PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION

PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION

Definitions

Personnel administration may be defined as the effective utilization of human resources to achieve  organizational objectives. ~ Peter D. Johnson

Personnel management involves the productive use of people in achieving the organization's objectives and the satisfaction of individual employee needs. ~ Raymond J. Stone

Personnel administration is the management of various activities designed to enhance the effectiveness of an organization's workforce in achieving organizational goals. ~Kathryn M. Bartol & David C. Martin

Personnel management refers to the policies, procedures, practices and systems that influence the behavior, attitude and performance of employees. ~ Raymond A. Noe

'Personnel' refers to employees in an organization; it includes all levels of employees (superiors and subordinates).  This topic is about ’Public Personnel Administration' - i.e. the management of employees in the public (government) sector. It must be noted that 'Personnel Administration' is now commonly known as 'Human Resource(s) Management' (HRM).

Functions

The functions of personnel management are the following:

•     It is responsible for ensuring that the organization gets the right type of people (i.e. able, skilled and qualified people), in right quantity (i.e. in sufficient numbers to meet   the  human resource needs of the organization) , at the right time and at the right place  to  achieve the goals of the organization.
• t is responsible for using human resources in the most effective and efficient way to reduce personnel costs, to right size the organization and to eliminate unnecessary work.
• It helps in enhancing employee skills on present jobs and upgrading skills for future jobs, through training and development programmes, to improve the work performance of the employees. 
• It conducts performance appraisal to determine how well employees are doing their job and communicates that information to employees, agreeing on new objectives, targets or standards and establishing a plan for performance improvement.
• It provides and rewards employees with equitable pay / remuneration and other benefits and compensation for their contribution towards the achievement of organizational objectives.
• It maintains positive and harmonious relationship between the management and the   employees through handling grievances, disciplinary proceedings, trade unions and collective bargaining process.

Importance of Personnel Administration

Personnel administration is important because:

• It helps the organization in making the right decisions in hiring competent people, developing their potentials and giving them the right motivation to ensure productivity and fair return on the organization's investment.
• It ensures that employees who are the greatest and most valued assets of the organization are efficiently and effectively used and managed through proper planning and   implementation of relevant policies and programmes that can enhance employee abilities and performance in the organization's overall efforts to achieve its goals and objectives.
• It helps the organization in developing competitive advantage in the form of lower cost of production, development of innovative products and unique methods of product marketing.
• It brings together and develops into an effective organization of the employees who  make  up an enterprise and taking into consideration their well-being  and enable  them  to  make their best contribution to the success of the organization.

Activities / Components of Personnel Administration  (focus on training)

      The activities of personnel administration are the following:

•  Human Resource Planning:

Human resource planning or employment planning or personnel planning is the first step in building an effective workforce in an organization. It is the process of determining future staffing requirements and the skills necessary to carry out the objectives of the organization. This is done by comparing the present supply of people with its projected demand for human resources. The comparison is done to add, reduce or reallocate or reassign employees internally. The aims of personnel planning are to achieve more effective and efficient use of human resources; to attract and retain the best employees with the necessary skills, ability and aptitude and to achieve more satisfied and better trained and motivated employees.

• Recruitment:

It is the process of seeking and attracting a qualified pool of job applicants to fill job vacancies. A job vacancy may filled from within or outside the organization. Job descriptions and job specifications are important in the recruiting process because they specify the nature of the job and the qualifications required of job candidates.

• Selection:

It involves choosing from the available candidates the individual who is most qualified to fill the position. Steps in the selection process include reviewing the application forms, psychological testing, employment interviews, reference checking, and a medical examination. Based on the information gathered, a selection decision is made.

• Human Resource Development:

This activity is also known as Training and Development. Training helps the employee gain the specific job-related skills that will ensure effective performance of work.  Development is the process of helping the employee grow in his or her career and achieve his or her career goals.   Training and development is a means of achieving global competitiveness, improving productivity and the capacity to adapt to changes in the environment. In the public sector, various types of training programmes are conducted to help civil servants to acquire knowledge, skills and develop a positive attitude towards work.

Orientation.   Employee orientation or induction is a key part of the training and development activity.  It introduces the new employee to the organization - to the requirements of the job; to the social situation in which he or she will be working; and to its norms and culture. Orientations usually include an overview of the organization; policies, procedures, rules and regulations; compensation, benefits, safety and accident prevention, employee and union relations; and job duties and responsibilities.  Formal orientation can achieve significant cost savings by reducing the anxieties of new employees and by fostering positive attitudes, job satisfaction and a sense belonging and commitment.  Helping new employees to feel part of the organization can reduce labor turnover costs and improve the profitability and competitiveness of the organization.

Post-Entry Training.  Post-entry training is given to civil servants after their entry into the service. This type of training is usually given to the new recruits before they take up their job assignments or assume their duties.  The aim of post-entry training is to provide the necessary skills and insights to the new recruits and thus prepare them to manage the challenges and shoulder the responsibilities of their job. This type of training takes the form of institutional or on- the- job training or a combination of both.

In-Service Training.  This type of training is given to serving civil servants by the government agencies individually or by private professional institutions or local or foreign universities.  This takes the form of seminars, workshops, refresher courses, conferences or short-term or long-term management courses leading to a certificate, diploma, degree or post-graduate qualification.  This type of training is given to different categories of civil servants.  The main aim of this type of training programme is to update the skills and knowledge and to acquaint the civil servants with the latest managerial techniques and concepts.

• Performance Appraisal:

     This activity is concerned with determining how well employees are doing their jobs, communicating that information to employees and establishing a plan for performance improvement.  The information obtained from the appraisal process is also used as a basis for making decisions on promotion, rewards or compensation or salary increment, placement, dismissal and training and development needs.

• Compensation and Benefits:

   Compensation (remuneration) refers to the cash rewards, such as basic pay, bonuses, incentive payments, overtime pay, allowances and annual increments which employees receive for working in an organization. Compensation plays an important part in motivating employees to perform better. Benefits are referred to as indirect form of compensation.  They include retirement, life insurance, and disability insurance, medical insurance, annual leave, sick leave and maternity leave. By improving the quality of work life, benefits reinforce the attractiveness of an organization as a place to work and emphasize that it cares about its employees.

• Health and Safety:

   Employers are required to provide a safe and healthy work environment free from physical and health hazards such as pollution, accidents and diseases. Health and safety programmes help guarantee the physical and mental well being of employees.

• Relations:

   This is also called employee relations.  Maintaining positive relationships between employers (management) and employees is an important aspect of human resource management... it takes a broader perspective, involving governments, industrial tribunals, employer associations, trade unions, industrial law, awards, terms and conditions of work, grievance procedures, dispute settlement, advocacy and collective bargaining. The purposes of industrial  relations are to ensure open communication, fair and equitable personnel policies and practices and  high work and life satisfaction as these will result in trust, cooperation, commitment and high performance.

PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION. (2018). Peterdjohnson.net. Retrieved 23 February 2018, from http://www.peterdjohnson.net/personnel.htm