Resourcing and Talent planning

Posted: January 5th, 2023

Resourcing and Talent planning

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Resourcing and Talent planning

Introduction

Businesses conduct their activities with the primary objective of generating more revenue and prospering in its sector and the wider marketplace. However, achieving the appropriate results requires organizations to consider several essential factors that may determine whether a company heads towards the right direction or fails to achieve its goals and objectives. An essential factor to consider is how the labour market is likely to influence business practices and planning because workers would expect different wages, working conditions, and levels of motivation. The report elaborates how leaders must know the factors that could derail or promote how they hire workers. The report illustrates how the government may be of importance in offering funding for apprenticeship programs, and describes how employers and unions serve vital purposes in developing the workers’ present and future skills. The paper recommends that businesses embrace effective principles of workforce planning and tools that could be used to achieve better outcome in the process. These and other helpful information may direct businesses to conduct their activities in accordance with the law and in a way that satisfies all stakeholders.

Question 1 – Labour Market

The labor market in the UK and Saudi Arabia show some variations and similarities, which makes it necessary to understand how they relate. In terms of wage level, the UK sets the hourly rate for minimum wage depending on an employee’s age and whether one is an apprentice. The UK government directs that one must at least achieve the school leaving age to get the national minimum wage and must be aged 25 and above to be eligible for the National Living Wage, contrary to the national minimum wage that one can apply for employees aged 24 and below (Crown 2020). Consequently, an apprentice would receive a national living wage and a national minimum wage of 4.15 pounds, while those under 18 years would receive 4.55. Those aged 18 to 20 get 6.45, and those aged 21 to 24 get 8.20. Workers aged 25 and over receive the most national living wage of 8.72 (Crown 2020). Elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, age does not create a difference in the way people earn, but the years of experience do. For example, a person with more than 20 year experience is likely to get more in terms of payment compared to one who has less than 2 year experience. Overall, more experienced employees get 32% more than new workers across all sectors. Consequently, salaries would range from a minimum of 4230 SAR each month to a maximum of 74,600 each month. Concerning the required skills, employers in both countries would want to hire workers who display high levels of resilience, good communication, appropriate leadership techniques, proper research and planning skills, and interpersonal and teamwork skills. Regarding the unemployment rate, the UK records 4.9% based on a report by the Office for National Statistics (King 2020), whereas the rate in KSA is 5.86% (General Authority for Statistics 2020). It therefore, means that more people in KSA lack jobs than in the UK. Enterprises need to consider these factors in the labor market because they may help to make wise decisions regarding bus8iness practices.

Businesses try to position themselves using various techniques with the motive of attracting more buyers, and one of the widely applied approaches is the application of techniques that retain talents. Businesses need to embrace effective motivational approaches, including paying workers well, developing an appealing work environment, supporting employee training and development, and allowing workers to contribute their views (Mosley & Irvine 2020). Being an employer of choice has many merits to the business, including high retention level, high level of cooperation, and in improved stakeholder satisfaction. Another way to achieve better positioning is to practice employer branding, which entails influencing and managing one’s reputation as a job-giver among employees and major stakeholders (Mosley & Irvine 2020). The branding process entails everything the employer does to position the firm as an employer of choice.

Businesses that want to excel in their operations need to understand the influence of tight and loss labour market conditions to plan and conduct their activities without much hindrance. A tight labour market refers to one where businesses find it difficult to hire workers due to high level of employment nationally (Mosley & Irvine 2020). A loose labour market, on the contrary, denotes to a situation where businesses have a wider team of existing and service providers to recruit for various capacities majorly because it is difficult to get emloyment (Mosley & Irvine 2020). The level of unemployment in a tight market is low compared to that of a loose market, because people are likely to secure working positions in the latter setting. The UK is an example of a tight labour market where the economy is nearly approaching full employment and hiring becomes hard putting upward pressure on wages. The KSA, on the other hand, is an example of a loose labour market, which is inflexible to some measure, resulting in considerable hindrances in modernizing and diversifying the economy.

