Recent Happenings in Hr

Recent happenings in corporate HR

INDEX

1. Recruitment

1.1 Ex-employees

1.2 Customers

2. Variable Pay and Performance Linked Incentives

3. Diversity & Inclusion

4. HR Audit

5. Benefits

5.1 Leave policies

5.2 Performance assessment : team vs individual

1. Recruitment

1.1. Ex-employees

Former employees can often make successful rehires -- they are known quantities and are familiar with your organization's unique culture. And there's the matter of cultural fit. A former employee is familiar with the organization and has already demonstrated whether he or she and the company are compatible. It is often difficult to assess cultural fit with a new candidate.

Rehiring former employees also keeps them away from competitors. This can be particularly beneficial in highly competitive areas like sales, or in jobs where trade secrets and/or processes may be worth safeguarding.

And there's the matter of cultural fit. A former employee is familiar with the organization and has already demonstrated whether he or she and the company are compatible. It is often difficult to assess cultural fit with a new candidate.

Rehiring former employees also keeps them away from competitors. This can be particularly beneficial in highly competitive areas like sales, or in jobs where trade secrets and/or processes may be worth safeguarding.

Considering the Candidate: There are no guarantees that a former employee will turn out to be an ideal employee. Because it's unlikely that the job he or she once had is exactly the same as the open position. It's important to look at whether the person has required or transferable skills.

There are disadvantages of hiring former employees too, particularly those who have left on their own: not knowing why they left. The vast majority won't say why they left. They could be bringing other relationship "baggage" back with them.

Therefore, it is recommended to look closely at a former employee's track record since leaving, probably through oral reference with his/her present company. An oral reference provides an opportunity to get a feel for lack of enthusiasm. When reference checking, however, it's also necessary to consider the environment the employee is coming from and whether a negative or less than enthusiastic reference might be the result of a bad fit. This is particularly important if the employee was a star when employed by your organization.

And then there are personal issues. Individual circumstances may have changed since the person worked for the organization, and/or the employee's goals may have changed. Considering goals can be important, particularly if the person is coming back to the same position. He or she may have outgrown the job. Hence, making a quick decision should be avoided.

Nonetheless, all things being equal, a former employee can be a great hire. In addition to the advantages cited, less training required and a known quantity, if they have a strong affinity to the company, they may be very excited about the position. This, in turn, is likely to generate enthusiasm for the organization both internally and externally. It may also generate employee referrals.

1.2. Customers

Customers can be potential candidates for hiring because

1) They are diverse

2) Reaching customers is easy and cheap

3) They are already engaged and aware of your company and products

4) They can serve as loyal customers if recruited

For example - It literally has millions of customers that use their ATM machines every year, so it only makes sense to try to recruit them as employees. Its approach is simple and cost-effective.

This unique HR practice can be implemented easily by adding a recruiting message on the customer receipts.

2. Variable Pay and Performance Linked Incentives

Variable Pay - Then and Now

The practice of linking pay to performance has been around for a while. However, what's new is that the percentage of pay that is linked to performance and the way in which the same is structured around different components of performance is new. We all know about the system of increments and bonuses in the Government and Public Sector. These were designed in such a way that the employee's performance is rewarded proportionally. However, the quantum of bonus and increments was so small that it hardly had an effect on the pure play linking pay to performance. The resulting inefficiencies in the government and public sector have been extensively reported.

In recent times, the concept of linking pay to performance has taken on an entirely new dimension with the introduction of variable pay.

How it Works

One of the key components of this variable pay plan is the strategy of linking pay to performance. These components would include the