Human Resource Receptionist - Example

Compensation Decisions Job analysis: Human Resource Receptionist The other for the human resource receptionist is the human resource assistant. The human resource receptionist performs one of the most difficult tasks in the organization. Consequently, the work of the human resource receptionist is mainly filing, record keeping, photocopying, reporting, documentation, word processing, typing, and customer service. The human resource receptionist also reports directly to its supervisor. Depending on the company size, the duty of the human resource receptionist varies (Hurley et al. 2005). An important thing to consider as far as the human resource receptionist is concerned is that the level of training and education is very important. This is because the duty of receptionist is always complex. In this case, it is common to find most of the employers hiring human resource receptionists holding a bachelor’s degree. The applicant will also have an added advantage if he or she has obtained proper certifications and training in the basic computer skills. Background knowledge in the computer system operation is of great advantage to the applicant. At the same time, knowledge on the operation of such machines like the printers, scanners, photocopier machine, and fax machine is very vital (Hurley et al. 2005). Duties and Responsibilities Since the human resource receptionist has to report directly to the company’s human resource supervisor, he or she has a noble task of maintaining excellent communication skills among the employees, the suppliers, the customers, and the employer of the company. In addition, the human resource receptionist has a number of administrative duties to accomplish. These duties include the maintenance and filing of the employee information updates and records. Furthermore, the human resource receptionist has the authority of attending to the employer’s and customer requirements. It is always expected that the human resource receptionist provides excellent customer care services since they are also seen as the organization’s front liners. The customer needs that have to be attended could include such things as complaints, feedbacks, requests, and queries. This calls for the human resource receptionist to have a skill in critical thinking and decision-making, in order to handle this amicably. They should always be in the position of coming up with a better solution or idea. If the situation is hard to handle, it is only the time to seek help from his or her supervisor. Human Resource Receptionists should observe courtesy at all times even during phone calls or talking to individual personally. It is also important that Human Resource Receptionists meet assignment and deadlines on time and work under minimum supervision (Circor, 2011). Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities The Human Resources receptionist should have a broad experience and knowledge. This should be seen in such areas as training and development, safety, employee relations, organization development, organizational planning, compensation, and employment law. Secondly, the Human Resources receptionist should have excellent communication skills. In this case, the written and oral communication skills should be above average, while the coaching and interpersonal skills should be excellent. Thirdly, the Human Resources receptionist should have a leadership ability. He or she should demonstrate the ability of leading and developing the staff members in the Human Resource department. In addition, the human resource director should be in the position of participating successfully on the executive administration team tasked in providing direction and leadership to the company (Hurley et al. 2005). Fourthly, the Human Resources receptionist should have Computer literacy. He or she should be proficient in using Microsoft Windows, including the Microsoft excel. Skills in record keeping and database management are also required. The Human Resources receptionist should also have general Knowledge. In this case, he or she should have a general understanding on the various employment practices and laws. Apart from the general knowledge, the Human Resources receptionist should have proper education. He or she should have attained either a Bachelor’s degree as the minimum qualification or an equivalent in Organization Development, Business, and Human Resources. Furthermore, the Human Resources receptionist should have Experience. He or she should have an experience in progressive leadership of ten or more years, serving in Human Resources positions. In addition, The Human Resources receptionist should have a specialized training. It is preferable to have a specialized training in preventive labor relations, safety, Employee relations, organization development, organizational planning, compensation, and employment law. Lastly, the Human Resources receptionist should demonstrate some ongoing affiliations- should possess some ongoing connections with leaders in performing organizations and companies that practice successful Human Resources Management. Literature Review A recruitment and selection plan for the human resources director position Merit Based Recruitment & Selection Plan It should include the following 1. Ethics Statement here it will be clarified to all the applicants that the KSAs (Knowledge, skills and abilities) form the basis of the hiring process. 