How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Human Resources

Disciplines > Human Resources

'Human Resources', or HR (also known as 'Personnel') is the name that is given to the department at many companies that works with people from recruitment through performance management and personal development through to termination or retirement.

This section covers just some of the aspects of HR.

• Job Analysis: Understanding the roles is the first step to recruitment.
  • Structured questionnaire: questionnaires and checklists to organize.
  • Process analysis: Breaking down the activities.
  • Observation: researcher just watches what is done.
  • Self-reports: the incumbent reports what happens using diaries and logs
  • Participation: the researcher does the job.
  • Interview: the incumbent is questioned about the job.
  • Critical Incident Technique: find successful and unsuccessful behaviors in key incidents.
  • Repertory Grid: Finding similarities and differences and hence constructs.
• Performance Management: helping people to do their job.
  • ABC Analysis: Antecedents, Behavior, Consequences to understand behaviors.
  • A-, B- and C-jobs: Three levels of smarts.
  • Managing A-players: Keeping the stars on focus.
  • Managing B-players: Keeping the second tier on the ball.
  • Managing C-players: What to do with the third tier.
  • A-player problems: Your stars have their own problems.
  • Setting goals: A basic method of motivation.
  • SMART Objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely.
• Selection: Choosing the right person.
  • Application form: A structured request for specific information.
  • Assessment centers: Multiple tests and exercises through the day.
  • Biodata: Correlating biographical data with job performance.
  • Interview: The classic selection interview...
  • Intelligence tests: Many ways of measuring of intelligence.
  • Psychometric tests: Attainment, aptitude and intelligence tests.
  • Personality tests: Finding aspects of personality.
  • Resumé / Curriculum Vitae: A personal history.
  • Work sample: Getting them to do a sample of 'real' work.
  • Accuracy and faking: Candidate and recruiter issues.
  • Faking and deviance: Faking as 'bad' or 'good' depends on your viewpoint.
  • Personality and job success: Personality factors that predict job success.
  • Reducing faking in tests: Design psychometric tests to minimize faking.
  • Reliability: Stability and consistency give trust in the test.
  • The selection spiral: When people select only those less able than themselves.
  • Validity: Results measure what the assessment was intended to measure.
• HR Articles
  • An HR Taxonomy: What HR do.
  • Diversity and Equality: How we act with different others.
  • Organizational therapy: It's what HR is often about.
  • HR as mirror: A job of HR is to hold up a mirror.
  • The human limit: There's a limit to the use of technology in HR.

See also

Leadership, Culture, Change Management