HR Services: Tasks, Remedial Action, Checklists, And Regulations

Task 1 - Knowledge

1. Why should HR Professionals consult line and senior managers about human resources needs in their areas? Provide at least five reasons.
2. What are the ten HR services that might need to be delivered in accordance with a service agreement or plan?
3. What skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications, and abilities might be appropriate providers of one HR service (e.g. EAP Services) need to have? (75-150 Words)
4. What is a ROI? Why can calculating ROI be difficult when it comes to the provision of HR services? Why is it important to make an effort to calculate ROI in relation to HR services? (100-175 words).
5. Explain the difference between quantitative and qualitative information that might be gathered to evaluate the organization’s human resource service delivery. (150-200 words).
6. Identify the key provisions of legal and compliance requirements that apply to managing human resources?
7. Briefly explain how human resource strategies and planning processes link to business and operational plans.
8. Briefly describe performance and contract management.
9. Briefly describe how feedback is used to modify the delivery of human resources. 

Task 2 – Knowledge

1. In one sentence explain what each of the following is:
   1. Self-study
   2. On-site training
   3. Off-site training
   4. One-on-one training
   5. Mentoring
   6. Action learning sets
   7. Job rotation
   8. Job shadowing

2. For each value listed, describe three of the behaviors you could display to ensure you reflect the organizational values.
   1. Value: Trustworthiness
      1. Behaviors might include:
   2. Value: Caring for others
      1. Behaviors might include:
   3. Value: Civic virtue
      1. Behaviors might include:
   4. Value: Justice and Fairness
      1. Behaviors might include:
   5. Value: Respect
      1. Behaviors might include:

3. You are the HR Manager of an organization that uses an external agency to delivery training modules to employees.

You are concerned that the agency is underperforming. They are not complying with the service agreement governing the delivery of HR Services. You decide to take remedial action.

What action might you take? Provide at least five examples. 

4. You are a HR Manager of a large organization. Your department provides HR services to internal and external clients. You have decided to survey the department’s clients to determine their satisfaction levels of the services being provided to them.

Undertake your own research to locate information about:

1. Client satisfaction surveys
2. Service usage surveys
3. One other type of survey which should be used.

Describe each type of survey in one or two sentences. Provide two examples of questions used in each type of survey.

5. Explain each of these analytical methods in one paragraph:
   1. The audit method
   2. The analytical method
   3. The budget method
   4. The ratio method
   5. The balanced scorecard 

Task 3A - Application

Prepare a detailed checklist 

Task 3B - Application

In what way did Bowen breach confidentiality that is required when dealing with all HR information? What would Bowen do differently? (100-200 Words).

Task 4 – Summative

Identify 5 key pieces of legislation that apply to managing human resources. Provide 5 examples of what the key provisions of industrial legislation relate to.

1. Summarize the seven elements that are found in a well-written code of conduct.
2. Explain how human resource strategies and planning services relate to operational plans, particularly in relation to labor requirements. (250-300 words).
3. Describe the problems with performance that might be identified when managing contracts. Identify two possible root causes of performance problems. (15-200 words).
4. Explain how feedback can be used to modify the delivery of human resource se4rvices. Provide at least 10 examples. 

Task 5 – Summative Project

You are a HR manager for a bank. You have been asked to manage the development and delivery of HR services in one area. Complete the tasks using information gathered from your own research and knowledge you have obtained during your study. 

Outline your ideas in a report to submit to your trainer/assessor via a negotiated method.

1. Choose either the delivery of HR client services or recruitment services. Provide a description of your chosen service area, including a list of services which can be delivered in that area and the aims or purpose of your chosen service area.
2. Explain how the bank’s strategic and operational plans would be used to develop and manage human resource services.
3. Explain how what is happening in the external business environment might affect the development and management of human resource services.
4. Explain how you would manage diversity.
5. Develop a client needs assessment form which could be distributed to line managers to identify their needs in your chosen HR service area.
6. Describe the requirements of legislation which applies in your chosen area and explain how you can ensure those requirements are met.
7. Develop an action plan/strategic plan that could be used to implement HR services in your chosen area.
8. Describe the ethical obligations relating to your chosen service area which HR Managers should observe.

