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SHRM Notes 1

SHRM — NotesFunctions of Management (The management process) Planning, organizing, staffing, leading, controllingPlanning: Establishing goals Deciding in advance — what to do, when to do, and how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are and where we want to be Deals with chalking out a future course of action and deciding in advance the most appropriate course of action.Organizing: Delegation, assignment of responsibilities The process of bringing together physical, financial, and human resources and developing a productive relationship amongst them for achievement of organizational goals.o Identification of activitieso Classification of grouping of activitieso Assignment of dutieso Delegation of authority and creation of responsibilityo Coordinating authority and responsibility relationshipsStaffing: Recruiting, training, promotions Involves manning the organization structure through proper and effective selection, appraisal and development of personnel to fill the roles designed in the structureo Manpower planningo Recruitment, selection, and placemento Training and developmento Remunerationo Performance appraisalso Promotions and transferLeading: Social aspects — motivating, supervising Deals directly with influence, guiding, supervising, motivating subordinates for the achievement of organizational goals.o Supervision — Overseeing the work of subordinateso Motivation — Inspiring, stimulating, or encouraging subordinateso Leadership — Guidance, influenceo Communication — Passing information, experience, opinions. Bridge of understanding.Controlling: Setting quantifiable standards for future comparison, measuring performance Implies measurement of accomplishment against the standards and correction of deviation if any to ensure achievement of organizational goals. The measurement and correction of performance activities of subordinates in order to make sure that the enterprise objectives and plans desired to obtain them as being accomplished.o Establishment of standard performance E.g: Monthly sales quotao Measurement of actual performanceo Comparison of actual performance with the standards and finding out deviation if anyo Corrective actionTypes of managers:Line manager: A person who directly managers other employees and operations of a business while reporting to a higher-ranking manager. The line manager term is often used interchangeably with“Direct manager”. Main duty is to issue orders down the chain of command. Line managers hold a superior- subordinate relationship with them. A line manager is authorized to direct the work of subordinates and is responsible for accomplishing the organization’s tasksStaff manager: General term for anyone who manages staff — line managers, functional managers with staff, directors with staff, are all staff managers. Main duty is to advise other managers or employees. Staff managers hold an advisory relationship with them. Unlike line managers, staff managers lack the authority to issue orders down the chain of command.Functional manager: Someone who manages a business function with or without staff. For example, a systems manager might only have responsibility for workflow to an entirely outsourced team and nodirect staff management. A program manager for service transition might have a floating team of a couple of dozen people as well as a set of contracted outsource functions.Types of authority:Functional Authority: Refers to the authority exerted by HR towards a specific activity or business function. Functional authority is also considered a Coordinative Function. It is the authority exerted by aHR manager as coordinator of personnel activities. E.g: Ensuring that line managers are implementing the firm’s human resources policies and practices.Line Authority: Refers to a manager’s right to issue orders to other managers or employees, which creates a superior-subordinate relationship.Staff Authority: Refers to a manager’s right to advise other managers or employees, which creates an advisory relationshipHuman resource managers carry out three primary functions: Staff, Coordinative, Line. Line: Directing members of the HR department Coordinative (Also referred to as Functional Authority): Ensuring that line managers implement HR policies in their respective departments. Staff: Assisting and advising line managers and representing employee interests to senior managementTip: In most firms, there is one HR employee for every 100 company employees. Therefore, a firm with 500 company employees would require 5 HR employees to handle all of the firm’s HR issues. Transactional HR Groups Embedded HR Units HR Centers of expertise Corporate HR GroupsTransactional HR Groups: These provide specialized support in day-to-day transactional HR activities (Such as changing benefits plans and providing updated appraisal forms) to the company’s employees Transactional refers to day-to-day operations Transactional HR groups typically refer to call centers and outsourcing arrangementsEmbedded HR Units: Having a HR representative in specific departments. Assigns HR generalists (also known as “relationship managers” or “HR business partners”) directly to departments like sales andproduction, to provide the localized human resource management assistance the departments need. If employees are unable to receive the HR assistance they need on a regular basis, then it would be appropriate for the firm to assign HR generalists to each department as a direct line to theHR department. Embedded HR Units prevent the problem of inconsistent assistance that employees sometimes face with a large HR department.HR centers of expertise: Specialized HR consulting firms within the company — for instance, they provide assistance in areas such as organizational change Corporate HR groups: Focuses on assisting top management in “top level” big picture issues such as developing and explaining the personnel aspects of the company’s long-term strategic planWorker trends across the US: Globalization means lower prices and higher quality of goods. However, this also means lower job security as more and more companies are outsourcing transactional operations to overseas. There is a shift from manufacturing to service jobs due to more integrated supply chains. This eliminates slack and inefficiencies out of the production system and enables firms to produce more products with fewer employees Human capital refers to the knowledge, education, training, skills, and expertise of a firm’sworkers. The U.S may face a labor shortage in a few years because there are fewer people entering theworkforce than there are retiring baby boomers. One of the primary challenges of Generation Y employees is their need for constant praise andrecognition. Due to globalization, HR managers are now focusing more on big picture issues and strategic goals. Transactional services like benefits administration are being outsourced more frequently. Outsourcing refers to using outside vendors to provide a service that was once handled internally by a firm’s employees. Many transactional (day-to-day) HR services are being outsourced, such as issuing checks and handling benefits administration.Data Warehouse: These, along with computerized analytical programs help HR managers monitor their HR systems. Both make it simpler for HR managers to assess things like cost per hire and to compare currentemployees’ skills with the firm’s projected strategic needs.Shifts in the role of HR:Previously: HR mainly focused on employee training, compensation, and hiringNow: HR must be familiar with strategic planning, marketing, production, and finance. HR should be able to explain HR activities in financially measurable terms, such as return on investment and cost per unitof service.Strategic Human Resource Management involves formulating and executing human resource policies and practices that product the employee competencies and behaviors the company needs to achieve strategic aims. Strategic human resource plans enable a company to hire the employees who will exhibit the behaviors the company needs to accomplish its goals.High Performance Work System is a set of human resource management policies and practices that together produce superior employee performance. This results in higher overall performance, higher profits, lower operating costs, and lower worker turnover in comparison to low-performance work systems.Tip: SHRM Test Topics include: Ethics, management practices, staffing, development, compensation, labor relations, strategic management, workforce planning, health and safety.

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Published - Sun, 15 Jan 2023

Created by - Jenny Clarke

SHRM CP- I crammed in 8 days and passed!

