5RST HRM: Workforce Planning, Recruitment, and Retention Report

This comprehensive report delves into the critical aspects of workforce planning, recruitment, and retention within an HRM context. It begins by outlining the key principles of effective workforce planning, emphasizing the involvement of stakeholders and the identification of essential competencies. The report then addresses the strategic considerations for organizational downsizing, including managing communications, employee investment, and legal compliance. It provides guidance on developing job descriptions, person specifications, and competency frameworks, alongside an explanation of the main legal requirements in recruitment and selection. Furthermore, it assesses the strengths and weaknesses of various recruitment methods and offers advice on managing dismissals, retirements, and redundancies in accordance with current legislation. The report also explores labor market trends, employee turnover, and the implications of employee health and wellbeing. It examines the role of government, employers, and trade unions in meeting future skill needs, and integrates career and succession planning into organizational strategy. The report draws on case studies to illustrate real-world applications of these concepts, providing a holistic view of workforce management challenges and solutions.

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CPID

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Table of Contents
Part C...............................................................................................................................................3
Section 1......................................................................................................................................3
Question 1................................................................................................................................3
Question 2................................................................................................................................3
Question 3................................................................................................................................4
Question 4................................................................................................................................5
Question 5................................................................................................................................5
Section 2......................................................................................................................................6
Reference List..................................................................................................................................8

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Part C
Section 1
Question 1
The key principles of effective workplace planning are as follows.
The employees, the top management and the other stakeholders should be involved in the
development, communication and implementation of the workforce plan (Noe, Hollenbeck,
Gerhart and Wright, 2006). The critical competencies and skills should which are needed for the
achievement of present as well as present results of programmes should be determined. The
strategies for addressing the numerical gaps, deployment gaps and gaps in aligning the
approaches of human capital for sustaining and enabling the contributions of the essential
competencies and skills, should be developed (Stahl, 2012). The capabilities that are needed for
addressing educational administrative and other requirements that unnecessary for supporting
employment planning strategies should be built (Stahl, 2012). Finally, the progress of the firm
towards its human capital objectives and contribution that is made by the results of human
capital towards the achievement of programmatic results should be monitored and evaluated.
The effective tools that are used in this process are: Defining business objectives; Modeling
current workforce; establishing direction for the future workforce; Addressing workforce gaps
and Developing and implementing a gap-closing strategy (SABA SOFTWARE, 2003).
Question 2
The key considerations while planning and conducting a downsizing of an organization are:
Retention of corporate reputation
When an announcement is made by a company for the closure hot downsizing its operations, it
brings profound consequences the customers and supply bases and the local community. It is
important that the reasons for making such decisions should be communicated clearly did the
affected groups in community by the company, before hindrances of acceptance of the
requirement of such decision is increased due to innuendo or rumor (Appelbaum, Everard and

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Hung, 1999). The management of carpet interpretations is the most important issue that should
be addressed immediately once a decision for downsizing has been made.
Manage communications
Management of communication consists of information to both the parties, the employees of the
firm and the people who are external to the company. External Communications includes timely
and accurate information regarding capacity management decisions (Klehe, Zikic, Van Vianen
and De Pater, 2011). The internal communications help in keeping the employees informed
regarding the plan changes.
Manage the actual closure
This stage is crucial for project management activities. It is a vital operational talk as this
involves setting the vision for downsizing and closure, planning the operations run-down and its
timing, determination of employee reduction and the company's policy of separation. It would
also involve informing and clarifying the job roles to the employees regarding the future.
Manage investment in employees
At this stage, the greatest impact would be made by attention to employee aspects of downsizing
enclosure. If an employer fails in understanding the emotional impact on the employees due to
the closure or downsizing decision, the process of implementation of downsizing can prove to be
costly as well as difficult.
Question 3
The job description shows and describes the main purpose and scope of the job. It also highlights
the functional duties and responsibilities of an individual and the levels of authority provided to
him along with the job. The competencies include the core competencies and functional
competencies required by an individual. The core competencies include aspect such as
understanding the job and the company, working together, communication, personal
accountability (Compton, 2009). The functional competencies include member focus, flexibility,
planning and organization, technical expertise. The person specification includes certain essential
as well as desirable knowledge and expertise, communication and relationship skills (Kurz and
Bartram, 2002). The other requirements are essential practical and physical skills, essential

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decision making and problem solving skills, financial responsibility; responsibility for
information, responsibility for supervision and management, physical and mental effort, essential
personal circumstances or requirements (Roberts, 1997).
Question 4
No single act governs the recruitment and selection; however there are certain apps which deal
with the employment relationship which affect pre-employment issues as well. Under the
Equality Act 2010 it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against existing workers and job
applicants due to a protected characteristic, namely, age, gender reassignment, disability, erase,
sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil
partnership (Act, 2010). The Asylum and Immigration Act 2006 makes it unlawful and a
criminal offence for employing anyone who does not have the permission of living and working
in the country. The Police Act 1987 makes it a legal requirement for carrying out a Criminal
Records Bureau check on the employees who work with vulnerable adults or children. This is
done before the confirmation of a candidate's position. The Data Protection Act 2003 notifies the
applicants regarding the usage of the details of the candidate in the application form. This
implies that information is confidential and can only be utilized for selection and assessment, and
for the employment records in case of successful application.
Question 5
Strengths – The most common strengths of the different methods of recruitment and selection
are, they are cost effective, processes can be coordinated and vacancies can be managed
effectively with the help of technology, these methods can speed up the cycle of recruitment and
can streamline administration, they have a global reach and can invite instant applications, the
enable internal vacancies to be known across a wide range of divisions and sites.
Weaknesses - The common weaknesses of different methods of recruitment and selection are, if
proper care is not taken while drafting the person specification and the job description, it invites
a potential large number of inappropriate applications. Technical difficulties and a badly
designed website can lead to damaging the brand and turn-off potential applicants. In cases
where the candidates are not computer literate, these methods can be seen to be discriminatory.
The usage of the search keyword CV can lead to discrimination allegations.

