Use of descriptive statistics in my job as HR professional - Assignment Example

Use of descriptive statistics in my job as HR professional Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts Name 21st February, 2012 Introduction Human Resource is a broad area in business that looks into the strategies used in recruiting, training, remunerating and firing employees. As a result, a lot of data is maintained by HR departments in several organizations in forms such as charts, graphs and other data. In the line of my job, I make use of several statistical methods in preparation of reports, training and analysis of human resource issues. During my stint as the head of recruitment, I undertook several recruitment drives as well as teaching staff on the prudent means of undertaking their duties. In such scenarios I made use of charts, to highlight the successes and failures that were encountered by various employees during the implementation of their tasks. Data mining is a delicate skill that is required and utilized in the human resources sector. As a result, as an HR practitioner I made use of graphs to represent different sets of data used in the training procedure. Moreover, I made use of different data sets in the planning process especially as the head of training at the KIOS Company. The training department made use of huge sets of data that required analysis and preparation for the information to be disseminated to employees. Management of HR data is quite challenging and thus we had to make use of different statistical methods and software. Software such as SPSS which is suitable for data analysis was deployed while graphs, line and bar charts were used in display of data. This essay is going to reflect on the different statistical tools that I employ in undertaking my duties. Critical Reflection As a HR professional, I have been involved in various activities meant to handle and ensure that employees’ issues are looked into carefully. I have handled a lot of employee issues over a long period of time and most these issues have been handled using statistical data. For instance, data that was obtained from surveys were used in making statistical graphs. Statistical graphs were also used in categorizing different set of employees as to make the work of employee monitoring easy (Osborn, 2005). Training within organizations should be flexible and the best methods in collecting data on training expatriates are through sampling. Sampling is effective in conducting trainings because it allows selection of set of tools and materials to be used in testing. Every employee is assigned different tasks which are stored differently so that salaries can be paid to these employees (Rigg, 2008). HR department is involved in monitoring the work put of all employees in the organization and thus they make use of timesheets. Timesheets are effective measuring the number of hours worked and if employees finish assigned duties on time. The training department that I headed was involved in preparing questionnaires for employees during re-fresher training. This was in order to understand if employees are familiar with company policies, strategies and tasks assigned to them. As a result, conclusive data has to be prepared to for training through use of sampling and data mining for training materials. This exercise requires the use of data collected through various means such as sampling, charts and graphs. As a professional, I rely heavily on statistical method due to the accuracy of these methods in reporting and analysing the effectiveness of undertaken activities. Charts are used in representing statistical data on issues to do with work output and to track the time taken by employees in implementing a certain project or task (Childs, 2005). I have undertaken several duties in different organizations over a ten year period and during this time I have made use of various statistical data in my research. During my stint as the head of recruitment, staff at our department made use of different data in recruiting employees, numerous interviews was conducted to ensure the right employees are selected for the job. Interviews are very useful statistical method of acquiring information from an individual or a group of people. Interviews bring out the character/personality of a specific person and thus this method was harnessed by the recruitment department. In addition to the hiring process, the recruitment department kept data on the manpower companies with the focus being on data management (Murray, 2005). Data management involves storing data and making use of that data in analysing the trends used by different companies in maintaining their competitive edge. Therefore, the HR departments made use of line and bar charts to reflect the different tasks undertaken by different employees. According to Rigg (2008, p. 44-46), current trends in managing human resources involve using a mix of new and old strategies to ensure organizations handle their employees in a prudent manner. Due to this HR professionals are encouraged to make use of statistical data in analyzing labour trends, training programs and the recruitment procedure. For instance, employee output and the effect of increase in pay on work output can be measured using charts and graphs within an organization. The HR profession is mainly anchored on communication and due to this HR professionals handle a lot of diverse data that need to be disseminated at different times. Therefore HR professionals should make use of proper statistical data representation methods such as use of charts, graphs in presenting data either during training or reporting (Childs, 2005). HR professionals are supposed to be versatile and learn on how to use, manipulate and choose different statistical methods in undertaking their duties. Learning Outcomes Making use of statistical information in the process of managing and controlling human resources is very effective. Statistical data represent information obtained through various and reflect a certain aspect of the human resources within an organization. The most important lesson learnt from making use of statistical information is that statistical information provides accuracy with little margins of error. For that reason, statistical information is well suited for the planning process within an organization or for the purposes of implementing strategies. Statistical data is also useful in handling huge data for different organizations; this is because statistical methods provide ways of manipulating data to come with optimal results (White, 2006). For instance, during my stint as the head of recruitment, the organization received several job applications and the department also handled a lot of employees’ data. Organising employee data through use of statistical methods enhances the work of different employees at KIOS Company. Managing data through use of statistical data makes organising employee data easy and thus people avoid confusion that would have persisted with loss of data. Different statistical methods are employed for different tasks within the HR department, for example graphs and charts are good in presenting employee information. Moreover, questionnaires were used in gathering information from employees (Osborn, 2005). These skills I utilized in my duties taught me the important lesson of making use of different sets of statistical methods. Consequently, I have learnt that statistical data enables professional to keep repositories of HR data that could be utilised at any given moment. Making use of different statistical data methods also help to cut down on costs associated with managing the different issues brought forward by employees within an organization. Conclusion The task of managing human resources is very challenging within a huge organization. The challenge is further heightened when you are working with people who speak different languages and are from different cultures. As a result, many social and professional methods are used in managing these people. Statistical methods of data management are one of the methods that were deployed in managing these employees at the KIOS Company in Kazakhstan. I also learnt from other different and global companies on how to manage employee data through use of statistical methods such as sampling, interviewing and data analysing. The employment of statistical data has enabled the management of different issues and people within the HR department. Statistical methods in managing employee data had also changed the HR industry to become an integral part of an organization. Statistical methods are employed in numerous instances in the HR industry whereby recruiting, data warehousing and analysing employee output are important. Statistical methods help us to maintain this important information and improve the working relations within the HR industry. The lessons learnt from making use of statistical methods have helped improve the livelihoods of many employees and HR professionals. References Childs, M., 2005. Beyond training: new firefighters and critical reflection. Disaster Prevention and Management 14(4), p. 80-83. Murray, R. and Kujundzic, N., 2005. Critical reflection: a textbook for critical thinking. Boston, MA: John Wiley and Sons. Osborn, T., 2005. Critical Reflection and the Foreign Language Classroom. London: FK Publications. Rigg, C. and Trehan, K., 2008. Critical reflection in the workplace: is it just too difficult?.  Journal of European Industrial Training, 32(5), p.42-47. White, S. and Fook, J., 2006. Critical reflection in organizations. 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