Hello everyone, Disclaimer: PLEASE DO NOT CRAM IN THE LAST MINUTE! IF YOU HAVE THE TIME TO STUDY, PLEASE DO & TRY NOT TO PROCRASTINATE.However, if you can’t help but procrastinate and you started studying in the last minute like myself, here’s a sign that it’s okay and you can still pass!A little brief about my qualifications, i’ve got a Bachelor degree in HRM & a total of 2.5 years of experience.I decided to register for the exam by the end of October. I opened their website to check for exam dates and realised there was only one day left for the “Early Bird” discount so I went for it! By then, I thought I had exactly the amount of time I need to start preparing for my exam. ~ 3 beautiful months ~????I began searching for the materials that I wanted to use. I checked the LMS, got a slap in the face when I saw the price. I started reviewing more budget friendly guides, trying to compare between them, contemplating whether I should buy all of them, research research research…Luckily & finally, I stumbled across this life saving thread which clarified a million things for me and made it easier for me to decide on what resource I want to use to prepare for the exam.https://medium.com/@hrsolutions386/passed-the-shrm-cp-some-advice-and-self-study-materials-2415a6455ae8I purchased the following book(it was the only guide I used and it was the basis of everything)SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP Certification All-in-One Exam Guide (Willer)Now to the best part, there was one month left for the exam, and I haven’t started studying yet! I wasn’t happy about it ofcourse. The emotional turmoil, stress and anxiety I was going through until the day of the exam was unbelievable.Exactly 8 days before the exam, I got my shit together. I divided the topics in the book and scheduled my learning hours so that I could cover everything during those 8 days. It was horrible, the amount of info I had to process in such a short period was unbelievable, but doable. I did not learn everything by heart, I just made sure that I am aware of the concepts and processes.Now, one thing I got to know is that without practice tests, you won’t really grasp how to answer the situational questions. My most important tip to you is, do practice tests like your life depends on it. No matter how much you learn the “knowledge”, if you don’t grasp the way they SHRM wants you to answer, you won’t get the score.The practice tests I used are the ones available in the SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP Certification All-in-One Exam Guide by the end of every chapter. The book also includes a CD with questions presented in an exam format, timed,scored and all. It gives you a really good feel of the actual exam.I also found this 7$ resource on pinterest, it has around 800 question presented in an exam format. The best part, they actually thoroughly explain the reasoning of the correct answer.https://payhip.com/b/4IUCFinally, I purchased this practice test from certexamdbSHRM-CP Practice exams 202318 Practice Exams 1000+ Questions with detailed explanationSHRM-CP Practice Exam Course with full and challenging…certexamdb.comMy eight days were days where my face was buried in the book and doing a few practice questions everyday.Whenever I couldn’t sleep from stress over the exam, i’d use Quizlet, they provide online flash cards that provide you with short definitions and short questions on different topics. Imp: Don’t depend on quizlet for studying, it’s more of a short revision on random topics.Finally, exam day: I felt that due to the amount of info I processed in a short time period, I wouldn’t be able to remember anything during the exam. I honestly expected to fail. Gladly, I didn’t.For revision, I printed the notes that @Andypizzle provided in the thread linked above, and used them to revise. 2 hours before the exam time, I stopped reading and revising. I just freed my mind because a 4 hour exam is definitely going to fry my brain!Moral of the story, you can do it & you will do great!

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Published - Thu, 19 Jan 2023

