NMIMS Global Access

School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

Answer 1:

Employee development is an ongoing process which helps employees to enhance their skills and
knowledge to contribute more effectively towards the organization. Employee development process
begins from day one when an individual joins an organization. Employee development is a process of
improving employees' existing competencies and skills and developing newer ones to support the
organization’s goals.
Induction and orientation of new employees are also effective means of employee development. Before
the organization decides to plan employee development, it is important to analyse the kinds of job
present in the organization. This will help the organization to identify the areas in which development
initiatives should be focused.
Employee development activities help in the growth and development of employees, who are
the true assets of an organization. Employee development is important for employees to enhance their
skills and upgrade their existing knowledge in order to perform better. Employee development is
important not only for professional but also personal growth of employees. Employee development
activities prepare individuals for adverse conditions and unforeseen situations. Employee development
creates a learning culture in the organization where every employee is motivated to learn new skills and
acquire new learnings. Employee development helps an employee to do a self analysis of
himself/herself. He knows where he is lacking and what all new skills and learnings will help him/her
improve his performance and deliver better results. Employee development activities and trainings help
the employees to overcome the gap between their current stage and where they would like to see
themselves five years down the line. Employee development activities not only prepare an individual for
present but also for the future. Employee development also goes a long way in strengthening the
relationship among employees. Individuals as a result of various trainings, open house sessions, forums
tend to interact with each other more and thus come closer. They do not hesitate to share knowledge,
pass on relevant information and even train fellow workers.
The entire employee development process can be discussed in the following mentioned steps:

1. ANALYSING THE NATURE OF JOBS - Job analysis is the process of studying a job to determine which
activities and responsibilities it includes, its relative importance to other jobs, the qualifications
necessary for performance of the job and the conditions under which the work is performed.
Analysis of the nature of tasks helps to ascertain the knowledge, skills, abilities and other
competencies required to perform the task and the entire job. Knowledge is the understanding of
the basic concepts required to perform a job, skills are the technical and behavioural competencies
and ability is defined as the physical and mental capacity needed by the person to perform the task.
Analysing the nature of jobs is a comprehensive and time consuming process as it involves
gathering data from various stakeholders in the organization.

2. UNDERSTANDING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT - The

understanding of organizational culture and business environment is required to ensure that the
employee development programs are in sync with the culture of the organization. Analysis of
organizational culture helps to make an assessment of the organization relationships and structure.

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 NMIMS Global Access

School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

It also helps to identify if the structure and design of the organization is aligned with the business
performance. Understanding of the business environment is also crucial before designing and
implementing the employee development programs.
3. ANALYSING GAPS FROM EMPLOYER’S PERSPECTIVE - Understanding the employer’s perspective
aims at identifying whether the employee development process is in accordance with the business
strategy. It involves identifying the resources available with the employer towards the
development activities. The entire development process is dependent on the philosophy and
commitment of the employer towards the employee development. The business strategy will
influence how often the development programs will be conducted in organizations. It will also
influence the process of development planning and implementation. The success of employee
development programs also depends on the fact that to what extent an employee is interested
towards his own development. Another employer’s perspective is to identify whether the
organization has appropriate time, budget and potential for employee development.

4. ANALYSING GAPS FROM EMPLOYEE’S PERSPECTIVE - Analysing gaps from the employee’s
perspective helps to identify employees who need development. This can be known from
identifying the gap between the employee’s current performance and their expected
performance.This gap analysis helps to identify those job holders who are not meeting the
performance requirements set for them. Some of the commonly used approaches to identify gaps
from employee’s perspective are as follows:
⚫ Performance Appraisal - This approach is used to identify the gaps and therefore estimate an
employee’s development needs. The effectiveness of performance appraisal is also dependent on
the methods used for evaluating employee performance.
⚫ Self Appraisal - It is the process where the employee themself identifies his or her performance
deficiencies and strengths. However, the employees may overestimate their capability and may not
completely be able to identify the gaps.
⚫ Proficiency tests - In this approach, rather than depending on the employees self-rating or on the
supervisors ratings, the employee is given a test to measure both their knowledge as well as skills.
Cognitive tests are generally administered to evaluate the employees knowledge required to
perform a particular job. Attitudes are an important aspect of the employee performance and gaps
in attitudes are crucial to identify the development needs of employees.

5. PLANNING FOR THE DEVELOPMENT - The objectives for the development programs are identified,
analysed and set. The objectives of the development program can be on the basis of performance,
conditions and criteria. The short-term plan aims at redressing the issues of immediate concern and
those act as a building block towards achieving the long-term objectives of the development
program. The long-term plans are developed to focus on acquisition of skills required for long-term
and sustained performance of employees. They aim at developing and preparing the employee for
the future positions they are likely to hold and for their career advancement.