Task 1 - Knowledge

Task 1 - Knowledge

1. Why should HR Professionals consult line and senior managers about human resources needs in their areas? Provide at least five reasons.

Five reasons for HR professionals to consult line and senior manager:

• To provide staffing process of the department
• To provide strategy related to workforce
• To ensure proper performance management practice
• To combat crisis management related to conflict resolution
• To comply with legislative parameters related to labor and employee law
• To ensure proper frame of training and development for the employees

2. What are the ten HR services that might need to be delivered in accordance with a service agreement or plan?

Ten HR services to be rendered by HR professional as per service agreement or plan:

• Recruitment of staff followed by selection and induction
• Training process to develop skills of workforce
• Proper appraisal system related to performance with necessary counseling for betterment of workforce ability
• Frame the structure of remuneration, benefits and reward program
• Strategic advice related to statutory industrial relation
• Process of systematic rehabilitation to ensure return to work
• Compensation of workers
• Selection process to ensure competency and subsequent development
• Risk assessment by identifying workplace hazard
• Necessary steps to avert those professional hazards 

3. What skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications, and abilities might be appropriate providers of one HR service (e.g. EAP Services) need to have? (75-150 Words)

Skills required for EAP services are:

• Excellent communication skill
• To work with different level of employees and union body
• Identification strategies of workplace problem
• Related problem solving
• Promotional training
• Intervention strategies

Knowledge required for EAP services are:

• Principles and practices of EAP
• Critical Incidental Stress Management (CISM) program

Experience required for EAP services are:

• Properly trained EAP professionals for the situation they have to face
• To handle different layer of persons with conflict situation
• To ensure amicable solution about the problems occur during the course of time

Qualification required for EAP services are Masters Degree holders in metal health related field like social work or counseling including substance abuse counseling. The requirement also demands Certified Employee Assistance professional or CEAP with mentioned credentials.

Abilities of EAP service providers are:

• To prove multicultural competency
• To provide amicable solution to the problem
• To ensure flexibility with communication skill to adhere problem and provide solution.

4. What is a ROI? Why can calculating ROI be difficult when it comes to the provision of HR services? Why is it important to make an effort to calculate ROI in relation to HR services? (100-175 words).

Definition of ROI or Return on Investment depicts that it is form of mathematical calculation in financial terms to find out the financial return on any investments made for any business. This tool can be used to

Assess the wroth of any project or unit in smaller sense with critical allocation of investment on which return is to be derived.

The concept of ROI calculation in HR is difficult due to its nature of unquantifiable outcome. As every unit of any organization is ready to provide ROI for the effort, HR also seems to provide the same in order to quantify its contribution to the investment.

It is important to make specified effort for deriving ROI on HR services. It is advised to use quantifiable metrics for improvement of the credential of HR service as a profession to enable the higher management to identify measurable and specific route to derive the benefit extended by HR service to the organization. 

5. Explain the difference between quantitative and qualitative information that might be gathered to evaluate the organization’s human resource service delivery. (150-200 words).
6. Quantitative and qualitative data are most important tools to evaluate employees’ contribution in any organization in respect of HR service delivery. It is not possible to gather quantitative data if the measurable benchmark is not set. Basic differences of quantitative and qualitative data analysis in case of HR service delivery are:

Quantitative data:

• Measurable benchmark can be set
• Evaluation process for performance management is easier
• Reward program can be set and appraised as per quantifiable accomplishment
• Manufacturing units are best examples for application of this concept.
• Employees can be marked easily with the marking of excellent, good, satisfactory and poor as per achievement against target set.

Qualitative data

• Gathered based on observations
• Main domains are behaviors, working habits and the barrier faced by the employees to perform their duties
• Need of more than one supervisors to conclude with effective qualitative data to avoid biased report on employees
• Can be used for escalation of job quality and mitigation of obstacles in workplace through continuous and attentive study followed by subsequent qualitative data accumulation.

6. Identify the key provisions of legal and compliance requirements that apply to managing human resources?
7. Like other corporate operation, HR service is reckoned as one of the most important department related to employee recruitment, compensation, workplace environment maintenance, anti discrimination and fair work provision for the employees. There are provisions in the levels of local, state, federal and international authorities to comply with related to HR services. Non compliance of such legislations in any of the above levels may attract penalties for the management and HR department is responsible to comply with those provisions in every level to ensure proper workplace ambience and satisfactory compensation pattern to meet the needs of the employees.