Created by - Jenny Clarke

Shrm Notes 2

Introduction, and the SHRM Body of Competency & KnowledgeThis study guide is my interpretation of the most important and relevant information related to the SHRM-CP test, it is not meant to be a complete guide that covers all areas of the SHRM-CP, and probably shouldn’t be your only study source. A lot of this guide is derivative of the book “SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP Certification All-in-One Exam Guide” by William H. Truesdell; Dory Willer; William D. Kelly, which I personally believe to be one of the best guides for the SHRM-CP test. I would definitely recommend getting that book if you want a more comprehensive guide to work with. They’re not paying me to endorse them but I attribute much of my success on the SHRM-CP to that book.I intend for this to be a collaborative document, so if there’s anything important that I missed, please feel free to add comments or shoot me a pm on Reddit (/u/andypizzle). I’ll try to check on this every couple of days during the Winter 2019 testing window.1.1 SHRM Body of Competency and KnowledgeThe SHRM BoCK is basically a roadmap for the SHRM credentials. It outlines the HR-related areas that should be covered, but doesn’t really go into detail on them.If the SHRM-CP test was a pizza, the BoCK would be like a list of all the toppings you could put on the pizza. Think of leadership/motivation theories like cheeses; it’ll tell you about all the different types of cheeses(theories), but won’t tell you the attributes of each cheese, or which cheese works best with different types of toppings (people/situations). This is probably a horrible analogy but I’ll edit this document again when I can come up with something better.The SHRM BoCK is free to download on the official SHRM website.https://www.shrm.org/certification/about/body-of-competency-and-knowledge/Pages/default.aspxSection 2 — US Laws and RegulationsThese are just the US laws and regulations that I felt were the most important/relevant to the test. There are a bunch more that are covered in the guide mentioned in the introduction, but the ones listed here should provide a good foundation.Laws applying to companies with 1 or more employees:The Consumer Credit Protection Act (1968)Applies to companies with at least 1 employeeLimits the amount of wages that can be garnishedCreditors can only garnish up to 25% of your disposable wages (after deductions)Deductions are things such as group health insurance, federal tax withholding, etc.Child support: Up to 50% garnishment if you have dependents, 60% if you don’tStudent loans: Up to 15%Back taxes: Pretty high, employer gives you minimum, the rest go to IRSEmployers cannot retaliate unless you have more than 1 garnishment.Protections decrease once you have 2 or more garnishmentsDavis Bacon ActContractors/subcontractors have to pay prevailing wages to their laborers/mechanicsEmployee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)Protects employees covered by a pension plan from losses in benefits due to job changes, plant closings, bankruptcies, or mismanagementThe Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)Individuals who leave/lose their jobs can obtain health coverage even if they or someone in their family has a serious illness/injury or is pregnantProvides privacy requirements related to medical recordsLimits exclusions for preexisting conditions and guarantees renewability of health coverage to employers and employeesFair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)Mainly related to how people are paid (Minimum wage, overtime)Helps determine whether a job is exempt or nonexempt from overtime payRequires employers to keep a record of employee informationHow much they are paid, as well as basic identifying informationOvertime calculation (1.5x normal pay rate, for all hours worked over 40)Determining whether a job is exempt or nonexempt under FLSA:Exempt Status:Five main types: Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer Systems, Outside SalesExempt and Nonexempt Employees:Exempt: Excluded from overtime requirements of the lawNonexempt: Are not excluded from the overtime requirements of the law and are entitled to overtime.Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Exemptions:An exempt employee must meet three requirements, referred to as white-collar exemptions:Minimum salaryPaid on a salary basis without improper deductionsPerform exempt dutiesPrimary Duty Issue:A primary duty is the main or most important duty and is an important part of exemption. Thus, employees who spend more than 50 percent of their time performing a specific duty will generally satisfy the primary duty requirement.The lower the percentage, the greater the legal risk if challengedExecutive ExemptionHave a primary duty of managing an enterprise, department, or subdivisionHave the authority of the employer to hire and fireDirect the work of at least two full-time employees or their equivalentAffect promotion decisionsAdministrative Exemption:Requires performance of office or non-manual work directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customersIncludes the exercise of discretion and independent judgement related to “matters of significance.”Professional Exemptions:Learned ProfessionalsRequires advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning that is acquired by prolonged instructionWork is intellectual in nature and requires exercise of discretion and judgementCreative ProfessionalsMust meet minimum salary requirementsPerform work that requires invention, imagination, originality, or talentPerform in a recognized field of creative or artistic endeavor.Highly Compensated Exemption:Make an annual salary of $100,000 or more that includes at least $455 per week paid on a salary or fee basisPerform one of the duties of an exempt executive, administrative, or professional employee.Computer EmployeesMust meet the salary minimum with a salary of $455 per week or $27.63 per hourEmployee’s pay cannot be subject to deductions inconsistent with the salary basis requirementPrimary duties must fall into one of four categories:Application of systems analysis techniques and proceduresDesign, development, documentation, etc of computer systemsDesign, documentation, testing of computer programs related to machine operating systems.A combination of these dutiesOutside Sales:To qualify for the outside sales exemption, an employee must:Have a primary duty involving making sales or obtaining orders and contractsBe customarily and regularly engaged away from the employer’s place of businessOutside sales employees are not subject to the minimum salary requirements of other exemptionsImproper DeductionsEmployers who make improper deductions will lose the exemption (And thus have to pay overtime) for all employees in the same job classification working under the individuals responsible for the improper deductions during the time period the deductions were made if they did not intend to pay on a salary basis.Examples of impermissible deductions:Absences resulting from the operational requirements of the employerDeductions for illness in less than full-day incrementsExamples of permissible deductions:Employee performed no work in an entire workweekEmployee is absent from work because of personal issues excluding sickness or any form of disabilityDisciplinary suspensions of one or more full daysSafe Harbor:A “safe harbor” provision prevents an employer from losing an overtime exemption for improper pay deductions — regardless of the reason for the improper deductions, where:The employer has a clearly communicated policy prohibiting improper pay deductionsEmployees are reimbursed for any improper deductionsThe company makes a good-faith effort to comply in the futureE.g: Employee has a full day of pay deducted because he/she was sick. It was later discovered that he/she worked for 2 hours before taking the rest of the day off. As long as the employer reimburses the employee in a timely manner, overtime exemption will not be lostIf any work is performed in a day, no deductions from salary are allowedFSLA Basic Overtime Provisions:Sets rate of overtime pay (1.5 times regular pay (which includes base pay, shift premiums, production bonuses) after 40 hours worked)Requires overtime on time worked, not time compensated (sick pay, jury duty pay, holiday pay, vacation pay, etc)Sets workweek as any fixed, recurring period of 168 hours (7 days * 24 hours)Compensatory TimeOvertime usually must be paid in cashPublic-sector employers may grant compensatory time off.Does not apply to nonexempt private sector employeesPublic employees can accumulate “comp time”Police/Firefighters: 480 hoursPublic employees: 240 hoursFLSA Child Labor ProvisionsRestricts hours and conditions of employment for minorsUnder age 14:Prohibited from most nonfarm workMay be employed by parentsCertain jobs permitted (e.g: actors, newspaper carriers)Age 14–15:During school hours: 3 hours/dayDuring school vacation: 8 hours/dayHours restrictedAge 16–17:Prohibited from hazardous jobsNo other restrictionsLaws applying to companies with 1 or more employees (Continued):Labor Management Relations Act, or Taft Hartley Act (LMRA)Helps employersProhibits unfair labor practices by unions and outlaws closed shops, where union membership is required in order to get and keep a job.National Labor Relations Act, Or Wagner Act (NLRA)Helps unionsProvides employees the right to form unions and negotiate wage and hour issues with employersGrants employees the right to organize, join unions, and engage in collective bargaining and other “concerted activities”Protects against unfair labor practices by employersLandrum-Griffin ActHelps employees in unionsProtects the rights of union members from corrupt or discriminatory labor unions, and applies to all labor organizationsTaft-Hartley and Landrum Griffin both aim to protect individuals from unions.Both have people names in themBoth kind of start with LNorris-LaGuardia ActProhibits yellow-dog contractsAgreements where employees promise employers that they would not join unionsTip: Chuck Norris and his Yellow Dog. Chuck Norris owns his yellow dog and tells him what he can’t and can’t doSherman Anti-Trust ActProhibits attempts to restrict competition or fix pricesProhibits restraint of tradeWagner-Peyser ActAssists the unemployedProvides job seekers with assistance in their job search, and recruitment services for employersLaws applying to companies with 15 or more employees:Americans with Disabilities ActEmployers are required to provide job accommodations for qualified individualsE.g: An accountant with diabetes requires a specific meal schedule, he is fully capable of doing his accounting job. The employer should allow him to have a different meal scheduleJob accommodations: If there is no request for accommodation, no action is required by the employer.Prohibits employers from inviting job applicants to identify their disability status prior to receiving a job offerAn employer is not required to make an accommodation if it would impose an “undue hardship” on the operation of the employer’s businessCivil Rights Act (Title VII)Relates to employment discrimination and cites six protected classesRace, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation/gender identityTip: Remember that the Civil Rights Act does not protect discrimination against age or disabilityAge discrimination is covered under ADEA (20 or more employees)Disability discrimination is covered under ADAAs of 06/15/2020, the Civil Rights Act applies to sexual orientation and gender identityDrug Free Workplace ActOnly applies to federal contractors and all organizations receiving grants from the federal governmentGenetic Information Nondiscrimination ActProhibits employers from using genetic information to make employment decisionsLilly Ledbetter Fair Pay ActClock will begin running anew each time an illegal act of discrimination is experienced by an employeeStatute of limitations for filing an equal pay lawsuit prior to the LLFPA was 180 daysNew statute of limitations for filing a claim under the Fair Pay Act with the EEOC is two years from the time the discriminatory paycheck was receivedE.g: Jill makes less money than John even though they do the same job and were hired at the same time. John and Jill are paid every week.Jill takes home a smaller paycheck every week compared to John because of wage discrimination. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act makes it so that the 180-day statute of limitations gets reset whenever Jill takes home a smaller paycheck than John, instead of during the first event of wage discrimination (The first check).Before the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Jill would not have been able to file an equal pay lawsuit if she found out about the wage discrimination after already working 180 days at the company.Laws applying to companies with 20 or more employees:Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)Prohibits discrimination for employees 40 years old or olderCOBRARequires employers to offer terminating employees the opportunity to continue their health plan coverage after they leave the company or no longer qualify for benefitsCost must be at group rates; employer can add administrative service charge (max of 2%)Update general and qualifying event noticesProvide notice within 90 days of employee leavingEstablish reasonable notification procedures and communicate them to all employeesProvide a notice of unavailability of continuation of coverage within 14 days of the date you are informed of the qualifying eventNotify individuals whose coverage ends before the maximum continuous coverage period allowedCOBRA (Additional info)Provides group medical coverage after a qualifying eventType of event determines the length of coverage, generally 18–39 months.Employer can charge the actual cost + a 2% administrative feeFederal law does not require employers to provide healthcare benefitsEmployers must offer COBRA coverage if it does provide healthcare benefits and employs more than 20 people.Employer does not have to offer COBRA coverage in the event of termination due to gross misconductLaws applying to companies with 50 or more employees:Affirmative Action:Federal contractors are required to have an AA programEqual employment opportunity and establish outreach programs for minorities and womenFamily and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)50 or more employeesApplies to all public schools and agencies, regardless of sizeProvides leaves lasting up to 12 weeks in a 12-month periodUnpaid, unless employer has its own policyTo qualify, employees must have been employed for at least 12 months, and have at least 1250 hours of service during the 12-month periodCovers childbirth/adoption, care for ill child/spouse/parent, care for employee’s own serious illnessEmployee is guaranteed return to work on the same job, same pay, under the same conditions as prior to the leave of absenceAffordable Care ActEmployers must provide full-time employees with minimum health insurance coverage (or face a fine of $2000 per employee)Employers with fewer than 25 employees will receive a tax credit if they provide health insurance to their workersLaws applying to companies with 100 or more employees:Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)100 or more full time employees at a single facilityMass Layoff — at least 500 employees laid off from workforce of 500 or more; or when at least 33 percent of the workforce are going to be laid off where there is a total of 50 to 499 workers before the layoffRequires 60 days advance notice to employees of plant closing or mass layoffsAny employment loss of 50 or more people, excluding part time workers, is considered a trigger event to activate the requirements

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Published - Sat, 21 Jan 2023

