Human Resource Tool Kit

1. UNIVERSITY OF NICOSIA ONLINE
MASTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
MBALN-609
HUMAN RESOURCES TOOL KIT
CYRIL ESURUMAIT ETIANG
R1607D1698959

2. HOW TO DESIGN A JOB POSITION
AND DESCRIPTION
 For any position within the organisation, there must
be an accompanying job description. According to
Grant (1989), a job description will be useful to the
extent to which it is well designed. This is a critical
document that performs some functions that include;
 It outlines competencies skills an individual must
have to perform tasks
 It clearly describes the position of the job within the
organization’s hierarchy
 It is also used t provide a basis for drafting an
employment contract and finally
 It can also be used as performance management tool
In this presentation, we outline five steps that can be
used to write an accurate, concise, and clear job
description. The steps are;

3. 1. Job title – job title is the first element of a job description.
Useful job description are expected to have the following
qualities;
It should explicitly address what the job entails
Clearly shows how the position relates to other positions
within the organisation
It should not deliberately exaggerate the position importance
It should not reflect any bias regarding gender and age
Should be self-explanatory
For example “security officer” would be a better job title
compared to “county officer in charge of security”.

4. 2. Duties – it should clearly contain a list of all functions related
to the particular job. Together with that, it should also
state the amount of time need for the job. For example, it
should be indicated that time allocation is 10% data entry
and 40% filling. The duties should be very brief for
instance developing monthly reports for the department.
Smaller companies are most likely to have a longer list of job
description since most of the employees tend to do more work.
3. Skills and competencies – it should clearly be understood that
there is a difference between skills and competencies. Skills
refer to qualifications possessed by candidates while
competencies refer to attributes expected to be displayed by the
candidate in the execution of their duties (Evers et al., 1998).
An example of skills includes flexibility, teamwork, among
others.

5. 4. Relationships – it is of great importance to indicate a chain of
hierarchy in your organisation. This shows who the candidate
reports to and who reports to them. This is important in giving
them an idea of how their position fits into the entire
organisation structure. Normally, it may be best shown by the
use of an organizational chart.
5. Salary – it is recommended that instead of providing a fixed
salary for a particular position, a salary range is provided which
would be commensurate with experience and educational
background.

6. TIPS FOR CONDUCTING A SUCCESSFUL
EMPLOYEE SEARCH.
The most challenging tasks for the human resource department is
attracting and recruiting suitable candidates for any position.
Many possibilities may be employed in an attempt to attract the
best in the market, and this may vary from the traditional
methods to methods that were introduced with technology. These
are;
 When developing a job description, clearly indicate what the job
entails
 Ensure the advert can easily be accessed from your organisation
website and that applications can be made through email
 Engage stakeholders on possibilities of referrals
 Engage employment agencies to help you attract the best talent
in the market
 Put in your advertisement in local newspapers and other
mainstream media
 Use social media to attract job seekers who need jobs
 Undertake applications within the shortest time possible

7. HOW TO CONDUCT AN EMPLOYMENT
INTERVIEW
It is common knowledge that interviewees usually have a
hard time during interviews. However, it should also be
noted that interviewers equally have a share of their
challenges in respect to interviews. They have a task to
ensure that they can pick the best candidate possible from
those that turn up for the interviews. They can do this by
asking questions that would elicit the best responses. To
conduct an effective interview, you should be able to do the
following;
 Research about the candidate – before starting an
interview, it is prudent that you perform a background
check on the applicants to be interviewed before the
interview. This can best be done by reviewing their
resumes correctly and formulating proper questions. You
may go further and search for Google and social media to
find out if the candidate will fit the job position.

8.  Understand the position and what it takes – there is nothing
complicated like interviewing a candidate for a position that he
knows better than you. Therefore, it is important that the
interviewer undertakes proper research on the position and all
the relevant skills required for the job.
 Get the candidate to understand what is expected of them – it is
disappointing to recruit candidates who are not prepared. You
may be required to send candidates details on email. The
information you may send could include the dress code,
documents to carry, a few interview tips, among many others.
 Try to calm the candidate – it is the role of the interviewer to
ensure that the interviewee can relax and give a proper response
because when they are nervous, they will give appropriate
answers to questions. This can be done by asking none work
related issues like how they day has been.

