HRM Essay
Human resource management consists of the policies, practices and systems that influence employee’s behaviour, attitudes and performance at work. The key functions of HRM work include staffing, recruitment, retention (pay, rewards, incentive), compliance (legal requirements) and change management (terminations, redundancies). However, as this question is directed towards recruiting a new pharmacist, I will focus on the Staffing aspect of HRM.
The concept of staffing involves various factors such as recruitment, testing, selection and induction. Recruitment involves attracting and finding suitable candidates who may be selected for the job. How this occurs depends on the job, time and resources (money) available to spend on advertising. In this hospital situation, there are many approaches for attracting potential employees. Before advertising, you could ring around other hospitals in New Zealand to see if they know of any highly recommended pharmacists. You could then contact the potential applicant(s) directly. Another approach could simply be advertising internally by posting up advertisements on notice boards around the hospital. As many people pass by and read the notice boards daily, this method could prove to be very effective (and inexpensive!).
However, if these approaches appear to be unsuccessful, advertising externally may need to be done. When advertising, it is important to define the job needs by writing a thorough job description. This must include the job to be done, the hours and place of work, the qualifications expected and most importantly the person specification of the job. Person specification entails the knowledge, skills and abilities that a candidate should have. As a hospital pharmacist, candidates would be expected to have an extensive knowledge of drugs and their interactions and side effects, be able to work out appropriate doses and have the ability to be a team player as they will be working with a wide range of medical staff. They must also have good communication skills. This knowledge, skills and abilities are used to screen (out) applicants during the selection process.
After compiling the job description, the next step is to distribute the advertisements. Advertising in the Pharmacy magazine and other health-related magazines would be worthwhile, as well as the daily newspaper. Advertising online on sites such as www.seek.co.nz might also be effective.
Once this is complete and all applications have been received, short listing must then be done. This involves identifying candidates who meet the requirements of the job description and who are eligible for a job interview. During the interview, it is important to ask open-ended questions so that candidates have an opportunity to show their interest or knowledge. Testing of the candidates may also be required too see how suitable the candidates are. An example of this might be asking candidates what drugs they would prescribe in various situations.
When identifying the top candidates, it is then necessary to check the candidates’ references. This enables information to be obtained about the validity of the candidate’s claims, what they were like as an employee and positive and negative traits about them according to their previous employers. Selection can then be made.
The new employee must then be given a written letter of offer stating the terms and conditions of employment. This ensures that there is clear and mutual understanding of the job being offered. All employees and employers are covered by the Health & Safety in Employment Act 1992, which involves