Created by - Jenny Clarke

Shrm Notes 3 — People

Section 3 — PeopleFunctional Areas:HR Strategic PlanningTalent AcquisitionEmployee Engagement and RetentionLearning and Development (Motivation/Leadership Theories)Total Rewards3.1 HR Strategic PlanningKey Concepts:Approaches to project management (Six Sigma, TQM)Organizational mission/vision/valuesProject planning (Critical path, Gantt charts)Strategic planning (PESTLE, SWOT)Systems TheorySystems theory is widely applied in organizational development interventions and is essential to the quality movement. A system is composed of interacting parts that work together to achieve an objective. A system is intended to absorb inputs, process them, and produce outputs.Eli Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints:Focused on identifying constraints and eliminating them, thus resulting in continuous improvementEvery organization faces constraintsThe greatest constraints come from policies and not from physical entities such as resources or materialsTOC uses five steps to concentrate improvement effects on the components most capable of producing the most positive impact on a systemSix Sigma:Data-driven methodology for eliminating defectsA process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per million opportunitiesExample: A hospital system studied variations and made improvements in patient care practices, patient costs, and hospital utilization. Other areas of focus were billing errors, excess inventory, excess overtime, and employee turnover.Total Quality Management (TQM):TQM is a strategic management system for achieving customer satisfaction that involves all managers and employees, and uses quantitative methods to continuously improve an organization’s processes.Key word is continuous improvement. It highlights the importance of organizational learning.Mission Statement: Specifies quantifiable activities and the course that management has charted for the future.Involves an actual planVision statement: Provides a guiding image of the future that the organization wishes to reachValues statement: Beliefs that are important to an organization, that dictate employee behaviorGantt Chart:A Gantt chart is a graphical depiction of a project schedule. It’s a type of bar chart that shows the start and finish dates of several elements of a project that includes resources, milestones, tasks, and dependencies.Mainly used in project managementPert Chart:A PERT chart is a project management tool that provides a graphical representation of a project’s timeline. It is a visual representation of a series of events that must occur within a project’s timeline.It uses circles or rectangles called nodes to represent project events or milestones. These nodes are linked by vectors or lines that represent various tasks.A PERT chart allows managers to evaluate the time and resources necessary to manage a project.The use of a PERT chart is highly subjective, and its success depends on the management’s experience. These charts can include unreliable data or unreasonable estimations for cost or time for this reason.Considered preferable to Gantt charts, because they identify task dependencies.PESTEL Analysis:Method of environmental scanning — Used to gather data typically before conducting a business venture such as opening another branch. Referred to just PEST most of the time.Political — Government policy, political stability, labor lawsEconomic — Economic growth, interest ratesSocial — Beliefs and attitudes of the population (career attitudes, age distribution, etc.)Technological — Population’s access to smartphones, access to high speed internetEnvironmental — Pollution targets, availability of ethically sourced materialsLegal — Consumer rights, product labeling, product safety (Similar to political)SWOT Analysis:Strengths of the organization (internal)Weaknesses of the organization (internal)Opportunities (external)E.g: Emerging need for your productsThreats (external)E.g: Changing regulations3.2 Talent Acquisition:Key Concepts:Job Analysis and Job DocumentationQuality metricsInterview BiasesJob Description: A series of statements describing the role, responsibility, duties, and scope of a particular jobSummarizes the most important features of a jobDescribes the work that details the required tasks, KSA, responsibilities, and reporting structureInclude the physical requirements of the job for ADA considerationsInclude duties that support exempt statusJob Analysis: Determining the level of responsibility embedded in the job and how it impacts the overall organizationJob Analysis (The KSA’s)Knowledge: The information necessary to perform a taskSkills: Level of competency or proficiencyAbilities: Traits or capabilities necessaryJob Analysis Methods:Observation: Works best for short-cycle jobs in productionInterview: Good for professional jobsOpen-ended questionnaire: Good when a large number of jobs must be analyzed and there are insufficient resources to do it.Highly-structured questionnaire: Defines job with a relatively objective approach, which also enables analysis to be performed using computer modelsEssential Job Functions:Fundamental job-related duties necessary to the positionEssential functions are distinguished from nonessential or marginal functions that are part of the job but are incidental to the purpose and nature of the jobJob Analysis Outcomes:Job description: Written description and job requirements (title and duties)Job specification: Written statements of the necessary job qualifications (education and experience)Job Evaluation: A systemic determination of the relative worth of jobs within the organization and is concerned with the value of a job to the organization. The process establishes a relative worth of jobs by establishing a hierarchy of jobs.Follows job analysis, which focuses on job description and specificationSupports the need for the total rewards system to further the organization’s strategic objectives and is intertwined with the organization’s concern for pay equity.Job Competencies:These represent the knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal characteristics that work together to produce outstanding performance, they are the critical success factors needed to perform in a job or functional area.Job Specifications:Qualifications necessary for an incumbent to be able to perform the jobInclude experience, training, education, licenses, and certification requiredCan be a separate section of the job description or a separate documentShould reflect what is necessary for satisfactory performance, not what the ideal candidate should have.Internal Workforce Planning:Staffing:Identifies human capital needsprovides qualified individuals for jobs in the organizationWorkforce Planning:Organization analyses its workforce and prepares for future needs.Forecasts future conditions and identifies gaps between current and future staffStaffing Needs Analysis Process:Supply AnalysisDemand AnalysisBudget AnalysisStrategic AnalysisTrend and Ratio Analysis:The use of statistics to determine whether relationships exist between two variablesTrend analysis:Plots the number of employees for the last six years and projects the trend out for two more years.Organizational Approach to International BusinessEthnocentric: Headquarters maintains tight control over international operationsPolycentric: Each international operation is treated as a distinct national entityRegio-centric: Operations are managed regionallyGeocentric: Organization is viewed as a single international business rather than a collection of individual headquarters-country and international operationsReliability: Ability of an instrument to measure with a high degree of consistencyValidity: Degree to which inferences made from tests are correct and accurateContent validity: Degree to which a test measures knowledge, skills, and abilities that are part of the job.Least sophisticated type of validity to assess.Used primarily to evaluate job knowledge and skillNot appropriate for evaluating the ability to learn new skillsConstruct Validity: Degree to which a selection device measures a theoretical construct or trait. Typical constructs are intelligence, mechanical comprehension, or personality traits (e.g: anxiety)E.g: Using a heart-rate monitor during a flight simulator to gauge anxiety during a flight, when evaluating potential pilots.Criterion-related Validity: Correlation of test results to job performanceConcurrentPredictiveConcurrent Validity:Test employees on a key attribute ???? measure employee’s job performance ???? then correlate the two thingsPredictive Validity:Measure all applicants on attribute ???? Hire and wait for some period ???? Measure performance of newly hired employees.Errors in Performance Appraisal:Halo effect: When an employee is extremely competent in one area and therefore is rated high in all categoriesHorn effect: When one weakness results in an overall low ratingRecency: Occurs when an appraiser gives more weight to recent occurrences and discounts the employee’s earlier performancePrimacy: Occurs when an appraiser gives more weight to the employee’s earlier performance and discounts recent occurrencesStrictness: When appraisers believe that standards are too low and they inflate the standards in an effort to make the standards more meaningful in their eyes3.3 Employee Engagement & RetentionCost Leadership Strategy is used to increase efficiencies and reduce production costs below the industry average or their closest competitor. To have the lowest priced good(s).E.g: Walmart as opposed to Target. Walmart is the cost leader.Most appropriate in a stable business environment. Low-cost firms’ emphasis on efficiency makes it difficult to change quickly if needed.Unit Labor Cost: Average cost of workers divided by their average levels of outputUsed to measure the average cost of labor per unit of output.Fill Rate: The decision rule for which proportion of openings in a particular job will be covered by internal promotions versus new hiresHofstede’s Cultural Dimensions:Power Distance: The extent to which inequality and power are tolerated.E.g: China has high power distanceLow power distance indicates that a culture encourages organizational structures that are flat, decentralized decision-making responsibility, and places emphasis on power distributionIndividualism vs Collectivism: The degree to which societies are integrated into groupsUncertainty Avoidance Index: The extent to which uncertainty and ambiguity are tolerated.High uncertainty avoidance index indicates a low tolerance for uncertainty, ambiguity, and risk-taking.Masculinity vs Femininity: Considers the preference of society for achievement, attitude towards sexuality equality, behavior, etc.Long-term vs Short-term: The extent to how a society views its time horizon.Long-term focuses on the future and involves delaying short-term success or gratification in order to achieve long-term success. Emphasis on persistence, perseverance, and long-term growthShort-term focuses on the near future, involves delivering short-term success or gratification and places a stronger emphasis on the present than the future.Indulgence vs Restraint: The extent and tendency for a society to fulfill its desires.Balanced Scorecard:The balanced scorecard is a management system. It is a way of looking at an organization that focuses on big-picture strategic goals.Consists of: Financial, Learning and growth, Customers, and Internal Business ProcessesAligns business function measures with organizational strategiesLearning and Growth:Looks at overall corporate culture. Is it easy for employees to collaborate and share knowledge? Does everyone have access to training opportunities?Internal Business Processes:About how smoothly the business is running. About reducing waste, speeding things up, doing more with less. Are you providing what your customers with what they actually want? What should you be best at?Customer:Focuses on the people who buy the products. Are you winning new business? How are you viewed in your industry compared to competitors?Financial:The majority focus of the balanced scorecard. How do you look to shareholders? Is the business making money? How is the financial health of the company?Step 1: Plan the processConfirm the scope of the project and establish a project timelineOutline a project communication approachDetermine organizational participationConfirm expected project deliverablesStep 2: Design the scorecardFocus on specific measures that support business strategyIdentify critical success factors for implementationDevelop an action plan to support