Question 2 – Future Skills

The government plays essential roles in ensuring that the future skills needed to perform particular tasks are achieved. The government plays the essential role of providing funding for increased apprenticeships, which helps to develop employees who are skilled and competent in their place of work. For example, a person in the UK can get assistance from the government to cater for their apprenticeship training, and use the skills to improve one’s duties and obligations (Crown). KSA also acknowledges the significance of apprenticeship programs and is joining other Arab countries in supporting the initiative. KSA joined other Arab countries such as Palestine, Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon, UAE and Oman in a regional seminar that lasted five days, during which participants discussed ways of promoting apprentice programs. The even that brought together various stakeholders, including representatives of national technical vocational training and teaching boards, trade unions, NGOs, and firms with some encounter with apprenticeship schemes acknowledged the need for governmental support in developing apprenticeship initiatives.

Employers also play fundamental functions in ensuring that workers achieve their future skills that are likely to influence how they conduct their operations. Many employers nowadays appreciate the importance of training workers so that they acquire computer and technological skills and competence, and have embarked on taking them through development programs that make it possible to acquire digital literacy and competency (Mosley & Irvine 2020). Employers also understand the significance of supporting the training of their workers such that it is possible for them to acquire critical thinking capabilities, working skills and knowledge of tech-enabled techniques and tools, and to allow them gain better communication skills. Business leaders nowadays understand the need to develop the future skills of their workers such that it is easier to think critically, work as a team, embrace emotional intelligence, and to be conversant with digital literacy (Mosley & Irvine 2020). Many employers nowadays embrace other effective ways for improving the future skills of their workers in the way they lead by example, in the way they evaluate employee understanding and comprehension, how they monitor worker performance, and in the way they provide positive feedback. Thus, employers play critical roles in ensuring that their workers have better chance for succeeding.

Trade unions serve equally significant functions in ensuring that employees achieve their future skills and techniques. The unions play a fundamental function of negotiating on behalf of their affiliates on working conditions, better training opportunities, appropriate working hours, and pay scales. All these attempts to improve the employees’ welfare contribute towards building their future skills and techniques. For example, advocating for better pay provides workers with the chance to develop their skills by undergoing appropriate trainings, and ensuring that they gain the necessary skills needed for their job. Mosley and Irvine (2020) write that unions have always served vital functions in ensuring the workers’ future skills are achieved and to advance the life chance for their affiliates and to improve the union’s voice at work through appropriate training of professional officers and workplace representatives. Thus, organizations and employees should consider how they benefit from unions and work towards joining such organizations.

Question 3 – Workforce Planning

Businesses while conducting their operations need to pay considerable attention to the principles of effective workforce planning to achieve the desired results. A major principle of workforce planning is strategy setting, which requires the business and its leaders to consider several essential factors. The group should consider the long-term objectives of the organization, and assess whether the facility has the capacity to achieve them (Kouzes & Posner 2007). Strategy setting requires the group leaders to effectively analyze the conditions in the current workforce, and make decisions that will secure a better future for the company. The team leaders need to look at the future skills gaps and enact measures now that would help to evade undesirable results. In addition, strategy setting requires the company to consider how it develops the organizational culture such that it is easy to incorporate everyone without looking at their background. Effective strategy setting provides a suitable chance to achieve cost optimization, and makes it possible to deal within the workforce and demographic transformations. The other principle of effective workforce planning is building human capacity such that workers have the necessary skills and techniques to perform their functions and to adjust to the changing business dynamics (Kouzes & Posner 2007). A company can build its human capacity by adopting the techniques of strategic workforce planning that provides a better opportunity to build unstrengthen employees’ capabilities. Building human capacity requires business leaders to consider training workers and introducing them to better technology that help them to improve their work. Finally, effective workforce planning requires the business to focus on engaging the key stakeholders in planning and decision-making. Engaging all stakeholders makes it possible to arrive at solutions that are not likely to generate much controversy (Kouzes & Posner 2007). Otherwise, an organization is less likely to achieve impressive outcome if it does not consider these core elements of workforce planning.