2. Communication Through oral or written communication, the merit-based selection/ recruitment plan should be communicated to the public, applicants, and employees. 3. Role Definitions/Expectations The supervisors at all the levels of the organization are expected to provide leadership in developing and implementing the merit-based procedures. The supervisors and managers are also expected to be involved in evaluating the necessity for filling the vacant positions, achieving and maintaining a diverse workforce; and making all hiring decisions to be based on document selection decisions and merit principles (Weis, 2007). 4. Recruitment /Pre-Recruitment Activities The hiring supervisor with the guidance and assistance from the Human Resource staff conducts these activities. The first activity involves the assessment of the need for filling the position so that it meets the mission, objectives, and goals of the organization. The second activity involves the reviewing the qualifications, responsibilities, and duties of the position, while the last activity involves the Revision of the description of the position if necessary Selection Process 1. Definitions Here, the a number of terminologies used in the selection process are defined, among these terminologies are the selection criteria, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities, preferences, minimum qualifications, qualified, and the most qualified are defined before being communicated to the applicants (Weis, 2007). 2. Differentiating Most Qualified and Qualified Applicants The determination of the Qualified Applicants to be selected is done by screening of all the applicants by the designated Human Resource staff member in order to identify the applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements. On the other hand, the determining Most Qualified Applicants involves the determination of the applicants who are exceeding the minimum qualifications. It is also conducted by a designated Human Resource. 3. Employment/Reemployment Priorities Priority for employment should be considered based on different preferences, which include: priority reemployment employees, exempt policy, veteran’s preference, promotional priority career, and injured-on-the Job employees (Weis, 2007). 4. Making the Recommendation and the Final Selection From among the most qualified application-giving priority to the applicants with eligibility for priority re-employment. 5. Approval Process The recommendation is then submitted by the hiring department to the Human Resource Office for approval. 6. Documentation of Process All the merit-based selection and recruitment activities must be documented to aid in supporting hiring decisions apart from providing fact-based information for evaluating and monitoring the selection and recruitment process. 7. Appeals Process The applicant who feels that the process was unfair is required to make the appeal within 30 days by writing a notification illustrating his or her qualification as well as the unfairness seen in the selection process Literature Review: Compensation The compensation of employees based on their performance can be defined as that kind of pay strategy where the evaluations of the performance of the individuals have great influence on the amount of salary increase or bonuses to be given to each worker. A properly functioning pay performance is the one that has a number brings a number of things to the company. The first thing is that for the outstanding performers, they will always get the greatest rewards meant to acknowledge their great contributions as well as to motivate and encourage them so that they can continue performing highly (Crawford, 2008). The second thing is that for the average performers; they will always get substantially smaller salary raises. These bonuses are meant to encourage these workers to work harder to achieve bigger salary increment in the future. Lastly, for the poor performers, what they normally get is no increase. The reason for this is to persuade them to do something that can improve their performance. When it comes to rewarding the accomplishment of the desired company results, compensation of the employees is a very important motivator. Money is, in fact, considered as a strong source of motivation. At the same time, it is argued that salary increment can only be motivating if the employees are expecting the next pay increment. For instance, one can try to imagine the effect of a situation whereby a worker has reached his or her peak point in the salary range. When the desired objectives are achieved in the company, the effectiveness of the organization is going to be enhanced. The enhancement of the organization’s effectiveness will translate to higher chances of success in the organization. Compensation strategy is therefore, set in every company or organization in order to strengthen the culture of the organization, which is deemed desirable by the management. This desired culture is always enabling in the organization since it has direct link with the organization’s performance. Consequently, there should be a reflection of the company’s strategic