interview is to give the candidate, complete freedom to sell himself without encumbrances of the interviewer’s questions.


.. In-depth interviews

It is intended to mainly examine the candidate’s background and thinking and to go into considerable detail on a particular subject of special interest to the candidate.


.. Stress interview

This method will test the candidate and his conduct & behaviour by putting him under conditions of stress and strain. This is more advantageous type as it tests the behaviour of individuals under disagreeable and trying situations.


.. Group interview

The candidates response and reaction will be tested. Candidates will be given a topic for discussion and be observed as to who will lead the discussion, how reasonable their views are, how they react to other’s opinions and so on.


.. Panel interview
The members of interview board will conduct the interview. This is done usually for supervisory and managerial positions. It coordinates the collective judgement and wisdom of the members of the panel.


Suggestions for improving the effectiveness of interviews –


.. An interview should follow a definite time schedule with ample time for
interview

.. The interview should be conducted in a calm and cool atmosphere

.. Interview should have necessary elements of privacy

.. The interview should not lead a mental tension and stress and should avoid arguments

.. Attention should be paid not only to the communication skills (if the job requirement can be satisfied with average of it), but also the managerial abilities and attitude

.. A panel should conduct the interview avoiding exhibiting their individual talent before other members, which causes inconvenience to the candidate


.. The interviewee should be informed about the method and maximum time in getting result