7. Briefly explain how human resource strategies and planning processes link to business and operational plans.

HR service always helps the organization to have its employee strength as per requirement of quality and numbers. For ensuring successful strategies and planning process for the business and operation plans of any organization, four aspects are to be considered:

• Assessment of present capacity of HR
• Forecasting of future requirement of HR
• Development of talent exploration strategies
• Review with evaluation of present HR plan. 

8. Briefly describe performance and contract management.

Performance management is described as a continuous process of communication between employees and his supervisor. Basic objective of this management process is to ensure accomplishment of the set strategic objective of the business entity. This process is consisting of expectation clarity, fixation of objective-long and short term, identification of goals with provision of feedback and review of results. [1]

Contract management in HR is described as hiring people from outside and not including them in the regular payroll of employees by any organization. Example of such contract management is outsourcing job to external entities. This option has no liabilities which normally the organization ahs to comply with for regular payroll employees. It is easy to terminate. But the main problem is to ensure result from the contract as the service provider is bound by contracts and not by employment rules. 

9. Briefly describe how feedback is used to modify the delivery of human resources.

Task 2 – Knowledge

 Feedback is an important tool for HR management. Mainly feedback comes from the employees to the HR management. Feedback enables HR department to evaluate performance of the employees with respective domains of obstacles faced to perform by the employee. To ensure better delivery of HR, feedback process is to be maintained on continuous basis to find out the performers accomplishing organizational objective in micro level.[2]

Task 2 – Knowledge

1. In one sentence explain what each of the following is:

1. Self-study- Self Study is the method to ensure learning through different media without attending tradition classroom under the supervision of teachers.

1. On-site training- On-site training is such mode of training, which provides hands-on practical training for an individual or group with minimized cost at place of occurrence. 

1. Off-site training- Off-site training is such mode of training, which is organized in different place from the place of occurrence of the job.

1. One-on-one training- One-on-one training happens between two persons of which one person is the expert and the other is learner related to the subject of training. 

1. Mentoring- Mentoring is such option through which an expert is deployed to share his knowledge with the receivers with support and feedback to enhance knowledge base of an individual.

1. Action learning sets- Action learning sets are structured method to enable small groups of individuals to face complex issues through regular meeting and collective work enhancing personal and learning development for managerial cadre.

1. Job rotation- Job rotation is such process which can enable systematic transfer of job from one employee to other in order to ensure further training, enhancement of career and get escape from boredom of job.

1. Job shadowing- job shadowing is such activity which allows an individual to spend time with an individual who is conversant with that job enabling the individual to learn how to do the job.

2. For each value listed, describe three of the behaviors you could display to ensure you reflect the organizational values.
   1. Value: Trustworthiness
      1. Behaviors might include: loyalty to the organization; timely delivery of the job; disclose any odd event within the organization.
   2. Value: Caring for others
      1. Behaviors might include: helping other to understand and perform the job; standing beside others in case of their needs; proactively share knowledge with others.
   3. Value: Civic virtue
      1. Behaviors might include: environmental consciousness; proving civic sensibility; responsible to the society and community.
   4. Value: Justice and Fairness
      1. Behaviors might include: knowledge and implementation of basic rights; financial fairness; protest for any unlawful occurrence.
   5. Value: Respect
      1. Behaviors might include: respect to the superiors; acknowledge the contribution of the predecessors; honor the views of juniors.

3. You are the HR Manager of an organization that uses an external agency to delivery training modules to employees.You are concerned that the agency is underperforming. They are not complying with the service agreement governing the delivery of HR Services. You decide to take remedial action.

What action might you take? Provide at least five examples.

Remedial action which may be taken:

• Replacement of agency
• Reminding the agency of their deliverables as per guideline fixed
• Termination of contract with application of penalty clause
• Arrangement of on-site training
• Remodeling the training program in more strict compliance from the agency

4. You are a HR Manager of a large organization. Your department provides HR services to internal and external clients. You have decided to survey the department’s clients to determine their satisfaction levels of the services being provided to them.

Undertake your own research to locate information about:

1. Client satisfaction surveys- This survey is to find out the loopholes of HR services provided to clients and find the level of satisfaction reflected by the clients.