objectives in the compensation policy adopted (Yellen & Akerlof, 1990). Therefore, the objectives of the organization must be clearly defined so that it can be possible to come up with an appropriate compensation strategy, having the potential of leading to the achievement of these objectives. Once the decision has been made concerning the compensation strategy, it has to be communicated to everyone. This is because poor communications have been found to render the good decisions ineffective in achieving the organization’s results. There are two types of compensation rewards. These are the monetary and non-monetary. Monetary compensation include such rewards as retirement benefits, holidays, health benefits, medical benefits, commissions, bonuses, and salary increment (Yellen & Akerlof, 1990). There is need for the organization to make use of full use of the compensation strategy. One of the good uses of the compensation strategy is that of using it to retain or attract competent people to the organization. This can be achieved by offering these employees a salary increment that does not go below the market rates. Secondly, in case the organization wants to achieve the best customer service, the secret lies in rewarding the behaviors of the employees that produce outstanding service. In order to expect good performance, the organization has to ensure that it gives the high performing employees some salary increment or bonuses. This is because it is most likely for the employees to make the conclusion that there is insincerity and unfairness in the management of the organization (Veneeva, 2011). Compensation decisions When it comes to the determination of the rates of pay, a number of ways may be adopted. Pay increment might be done based on the length of time that the employee has spent working for the organization. This kind of compensation is seniority-based. Consequently, with this seniority-based pay increase, the company will have given a good motivator to the employee for retention purposes. The performance is not being rewarded in this case (Weber & Rynes, 1991). The second way of pay increment is the performance-based pay. The objective of this kind of compensation is to give the employees the motivation of performing better. This strategy is gaining popularity in a situation whereby the employer and the employee make an agreement on the job objectives and performance standard at the beginning of a particular period. In most cases, this happens at the beginning of a given year. The effect of performance-based pays normally varies depending on the time, as well as the situation. The last way of giving pay increases is the one that is based on the knowledge and skills that are job-related. The intention of this kind of pay increment is to motivate the employees so that they can acquire new knowledge and competencies, and gain additional skills. This kind of pay is known as competency-based pay and it does not reward employees for the work they are doing, their seniority or job title (Waldman & Gibbons, 1999). The compensation strategy should be in such a way that the compensation objectives are aligned with the business objectives of the organization. Salary increment is therefore, part of the compensation strategy plan. Salary increment ensures that the contribution of the employee is recognized so that the objectives of the organization are accomplished. Consequently, an annual salary review is normally conducted so that any employee who merits the increment gets it. It is not justifiable to give salary increase to an under-performing employee. In fact, a policy terminating the employment of the workers whose performance is under five percent has been implemented by some organizations (Tremblay, Sire & Balkin, 2000). Regarding the size of salary increase, it should be done in such a way the merit increase thought to be important and realistic by the employees is given as a good motivator for better performance. In this case, the company should ensure that its best employees are rewarded adequately with an amount that is sufficient to motivate them. In addition, it is also important for the company to ensure that its performance review is very effective to minimize the chances of biased or wrong decisions being made in the performance appraisal (Waldman & Gibbons, 1999). Pay increase may also be implemented based on promotion. On promoting an employee, the company may decide whether to give or not to give him or her, a huge pay increase. This is because there is no justification for paying an overpaid employee a huge promotional increase. All the relevant matters should instead be considered before making the decision. For instance, it is important to consider the pay parity with employees performing similar tasks in the same category (Tremblay, Sire & Balkin, 2000). Lastly, it is not recommended that across-the-board increases are given in the performance-based pay. This means that the non-performers, the average performers, and the outstanding performers should be differentiated to come up with the best way of rewarding each accordingly (Weber & Rynes, 1991). Compensation decisions Employee Information Salary Grade Current Salary % at Pay Scale* Appraisal Rating Salary Decision Bonus Dollars John is a white male, 58YO, with 