Part III: Functions of Management Applied to Activity-based Programs

l Staffing and Leading Personnel in Activity-Based Programs

Introduction

l Success or failure may be due to the quality of the personnel they hire

l A director should not just hire a “good” person, but one that meets the specific demands of the job

l Personnel management is the most challenging of the directors responsibilities

Recruiting and Selecting Quality Staff

l Selecting the right personnel is somewhat of a gamble

l Locating and hiring begins with good planning and organizing; based on aims and objectives

l Goals must be identified and tasks and activities grouped into positions before the right people can be placed in the right jobs

l In chapter 7, tasks and activities were defined and then grouped into positions

l Funds are then provided for those positions

l The administrator can then initiate selection of the personnel

May not need to hire

l Conducting an inventory of the interests, skills, and abilities of current staff

– May not need to hire someone from the outside

– May reassign and adjust the personnel

The Job Description

l Formulate an accurate job description

l A thorough understanding of the expectations of the position

l Who is responsible for the job description?

l Sometimes the job is created around the talents and interests of the prospective candidate

Job Formulation and Job Analysis

l Job descriptions follow the formulation of a new position and a job analysis

l New positions are normally created when programs expand and funding secured

l Job analysis of an existing position to determine every detail of the position as compared to the objectives of the organization

Job Analysis

l Understand the tasks and activities that are being done

l Are these efforts making a worthy contribution to the organizational goals

l It may affirm the current position or it may lead to a revision of the job description

Who Prepares the Job Description

l When the organization is small, the unit director or manager normally performs the total function

l When the organization is midsize the director may assign to one or two members the preliminary preparation

l For larger organizations a committee

Essential Contents of the Job Description

l Relate activities to the goals for both short-range and long-range needs

l Usually written in two parts:

1) job specifications

l Statements of expectations and information on how the job is to be performed

l List of overall responsibilities, specific duties and assignments, description of general and specific working conditions and relationships with key individuals

– job qualifications

Job Announcement

l Position Title

l Job specifications

l Minimum Qualifications:

– years of experience, skills, abilities, etc.

l Education and special certification required

l Closing date for applying

l Starting date of employment

l Salary and benefits

l How to apply

l Description of the community and organization

l Job descriptions are usually one page long and are attractive

l Job ads are usually shorter due to cost of advertising

Locating Qualified Candidates

l Sources include:

– The organization itself

– University placement centers

– Commercial placement agencies

– Professional organizations

– Professional associates

– Friends

The Hiring Organization Itself

l Larger organizations tend to hire from within which has some advantages and disadvantages

– Advantages:

l Good employee morale

l As people move up in the organization positions become available

l A company knows the strengths and weaknesses of the employees

l Employee orientation times is greatly reduced

l Disadvantages

– Organization may suffer from stagnation or inbreeding

– An in-house personnel training program is costly

– A limited number of qualified candidates may cause the promotion of less qualified personnel

– Employees who advance may have difficulty leading their former peers who have become subordinates

l Hiring from both within and outside seems to be more effective

l A stronger pool of candidates from which to select

University Placement Centers

l A reliable, inexpensive, service to students as well as prospective employers

l Large source of prospective candidates

Commercial placement agencies

l Similar to University Placement Centers

l Profit making organization and can cost the client a substantial percentage of first year’s salary

l They are dependent on their reputation

l Their pool of candidates not limited to a single university or college

l Often perform preliminary screening through tests

Professional Organizations

l American Alliance for Health, PE, Recreation, and Dance

l Association for Fitness in Business

l NCAA

l ACSM

l National conferences usually have placement services

Professional Associates and Friends

l Ask them to recommend qualified candidates; employee or student

l Must trust the associate

Classified Advertisements

l Local newspapers and selected major newspapers

Equal Opportunity for Employment and Affirmative Action

l Discriminatory hiring still occurs

– Many employers are still prejudiced

– Employers may not be fully aware of what constitutes nondiscriminatory hiring practices

– Initial costs in implementing affirmative action is significant: advertising, placement services

Reverse Discrimination

l Overzealous in hiring minorities

l Emotional issue

Legal Basis

l 1964 Civil Rights Act; amended in 1972; Title VII

l Employment Opportunity: right of all persons to apply and be evaluated for opportunities without regard for their race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, disability, or veteran status

l Affirmative Action: refers to positive actions initiated by an employer to ensure that equal employment opportunities exist for minorities, women, and Americans with disabilities

l Positive actions:

– Affirmative action to identify and remove artificial barriers which may be built into personnel policies and procedures

– Recruiting activities designed to ensure that minorities, women, and Americans with disabilities are aware of employment opportunities and become part of the applicant pool

Will affirmative action mean that people will be hired on the basis of their race or sex rather than on the basis of who is best qualified for the job, thereby undermining the merit system?

l Quotas can undermine the merit system, but goals and timetables do not.

l Employers must justify that job qualifications were accurately appraised.

Do Affirmative action plans establish preferential treatment for minority groups and women?

l No, the purpose is to undo a traditional preferential treatment system, and to redress the historical imbalances in favor of white males in the job market.

l Discriminatory practices must be eradicated and equity be established

Are goals and timetables aimed at achieving a proportional representation of minorities and women?

l Goals and timetables are not the same as quotas

l Are they underrepresented in one or more job classifications?

l If underutilization is established, efforts are made to increase their numbers that would reasonably be expected by their availability

What groups are protected from discriminatory practices under Title VII?

l All prospective employees are covered under title VII.