implementationCollect and prepare dataStep 3: Employ and refine measuresEmploy scorecardMonitor performance gapsRefine measures of scorecardIdentify implementation issuesAttrition: Refers to the phenomenon of employees leaving the company. It is the normal life cycle of employment. Employees are not leaving because they have a problem with the company, it is a matter of life unfolding. Attrition is higher in companies located in transient cities and in organizations that hire older employees as a matter of practice.Turnover: Applies to employees who leave the company due to termination, taking a better job, or because they felt there was no room for growth. A high turnover rate typically means working conditions are not optimal, pay is below market average, or staffers are not well trained.Layoffs: Can be a temporary cessation of employment usually initiated because the company is having financial problems.Termination: A permanent end to employment that can happen for any reason, usually through poor performance or policy violations.Organizational Commitment: The bond employees experience with their organization. Broadly speaking, employees who are committed to their organization generally feel a connection with their organization, feel that they fit in, and feel they understand the goals of the organization.This is a significant contributor to organizational performance.3.4 Learning and DevelopmentThis can get pretty detailed so I’m just going to cover the basic motivation/leadership theories and a few other thingsPrinciples of Motivation:All human behavior is caused. People have a reason for acting.All behavior is directed towards achieving a goal. Behavior is not randomEach person is unique. No two people have exactly the same characteristicsMaslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:Physiological — Physical needs like food/waterSecurity — Shelter, feel free from threatsSocial — The need to belong, social groupsEsteem — Training, recognition, high statusSelf-Actualization — Opportunity for growth, problem solving, creativityHerzberg’s two-factor Theory:Unacceptable conditions in regards to hygiene factors will lead to job dissatisfaction. Posits that employee satisfaction is achieved mainly through changes in job content.Consists of extrinsic hygiene factors, and intrinsic motivation factorsAcceptable hygiene conditions will lead only to a state of satisfaction; they do not motivate, they only satisfy.However, hygiene factor levels must be acceptable in order for the motivation factors to become operative.Extrinsic Hygiene Factors: Pay, working conditions, coworkersIntrinsic Motivation Factors: Personal growth, achievement, recognitionMcClelland’s Theory:Based on studies showing that some people have an intense need to achieve while others do not. His work identifies the characteristics of people with high needs of achievement.High achievers:Set moderately difficult but potentially achievable goalsPrefer to work on a problem rather than leave the outcome to chanceSeem to be more concerned with personal achievement than with the rewards of successSeek situations in which they get concrete feedback on how well they are doing with regards to their workMcGregor’s Theory X and Theory YRepresents two types of management styles.Theory X managers believe that people inherently dislike work and will try to avoid it.Authoritative style of managementTheory Y managers believe that employees dislike rigid controls and inherently want to accomplish something.Participative style of managementVroom’s Expectancy TheoryBasically, people will be motivated to exert effort towards a goal if they believe that there is a favorable outcomeExpectancy — A person’s belief that a chance exists that a certain effort will lead to a particular level of performance, which, in turn, will lead to certain outcomesE.g: If I make more calls, I’ll increase my sales numbers, and be rewarded with a new company vehicleInstrumentality — A person’s belief that a specific action leads to a specific outcomeE.g: If I increase my sales numbers by 10%, i’ll be rewarded with a new company vehicleValence — The strength of an individual’s desire for a particular outcome.E.g: I REALLY want a new company vehicleTension exists when similar inputs do not equal similar outcomes. Employees may adjust their behavior or quit their jobs.Tip: Vroom → Cars go vroom → Company vehicle exampleLeadership Theories:Leadership requires alignment to the organization’s vision and missionLeaders influence others toward the achievement of goals, act as change agents, serve by example, and develop other leadersProduces useful changeBy itself never keeps an operation on time and on budget year after yearEstablishes directionAligns peopleMotivates and inspiresManagementCan create orderly results that keep something working efficientlyBy itself never creates significant, useful changePlanning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling and problem solvingIs about coping with day-to-day operations.Brings order and consistency to the organizationEstablishes systems and structures that get resultsObstacles to Leadership Development:Slowly developing crises (as opposed to explosive crises that seem to call forth leadership talents)Suppressive effects of large and complex organizationsPrestige of specialist professional trainingEducational system rewards that value individual performance over teamworkNegative publicity often associated with high visibilityTrait Theories of LeadershipEarly approaches focused on the qualities of leaders and held that leaders were born not madeThe “Great Person” theory of leadershipFive personal traits of effective leadersIntelligenceDominanceSelf-confidenceHigh levels of energy and activityTask-relevant knowledgeBehavioral Dimensions of Leadership:The concept that how a person behaves determines that person’s leadership effectivenessConsideration (Employee-centered)Behavior aimed at meeting the social and emotional needs of groups and individualsHelping group members and explaining decisionsInitiating Structure (Job-centered)Behavior aimed at careful supervision of work methods and performance levelsClarifying roles and setting goalsBlake Mouton’s Theory (Behavioral)Tip: Mouton sounds like mutton, which only fancy people eat. Fancy people hang out at country clubs (Blake Mouton Theory = Theory with the country club)Authoritarian Managers: High Production, Low PeopleTask-oriented, very strong on schedulesTend not to foster collaborationTeam Leaders: High Production, High PeopleLead by positive example, fosters a team environmentEncourages individual and team developmentCountry Club Managers: Low Production, High PeopleUse rewards to encourage team membersTend to avoid punitive actionsImpoverished Managers: Low Production, Low People“Delegate and disappear” management styleDetach themselves, often creating power strugglesSituational Leadership:Emphasizes that leadership style should vary according to the situation or the employees involved. Situational leadership has 2 components:Task Behavior: Refers to the extent to which leaders are likely to organize and define the roles and activities of members of the groupRelationship Behavior: Refers to the extent to which leaders are likely to maintain personal relationships with members of the groupHersey — Blanchard’s Theory (Situational)The Hersey-Blanchard theory is distinctive because it does not depict an ideal mode of behavior that is appropriate for all situations. It suggests that leadership style should be matched to the maturity of the employees.Tip: Hersey sounds like Hershey’s. The Hersey-Blanchard model looks kind of like a Hershey’s kissDirective: Degree of one-way communicationSupportive: Degree of two-way communicationAs the employee’s maturity increases, leadership should become more relationship-motivated than task-motivated. Leadership consists of four tasks based on the employee’s maturity:Directing employees what to do (for employees who need the most guidance)Coaching/Selling ideas to employeesSupporting employeesDelegating to employees (for employees who need the least guidance)Fiedler’s Contingency Theory (Situational)States that group performance is dependent upon the interaction between leadership style and situational favorableness. Success is determined by three factors:Leadership-member relations: The degree of trust that followers have in their leaders.Task structure: The extent to which tasks are definedPosition power: The degree of power and influence a leader has over subordinatesLeaders should change the factors rather than changing their style.Other Leadership Styles:Transactional leadership offers the promise of reward or threat of discipline, depending upon followers’ performance of measurable tasks.Looks for deviation from rulesIntervenes when standards are not metAbdicates responsibility and avoids making decisionsTransformational leadership inspires and simulates followers to join together in a mutually satisfying achievement of genuine consequence.Provides vision and sense of missionCommunicates high expectationsPromotes intelligence and problem solvingGives personal attention and coachesPerformance Management:The process of maintaining or improving employee job performance through the use of performance assessment tools, coaching, and counseling as well as providing continuous feedbackThe performance review process is the opportunity for the employee and the manager to discuss development goals and jointly create a plan for achieving those goals.Performance Management Standards:In setting and communicating performance standards, the HR professional needs to consider:Behaviors — What does the organization want employees to doResults — What does the organization want the employees to produce?Skinner’s Behavioral Reinforcement Theory:Individual Performance AppraisalsObserve employees performing the jobIdentify and record strengths and areas for improvementRate employee on progress towards previously stated objectivesProvide reinforcing and corrective feedback on employee performanceSet goals on performance improvementSpecial Methods:Management by Objectives (MBO): Employees help set their objectives defining what they intend to achieve. Objectives are based on the overall organizational goalsBehaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS): Designed to combat the problems of category ratings by describing examples of desirable and undesirable behavior. Examples are then measured against a scale of performance levels. Works best when many employees are performing the same task. Requires extensive time and energy to develop and maintain.Legal Performance Appraisals:Performance appraisal methods must be:Valid and free from discriminationBased on formal evaluation criteriaBased on personal knowledge and interaction with employeesDesigned to prevent one manager from influence an employee’s careerBased on equitable treatment of all employeesAppraisal Feedback Guidelines:Describe the behavior, don’t judge it.Assume an attitude of helpfulnessEmpathize and listen activelyGive specific examplesDocumentation GuidelinesDocument as situations happenKeep notes on all employees, not just a fewUse objective criteriaSupport job-related observations with facts, but avoid conclusionsFocus on deficiencies, not causesRemember that others will read your document.Employee Development ProgramsJob Rotation — The movement between different jobsJob Enlargement — Occurs when the employee is doing different tasks within the same job. Adding more tasks gives employees a variety of responsibilities that require the same level of skillJob Enrichment — Increases the depth of a job by adding responsibilities such as planning, organizing, controlling, and evaluation.Dual-Ladder ProgramsIdentify meaningful career paths for people who are not interested in traditional management roles. Technical experts may or may not be well-suited for future management and executive leadership roles. The employee can earn as much as they would in a management position.Succession and Replacement PlanningSuccession planning is a talent management strategy to help identify and foster the development of high-potential employees. This activity identifies employees who may be considered ready for future higher-level positions as they become available.Fast-track programs speed up the development of potential leadersSuccession:Long term; 12–36 monthsFocuses on leadership talent for the futureDevelops leaders capable of filling multiple assignmentsReplacement:Short-term; 0–12 monthsFocuses on immediate needsDevelops back-up staff for key positions.