31 years’ service. John is a good worker and you like him. You don’t want to lose his skills and experience as he’s been talking about retiring, but you realize his skills are too valuable to lose. A4 $27,900 99.6% 5 $28,000 $1250 Substantiation and Risk Analysis: Seniority with good job performance deserves max salary for grade and extra bonus due to little increase in salary Alice is a Hispanic female, 42YO with 17 years’ service. Alice is a good worker. She has a lot of potential, which netted her the higher rating. She needs some more skills and experience at this level though. A4 $22,500 80.4% 3 $24,500 $500 Substantiation and Risk Analysis: Needs to get higher skill level to receive a higher raise but will get a bonus Calvin, 28YO black male with 9 months service. Calvin is a real go-getter. He hasn’t been with the company long enough to earn a higher rating, but his work is outstanding, high skill set and is looking to stay with our company for a career. A4 $26,500 94.6% 4 $28,000 $1000 Substantiation and Risk Analysis: Outstanding job performance deserves a raise plus bonus Jane is a 32YO white female with 12 years’ service. Jane joined the company as an A3. Her work is satisfactory, nothing to brag about, but she’s been with the company awhile and can be dependable. A3 $19,100 86.8% 3 $20,300 $250 Substantiation and Risk Analysis: Needs to outperform peers for higher rating to get a raise Beth is a 64YO Asian female with 41 years’ service. Beth stated she would probably retire this year, but has yet to turn in her paperwork. She’s had a history of higher ratings, but her ratings have slipped over the last 6 years. A3 $19,700 89.5% 3 $20,700 $250 Substantiation and Risk Analysis: Needs to perform well to receive a higher raise Ben is a 47YO white male with 27 years’ service. He’s a good worker, been with your group for a couple years. Hasn’t yet expanded his skills, which you thought he’d do even though hired for a specific job. What he does, he does outstandingly. A3 21,000 95.5% 4 $22,000 $500 Substantiation and Risk Analysis: Seniority with outstanding job performance deserves a raise plus bonus Alex is a 30YO white male with 9 years’ service. He’s quite a guy, performs well at his job. Started as an occupational worker and has worked his way into management. A2 $15,800 92.9% 5 $17,000 $500 Substantiation and Risk Analysis: Seniority with good job performance deserves max salary for grade and bonus Ken is a 20YO Hispanic male with 1-year service. Ken is young and fresh. You think he should have been hired at a higher level because his skills are so good. You don’t want to lose him because he adds value to the business. You’ll probably jump him to an A4 position soon. A2 $17,000 100% 4 $17,000 $500 Substantiation and Risk Analysis: Excellent job performance and highly skilled; already at max salary for grade and deserves a higher bonus Cathy is your 19YO (ethnicity unknown) female HR Receptionist. She has been with the company for 1 year. You recently completed her performance evaluation. A2 $12,000 70.6% 3 $13,000 $250 Substantiation and Risk Analysis: Average job performance with little experience requires more for increase in salary and bonus Overall Comments: From the above table, the compensation decisions were made in such a way that various goals were achieved. One of the goals is that of not exceeding the salary budget of $ 9, 000, as well as the bonus budget of $ 5,000. The decisions were also made in such a way that the compensations were in agreement with the salary pay ranges designated by the company for each rating. The decisions were therefore, following a discussion on the same. Basing on their appraisal rating, some employees got more additions to their salaries as well as higher bonuses. For the employees with the highest rating, they were compensated with a maximum salary plus a $1250 bonus. For the individual having a maximum salary and a 4 rating, the bonus was $500. A 4 rating attracted a $ 500 bonus as well as $1000 salary increase. On the other hand, a 3 rating received a $250 bonus and a salary increase. References: Circor. (2011). Receptionist/ Human Resource Assistant. Retrieved from Crawford, V. (2008). The Flexible-Salary Match: A proposal to increase the salary flexibility of the National Resident Matching Program. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 66 (2), May 2008, 149-160 Hurley, T., et al. (2005). Work Environment Tops Employee Priority Lists. Retrieved from Tremblay, M., Sire, B. & Balkin, D. (2000). The Role of Organizational Justice in Pay and Employee Benefit Satisfaction, and its Effects on Work Attitudes.Group Organization Management September 2000 vol. 25 no. 3 269-290 Veneeva, V. (2011). Recruitment and Human Resource Management. Retrieved from, Waldman, M. & Gibbons, R. (1999). A Theory of Wage and Promotion Dynamics Inside Firms. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114, (4): 1321-1358. Weber, C.L. & Rynes, S.L. (1991).Effects of Compensation Strategy on Job Pay DecisionsThe Academy of Management Journal Vol. 34, No. 1 (Mar., 1991), pp. 86-109. Weis, B. (2007). Writing an Effective Job Posting. Retrieved from Yellen, J. & Akerlof, G. (1990). The Fair Wage-Effort Hypothesis and Unemployment. Quarterly Journal of Economics. 105, (2): 255-283. Read More