Equally important is to consider the appropriate tools used for workforce planning because they increase the chances of attaining the suitable results. An appropriate tool is organizational benchmarking, which is the act of comparing the company and its activities and approaches against other firms within the same sector or in the wider market place (Kouzes & Posner 2007). Businesses have the chance to apply benchmarking against any approach, function, process, or product in business. Benchmarking provides a suitable chance to compare the business’ use of time, costs, quality, consumer satisfaction, and effectiveness. Thus, business leaders must understand that regardless of the nature of the organization, promoting an external perception of the sector and competitors provides valuable information and awareness that may help to improve management practices and the entire business practices. The other tool for effective workforce planning is scenario planning, which helps decision makers point out possible effects and consequences, evaluate work processes and responses, and manage for both adverse and beneficial eventualities. Visualizing possible opportunities and risks through scenario planning provide the chance for a business to be proactive in responding to urgent issues or those that require much attention. In addition, scenario planning is essential because it offers a competitive advantage by allowing organisational leaders to respond fast and decisively because the approach makes it possible to carefully consider an issue before resolving to apply certain actions. Thus, businesses should identify the areas that require scenario planning and enact the suitable measures to complete the process. Applying all these tools in the most appropriate manner provides a better chance to achieve successful scenario planning practices.

Question 4 – HR Preparation and Documentation

Succession and Career Development Proposal

Organisation X

HR Succession Plan

B Smith is expected to take over from A Jones as HR Director. The position requires one to have an M.A or B.A in management, business administration, HR management, or other related areas. Qualifying candidates must have 5-7 years of experience in the field, and serves as a High-ranking executive in charge of planning and implementing budgets, procedures, and regulations related to compliance, remuneration, training, and labour relations. C Brown will take over from B Smith as HR Manager where one must have an M.A or bachelor’s degree in HR management, business administration or related areas, and a working experience of 4-6 years. The HR Manager manages the organization’s staff, encompassing organizing, coordinating, and facilitating recruitments, orienting new workers with organizational practices, and creating effective induction and empowerment programs. D Williams is expected to take over from C Brown as HR Advisor in charge of researching and recommending performance evaluation techniques such as employees’ evaluation structures, designs and helps implement organisational policies, reviews and updates job descriptions. The Advisor suggests new technology to boost HR practices. The Advisor must have a degree in HR management or related areas, and a qualification from CIPD (Charted Institute of Personnel and Development) is an added advantage to progress one’s career, and a working experience of 3-5 years. Finally, TBC will take over from D Williams as the HR Assistant in charge of providing administrative support to the HR team. The Assistant answers enquiries, maintains staff details, writes letters and reports, and produces employee handbooks and newsletters. The Assistant must have a suitable college course, apprenticeship, and appropriate skills, and must have served in related fields for at 2-4 years.

Career Development Plan for C Brown

The processional will undergo training on employee relationship, communication skills, and use of superior technology. C Brown will undergo the training at CIPD. Gaining knowledge on employee relation will help the leader to improve their relationship with others, while improving their communication skills helps to address conflicts and increase employee engagement. Gaining better skills on using technology presents the chance to be conversant with advanced technology, which provides room for increased innovation. It would require SAR 140,000 and three months, SAR 114,000 and three months, and SAR 210,000 and three months for C Brown to complete the courses in employee relationship, communication skills, and use of superior technology, respectively.

Plans for Downsizing an Organisation

Development of Job Descriptions, Person Specifications, and Competency Frameworks

The facility will require a new HR Assistant fill in the vacant position. The professional will perform a wide range of duties including providing administrative support to the HR, answering enquiries, maintaining workforce details, composing letters and reports, and producing worker handbooks and newsletters. The employee will get an average salary of SAR 450,000 per annum, and will report to the HR manager. However, the person who wishes to fill the position should have the required qualifications, knowledge, and experience. The required worker is one who has the ability to plan and organize, and should be able to solve problems and develop initiatives that facilitate growth and development. Applicants who wish to fill the position should display the necessary ability to manage and work as a team, communicate effectively, and should display other skills and behaviours that would help them to achieve the best results from their practice. Specific details of the job description, specifications, and competencies appear in the appendices section.  