Questions-a) what is your expectation and accomplishment of this service?

1.   b) How you recommend enhancing level of this service?

1. Service usage surveys- This survey can ensure the service provider to understand the level of expectation as per change of knowledge of the clients.

Questions- a) Industry category

1. b) Client satisfaction with ranking related to CSR promotion 

1. One other type of survey which should be used- Online survey by questionnaire to be sent to the clients with questions confirming the satisfaction level of the clients.

Questions- a) do you find worthiness of our service to your organization?

1. b) What can be done to enhance service level for better deliverance related to community program? 

Describe each type of survey in one or two sentences. Provide two examples of questions used in each type of survey.

5. Explain each of these analytical methods in one paragraph:
   1. The audit method- HR department should conduct periodical audit of the employees department-wise. This process should include checking of employment records, compensation details, qualification details and standard of performance. 

1. The analytical method- Analytical method is the process to identify and determine the responsibilities, duties and feature of specified job. This method enables collection of data related to any job to get it done by eligible person empowered by experience, knowledge, skills and required qualification. 

1. The budget method- The Budget method is depending upon different historical financial information. This method is depending upon forecasting of HR service including expected expense and ROI of HR analysis with other factors to be considered for this purpose. 

1. The ratio method- This method is the basis of HR forecasting and is depending of historical financial data to determine the projected cost of HR for any unit in micro level or overall organization in macro level.

1992. The balanced scorecard- This module is developed by Kaplan and Norton in 1992. There four components for this model- financial, customer, process and learning and development component. From these four components HR uses to derive balanced score card for employees of any organization.

Task 3 A- checklist

	Yes	No	To do		Yes	No	To do
Code of conduct				Leave
Recruitment & selection				Dress code
Parental leave				Grievance resolution
Performance management				Termination
Discipline				Harassment & bullying
Anti-discrimination				Privacy
Internet & email				Mobile phone
Smoking				Drug & alcohol
Company vehicles				Use of company property
Copyright				Confidentiality
Training & development				Travel
Flexible work				Expenses
Occupational health & safety				WorkSafe / return to work

	Yes	No	To do
Have all staff read, and agree to abide by, the organisation’s policies and procedures as a condition of employment?
Is all staff aware of organisational policies and procedures through induction and ongoing training?
Do you regularly review your policies and procedures for compliance, legislation and best practice?

	Yes	No	To do
Accurately document the position; advertise the details of the position with clear selection criteria; and use an application form and make a merit-based appointment, according to the stated criteria?
Inspect and copy all relevant documents, including evidence this person is authorised to work in Australia? (The employee must be either an Australian citizen or a person who is legally resident in Australia and has permission to work here. For non-citizens, it is recommended that you use Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO)
Request referees and carry out a thorough reference check?
Make offers of employment conditional on the outcome of pre-employment screening such as police checks and medicals (if required)? (Pre-employment medicals should be used cautiously and not as a matter of policy but rather when the job description requires certain physical and/or mental attributes. The focus of the testing should be on the job requirements identified in the position description. They should not be used to unfairly discriminate against people with a disability or people who have any other attributes for which it is unlawful to discriminate. Misuse of a pre-employment medical may leave a company liable to a discrimination claim. An employer should only ask a prospective employee to disclose a criminal record if a criminal record is relevant to the particular job. If the employer refuses a person employment because of a criminal record, and the criminal record is irrelevant to the job, the employee can make a discrimination complaint to the Human Rights Commission.)
Forward a contract setting out the terms and conditions of employment?
Pay male and female employees equal pay for broadly similar or equal work?
Have a structured induction program for new staff?

Part 3 B

It is not ethical for Bowen to access employment record of Petra. It is confidential and should be the property of the organization in which Petra was working. Taking the undue advantage of his friendship with Joe, he has tried to access the employment record to assess her credibility to work in the organization of Bowen. Bowen should not ask for it from Joe, instead he should ask the official source of the company of Petra for her employment record to know the track record of Petra as an employee.

 Task 4 – Summative 

1. Identify 5 key pieces of legislation that apply to managing human resources. Provide 5 examples of what the key provisions of industrial legislation relate to.