6. ANALYSING RESOURCES FOR EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT - After developing the long-term and
short-term plans for the employee development programs, the next step deals with arranging the

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 NMIMS Global Access

School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

appropriate resources for employee development. Some of the steps followed in arranging
resources for employee development are as follows:
⚫ Selecting the trainer or vendor - The organizations can either choose an internal trainer or may buy
a training program from an outside vendor.
⚫ Preparing lesson plans - Once the trainer has been identified, the lesson plans for the employee
development program need to prepared.
⚫ Selecting methods and techniques - The method’s effectiveness in achieving the objectives of the
development program should be the basic criteria for choosing the method of instruction. The final
factor that influences selection of development method is the preferences of the employees.
⚫ Preparing materials - This step involves preparing the material for development activities which is
getting the slides, books and other printed material required for the development program.
⚫ Scheduling the development program - Finally, the schedule of the development program is
chalked out where the timings are decided and all other criterias like boarding, lodging, etc. are
looked upon.

7. IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN - After developing the plan, the next step is to ensure proper
implementation of the plan. For this it needs to be clearly understood why it is required for the
employee and the organization. Some points to be considered by organizations while implementing
the employee development program are as follows:
⚫ Interest of employees in the development program
⚫ Trainer’s preparedness and skill
⚫ Transfer of training
⚫ Employee development methods
⚫ Blending formal and informal interactions

8. EVALUATING THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN - Evaluation of the development plan is done to measure
the effectiveness of the entire program. Evaluation of development indicates the systematic
collection of descriptive and judgmental information necessary to make effective decisions related
to selection, adoption, value and modification of various instructional activities.

Employee development requires time, preparation, and energy, but, when done correctly, it
also yields dividends. Workers can only perform as well as they are taught and instructed to. By
developing the skills and abilities of employees, business owners are investing in their companies, and
by extension, themselves.

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 NMIMS Global Access

School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

Answer 2:

Talent management is defined as the methodically organized, strategic process of getting the
right talent onboard and helping them grow to their optimal capabilities keeping organizational
objectives in mind. Talent acquisition is an ongoing strategy to find specialists, leaders, or future
executives for your company. Talent acquisition tends to focus on long-term human resources planning
and finding appropriate candidates for positions that require a very specific skillset. Talent acquisition
refers to the process employers use for recruiting, tracking and interviewing job candidates, and on-
boarding and training new employees. It is usually a function of the human resources (HR) department.

Talent acquisition is important because finding and hiring the right people is a crucial element of
an organization's business plan and it directly affects the company's future success. Without the right
employees, a business is likely to struggle with poor productivity, bad decision-making and unmotivated
staff. Having a systematic talent acquisition process in place can ensure optimum utilisation of scarce
resources. The main objectives of talent acquisition are to:
i. Ensure that employees are committed towards meeting organizational goals and objectives
ii. Identify areas where additional and new skills are required as the business grows
iii. Identify the sources and location of the potential talent pool
iv. Ensure that the current talent is being put to optimal use thereby enhancing productivity
v. Anticipate employee turnover and get prepared for replacement in order to prevent work stoppage
vi. Recognise skill gaps that need to be filled from external sources after the candidates from within
have been identified for succession planning
For successful talent acquisition, it is essential for HR professionals to have a clear
understanding of business requirements so that people can be hired accordingly. There are two types of
talent acquisition techniques, namely:
A. Internal techniques
B. External techniques
They can be discussed in detail as follows:
A. INTERNAL TECHNIQUES OF TALENT ACQUISITION -
Internal recruiting typically consists of one or more of the following approaches:

▪ Internal job posting.

▪ Succession planning.
▪ Former employees.
▪ Employee referrals.

Regardless of which approach—or combination of approaches—an employer adopts, it

should craft a policy that is fair and equitable to internal applicants, that sets expectations for
employees applying for a position, and that is implemented consistently and communicated openly
throughout the organization.