Question 5 – Legal Requirements in Relation to Recruitment and Selection

Legal Requirements in Recruitment and Selection

Different jurisdictions tend to develop legal regulations that they believe will impact on the recruitment and selection processes in business with the objective of achieving uniformity and avoiding discrepancies. An example is the Equality Act 2010 that outlaws biased treatment of workers. The regulation forbids employers from alienating workers based on several identified features; sexual orientation, religious beliefs, racial affiliation, pregnancy, marriage status, gender, and disability. The regulation provides valuable tips that employers can use to conduct their recruitment and selection processes within the law. For example, the Equality Act directs that during the recruitment or interview process, the interviewer or employer can only ask health-related questions when it would be necessary to many any inevitable adjustments should the applicant join the firm, if the company has any special initiative to help disabled workers, and to judge whether the applicant can conduct the duties as stipulated in the job description. Another regulation that impacts on recruitment and hiring of workers is the Data Protection Act (1998) that is formed to safeguard the privacy of personal information. It outlined the obligations that businesses presently have to follow if they handle personal data. The legislation directs all employers in the UK to acquire legal permission before accessing their employees’ data, and to always process the information lawfully and fairly. The third regulation that plays vital functions in guiding recruitment processes is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that was las updated in 2018. GDPR 2018 echoes the directives of Data Protection Act (1998), which also resemble those of Data Protection Act 2018 in the way it directs everyone responsible for utilizing personal information to adhere to strict guidelines known as data protection principles. Employers who abide by these regulations do not encounter much legal issues during recruitment and selection.

Strengths and Weakness of Recruitment and Selection Methods

Employers and HR leaders tend to apply various recruitment and selection methods that they think suit their practices and organisational needs and resources. Recruitment methods refer to the development of practices of each phase in the recruitment life-cycle and process, from sourcing applicants to making decision on hiring (Kouzes & Posner 2007). An emerging approach is using recruitment agencies that have capacity to acquire skillful and competent specialists the company would not identify without external intervention. The firm specifies the type of employees it requires and outlines all other specifications and special requirements. The employer may also submit the entire description on the expected roles and responsibilities to make it easy for the agency to identify the most suitable candidate and refer them to the company (Kouzes & Posner 2007). The primary advantage with the recruitment approach is that it allows the organisation to divert its attention to things that it is good at, and to save the resources it would use in the recruitment process. Nevertheless, the technique is disadvantageous because it may require much financial obligation to motivate qualified and competent recruiters to source and refer skillful and experienced workers. On the same note, HR selection techniques vary depending on an organisation’s resources and staff. A common selection approach that HR leaders and employers tend to use is in-person interviews where the employer engages the applicant in a series of questions and assessment to find out if they really suit the specified position (Kouzes & Posner 2007). Interviewing may help the employer to narrow applicants and to select the most appropriate and qualified personnel. Its merits are that it provides the chance to understand the applicant’s individual perceptions and attitudes, and provide the opportunity to converse at length while providing relevant directives (Kouzes & Posner 2007). The primary limitation with the technique is that it may take time to assess all the applicants, especially if they are many.  Therefore, employers must take time to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the recruitment and selection methods that they use or plan to employ to avoid faults and unexpected outcomes.

Question 6 – Retention and Turnover

Why People Choose to Leave or Remain in an Organisation

Several factors push workers either to leave or remain with an employer. A person can choose to remain in an organisation when the leaders employ suitable leadership techniques, when the motivational approaches are appealing, if the organisational culture is inclusive, and when the colleagues are cooperative (Osterwalder et al. 2020). However, one may choose to quit when they lack the opportunity to give their views, does not see a bright future in the company, and feels less motivated and respected. Usually, organizations bear the huge cost associated with dysfunctional employee turnover. A report by Thomas (2010) informs that with yearly employee resignations in the United Kingdom averaging about 10.5% and the average remuneration around 25,000 pounds, the United Kingdom’s failure to uphold talented workers to the level of other advanced economies costs businesses approximately 42 billion pounds annually, or about 8 billion pounds for each increase by 1% in employee turnover (Thomas 2010). Thus, businesses should be keen to avoid unregulated employee turnover.