5 Key Pieces:

Fair work Act, 2009

Fair work Relation 2009

Public Sector management Act 1995

Occupational health and safety (CW employment Act) 1991

Work Cover Corporation Act 1994

5 examples of key provisions of industrial legislation:

To protect workers from race and sex discrimination

To ensure minimum wages for workers

To provide healthy working environment

To provide occupational health and safety for the workers

To ensure rehabilitation after any accident for workers 

2. Summarize the seven elements that are found in a well-written code of conduct.

Disciplinary rule should be complied with;  guideline for breach of code of conduct; specified penalty for breach of code; authority responsible for penalty implementation for breach of code; notification to the person responsible for breach of code; proper hearing to be ensured before any disciplinary action; written documentation of the proceedings for breach of code.

3. Explain how human resource strategies and planning services relate to operational plans, particularly in relation to labor requirements. (250-300 words).

Labor requirement is mainly to protect their interest of earning and living a healthy life. Human resource strategies are made to ensure that as per the guideline fixed by the government. Main emphasis is given on HR strategies to focus on the organizational objective with the compliance of HR laws. An organization cannot ignore the organizational interest to look into labor requirement. Hence HR service is there to make the balance of the labor requirement and the company objective as per the guideline fixed by the government to protect labor interest. Main objective is to provide social security to the labor with the compensation offered and other benefits for the labors to survive. Labor requirements are mainly projected through union and it is the prime of HR management to comply with their demands to the limit of the organizational offers.

4. Describe the problems with performance that might be identified when managing contracts. Identify two possible root causes of performance problems. (15-200 words).

Contract management is based upon the requirement of the organization and the ability of the vendor to meet that demand. Contract can be signed, but may not be complied with as per the agreement by the vendor. Two basic problems of performance are- a) compensation and b) working resources.

5. Explain how feedback can be used to modify the delivery of human resource se4rvices. Provide at least 10 examples.

Examples:

• Ask the employee of not delivering as per set objective
• Ask the employee of not fixing realistic goal
• Disengagement of employee
• Non-proactive employee
• If an employee make a mistake
• Non friendly attitude towards colleague
• Any employee not get along with others
• Time wasting attitude of any employee
• Employee with poor time management
• Declination of employee performance 

Task 5 – Summative Project

You are a HR manager for a bank. You have been asked to manage the development and delivery of HR services in one area. Complete the tasks using information gathered from your own research and knowledge you have obtained during your study. 

Outline your ideas in a report to submit to your trainer/assessor via a negotiated method. 

1. Choose either the delivery of HR client services or recruitment services. Provide a description of your chosen service area, including a list of services which can be delivered in that area and the aims or purpose of your chosen service area.

I prefer recruitment service with the experts in banking sector will be hired under company payroll. Services will be to engage for all jobs of banking operation including security services. The objective is to get dedicated service for the bank by the hired staff.

2. Explain how the bank’s strategic and operational plans would be used to develop and manage human resource services.

To engage in recruitment, training, compensation fixing, looking after employee welfare and secure objective of the bank

3. Explain how what is happening in the external business environment might affect the development and management of human resource services.

In case of abnormal situation by external business environment, HR service can be disrupted by affecting the retention and extraction of desired service level from the employee.

4. Explain how you would manage diversity.

Diversity in workplace is to be handled by proper workshop arrangement for the employees by providing the knowledge of evil effect of diversity.

5. Develop a client needs assessment form which could be distributed to line managers to identify their needs in your chosen HR service area.

Name

Company

Age

Sex

HR service expectation

Level of fulfillment

Area of lacking

Proposal for development 

6. Describe the requirements of legislation which applies in your chosen area and explain how you can ensure those requirements are met.

Requirement of legislation in HR service is fair Work Act 2009 which will ensure fairness in workplace for the employees

7. Develop an action plan/strategic plan that could be used to implement HR services in your chosen area.

To ensure Fair Work Act 2009 ensures fairness in workplace. Action plan is designed in the form of fixation of do’s and don’ts for the employees to comply with the act.

8. Describe the ethical obligations relating to your chosen service area which HR Managers should observe.

Ethical obligation is to provide fairness in employee treatment with no discrimination as per ethnicity, sex or religion for the employees. 

[1] Berkley Human Resources ,Performance Management-Definition, https://hr.berkeley.edu/hr-network/central-guide-managing-hr/managing-hr/managing-successfully/performance-management/concepts