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School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

i. Internal Advertisements or Job postings - Many employers use internal job postings to encourage
employees to identify internal promotional opportunities and respond to those openings for which
they have skills and interest. They involve publicising a job opening among existing employees,
often by posting a job on the company’s intranet, in-house magazines or notice board. An internal
advertisement mentions about the job position, related department, skills and qualifications
required which helps an individual to analyse and evaluate their knowledge, skills and abilities with
respect to the opening and communicate to the concerned department about their interest.
ii. Former employees - Employees who have worked in the past with the organization are also
considered an effective internal source of talent acquisition. Former employees are generally
preferred as their attitude and performance are already known to the organization. Also, former
employees are familiar with the organizational culture and do not take much time to get
accustomed. The risk involved in selecting a former employee is comparatively lesser.
iii. Employee referrals - In this technique, the current employees of the organization are asked to
suggest people or references known to them and who posses the desired skills and abilities for the
job, and are also willing to work with the organization. This method of talent acquisition builds a
better environment, leading to a reduced rate of attrition and also creates a cordial employer-
employee relationship.
iv. Succession planning - Organizations can use succession planning strategies not only to identify the
potential talent in the organization, but also to establish developmental plans to help prepare
individuals for promotional roles. It is an internal technique of talent acquisition that aims to
ensure a suitable and sufficient supply of successors for the current and future key jobs within the
organization.

Every internal technique of talent acquisition keeps its own benefits and limitations. There are
many perks to looking to your existing talent first. From money savings to employee engagement, here
are some of the positives you can expect from the internal recruitment process.

1. Reduces Time to Hire - This allows the organization to skip many of the steps of full life cycle
recruiting, including external job postings on job boards and elsewhere, and the evaluation process. It
also already has access to the pay history, past performance reviews, and background checks. With fully
vetted candidates who are familiar with the organization culture, they save time and can get positions
filled quickly.

2. Shortens On-boarding Times - The internal hire already knows the overall organization rules and fits
in well with the culture. Even if the role is brand new to them, they understand its place in the larger
picture of the business, as they know the business.

3. Saves Money - In addition to resources saved on finding and training staff or hiring managers, the
organization can cut back on cash used for things like using outside recruiters, conducting external
recruiting, attending job fairs, and running background checks.

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School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

4. Strengthens Employee Engagement - Employees who know that they will be prioritized over
outsiders will trust the organization. It’s a morale booster that can improve employee retention and
create a loyal workforce.

While the benefits of this practice shouldn’t be ignored, it’s not a perfect plan. There are some
drawbacks to an internal recruitment strategy that everyone involved with the hiring process, from
Human Resources teams to managers, should know about before they begin.

1. Creates Conflict Amongst Colleagues - Hiring internally can cause hard feelings among co-workers
who can’t adjust to the new shift in roles and responsibilities. Those who applied for the job, but didn’t
get it, can become bitter over time. There might also be instances where departments are reluctant to
give up good team members to allow them to experience career growth. Interpersonal relationships can
be affected when internal hiring isn’t handled with care.

2. Leaves a Gap in the Existing Workforce- While internal recruitment is an effective way to fill new
roles, it almost always leaves a vacancy. It’s an endless cycle of shuffling employees that may ultimately
end up with you seeking external candidates to stop the swap.

3. Limits Your Pool of Applicants - Employees, while talented, may not have everything the organization
might be looking for in a new hire. That means they may need to look outside of the organization to find
someone with very specific or technical skill sets.

4. Results in an Inflexible Culture - When groups aren’t refreshed with new faces every now and again,
cliques can form and workers may become resistant to change. This type of inflexible culture may bring
out the worst in your workspace, because change can be seen as a threat to how they’ve always done
things.

B. EXTERNAL TECHNIQUES OF TALENT ACQUISITION -

When recruiting external talent, the recruiting function is very similar to the marketing function,
in that the organization is promoting both itself and employment opportunities to potential candidates.
Adapting marketing principles to employee recruitment is a proven way to bring discipline to the
process.
i. Management consultants - This method of talent acquisition is generally used to attract executives
for higher positions in the organization. The consultants act on behalf of employer organization and
conduct the entire process of acquisition in return for a particular amount of fee.

ii. Advertisements - It is one of the oldest methods of talent acquisition where organizations
advertise job vacancies in newspapers, professional journals and business magazines. This is a quick
method as information reaches a large number of potential candidates in very less time.

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School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

iii. Campus recruitments - This is an important technique to acquire talent for entry-level positions in
an organization. The representatives of the organization interview final year students on the basis
of various attributes such as their academic qualifications, communication skills and intelligence.

iv. Walk-ins and Write-ins - This technique involves applicants to directly write to an organization
about their qualifications and interest to work in the organization. Walk-ins and write-in can be
solicited or unsolicited where the candidate initiates the action on the basis of the advertisement
by the company or on his/her own will.

v. Job portals - It is an external technique of talent acquisition where the advertisement for a vacant
job position is posted on the Internet. In addition, social networking websites provide a huge
platform for talented candidates and talent-seeking organizations.

vi. Poaching - It is a technique of talent acquisition for skills high in demand but low in availability. In
this method, employees of another competing organization are approached and attracted to work
for the organization through lucrative job offers.