9.  Limit questions you ask during the interview – it is
important to limit the interview questions so as to give
them an opportunity to respond to the questions
adequately. Human Resource practitioners advise that you
should not ask more than six questions in thirty minutes.
 Afford the candidate an opportunity to express themselves –
it is advisable that you ask open-ended questions so as to
enable the candidate to respond to the questions. This
makes them understand that you honestly have an interest
in them.

10. TOOLS FOR EVALUATING EMPLOYEE
PERFORMANCE
It is important for the organisation to ensure their employees are motivated
and they can easily be held accountable for their actions. Performance
evaluation is a critical process in making employees what is expected of them
and what the management thinks about their actual performance. Therefore,
conducting proper employee appraisal is essential in aiding both the
employees and management reach their goals.
 Set job standards – when you hire new employees, it is important to establish
new standards for the first day.
 Document all employee accomplishments to ensure that they prove an audit
trail of all activities they have engaged in.
 You could develop formal appraisal tools in appraising your employees. These
forms are designed for people who are not human resource practitioners.
 Performance plan – this is an important tool in the evaluation process. This
can be done by sharing with employees the organisational plans and
timetables.

11. HOW TO DEVELOP AN EFFECTIVE
EMPLOYEE TRAINING PROGRAM
There are many factors which come into play when seeking
to develop a workforce that is effective. One of the methods
is developing a good training program. Below are tips for
developing a robust training program. These factors are;
 Identify goals – depending on the industry that you operate
it; it is important to define your goals for you to be able to
develop proper training goals.
 Acquire the necessary resources for training – some
organisations could have the resources ready for them.
However, for most organisations, there is a need to obtain
the support from vendors who offer the sources.
 Create a training schedule – the training could take a few
days depending on the complexity of the training. You
would create a program to ensure that all employees
receive the training.

12.  Find a qualified trainer – to ensure the training is successful, ensure
that you get a qualified trainer to train the team. You may decide to
get a trainer internally if or contract an outside trainer.
 Communicate effectively – to ensure that you are in a position run
the training well; you are required to undertake proper
communication to the team with the aim of handling employee
expectations.
 Track training progress – you are encouraged to break down the
program into parts so that you can easily monitor how the training is
being implemented.
 Encourage feedback on training – once the program has been
completed, the human resource department should organise a session
to review the training and determine if it attained the goals.
Proper training is one of the surest ways of ensuring that employees
are well prepared for success. You would expect to have a more
cohesive team if they are equipped and empowered to carry out their
work. Some of the incentives that may be realised as a result of
proper training could include increased sales, excellent
organisational culture and higher employee productivity.

13. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCESSES AND
PROCEDURES WHICH WILL IMPROVE INDIVIDUAL
AND CORPORATE PERFORMANCE
To obtain feedback on training, it is important to provide
questionnaires which would be useful in capturing
feedback. Often, it may be suggested that employees
maintain anonymity by not giving their names on the
forms. They would ensure they provide information they
would otherwise fear to offer.
There is a symbiotic relationship between the employees
and the organisation. The entire process starts by the
organisation attracting the best employees and
empowering them through proper training. On their part,
employees are obliged to ensure they provide the best
services to employees since all the necessary tool will be
availed to them.

14. REFERENCES
Evers, F. T., Rush, J. C., Berdrow, I., Useem, M., Evers, &
Evers, I. B. (1998). The Bases of Competence: Skills for
lifelong learning and employability. San Francisco,
CA: Jossey- Bass Inc., U.S.
Grant, P. C. (1989). Multiple use job descriptions: A guide
to analysis, preparation, and applications for human
resources managers. New York: Quorum Books.