Data Collection in HR Practice - Essay Example

?ACTIVITY A(495) Analysis on the company and the methods which it uses to collect, store and use the data have been discussed below. The company is following the UK legislation to ensure proper compliance of the data privacy act. Organization collects and then storesthe data and then it uses the data which have been retrieved from the employees for various reasons. This helps theorganization in assessing and monitoring the performance of the workforce.It also makes it easier to provide equal employment opportunities to the staff, assess the pay being offered,and planpromotions for the employees whohave been outperforming and speculate the skills of the staff and use it accordingly for the benefit of the organization. Ensuring proper performance management and ensuring that performance of the employees is rewarded are essential factors for the success of the organizations. COLLECTING HR OR L&D DATA The organizations need to collect appropriate data of the staff to assess their performance. This data must be linked to the appraisals offered to the employees, sick absences which the employees take etc. This is done because human capital is the biggest asset for the company. By assessing the performance of the employees incentives can be planned to amplify the performance of the staff members. Constantly monitoring the workforce helps in assessing the strengths of the organization. Therefore the performance of the individuals will be monitored on every project that they work. This would allow collecting information regarding every good and bad performance they have throughout the year. In addition to this, collecting information from peers, colleagues and managers can also be helpful. The managers and the staff need tobe motivated to learn and implement strategies which in the long run prove to be beneficial for the organization. DATA COLLECTION TO SUPPORT HR OR L&D PRACTICES The organization frequently collectsdata of individual performances which is maintained by the line manager. This helps them in assessing the individual performance and the effectiveness of the incentive which have been offered to improve the employee performance (PCS). Appropriate performance management is essential to accomplish the organizational goals and objectives. Generally, in the organization the performance is evaluated on the basis of different factors or criteria that have been formulated by the human resource department. These evaluation or performance evaluation forms are filled by the HR department as well as the direct manager or supervisor. Organizations conduct training of staff and coach them to deal with various situations. This helps in finding the outcome and effectiveness of the training that are conducted. All big organizations which have developed HR departments continuously engage in training and development activities. One of the most used techniques of training is on-job training in which the direct supervisor or mentor is guiding the employees in how to accomplish the task in the best possible manner. STORING RECORDS There are two methods of storing records. These methods are described below, Manual storage is the method of storing data in physical form. This requires a lot of paperwork and utilizes physical space in the cupboards and shelves as files. The data which is required in a later stage is stored in the form of hard copy. The benefit of such data is that it is easily accessible and notes can be made easily and it would not cost too much to the organization. Moreover, data can be stored and it can be used in future to know the achievements of the employees. Electronic storageis convenient and it stores more data and utilizes resources in the most efficient manner. The electronic data requires less physical space and stores a large amount of data at the same time. Such data is useful for running reports and analyzing the data for HR activities and take important strategic decisions. ESSENTIALS MENTIONED IN UK LEGISLATION The UK legislation emphasizes that the data that is obtained from the employees must be held confidential. It must not be used for any other purpose. Similarly the data acquired must be used with integrity. It must be ensuredthat authorization of access must be controlled and the disposal of the data must be done in the same manner. Confidentiality in all the three steps of recording, storage and accessibility must be ensured. The data must only be authorized for use by the concerned or relevant departments to ensureprotection and safety of the data (PCS). UK legislation discusses the data protection act and the handling of sensitive personal data act. Both these acts are essential to ensure that the data of the customers or employees are secure. Privacy of data and ensuring that sensitive information is not misused is essential for the HR personnel to understand. The organization has an efficient method of data collection. The organization is complying with the data privacy standards and is using efficient and effective methods to collect, store and use the data. ACTIVITY B (525) INTRODUCTION TO HR / L & D AREA BEING INVESTIGATED On the basis of CIPD survey report it will be analyzed and assessed that which factors affect the performance of the mature workers as compared to that of the fresh graduates. The steps which the HR executivesmust take for the L&D of the employees will also be assessed. Selecting the proper employee and providing proper learning and development opportunity to them is essential for a competitive environment. The survey was conducted from January 2013 to February 2013 in which a total of 103 respondents have participated. The survey was conducted in Singapore and it was compared with a similar survey conducted in UK. The data which will be analyzed and interpreted is given below: (CIPD, 11) (CIPD, 16) EXPLANATION OF INTERPRETATION OF DATA The data was analyzed and interpreted on the basis of few factors. These factors were linked to loyalty and commitment of the employees, skill which the employees possessed, problem solving and decision making of the employees, work ethics, assessing the needs, communication skills, motivating, absenteeism and other such factors. On assessing all these factors it was noticed that the mature employees and the fresh graduates both possessed similar skills but the efficiency of the mature employees was higher in comparison to fresh graduates. The fresh graduates lacked loyalty and commitment to the job. The mature works also require less training cost which increases their efficiency. They require less supervision and the level of mistakes made are also less in frequency (CIPD, 16). FINDINGS TO ENABLE DECISION MAKING Some of the employers consider that the mature employees are more beneficial for the organization as compared to the fresh graduates. They consider that mature workers to be more loyal and committed to the jobs as compared to the fresh graduates. The level of absences is also low in the mature workers. The mature workers have a higher ability to make decisions and solve the problems as they take place. The training cost and the creation of motivation for the fresh employees is also higher (CIPD, 18). The frequency of making mistakes is also higher in the fresh employees. Keeping in view these differences other issues related to efficiency were in favor of both (Ali, 78-87). Mature workers are more experienced and therefore they cost more to the firm whereas young workers are less experienced and they would cost less to the firm. Despite the fact that hiring a mature employee is better but still it was noticed that the employers prefer hiring fresh candidates. This is because of their efficient responsiveness and the ability to learn and adapt quickly to the environment. The mature employees are rigid towards learning in few of the cases and in few of the cases they prefer adapting to the environment. The cost of training is saved on employing mature workers but in places where training becomes a necessity the employees show a rigid behavior. When mature employees are hired the training costs can be reduced but the salary costs increase in some of the cases. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS The employers must see the genre of the business and must employ the workers accordingly. For instance, the hotel industry will require hiring both the dynamic fresh candidates and the experienced and mature workers. This will provide a learning environment for both and it will also improve the performance of the company. In a few places like the Chef and the top management of the hotel must be experienced people and the staff of the hotel must be fresh graduates so that they can learn and progress with the organization. It is important for the firms to do succession planning and train the new workers so that they have sufficient training and skills to replace the mature workers. Mature workers are more experienced and firms should use them to train and develop the skills of young workers, so that the organization is able to grow with the passage of time and it is not influenced if any of the older workers retires. Works Cited Ali, Akbar. Significance Of Human Resource Management In Organizations: Linking Global Practices With Local Perspective. Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce. Jan. 2013. 16. Jul. 2013. CIPD.The value of mature workers to organisations in Singapore. May. 2013. 16. Jul. 2013. Compass Hotels.Corporate Goals & Objectives. 16 Jul. 2013. Johnson, Richard. Managerial attitudes toward older workers: a review of the evidence. Sep. 2007. Online. 6 Aug. 2013. http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/411548_managerial_attitudes.pdf Mayhew, Ruth. 10 Reasons HR Is Important to an Organization. Chron, 16. Jul. 2013. PCS.Guide to data protection. 2013. 16. Jul. 2013. The Times 100.External environment theory. 2013. 16 Jul. 2013. APPENDIX A ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Read More