Strengths and Weaknesses to Different Ways of Retaining Talent

Business leaders and HR managers apply different techniques to retain talent and this depends on what they find to be applicable and relevant to the company. A technique many employers use involves offering financial benefits, which involves offering money to encourage workers to put more effort in their duties. The employer may choose to give high wages, increased bonuses, and other financial perks as a way of motivating their employees to work harder (Osterwalder et al. 2020). The major benefit with the technique is that every person needs money to achieve their needs, and would put more effort in their duties if that is what it takes to earn them more income. The employee’s self-esteem grows when they receive satisfactory financial benefits from their employers and are likely to put more effort in their duties (Osterwalder et al. 2020). The approach is also likely to boost employee retention because workers may not consider moving when they receive enough pay to provide for their physiological and secondary needs. However, the approach is disadvantageous because it is costly and may not be easy to sustain. The other demerit with the technique is that the acquired motivation may not persist because it tends to foster compliance rather than creativity and innovation (Osterwalder et al. 2020). The other approach for rewarding talent is recognition, which entails publicly acknowledging the skills and competence. The main merit with the approach is it makes workers feel appreciated, but its limitation is some workers may feel less appreciated.

Question 7 – Lawful Practice for Managing Dismissal, Retirement and Redundancies

An organisation that handles its dismissals, retirements, and redundancies in the appropriate manner increases its chances of not being on the wrong side of the law. Consequently, dealing with all these aspects requires the company or the HR team to be updated with the legal updates directing such organisational practices (Osterwalder et al. 2020). In addition, the firm should try and follow all the stipulated legal guidelines and processes to avoid any problems with law enforcers. All dismissals, retirements, and redundancies should follow ethical guidelines so that no one feels discriminated or alienated. More fundamentally, all the three processes should abide by refined in-house policies such that everyone feels contented.

Summary

The study provides valuable information that may benefit businesses of different scales. The study provides helpful information on how the labour markets tend to differ from one country to the other. It reminds employers to consider how factors in the labour market could influence their recruitment and retaining of workers. The report provides valuable information regarding the vital role the government, employers, and unions play in developing the workers’ skills and competencies, especially those that may help them in future. Businesses learn the importance of embracing suitable principles of effective workforce planning, while paying considerable attention to setting strategy, engaging key stakeholders, and building human capacity. Applying these principles require implementers to consider using tools such as scenario planning and organisational benchmarking that provide worthy information regarding business practices. The paper provides vital insight into how to create a basic succession and career development plan, and describes how the HR can be of significance in a downsizing process. Employers need to be conversant with the provisions of the Equality Act 2010, Data Protection Act 1998, and GDPR 2018 that provide valuable insight into recruiting and selecting workers in accordance with the law. The study reiterates the importance of knowing the merits and demerits of various recruitment and selection methods to avoid blunders during the entire hiring process. The study also provides important information regarding suitable ways for motivating workers, and dismissing them.

Reference List

Crown 2020, National minimum wage and national living wage rates. Available from: <https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates> [Accessed 17 December 17, 2020]

General Authority for Statistics 2020, Unemployment rate – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Available from: <https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/820> [Accessed 17 December 31, 2020]

King, B 2020, Unemployment rate: How many people are out of work? Available from: <https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52660591> [Accessed 17 December 31, 2020]

Kouzes, J, & Posner, B 2007, The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary things happen in organizations, Jossey-Bass, New York.

Mosley, E, & Irvine, D 2020, Making Work Human: How human-centered companies are changing the future of work and the world, McGraw-Hill Education, New York.

Osterwalder, A, et al. 2020, The invincible company: How to constantly reinvent your organization with inspiration from the world’s best business models, Wiley, New York.