Why then are there so many well-educated and knowledgeable people who believe that reverse discrimination is occurring as a result of affirmative action?

l In some cases reverse discrimination has occurred, not because of the law but because of implementation by the employer.

l Their goal is proportion and they forget the rights of all applicants.

l How are the qualifications for the position advertised?

l Many qualifications are listed that may not actually be needed for quality performance

How can diversity in job classifications be achieved?

l Proportional diversity cannot be achieved immediately.

l Federal legislation allows for extended periods if an employer can show evidence that a strong effort is being made to make equality.

l Employers are obligated to provide training for minorities and women that prepare them to compete.

Personnel Involved in the Selection Process

l Nature of the organization dictates who is involved in the hiring process.

l Those affected by the decision should be involved to an equitable degree in making the decision.

l Large organizations use search and screening committees; usually 3 members

l Role of screening committee is to represent the entire faculty or staff as they work with the director

Sources of Information about Applicants

l Once the position is advertised information is sought by the committee

l Completed Application Form

– Custom made resumes are diverse

– Standardized applications allow for better comparisons

l Transcripts

l Letters of recommendation - limited value

l Preemployment interview by phone

l Phone calls to present and former supervisors

– More candid in a phone call or face-to-face meeting

l Observed performance

– In person or by videotape

l Interviews

– Standardized set of questions

– Schedule individual and group interview sessions

– Attempt to put the candidate at ease by asking an easy question at first

– Inform the candidate that you may have to take notes, but try to remember the key points and write them down as soon as the candidate leaves the room.

– Some questions are illegal; how old, what church, member of NOW, what does your husband do?

Screening and Selection Criteria

l Develop a list of criteria about which the decision will be made

l Determine how well candidates meet that criterion

l How important is each factor to the whole?

l Two sets of criteria:

1) Screening criteria reflect the job description; fig.10.4

2) Interview Criteria as a supplement to the screening criteria; fig 10.5

3) Building on Strengths

l Staffing decisions should be made to maximize strengths not minimize weaknesses

l Whoever tries to avoid weakness rather than making strength effective is a weak person, and will probably be threatened by others strengths

l Whoever will staff an organization by avoiding weaknesses will end up mediocre.

l A person must be “good for something”

– To focus on strength is to make demands for performance

– Effective executives know their staff is paid to perform not to please them

– The immediate job of the administrator is not to place a person but to fill a job

– Except in rare cases, structuring jobs to fit a particular person is almost certain to lead to favoritism and conformity

– To get strength one must learn to tolerate certain weaknesses.

Selection

l After preemployment interviews the decision is made.

l Those involved in the screening and interviewing process should have a vote in the decision.

l The administrator reviews the votes and recommendations of the committee and makes a decision.

l If the administrator does not go along with the decision a meeting is called to tell the committee why, and then discuss it.

l Consensus is sought; with the director making the final decision

l Director is responsible for the decision

Improving Staff Performance: New Employee Orientation

l Orientation begins with the interview and continues with the contractual letter

– Staff Handbook

l Working conditions of employment

l Benefits

l Sick leave

l Vacation time accrual

l General policies regarding expectations

– Acquainting the new member with the other members of department or unit, key persons and offices in other divisions of the organization, and employee services

Employee Retention

l Directly related to productivity

l The hiring of part-time personnel to reduce costs actually increased employee turnover and loss of clients

Six Factors for Retention of Employees

l Recruit wisely by improving interview procedures

l Offer training so that employees will feel confident in their jobs

l Communicate and evaluate so that the employees will feel valuable

l Promoting from within improves loyalty

l Offer financial incentives to improve productivity

l Provide meaningful benefits and perks

In-Service Training

l Professional development activity that occurs during employment that is supported wholly or in part by employer

l Professional Organization Membership and participation

l Conference attendance

l Sabbatical leaves

l Workshops and clinics

Motivation and the Director

l Director should be concerned with the health and well-being of the workers

l Motivated workers are more successful, ambitious, and enjoy their life more

l Unmotivated workers have poor performances, experience friction on the job, and have high absenteeism and tardiness; are ill more often

Research and Theories of Motivation:

Scientific Management Theory

l Time motion studies directed toward efficiency of motion

l No focus on the needs of the worker

Hawthorne Studies

l By increasing the illumination of one group of workers, the productivity increased

l But when the lighting of the control group was accidentally reduced their output also increased.

l They concluded that the increased productivity was not due to better working conditions but to the attention given the workers; made to feel important

l By being recognized as a working partner with management was a significant motivator.

Theory X and Theory Y

l Theory X proposes that people are motivated by fear, money, and fringe benefits; they want to be controlled; they are irresponsible, unreliable, and immature

l Theory Y is directly opposite and assumes that employees are basically reliable and can direct themselves, are self-motivated, creative

l Most directors use a combination of the two theories

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

l Physiological – food, shelter, warmth, clothing

l Security – self-preservation and safety

l Social – need to belong

l Esteem – feelings of power, control, prestige, respect, self-confidence

l Self-actualization – reach highest potential

l Needs must be satisfied in the order from basic needs to self-actualization

l New needs arise after lower-level needs are satisfied

Morale and Motivation

l Morale is a spiritual and emotional state; indicated by cheerfulness while performing the tasks