How do businesses find, choose and develop their people?
Workforce planning and the processes of recruitment and selection, internal and external recruitment, the methods and benefits of training including on-the-job and off-the-job training and induction, and the use and purpose of appraisal.
A focused answer to the OCR A-Level Business human-resources theme on recruitment and development, covering workforce planning, the recruitment and selection process, internal versus external recruitment, on-the-job and off-the-job training, induction and the purpose of appraisal.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this theme is asking
OCR wants you to explain how a firm plans its workforce, recruits and selects staff, and trains and appraises them, and to judge the benefits and costs of the different methods. This is core to Component 1 and recurs in Component 2.
Workforce planning
Recruitment and selection
Internal versus external recruitment
The choice depends on whether the firm needs continuity and to reward existing staff (internal) or new skills and a fresh perspective (external). Senior or specialist roles often go external; routine promotions often go internal.
Training
Training raises skills, productivity and quality, supports motivation (a Maslow and Herzberg motivator) and helps retention. Its cost is the direct expense and the lost working time, plus the risk that trained staff leave for a competitor.
Appraisal
Examples in context
Apprenticeship schemes combine on-the-job and off-the-job training to develop skilled staff over time. A retailer typically promotes store managers internally to reward and retain staff, while hiring a new finance director externally for specialist expertise. Professional services firms invest heavily in off-the-job training leading to qualifications, accepting the cost because skills are their product.
Try this
Q1. State one method of selection a firm might use. [1 mark]
- Cue. Interview, aptitude or skills test, assessment centre, or references.
Q2. Analyse one benefit to a firm of training its employees. [6 marks]
- Cue. Training raises skills, so productivity and quality rise and staff feel more valued and stay longer, developed as a chain in context.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H431/01 20204 marksExplain one benefit to a business of recruiting internally rather than externally. (4)Show worked answer →
A Component 1 "Explain" rewards one developed point in context. Define internal recruitment as filling a vacancy from existing employees. Build the chain: an internal candidate is already known to the firm and knows the business, so the firm faces less risk and uncertainty, the appointee needs less induction and settles in faster, and the chance of promotion motivates the wider workforce. Therefore internal recruitment is cheaper, quicker and lower-risk, and boosts morale. Markers reward the link from a specific feature of internal recruitment (known candidate, faster settling, motivation) to the benefit. A strong answer notes the limit: it brings in no new ideas and leaves another vacancy to fill.
OCR H431/02 202312 marksAssess whether off-the-job training is the best way for a UK firm to develop its employees. (12)Show worked answer →
A 12-mark "Assess" on a four-level grid. For off-the-job training: it is delivered away from the workplace by experts, so it can teach specialist or formal skills thoroughly without the distractions and pressures of the job, and can lead to recognised qualifications. Chain: training away from the workplace lets employees focus and learn complex skills properly, raising capability. Against: it is expensive, takes staff away from production, and what is learned may not transfer neatly to the firm's specific way of working; on-the-job training is cheaper and directly relevant. Evaluation: the best method depends on the skill (formal or specialist skills suit off-the-job; firm-specific tasks suit on-the-job) and the firm's budget. A judged conclusion reaches the top band.
Related dot points
- Human-resource objectives, the design of organisational structure including tall and flat structures, span of control, chain of command, centralisation and decentralisation, and the calculation and interpretation of labour productivity, labour turnover and absenteeism.
A focused answer to the OCR A-Level Business human-resources theme on objectives and structure, covering HR objectives, tall and flat structures, span of control, chain of command, centralisation and decentralisation, and the calculation of labour productivity, turnover and absenteeism.
- Theories of motivation including Taylor, Maslow, Herzberg and McGregor, and the financial and non-financial methods firms use to motivate employees, including piece rate, commission, bonuses, job enrichment, empowerment and teamworking.
A focused answer to the OCR A-Level Business human-resources theme on motivation, covering the theories of Taylor, Maslow, Herzberg and McGregor, and the financial and non-financial methods firms use to motivate, with their benefits and limitations.
- Leadership styles including autocratic, paternalistic, democratic and laissez-faire, the influence of organisational culture, and the management of employee relations including communication, trade unions, collective bargaining and the resolution of disputes.
A focused answer to the OCR A-Level Business human-resources theme on leadership and relations, covering autocratic, paternalistic, democratic and laissez-faire leadership styles, organisational culture, communication, trade unions, collective bargaining and the resolution of disputes.
- The measurement and management of capacity utilisation, labour productivity and efficiency, the causes and consequences of under- and over-utilisation, economies and diseconomies of scale, and ways to improve productivity and efficiency.
A focused answer to the OCR A-Level Business operations theme on efficiency, covering capacity utilisation, labour productivity and unit cost, under- and over-utilisation, economies and diseconomies of scale, and ways to improve productivity, with worked calculations.
- The importance of quality, the distinction between quality control and quality assurance, total quality management and quality standards, the costs and benefits of improving quality, and the consequences of poor quality.
A focused answer to the OCR A-Level Business operations theme on quality, covering the importance of quality, the difference between quality control and quality assurance, total quality management, quality standards, and the costs and consequences of poor quality.
Sources & how we know this
- OCR A-Level Business (H431) specification — OCR (2015)