Thomas, D 2010, Failure to retain talent costs UK firms £42 billion, says PwC. Available from: < https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/failure-to-retain-talent-costs-uk-firms-42-billion-says-pwc/> [Accessed 17 December 31, 2020]

Appendices

Appendix 1 – Organisation X Succession Plan

Name	Position	Qualifications	Current time in role	Experience in sector	Planned Successor
A Jones	HR Director	An M.A or bachelor’s degree in management, business administration, human resources, or other related fields.	High-ranking executive in charge of planning and implementing budgets, procedures, and regulations related to compliance, remuneration, training, and labour relations.	5-7 years of experience in the specialty.	B Smith
B Smith	HR Manager	An M.A or bachelor’s degree in HR management, business administration or related areas.	Manages the organization’s staff, encompassing organizing, coordinating, and facilitating recruitments, orienting new workers with organizational practices, and creating effective induction and empowerment programs.	4-6 years of experience in the field.	C Brown
C Brown	HR Advisor	Degree in HR management or related areas, and a qualification from CIPD (Charted Institute of Personnel and Development) is an added advantage to progress one’s career.	The HR advisor researches and recommends performance evaluation techniques such as employees’ evaluation structures, designs and help implement organisational policies, reviews and updates job descriptions, and suggests new technology to boost HR practices.	3-5 years in related fields.	D Williams
D Williams	HR Assistant	An applicable college course, apprenticeship, and appropriate skills.	Provides administrative support to the HR team. The Assistant answers enquiries, maintains staff details, write letters and reports, and produces employee handbooks and newsletters.	2-4 years of experience in applicable positions.	TBC

Appendix 2 – Career Development Plan for C Brown

Training Required	By whom	Benefit	Cost & Timescale	Review Period
Employee relationship	CIPD	The leader would know how to relate with others and understand the factors that are likely to foster strong relationship and those that may tamper with how members of staff relate.	SAR 140,000	Three months.
Communication skills	CIPD	Gaining superior communication skills helps to mitigate conflicts, advances employee participation, fosters client relationship, and develops talented and productive workforce.	SAR 114,000	Three months
Use of advanced technology	CIPD	Being conversant with advanced technology makes it easy to access information, saves time, improves innovation, promotes better learning approaches, and facilitates cost efficiency.	SAR 210,000	Three months

Organisation X

Appendix 3 – Job Description, Person Specification, Competency Framework
	Job Description
	Department:	Human Resources
	Post Title:	HR Assistant
	Level/Salary Range
	SAR 450,000 per annum.
	Posts Responsible to:	Helping HR team.
	Posts Responsible for:	Offering guidance and support in relevant areas.
	Job Purpose:   To support the firm’s HR specialists in their core obligations.

Key Accountabilities/Primary Responsibilities:   The professional will perform a wide range of duties including providing administrative support to the HR, answering enquiries, maintaining workforce details, composing letters and reports, and producing worker handbooks and newsletters.

Person Specification (HR Assistant)
Criteria	Essential	Desirable	How to be assessed
Qualifications, Knowledge and Experience:	Relevant college course, apprenticeships, and suitable skills.	B.A, M.A, and CIPD.	Interviews, examination of documents and tests.
Planning and Organising:	Good planner and organiser.	Innovation	Provision of evidence from past positions.
Problem Solving and Initiative:	Bringing an end to challenging issues	Providing preventive plans.
Management and Teamwork:	Engaging team members.	Incorporating the entire company.	Personal description of competence.
Communicating and Influencing:	Know basic communication skills.	Able to relate with people from diverse cultures.	Examination by a panel.
Other Skills and Behaviours:	Sensitive and understanding.	Empathy.	Examination by a panel.

Behavioural Competencies (HR Assistant)
Customer Focus	The worker should be able to relate with customers well.
Accountability	The professional should be honest in their relationship with others.
Communication & Influencing	The Assistant should communicate clearly and fluently.
Team work/ Collaboration	Should show excellent team working skills.
Seeks Excellence	The Assistant should focus on achieving the best results and excellence.
Professional  Development	The worker should pay attention to developing the workers’ skills and competency.
Judgement/ Problem Solving	The professional should be able to apply ADR and other techniques of conflict resolution.