Human resources: workforce planning, recruitment and selection, training, theories of motivation, leadership styles, and employer-employee relations.

What this dot point is asking

WJEC Unit 2 covers the human resources function: planning the workforce, recruiting and selecting staff, training them, motivating them (with the main theories), leading them, and managing employer-employee relations. Strong answers link HR decisions to business performance - productivity, quality, retention and cost - and use motivation theory to justify methods rather than just listing them.

The answer

Workforce planning, recruitment and selection

Recruitment can be internal (filling a post from existing staff) or external (hiring from outside). Internal is cheaper and quicker, the candidate is known and it motivates staff through promotion, but it brings no new ideas and leaves another gap to fill. External brings fresh skills and a wider pool - useful for a growing firm - but costs more, takes longer and the candidate is an unknown quantity.

Training

Training develops employees' skills and knowledge:

• On-the-job training - learning while working, often by shadowing; cheap and relevant but can disrupt output and pass on bad habits.
• Off-the-job training - courses away from the workplace; broader and higher-quality but more expensive and time away from work.

Good training raises productivity, quality and motivation and helps retain staff, but it costs money and trained workers may leave.

Motivation theories

These justify financial methods (pay, bonuses, performance-related pay, piece rates) and non-financial methods (job enrichment, job rotation, empowerment, recognition, teamworking) of motivation.

Leadership styles

Managers lead in different ways:

• Autocratic - the leader makes decisions and tells staff; fast and clear but can demotivate.
• Democratic - staff are consulted and involved; raises commitment but is slower.
• Laissez-faire - staff are left to get on with it; suits skilled, motivated teams but risks a lack of direction.

The best style depends on the situation, the task and the staff.

Employer-employee relations

Employer-employee relations concern how a firm communicates with and treats its workforce, including the role of trade unions (representing workers in negotiation), collective bargaining, and resolving disputes through consultation or, in difficult cases, industrial action. Good relations improve motivation, retention and productivity; poor relations cause disputes, absenteeism and lost output.

Examples in context

Example 1. A factory using financial motivation. A manufacturer paying assembly workers a piece rate (pay per unit produced) follows Taylor's view that money drives effort, and output rises as a result. However, quality can suffer if workers rush, and Herzberg would warn that pay alone prevents dissatisfaction without truly motivating. The example shows a financial method working but also its limits, which is exactly the balance examiners reward.

Example 2. A growing firm enriching jobs. A Welsh service business with skilled staff motivates through non-financial methods - job enrichment, empowerment and recognition - reflecting Maslow's higher needs and Herzberg's motivators, and adopts a democratic leadership style. Staff turnover falls and commitment rises. The example illustrates how non-financial motivation and leadership style fit a skilled workforce better than close supervision.

Try this

Q1. Distinguish between internal and external recruitment. [2 marks]

• Cue. Internal recruitment fills a vacancy from existing employees; external recruitment hires someone from outside the business.

Q2. Explain one non-financial method of motivating employees. [3 marks]

• Cue. For example, job enrichment, empowerment, recognition or teamworking - any one, with a short explanation of how it raises satisfaction or commitment (linking to Herzberg's motivators or Maslow's higher needs strengthens the answer).