BSBHRM513 assessment -Manage workforce planning

Activity 1 Formative Assessments 1. How can workforce mobilisation be used to address shortages identified when reviewing data on staff turnover? Workforce mobilisation can be used to address shortages and excesses. It is about mobilising the workforce from areas of low need to areas where staff are required. Sometimes this is done on a global level, moving employees between countries. Most successful organisations know how to mobilise the right people and move them around to meet the needs of the organisation. Moving people around should be based on matching individual skills with organisational needs. 2. The organisation you work for has asked you to analyse their existing workforce to determine areas where there are excesses or shortages or requirements for mobilisation. How would you do this? Explain. Before organisations can even begin to formulate a workforce plan, they need to get an accurate picture of the workforce they currently have. Organisations need to analyse their workforce to determine areas where there might be excesses or shortages. Organisations can learn about they current workforce and begin to determine areas where there might be excesses and shortages by carrying out an audit of current labour supply. These audits provide information about the number, characteristics, jobs, skills and abilities of employees in the organisation. Once an organisation knows the areas in which shortages and excesses exist, they can proceed with their workforce plans and devise strategies to ensure that they have the right number of staff in every area of the organisation or to ensure that staff numbers are correctly allocated to the right tasks. 3. You have analysed the existing workforce of a catering organisation to determine areas where there are an excesses or shortages. You have found that the organisation has a shortage of food preparation staff and an excess of serving staff. What would you do to address these excesses and shortages? Provide at least five examples. Such strategies might include: -The recruitment of additional staff -Offering part-time or casual employees full-time positions to meet shortages. -Reviewing the skills/qualifications that staff have that are not currently being used to see if they are able to meet shortages -Retraining excess staff so that they gain the skills to work in areas where there are shortages -Making excess staff redundant Activity 2 1. Name three sources you would use to research and review current and predicted external labour supply data, and demographic and economic data, to forecast human resources supply. What type of information do these sources provide? Why do you think these sources would provide a valuable source of information? Year Book Australia- this 30 chapter publication offers a comprehensive source of facts about Australia, including social and economic issues such as Australia’s economic position and Australia’s social conditions. Australian Social Trends- This annual publication provides a collection of articles and key indicators about current social issues and the latest trends in our constantly changing society. Articles cover themes such as population, education and training, work and economic resources. Industry groups- Industry groups can provide information about labour issues in specific industries. Samples of external data supplied by industry groups, relating to labour and skills shortages have been provided. 2. You have been asked to review your organisation’s staff budgets as it is a factor that may affect workforce supply. What 14 things would you include in your calculations? When reviewing staff budgets, organisations should factor in: -Current employee salaries -Salaries of future employees -Any salary increases that will occur in the budget period -Any bonuses that will be paid in the budget period -Taxes -The cost of worker’s compensation insurance -Superannuation costs -The cost of training -The cost of recruitment -The cost of any long service leave that will be taken in the budget period -The cost of holidays leave loading -The cost of sick leave -The cost of replacing staff on leave -Overtime payments 3. When calculating staff budgets, which method would you use? Why? Budgets based on job position or salary grades are based on average salaries to employees in certain roles along with the numbers of positions to be filled per department overall. This form of budgeting is simpler in some aspects than budgets based on individual employees. If an employee leaves the organisation, the budget does not have to be adjusted as it is assumed than another person will fill the position in the near future. Position/salary grade budgeting also protects confidentiality, as there is no name attached to salary amounts. It is less likely that the exact earnings of employees will be discovered by other employees. Activity 3 1. By law, what are organisations required to do or not do in relation to diversity of their workforce? Organisations need to ensure that they are meeting legal obligations under Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) legislation. Under this legislation, it is unlawful to discriminate against an employee or job applicant on the basis of a range of characteristics that include gender, sexual preference, gender identity, age, religion, race, colour, physical or mental disability, marital status, family and carer responsibilities, pregnancy, breastfeeding, national origin, social origin, political belief/activity, personal association, industrial activity or physical features. EEO is based on the principle of merit applied fairly in the workplace. It involves identifying and eliminating any discriminatory barriers that cause inequality in the employment of any person or group of persons. The objective of EEO is to bring the disadvantaged up to the level of the advantaged. EEO legislation makes it more likely that organisations will have a diverse workforce. 2. Identify five advantages of having a diverse workforce. Advantages of workplace diversity include: -Becoming an employer of choice -Improved recruitment outcomes by being an employer of choice -Higher retention rates of employees/lower staff turnover -Reduced training costs due to lower staff turnover -Reduced recruitment costs due to lower staff turnover -Better workplace relations -Higher morale -Increased productivity -Access to a wider range of ideas and approaches -Improved relationships with customers and stakeholders -Establishing a greater sense of unity as an organisation -Reduced workplace stress -Reduced absences 3. Your organisation develops websites and online marketing tools for small business. The organisation does not have a particularly diverse workforce. In particular, the organisation does not tend to recruit older workers. This is because management feel that older workers will not have the technology skills needed to carry out work, even when they have qualifications in the field. What would you tell them about the need for and benefits of a diverse workforce? Australia’s workforce is an ageing workforce. In 2007, 35% of Australia’s population was over the age of 45, 21% was over the age of 55 and 12.5% was over the age of 65. This means that 68.5% of Australia’s population was aged 45 or older. Despite this, there has been a great deal of age discrimination in the Australian employment market with many employers believing that older workers’ abilities and performance declines with age. However, in truth, older workers offer many advantages to employers. Research has shown that older workers are more reliable than younger workers, have a stronger work ethic, are more likely to be loyal to their employer and are more likely to be long-term employees. Older workers bring a great deal of knowledge and experience to the workplace that younger workers simply do not have. These older workers can act as mentors to their younger colleagues. They also have more industry contacts than their youthful counterparts. In short, because older workers make up such a large percentage of the population, Australia cannot afford to have older workers leaving the job market at the current rate. This will only make labour shortages more critical. Activity 4 1. What are retention strategies? Provide five examples of things an organisation might do in attem