Recording and Analyzing Information in Human Resource - Assignment Example

Assessment 3: Recording and Analyzing Information in HR Activity A: 1. why the organization needs to collect HR data First, HR data is used to conduct human resource transactions that are basic in nature; an organization needs to collect work-related and basic personal data. These transactions include payroll, government reporting, and benefits administration.Some HR data is collected to satisfy the requirement of an external stakeholder as well as to fulfill the employment relationship. Potential customers, investors and prospective employees would like to know the HR maturity of an organization in terms of stability, delivery capabilities and long term sustainability. To answer stakeholder questions, the organization needs to collect HR data. Second, HR data is used to make calculations in order to evaluate the impact of HR related practices on finance. An example of calculations made is the pay and benefits as an operating expense percentage, turnover cost, return on training and cost per hire. 2. Types of HR data collected in the organization Personal and work related data (Historical Data) The personal data of an employee includes social security number, name, date of birth, place, address, education, marital status, dependent information, emergency contact and telephone numbers. This data helps HR in easily identifying the employees, their ages, and the level of diversity in the organization due to different races available. Their education level to assist in promotions and identifying training needs.The employee work-related data include job title, pre-employment test scores, job grade, training records, salary, corrective action records, benefit selections, attendance history, promotional history and performance appraisal ratings. This data assist HR in reviewing the salaries of employees, the progress of corrective measures put in place per employee and the performance level of each employee in determining promotions. The HR is also able to identify the level of absenteeism and employee turnover in order to put in place the necessary measures. Functional data Functional data includes compensation and benefits, health and safety, recruitment and placement, training and development, labour relations and performance appraisal. This assist HR in establishing the effectiveness of recruiting, what training is in progress or completed, forecast on employee demand, and calculate the costs of employee benefits and so on. 3. Two methods of storing records Strength weakness 1. Paper records It can be done by anyone as it needs less knowledge as compared to electronic Are not vulnerable to virus and hackers. High degree of confidentiality Data can’t be lost due to a data system crash The language used can be ambiguous and the handwriting unreadable Are difficult to be transmitted and insecure in faxing They are bulky making them vulnerable to damage by water, fire or from wear. Difficulty to sort and can only be sorted in one way; alphabetically, It is time consuming to look for information Data cannot be easily shared across groups of people. Ambiguity. Language can be ambiguous, and handwriting can be illegible. 2. Electronic Records Are clear, precise and readable Can be transmitted easily and have protection methods that are inbuilt Storage is well protected and backed up in case of damage from water, fire and so on. Data can be sorted in many ways Searching for information is easily facilitated by use of query languages and structured coding schema Data sharing can be facilitated across teams or groups. Technology used can be very complex and thus become a barrier in itself. Sometimes the records can be inflexible because of degree of uncertainty that is inbuilt. Many users still don’t backup or put protective measures, thus records become vulnerable. Threat to confidentiality and attack of hackers and computer virus due to the ease of transmission. 4. Data Protection Data should be protected to avoid exposing personal data of an individual. Personal data can sometimes be sensitive when it includes the following information: ethnic origin, religious beliefs, sexual life, political opinions, commission of offences, physical of mental health trade union membership. UK Data Protection Act 1998 governs how data is collected and used as well as personal data disclosure whether in paper or electronically. According to the data protection principles provided data; must be fairly processed, should be obtained for specified and lawful purposes, should be adequate and relevant to the purpose of which it is required, should be accurate and kept to date. data should not be kept longer than it is needed. According to the Data Protection Act, personnel as well as other related records have limited time that is supposed to be stored. Retention of personnel data should be kept between six months to one year, though there is no existence of statutory retention periods (Legislation.gov.uk, 1998) Activity B: Summary of Performance Management System in Abu Dhabi Municipality Presentation Performance Management System I chose this subject area because I was much interested in understanding how the Performance Management system in Abu Dhabi Municipality works as well as its impact on the HR. Objectives: Find out how Performance Management Systems Clarify objectives, Assist in the individual employee performance management, Enables planning of relevant training and development programs, Assist employees to have a clear understanding of the work quality and quantity expected from them, Ensures that increase of salary and awards based on the performance of employees are distributed accordingly, Helps address the employee performance that doesn’t meet expectations Ensures that employees receive regular information on their performance relative to the organization expectations Provide opportunities for employee development to be identified. Process PM process of Abu Dhabi Municipality takes place quarterly. In the first stage which is performance planning, employees together with their manager discuss and agree on a set of objectives to be achieved normally in SMART form. In the second stage quarterly review the manager provides employee’s performance feedback based on observation. The third stage is the mid-year review where the manager reviews performance objectives of employees, competencies, activities and training needs. The final stage is the end year review where an employee evaluates himself through an online system appraisal. The self assessment appraisal is reviewed and completed by the manager. The manager then asks the employee to join him to discuss his achievement, evaluate him and send feedback to them. New objectives are again set and the process begins again. In Abu Dhabi Municipality the online performance system used is Oracle Performance Management System which is only used on aligned employees (those on the organization chart). Evaluation on the non-aligned employees is done manually). According to the survey taken on the self assessment taken by employees on the performance management system, 3 employees rated 1, 81 employees rated 2, 193 employees rated 3, 33 employees rated 4 and 6 employees rated 5. Among the assessments that took place, 6.5% were employees self assessment, 4.8% were manager assessment, 4.5% were one-up manager approval, 2.8% were manager signature and 81.3 % appraisals were completed. 6.5% didn’t complete employee assessment because 5 were of the employees were suspended from work, 2 were on scholarship, 3 refused to do the appraisal, 1 was absent without a reason, 1 was contracted, 1 was secondment and 13 hadn’t responded from their departments. Recommendation The performance management can be improved to ensure it is 100% effective by: First, rewards and compensation and motivation incentives can be used to encourage employees to take part in the self-assessment and complete the appraisal. Second, managers should be trained on the performance management system. In most cases the performance management systems and appraisal systems are implemented badly and so the understanding of managers is based on poor experiences. Third, employees should seek recommendations actively concerning their specific duties in order to improve their outcome. Fourth, the managers and employees should collaborate to develop an appraisal system that will work for all. Lastly, employees should be provided with constant feedback to help them develop and improve their performance. Their performance should also be documented and communicated to support decision regarding salary increases, transfers, promotions and so on. (Note: details on this can be found in the powerpoint slide). What went well with the presentation is the use of graphics to entertain the audience and emphasize on the topic. The definition of words and phrases enabled the easy understanding by the audience. Charts and graphs used made analysis and statics easier for the audience to understand. However, there is need for improvements in the presentation. I need to take a breath and go step by step to ensure that everyone understands instead of rushing thorough. Effects should also be applied to slides for entertainment and make the presentation interesting. References Municipality of Abu Dhabi City. < http://www.adm.gov.ae> UK Legislation. (1998). Data Protection Act 1998. Retrieved on February 18, 2011 from < http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/29/contents> Read More