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Published - Sat, 21 Jan 2023

Created by - Jenny Clarke

Shrm Notes 4 — Organization

Section 4 — OrganizationQuite a big chapter, but I feel like the crux of it revolves around organizational structures and developmentDifferent Types of Organizational StructuresOrganizational structures define the hierarchy in an organization, and determine the way information flows within it.Functional: Traditional structure, includes divisions based upon specialty. Forms the well-known hierarchy of senior management, marketing, finance, human resources, and operations.Centralized StructureSpecialist staff, standardization, greater economies of scale.Lacks variety and job enrichment, greater bureaucracyEach specialist group answers to top management. Since each team works in silos, management is expected to guide all departments into one unit.Divisional: This structure groups individuals based on the products or projects they are undertaking. At the top is the CEO, and after them is a hybrid of functional grouping: public relations, legal, finance, global research, business development, and human resourcesDecentralized StructureSenior management time freed up, motivation through greater decision powersLack of specialization, extra processingThis style blends the expertise of many different skill sets.Matrix: Combination of the functional and divisional structures. Companies are divided into departments of specialization, and then within those units, they are separated furtherOrganizational Development:This is the process used to enhance the effectiveness of an organization and the well-being of its members through planned interventionsOD initiatives occur on both a large and small scaleGoals are to improve:Productivity (effectiveness and efficiency)Employee satisfaction with the quality of their work lifeThe organization’s ability to revitalize and develop itself over time.Organizational processes and outputsOrganizational Development “Change Management” InitiativesFocus on changing the entire systemLink to the organization’s strategic planUse applied behavioral scienceHelp organizations solve their own problemsImportant: The whole system must change, not just a few components of the systemOD Interventions:OD interventions are appropriate when an organization:Experiences a merger or acquisition that introduces a culture that is not compatible.Experiences low trust, high turnover, or high stressLacks the ability to manage conflict.OD Intervention process:Diagnose the environmentDevelop an action planEvaluate the resultsHR Roles: Change agent, evaluatorSensitivity Training is a form of training with the goal of making people more aware of their own goals as well as their prejudices, and more sensitive to others and to the dynamics of group interaction.Has been criticized for the emotional stress it creates for some participants.Quality management requires employees to rethink what they do and become more involved in workplace decisions.Organizational citizenship is discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but that promotes the effective functioning of the organization.The Delphi Method:The Delphi Method is a qualitative forecasting method. It is a structured way of getting a group to examine an issue. Example below:Group of 4 people tasked with forecasting next quarter sales, each asked to come up with own reasoning in a reportModerator collects the 4 reports, removes the names and gives them back to the group to discuss.Now the group has 4 “anonymous” viewpoints they can consider. This eliminates any personal bias they might have towards other members, and focuses on the reports themselves.Steps 1–3 are repeated until the group can come to a consensus.