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Section 2
In the recent times it has be1en seen that that has been a rapid increase in the unfair dismissals,
redundancy pay claims and breach of employee contracts. One of the primary reasons for such
increase in the claims is the economic recession. History shows that when there is a rise in
unemployment, there is a rise in the number of tribunal cases as well. When an employee is
dismissed from a job and his struggles to find another job, there are chances of resorting to
litigation. Whereas when an employee quickly secures an alternative employment opportunity,
his focus is more on the future rather than the past. However, there is the recession is a single
factor. According to statistics and figures that is an indication get employees are more willing to
raise claims against their past employers (Heery and Noon, 2008). The days of shame that was
attached to tribunal complaints have disappeared, especially regarding the claims that arise due
to redundancy situations. These days it is very straightforward for employees to lodge claims of
employment tribunal, as now claims can also be made online. The original establishment of the
tribunal system was implemented with the objective that the procedure would not be over
legalistic, and both the employee and the employer would be representing themselves (Loretto
and White, 2006). The representation by the employer and employee does not consider the legal
advisers' need. The claim form being more detailed, it becomes easier for its completion. There is
no requirement for the employee towards providing much detail of the case. Nor they are
required to have much knowledge regarding the law.
However, the relief for the employers is that according to statistics, the employers who are
characterized by legal representation have greater chances of succeeding in defending the claims
that are brought against them by the employees. The disturbing fact is that the legal fees from
claimant would be recovered even if the employers win the case. Additionally, free
representation regarding claims can now be secured by the claimants from a host of sources that
include advice bureaus of local citizen, law centers and trade unions (Loretto and White, 2006).
In order to cover themselves from the tenses of tribunal claims of employment, employers now
have greater awareness regarding the legal expenses insurance option. However, they might be
prevented and discouraged by the premium cost. It could create a view that such expenditure is
not well spent money since they would never be able to get a claim against them. Regarding the
claim, there are no requirements for the claimants for paying any sorts of fees for pursuing a case
against their former employers. Hence, when an online application is completed by an employee,

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they do not need to send a cheque or provide the details of their credit card (Heery and Noon,
2008). Subsequently, even when employees come up with weak claims against their employers
they are unlikely to be discouraged from submitting a claim. This implies that there is still a need
for the employer for spending money and time in order to contribute defense to the tribunal.
It is clear that the tribunal system was not established for the encouragement of such claims;
however countries have become more contentious in the past few years. The governments are
committed for reviewing the legislation aspects and have also indicated that tribunal procedure is
one such aspect. A review of the tribunal procedure has been called by the government that
primarily emphasizes on the prevention of raising the number of unreasonable and exasperating
claims (Heery and Noon, 2008). Consequently, requirement for seeking legal advice and
claimants' submission fees may be brought in the future. The future also might bring extension of
the ground up on which the employee can be awarded with favorable costs at places where the
claims are vexatious. If this is the case, employees would be best placed for making every
possible effort for avoiding claims that arise in the first place. The possibility of claims being
brought would be significantly reduced and compliance with necessary legal provisions would
improvise when the good practices regarding disciplinary and dismissal matters and all the
procedures and policies all up to date.

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Reference List
Act, E., 2010. Equality act. The Stationary Office, London.
Appelbaum, S.H., Everard, A. and Hung, L.T., 1999. Strategic downsizing: Critical success
factors. Management Decision, 37(7), pp.535-552.
Compton, R.L., 2009. Effective recruitment and selection practices. CCH Australia Limited.
Heery, E. and Noon, M., 2008. A dictionary of human resource management. OUP Oxford.
Klehe, U.C., Zikic, J., Van Vianen, A.E. and De Pater, I.E., 2011. Career adaptability, turnover
and loyalty during organizational downsizing. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79(1), pp.217-
229.
Kurz, R. and Bartram, D., 2002. Competency and individual performance: Modelling the world
of work. Organizational effectiveness: The role of psychology, pp.227-255.
Loretto, W. and White, P., 2006. Employers' attitudes, practices and policies towards older
workers. Human resource management journal, 16(3), pp.313-330.
Mui, Y., Bennett, M., Martin, J., Shukla, A. and Lardin, P., SABA SOFTWARE, 2003. Method
for enterprise workforce planning. U.S. Patent Application 09/792,624.
Noe, R., Hollenbeck, J., Gerhart, B. and Wright, P., 2006. Human Resources Management:
Gaining a Competitive Advantage, Tenth Global Edition. McGraw-Hill Education.
Roberts, G., 1997. Recruitment and selection: A competency approach. CIPD Publishing.
Stahl, G., Björkman, I., Farndale, E., Morris, S.S., Paauwe, J., Stiles, P., Trevor, J. and Wright,
P., 2012. Six principles of effective global talent management. Sloan Management
Review, 53(2), pp.25-42.