Following mentioned are a few advantages of the recruitment process:

1. Increased chances - In this increased chance, the organization receives a variety and number of
candidates who owns knowledge and ability to handle that job. This increased chance provides better
availability of skilled and qualified employees for the company by using the external recruitment
method.

2. Fresher skill and input - When an organization goes with an external recruitment method, there is a
quite better possibility of finding and identifying a fresher candidate who is capable of delivering new
skills and inputs for the betterment of the organization.

3. Qualified candidates - Nowadays, when an organization posts an advertisement in social media or

newspaper. One common thing they look for is a well experienced and qualified candidate.With
external recruitment advertising, the company can find a variety of qualified candidates for the post
offered. And eventually, this process helps to identify the best candidates in a lot of skilled candidates.

4. Better competition - In the external recruitment process, there will be a chance of facing better
competition in terms of hiring new talent. Most of the time some of the company looks for candidates
who are capable of handling a certain skilled job and some of them search those candidates who are
better with their risk-taking ability.

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School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

These disadvantages of external recruitment make a clear distinction between its limitations
and it will also provide beneficial knowledge about the techniques of an external recruitment process.

1. A limited understanding of the company - When a candidate is selected from an external

recruitment process, there is a possibility that the candidate might have less chance of understanding
the environment of the organization. And this lesser understanding can make a big difference in the
future activities of the company.

2. Higher risk - There is a possibility that the candidate selected for the post is not worthy of the
position offered and he/she can take advantage of their position in the company. This type of risk is
very much common in an external recruitment process as most of the candidates applied for the job are
total strangers to the organization.

3. Time-consuming - The main disadvantages of external recruitment are that it is time-consuming.

Then there is a quite possible chance of receiving a higher number of applicants for the post and the
recruiter need to be very careful with their decision of selecting the best candidate for each round
selection process. These different rounds of selection take a bit longer than the internal recruitment
process as it involves a number of processes.

4. High costs - As most part of the external recruitment process mainly deals with complete new
candidates then the organization needs to come up with a pay scale for that candidate which should
value his/her skill and ability. This can turn things a bit costly for the organization as they are in need of
new ideas and to get such new and creative ideas from the potential candidate.

This is how an organization like Strati-tech can meet these two types of characteristics or
techniques of candidates in the process of talent acquisition where it will be able to improve the
women representation.

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School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

Answer 3a:

The term collective bargaining is made up of two words, ‘collective’ – which means a ‘group
action’ through representation and ‘bargaining’, means ‘negotiating’, which involves proposals and
counter-proposals, offers and counter-offers. Thus it means collective negotiations between the
employer and the employee, relating to their work situations. The success of these negotiations
depends upon mutual understanding and give and take principles between the employers and
employees.
In the work situation, an individual worker has to face many problems such as, low wages, long
hours of work, loss incentive etc. These problems of an individual or few individuals cannot attract the
attention of the employer because of their less bargaining power. The growth of trade union increased
the bargaining strength of workers and enables them to bargain for their better conditions collectively.
Collective bargaining is a source of solving the problems of employees in the work situation
collectively. It provides a good climate for discussing the problems of workers with their employers. The
employees put their demands before the employers and the employers also give certain concession to
them. Thus it ensures that the management cannot take unilateral decision concerning the work
ignoring the workers. It also helps the workers to achieve responsible wages, working conditions,
working hours, fringe benefits etc. It provides them a collective strength to bargain with employer. It
also provides the employers some control over the employees.
The process of collective bargaining is bipartite in nature, i.e. the negotiations are between the
employers and employees without a third party’s intervention. Thus collective bargaining serves to
bridge the emotional and physiological gulf between the workers and employers though direct
discussions. Characteristics Of Collective Bargaining are as follows:

i. It is a group process, wherein one group, representing the employers, and the other, representing
the employees, sit together to negotiate terms of employment.
ii. Negotiations form an important aspect of the process of collective bargaining i.e., there is
considerable scope for discussion, compromise or mutual give and take in collective bargaining.
iii. Collective bargaining is a formalized process by which employers and independent trade unions
negotiate terms and conditions of employment and the ways in which certain employment-related
issues are to be regulated at national, organizational and workplace levels.
iv. Collective bargaining is a process in the sense that it consists of a number of steps. It begins with
the presentation of the charter of demands and ends with reaching an agreement, which would
serve as the basic law governing labor management relations over a period of time in an enterprise.
Moreover, it is flexible process and not fixed or static. Mutual trust and understanding serve as the
by products of harmonious relations between the two parties.
v. It a bipartite process. This means there are always two parties involved in the process of collective
bargaining. The negotiations generally take place between the employees and the management. It
is a form of participation.