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Published - Sat, 21 Jan 2023

Created by - Jenny Clarke

Shrm Notes 5 — WorkPlace

Section 5 — WorkplaceOne of the “softer” sections in my opinion. Relates more to mindsets and ways of thinking. No real definitions to study, it really just emphasizes the importance of diversity, inclusion and ethics. A good understanding of labor laws will help this section click better.Outsourcing: The transfer of some work to organizations outside the employer’s payroll. The vendor may be across the street or across the country.Off-shoring: The transfer of some work to sources outside the United States.On-shoring (home-shoring): The relocation of business processes or production to a lower-cost location inside the same country as the business.Near-shoring: Contracting part of the business processes or production to an external company located in a country that is relatively close. For the United States, that could mean Mexico or Canada.Organizational Approach to International BusinessEthnocentric: Headquarters maintains tight control over international operationsPolycentric: Each international operation is treated as a distinct national entityRegio-centric: Operations are managed regionallyGeocentric: Organization is viewed as a single international business rather than a collection of individual headquarters-country and international operationsUnfair Labor Practice (ULP):The NLRA, or Wagner Act, prohibits employers from engaging in ULPsThe LMRA, or Taft-Hartley Act, prohibits unions from engaging in ULPsCollective Bargaining patterns:Pattern/Parallel bargaining: Union negotiates agreements similar to those existing in the industry or region. Referred to as whipsawingCoalition/Multiple employer bargaining: Multiple employers, negotiating with one unionCoordinated Bargaining: One employer, negotiating with multiple unionsWeingarten Rights: A union employee has the right to have another employee present during certain investigatory interviewsThe person attending must be affiliated with the union that represents the employee, not an attorney or relative.Types of Contract Negotiations:Positional negotiationPeople are locked in positionsParties lose sight of underlying problemsEmphasis on winningPrincipled negotiationSeparates people from problemFocus on interests, not positionsInvent options for mutual gainInsist on objective criteriaCollective Bargaining Subjects:Mandatory Subjects: Subjects that directly impact — wages, hours or working conditions. These are subjects over which the parties must bargain if a proposal is made by either party. This does not mean that the parties have to reach agreement on such proposals, but rather that they have to engage in the process of bargaining in good faith over the subject.OvertimeSeniorityVacation/holidaysIllegal subjects (unlawful by statute): Subjects that cannot be legally bargained over by either party. They are subjects that would violate the law and cannot be entered legally into a collective bargaining agreement even if both parties agree to do so.Closed shops (a place of work where membership in a union is a condition for being hired and for continued employment)Discriminatory hiringPermissive subjects (voluntary): Subjects not directly related to the work. The list can be infinitely long. The parties may agree to bargain over these but are not required to by law and can refuse to discuss them without fear of an unfair labor practice charge. It would also be a violation to strike over a permissive subject.Benefits for retired union membersSettlement for ULPsNeutrality agreementsFormal Grievance Procedure:Immediate supervisorIntermediate supervisorHigher-level managementThird party

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Published - Sat, 21 Jan 2023

