Workforce planning, recruitment and selection, internal and external recruitment, training and development, and how organisational structure is shaped by hierarchy, span of control and delegation.

What this dot point is asking

CCEA wants you to explain workforce planning, describe the recruitment and selection process, compare internal and external recruitment, explain training and development, and describe how organisational structure is shaped.

Workforce planning

A growing business must anticipate how many staff it will need, the skills required, and how to fill any gaps through recruitment, training or restructuring. Good workforce planning avoids both shortages that limit output and the cost of overstaffing.

Recruitment and selection

Recruitment attracts suitable candidates; selection chooses the best one. The process usually runs:

1. Identify the vacancy and carry out job analysis, producing a job description (the duties of the role) and a person specification (the skills and qualities needed).
2. Advertise the post internally or externally.
3. Shortlist applicants from CVs and application forms.
4. Select through interviews, tests or assessment centres.
5. Appoint the chosen candidate and arrange induction.

Internal versus external recruitment

• Internal recruitment fills a vacancy from existing staff (promotion or transfer). It is cheaper and quicker, the candidate is already known, and it motivates staff, but it creates another vacancy and limits new ideas.
• External recruitment brings in someone from outside through advertising, agencies or job centres. It widens the skills pool and brings fresh ideas, but is more expensive, slower and riskier because the candidate is unknown.

Training and development

Training improves the skills and knowledge of employees. CCEA distinguishes:

• Induction training - introducing a new employee to the organisation, their role and colleagues.
• On-the-job training - learning while doing the actual job, for example shadowing or coaching, which is cheap and relevant but can pass on bad habits.
• Off-the-job training - learning away from the workplace, for example courses and college, which can be more thorough but costs more and takes staff away from work.

Organisational structure

The way a business arranges its people is its organisational structure, often shown on an organisation chart. Key terms:

• Hierarchy - the levels of authority from top to bottom.
• Chain of command - the line along which instructions pass down the hierarchy.
• Span of control - the number of subordinates a manager directly controls.
• Delegation - passing authority for a task down to a subordinate.

A tall structure has many levels and narrow spans of control, giving close supervision but slow communication. A flat structure has few levels and wide spans, speeding communication and empowering staff but stretching managers.

Why HRM matters for growth

As a business grows it needs more people with the right skills, organised effectively. Good human resource management ensures the firm can staff its expansion, keep productivity and quality high, and retain motivated employees, all of which support the firm's wider objectives and link to the motivation theories covered next.

Try this

Q1. State two stages in the recruitment process. [2 marks]

• Cue. Job analysis, advertising, shortlisting, interviewing or selection, appointment (any two).

Q2. Explain one advantage of on-the-job training. [3 marks]

• Cue. It is cheaper and directly relevant because the employee learns the actual job while working, with no need to leave the workplace.

Q3. Analyse how the span of control affects the way a business is managed. [6 marks]

• Cue. A narrow span allows close supervision but creates a tall, slow structure; a wide span speeds communication and empowers staff but can overstretch managers.