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School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

vi. Collective bargaining is a complementary process i.e. each party needs something that the other
party has; labor can increase productivity and management can pay better for their efforts.
vii. Collective bargaining tends to improve the relations between workers and the union on the one
hand and the employer on the other.
viii. Collective Bargaining is continuous process. It enables industrial democracy to be effective. It uses
cooperation and consensus for settling disputes rather than conflict and confrontation.
ix. Collective bargaining takes into account day to day changes, policies, potentialities, capacities and
interests.
x. It is a political activity frequently undertaken by professional negotiators.

The advantages of collective bargaining for employees are as follows:

⚫ It is a form of industrial democracy at its best. It gives voice employees in various issues that are
important to them and where they can influence the decisions as well.
⚫ It helps develop a sense of respect among employees as they act as joint decision makers and are
not mere spectators of organizational decision making.
⚫ It gives a sense of control to employees on important issues such as working conditions, working
hours, pay, benefits, etc.
⚫ It gives collective strength to employees. They can bargain for much better agreements for them.
This would not be possible if employees individually bargained on issues.
⚫ It contributes to high productivity among employees since they are working under agreements that
have been mutually agreed upon, which results in establishing ownership of the decisions made.
⚫ It limits the chances of managers resorting to arbitrary decisions that may not be in the interest of
employees. The manager’s power to take unilateral decisions may also be eliminated by collective
bargaining.
⚫ It strengthens the process of collaboration and cooperation within the organization.
⚫ Its process increases the acceptability of decisions among workers as they are co-partners in the
process of decision making.

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 NMIMS Global Access

School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

Answer 3b:

A contractual agreement between an employee and a leasing company that acts as the official
employer is known as employee leasing. A leasing company is known as Professional Employer
Organization (PEO) and handles the payroll, taxes and benefits accrued by employees. Recruiting an
employee is a major commitment for n organization as it costs to recruit, select, compensate, train and
develop employees. The process of recruitment not only costs money but also very time consuming for
an organization. As organizations grow in size, they may need additional support for this process. Rather
than having an in-house selection process, they approach professional employer organizations to meet
their talent requirements. These PEO’s provide outsourced workforce and save costs and time required
in the regular hiring process. This process is known as employee leasing.

Employees who are leased through an employee leasing organization report to the client
organization about their daily work. However, the leasing organization acts as their parent employer.
The leasing organization shares the responsibility with the client organization and charges fees for its
services. The employee leasing organizations offer a number of human resource services to their clients.
Common services include recruitment and selection service; worker’s compensation management,
employee training and development support; and other support services such as payroll management,
tax compliance, attendance, etc. There are various options through which leasing organizations price
their services. Some employee leasing organizations charge fees for the services offered by them, while
some may charge fees for every employee leased on a monthly basis.

The advantages of employee leasing are as follows:

⚫ Employee leasing organizations offer perks and benefits like life and general insurance at subsidised
rates. This is helpful for organizations as it helps them to retain their employees.
⚫ It manages reward systems of the client organization, leading to cost savings for the employee
leasing firm.
⚫ The development of the client organization’s payroll and necessary tax and other legal compliances
also rest with the leasing company. This is beneficial in taking off a huge burden off the
organization.
⚫ It concentrates on the core areas of strength rather than being engaged in managing and handling
employees-related activities. Employee leasing is especially advantageous for small and medium
organizations, which may not have the necessary resources to acquire HR expertise. However,
employee leasing firms have mastered the HR services and can offer this mastery to their client
organizations. As a result, the other time consuming HR functions can be easily handled to the
employees’ benefits.
⚫ The management of employee compensation and other HR functions does not interfere in other
business matters of the organization. The client organization has total control on how to run its
business. The reporting relationship between the senior management and the employees remains
the same.
⚫ It performs specialised functions, such as workers’ compensation coverage and provision of better
rates for healthcare to employees. This results in high level of employee satisfaction.

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School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: Employee Development and Talent Management

The disadvantages of employee leasing are as follows:

⚫ Organizations face the risk of losing their valued assets to an outside agency by leasing them out.
⚫ Organizations are at risk of disclosing their confidential information about their employees,
benefits, compensation and training offered to them.
⚫ Violations relating to tax, compensation, payroll administration, etc., done by the leasing firm may
not even come to the knowledge of the organization.

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