Created by - Jenny Clarke

Shrm Notes 6 — Behavioral Competencies

Section 6 — Behavioral CompetenciesBased on my understanding, behavioral competencies relate specifically to the Situational Judgement questions of the SHRM-CP test, which make up about 50% of the exam. There really isn’t any new information covered. Behavioral Competencies focus more on mindsets instead of technical information. A lot of this section can be condensed down to “SHRM-Think”. Basically, pick the answer/business decision that best supports the organization’s strategy/vision, also any answer that paints HR as a strategic component in an organization. SHRM’s own vision is for HR to become more of a strategic part of a business as opposed to an administrative part, so pick the answers that support that vision.Definitely approach this section last, after you have a good understanding of the technical competencies (People, Organization, Workplace). Technical competencies are kind of like cooking ingredients. Simply knowing the technical competencies is like knowing the characteristics of each ingredient, without knowing their limitations, or what they work well with. Behavioral competencies represent the cooking experience gained from actually using these ingredients. Instead of memorizing hundreds of recipes (how to respond to each specific scenario), try to understand which flavors work well together (More specifically, the flavors that SHRM thinks works well together, which is whatever best supports the organization’s strategy). I hope that makes sense.The correct response to most of the situational judgement questions will depend heavily on the context, so a good understanding of SHRM-think will be your biggest asset.Behavioral competencies are broken up into three clusters:Leadership ClusterLeadership and NavigationEthical PracticeInterpersonal ClusterRelationship ManagementCommunicationGlobal and Cultural EffectivenessBusiness ClusterBusiness AcumenConsultationCritical EvaluationOverview:These are things that HR people are expected to be able to say and do given any set of circumstances they may face. Proper responses depend on experience, careful thought, and knowledge. It isn’t enough to memorize facts.What is important is how those facts can be blended with the situation to produce a proper response or employee treatment. That is called situational awareness. HR professionals must be capable of working with problems within their context. It isn’t enough to say, “You can’t use that written employment test.”There needs to be an analysis of why the test was wanted by the hiring manager in the first place. Situationally, there may be some valid alternative approaches to the real problem of identifying the talent needed. Behavioral competencies are a critical part of an HR professional’s life.Leadership ClusterBehavioral Competency 1 — Leadership and Navigation:“Leadership and Navigation is defined as the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) needed to navigate the organization and accomplish HR goals, to create a compelling vision and mission for HR that aligns with the strategic direction and culture of the organization, to lead and promote organizational change, to manage the implementation and execution of HR initiatives, and to promote the role of HR as a key business partner.”“Leadership and Navigation” Contains 4 sub-competencies:Navigating the organization: Working within the parameters of the organization’s hierarchy, processes, systems, and policiesVision: Defining and supporting a coherent vision and long-term goals for HR that support the strategic direction of the organizationManaging HR initiatives: Executing the implementation and management of HR projects or initiatives that support HR and organizational objectivesInfluence: Inspiring colleagues to understand and pursue the strategic vision and goals of HR and the organizationKey Concepts:Leadership theories (e.g., situational leadership, transformational leadership, participative leadership, inclusive leadership)People management techniques (e.g., directing, coaching, supporting, delegating)Motivation theories (e.g., goal-setting theory, expectancy theory, attribution theory, self-determination theory)Influence and persuasion techniques (e.g., personal appeal, forming coalitions, leading by examples, rational persuasion)Trust- and relationship-building techniques (e.g., emotional and social intelligence)Summary:Expertise in Leadership and Navigation enables HR professionals to keep their organizations focused on its strategies and goals to lead the workforce talent by creating collaboration and fostering a vision with influence, emotional intelligence, and motivation.Behavioral Competency 2 — Ethical Practice“Ethical Practice is defined as the ability to integrate core values, integrity, and accountability throughout all organizational and business practices.”“Ethical Practice” Contains 3 sub-competencies:Personal integrity: Demonstrating high levels of integrity in personal relationships and behaviorsProfessional integrity: Demonstrating high levels of integrity in professional relationships and behaviorsEthical agent: Cultivating the organization’s ethical environment and ensuring that policies and practices reflect ethical valuesKey Concepts:• Ethical business principles and practices (e.g., transparency, confidentiality, conflicts of interest)• Anonymity, confidentiality, and privacy principles and policies• Codes of conductSummary:This behavioral competency explores the ethical requirements for HR professionals. Ethics plays a part in each segment of HR duties and responsibilities. If HR managers don’t demonstrate personal and organizational integrity, employees are likely to also demonstrate absence of integrity. Transparency, honesty, and confidentiality are key components of an effective ethics program. For some people, ethics is simply doing the right thing in each circumstance. For others, ethics represents compliance with professional standards of conduct.Every day, an HR professional is likely to encounter one or more ethics dilemmas. How you react to those problems will determine what your organizational culture really is, not what you claim it is. Decision-making is integral to ethics requirements. It starts with the most senior executive and then applies to each subordinate manager, supervisor, and employee.Interpersonal ClusterBehavioral Competency 3 — Relationship Management“Relationship Management is defined as the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) needed to create and maintain a network of professional contacts within and outside of the organization, to build and maintain relationships, to work as an effective member of a team, and to manage conflict while supporting the organization”“Relationship Management” Contains 5 sub-competencies:Networking Effectively: building a network of professional contacts both within and outside of the organizationRelationship building: Effectively building and maintaining relationships both within and outside of the organizationTeamwork: Participating as an effective team member that builds, promotes, and leads effective teamsConflict management: Managing and resolving conflicts by identifying areas of common interest among the parties in conflictNegotiation: Reaching mutually acceptable agreements with negotiating parties within and outside of the organizationKey Concepts:Types of conflict (e.g., relationship, task, inter- and intra-organizational)Conflict-resolution styles (e.g., avoidance, competition, cooperation, conciliation)Conflict-resolution techniques (e.g., accommodate, avoid, collaborate)Negotiation, tactics, strategies, and styles (e.g., perspective taking, principled bargainer, auction, interest-based bargaining)Summary:Establishing and maintaining relationships is critical to the HR mission and purpose in an organization. Supporting stakeholders in reaching the strategic goals of the organization can make those achievements less painful and more rewarding.Behavioral Competency 4 — Communication“Communication is defined as the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) needed to effectively craft and deliver concise and informative communications, to listen to and address the concerns of others, and to transfer and translate information from one level or unit of the organization to another.”“Communication” Contains 3 sub-competencies:Delivering messages: Developing and delivering to a variety of audiences’ communications that are clear, persuasive, and appropriate to the topic and situationExchanging organizational information: Effectively translating and communicating messages among organizational levels of unitsListening: Understanding information provided by othersKey Concepts:Elements of communication (e.g., source, sender, receiver, message feedback)General communication techniques (e.g., planning communications, active listening)Communication techniques for specialized situations (e.g., giving feedback, facilitating focus groups, facilitating staff meetings)Communications media (e.g., phone, email, face-to-face, report, presentation, social media)Summary:This behavioral competency highlights the importance of and ability to effectively exchange and communicate information, both oral and written, with stakeholders. When HR information is communicated with clarity and effectiveness, the intended receivers better understand the value and purpose of what is being communicated, be it policies, practices, decisions, or changes. This in turn can have a positive effect with the audiences HR serves, both internal such as employee satisfaction and external such as candidate attraction.Behavioral Competency 5 — Global and Cultural EffectivenessGlobal and Cultural Effectiveness is defined “as the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) needed to value and consider the perspectives and backgrounds of all parties, to interact with others in a global context, and to promote a diverse and inclusive workplace.”“In the context of today’s increasingly global workforce, HR professionals must be able to effectively and respectfully interact with colleagues, customers, and clients of varying backgrounds and cultures.”“Global and Cultural Effectiveness” Contains 3 sub-competencies:Operating in a diverse workplace: Demonstrating openness and tolerance when working with people from different cultural traditionsOperating in a global environment: Effectively managing globally influenced workplace requirements to achieve organizational goalsAdvocating for a diverse and inclusive workplace: Designing, implementing, and promoting organizational policies and practices to ensure diversity and inclusion in the workplaceKey Concepts:Cultural intelligenceCultural norms, values, and dimensions (e.g., Hall, Hofstede, Schein, Trompenaars models)Techniques for bridging individual differences and perceptions (e.g., barrier removal, assimilation)Best practices of managing globally diverse workforcesInteractions and conflicts of professional and cultural valuesSummary:It is important to consider the impact of global and cultural needs to organizations operating in other countries. Differences in the speed of work and the way in which respect is shown and expected all play a part in how we help our groups develop the common culture we want to have moving into the future. Each culture has positive contributions to make, and through discussions, those contributions can be discovered and highlighted.Business ClusterBehavioral Competency 6 — Business AcumenBusiness Acumen is defined “as the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) needed to understand the organization’s operations, functions, and external environment, and to apply business tools and analyses that inform HR initiatives and operations consistent with the overall strategic direction of the organization.”“Business Acumen” Contains 3 sub-competencies:Business and competitive awareness: Understanding the organization’s operations, functions, products and services, and the competitive, economic, social, and political environments in which the organization operatesBusiness analysis: Applying business metrics, principles, and technologies to inform and address business needsStrategic alignment: Aligning HR strategy, communications, initiatives, and operations with the organization’s strategic directionKey Concepts:Business terms and concepts (e.g., return on investment [ROI])Analyzing and interpreting business documents (e.g., balance sheets, budgets, cash flow statements, profit and loss statements)Elements of a business caseBusiness intelligence techniques and tools (e.g., online analytical processing, advanced analytics, business intelligence portals)Financial analysis and methods for assessing business healthSummary:Assessing financial impacts of business proposals related to employee management is an important HR contribution to executive discussions and proposal considerations. All HR programs should be assessed periodically using business management tools, including profit and loss sheets and balance sheets. HR professionals cannot have credibility with other executives unless they have this ability to analyze programs using business considerations, business and competitive awareness, and an alignment of strategies in HR with corporate strategies.Behavioral Competency 7 — ConsultationConsultation is defined “as the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs) needed to work with organizational stakeholders in evaluating business challenges and identifying opportunities for the design, implementation, and evaluation of change initiatives and to build ongoing support for HR solutions that meet the changing needs of customers and the business.”“Consultation” Contains 5 sub-competencies:Evaluating business challenges: Working with business partners and leaders to identify business challenges and opportunities for HR solutionsDesigning HR solutions: Working with business partners and leaders to design HR solutions and initiatives that meet the business needsImplementing and supporting HR solutions: Working with business partners and leaders to implement and support HR solutions and initiativesManaging change: Leading and supporting the maintenance of or changes in strategy, organization, and/or operationsInteracting with customers: Providing high-quality customer service and contributing to a strong customer service cultureKey Concepts:• Organizational change management theories, models and processes (e.g., leadership buy-in, building a case for change, engaging employees, communicating change, removing barriers)• Consulting processes and models (e.g., discovery, analysis and solution, recommendation, implementation), including the contributions of consulting to organizational systems and processes• Effective consulting techniques (e.g., understanding organizational culture, understanding areas and limits of one’s own expertise, setting reasonable expectations, avoiding overpromising)• Key components of successful client interactions (e.g., listening, empathy, communication, follow-up)Summary:Collaborative interactions can be rewarding and satisfying when the impact is measured and found to contribute to company goals. Providing advice and counsel to your clients is one of the biggest roles and most important for HR professionals.Behavioral Competency 8 — Critical EvaluationHR professionals are now able to access vast amounts of data to help them in their decision-making. This area of behavioral competency looks at the extent to which that information is gathered, assessed, and used in the decision-making process.“Critical Evaluation” Contains 4 sub-competencies:Data advocate: Understanding and promoting the importance and utility of dataData gathering: Understanding how to determine data utility and identifying and gathering data to assist and inform with organizational decisionsData analysis: Analyzing data to evaluate HR initiatives and business challengesEvidence-based decision-making: Using the results of data analysis to inform and decide the best course of actionKey Concepts:Survey and assessment tools (e.g., development, administration, validation of surveys and assessments)Sources of data (e.g., surveys, interviews, focus groups)Basic concepts in statistics (e.g., descriptive statistics, correlation) and measurement (e.g., reliability, validity)Using data to support a business case (e.g., interpretation, visualization, graphical representation)Summary:All HR professionals will find it necessary to incorporate critical evaluation into their jobs. Looking past the obvious to what is actually driving people to do what they do is essential. Gathering data, assessing that data, and using the information to make quality decisions is something all HR professionals should be able to do. There is no more “shooting from the hip.” Conscious exploration of alternatives and impact now drive the modern HR function.Anyone working at the professional level in human resource management is expected to be able to access and interpret information the organization’s leaders need to make accurate decisions about the workforce.

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Published - Sat, 21 Jan 2023