As the recruiting and training process for new engineers is a lengthy we at BGS have managers in place specially working on a programme which predicts how much UK market for domestic gas engineering services will grow, and this study helps the company decide how many engineers needed in the future. This programme is called the programme of forecasting; we forecast the demand for engineers one year in advance and make more general estimates for a further two years, this enables us to provide the best service to our customers in time and we don’t keep them waiting.
Task 2:
Recruitment can be the most important function within British Gas, as that’s where we select people to work towards customer satisfaction, if we are not able to select people with the right level, our companies values are not going to be fulfilled and that’s going to affect our company’s reputation, so it is very important to recruit the right people who share the same principles as the company and who are capable of fulfilling their job.
Aspects which make recruitment an important part of BG would be:
Diversity: at BG we see recruiting a diverse engineering workforce as very important, as this ensures that we have a socially inclusive workforce. This is very important as we have a diverse customer base, for example it is helpful having employees from different nationalities and backgrounds who are multi-lingual, this helps communicate with customers that do not speak English as their first language. This scheme has been very popular.
Women in engineering:
To dismiss the myth that only men can be good engineers, we at BG run programmes to encourage and attract women into engineering workforce and into plumbing and similar professions. For this The British Gas Academy has even won an award from Women into Science and Engineering. Recruiting women engineers may also help attract female customers.
Who is eligible to apply?
Candidates applying to do an apprenticeship with BG have to be at least 17 years old, and have a minimum of four GCSE grades at C or above or equivalent (NVQs) and must hold at least a provisional licence. But the most important thing more than academic qualifications is that the applicant must be able to show some aptitude for customer service, for example being able to listen to the customers and understand their requirements.
The application process starts with an online application form, which helps us at BG decide an applicant’s suitability, it includes a value-based questionnaire. This requires responses to a series of statements about attitude towards work. Applicants are then rated green, amber or red. The colour reflects the attitudes the applicant has about work and people, this helps us show which roles a person is best suited for. BG doesn’t take people with red rating as they don’t fit the company’s requirements. However after an initial screening the rest of the applicants are invited for an interview and are assessed for the final selection process. Here the candidates must show evidence of qualifications, ID and driving licence to secure a place.
Below is a flowchart showing the processes:
Task 3:
At BG there are two types of different demands for workforce requirements, firstly the contract customers who have service agreements with the company. Secondly there are customers who call for one-off assistance if they have a specific problem. At BG we have seen increasing demand for both the services with increasing number of customers; this has lead to increase in workforce. Workforce planning has become increasingly important as there are several other factors that influence it. Engineering skills needs to be constantly updated and we have to consider the changing health and safety regulations along with the EU regulations. Workforce planning helps our engineers stay up-to-date with technical matters.
At BG we also need suitable people for promotion to higher roles, such as management jobs, we need managers to plan, organise and co-ordinate teams of engineers, therefore we need to attract and recruit a wide range of people into the organisation.
Task 4:
The benefits we get from our application, recruitment and selection process can be seen from the success of our company. Both our company and the applicants are benefited from the process. The initial online application test helps us chose applicants who share similar interests and principles from the company.
This helps us narrow down our search for new staff and it also ensures that we don’t waste the unsuccessful applicant’s time. The interview process is very important for us and the applicants as this is where we get to know more about each other and that’s where we explain to them our beliefs and principles in much more detail and build up on our working relationship. The interview process gives the applicants a chance to talk to our staff in person of any queries they have and any more information they need about our company or the selection process. In this process we also thoroughly check evidence of qualification and identity this ensures there is no fraud and helps us with the security of our company and our customers.
In the next step the candidates have to demonstrate customer service skills through role play, this helps us to gather how confident the applicant is. The final test is where the applicants go through a manual dexterity test where we get to know if they are able to handle small delicate parts, this test is very important as it is the final process after which final selection takes place and the successful applicants are sent for training.
Task 5:
At BG in-depth training and development of workers is the key to our success, benefits of this approach would be:
- All domestic gas engineers become fully acquainted with the latest computer-aided diagnostic technology. This helps the employees as they will have a broader knowledge and can deal with different types of situations
- At BG there are traineeships provided for new recruits to learn more about the gas industry and gain relevant skills and qualifications. It also helps the trainees to improve their people skills along with the technical knowledge as they will have direct contact with customers.
- We also provide technical training for all our engineers throughout their careers, this ensure that all our employees are kept up-to-date with new information and technologies to enable them to provide the best services possible on behalf of the BG. Without this in-depth technical training a lot of issues would take longer to be resolve and leave the customer upset. Being able to get the issue resolved on the first go means a lot to the customer and BG as well.
- Culture means a lot BG as an organization. Employees in BG come from different cultural backgrounds. Programmes are run to improve staff’s cultural awareness through online learning packages, to make them aware of different cultures and people they will come across during their working life.
Task 6:
Appraisal is a two way discussion of past and present experiences and achievements at work which will help in future development to the benefit of the organisation and the employee. Its aim is to facilitate development, motivate and improve performance. Appraisal should be done on every half yearly or yearly as it will help us to get an individual feedback from its employees about the positives and negatives and also keep the employee involved in decision making of the organization. Appraisal system is very beneficial as it motivates employees, they are a way of directly communicating to the management and discussing objectives for individuals set keeping in mind the companies goals, it makes staff feel they are involved and making a difference to the company, this form of appreciation encourages employees to continue working hard.
The main reason for an appraisal is to:
- Identify achievements and celebrate success
- Strengthen relationships and improve team working
- Help individuals to focus on their priorities for the upcoming year
- Identify training and development needs
- Get useful feedback which will help the organization in turn
Appraisal eventually will help us evaluate the employee’s performance. Based on the performance the employee can be motivated in different ways
Reward System – We should strongly look at rewarding employees on a regular basis in order to keep them motivated. This will also encourage employees to work harder to achieve set targets and eventually achieve them and also help the organization achieve their set targets. Rewards could be either financial or non financial.
Promotion – Every employee who has worked for a long period will eventually look for promotions. It is important for us to value its employee’s hard efforts and have a system in place for internal job postings (IJP) instead of recruiting managers from outside the company. This will not only motivate our employees but also make them feel valued
Loyalty Bonus – Every organization in the UK has an employee turnover issue. In order to reduce the turnover we should have a loyalty bonus scheme where all employees who have stayed in the company for more than 6months should be rewarded monetarily. This will help reduce attrition and keep the employees motivated to stay longer.
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