Succession
The rate of succession is useful to a business as it allows for promotion and may show the need to recruit externally for a post. A business should make sure that it is training people to take on responsibilities that may be required in the future, as it may find itself with positions that cannot be filled, as the staff are not trained appropriately. Astra Zeneca needs to allow for succession as it will allow workers to progress within the company and it will motivate the workforce and there is chance of promotion. The process of succession is linked to a stable organisation; businesses have had to break their traditional ways to enable them to react to rapid change. They have done this by:
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Downsizing – made staff redundant in an attempt to become efficient
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Delayered - remove some levels of authority so that organisations become flatter.
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Top posts can be filled by the process of “Head-hunting.” This means stealing a top employee from another company by making them a better offer.
How Astra Zeneca uses the figures
Employment Trends and Availability of Labour
I carried out some secondary research on the Internet and from the Cheshire county council website I found out that the total percentage of people employed in the Manufacturing of Chemicals and chemical products has decreased 5.8% from 2001-2002, 12,000 people were employed in that sector in Cheshire in 2001. There was no change for this sector across the whole of Great Britain.
I also found that the percentage of people employed in the research and development sector dropped in both the whole of Great Britain and in Cheshire, in Cheshire it dropped by 35.7% and by 0.9% in the whole of Great Britain between 2001-2002. This may signify a drop in the availability of labour for Astra Zeneca as people may be retiring from their jobs therefore leaving vacancies open, or people with the relevant skills may be moving away from the area or there may be less jobs in this sector available. It will make it difficult for Astra Zeneca to employ people that already have the relevant skills; this will increase the amount of capital the company spend of training. To stop these problems from affecting Astra Zeneca, the company could devise new recruiting methods and train new people to do the jobs needed.
Between 2001 and 2002 the total employment in Cheshire decreased from 309,400 to 306,700, a decrease of 0.9%. Although Great Britain showed an increase of 0.4% from 25,456,400 to 25,548,100, this may show that people are moving away from Cheshire or it may show that there is a lack of jobs available in Cheshire, with a high job seeker list. This may be a problem for Astra Zeneca as they may find it difficult to employ people as people may have moved away. It also may be an advantage as it could also mean that there is a high amount of people seeking employment. To stop this from being a problem for Astra Zeneca the company could encourage people to locate in the area by offering them incentives such as money for locating, higher salary, or fringe benefits.
The amount of students passing university has risen 4.5% to 94.3%, this is an advantage to Astra Zeneca as it means an increase in graduates that are looking for work. This could be seen as an advantage, although they will need to of graduated in a relevant subject e.g./ chemistry, business studies etc… There is also 38 schools in Cheshire that achieved a 50% and above pass rate (A* - C) for GCSE, this indicates that a high number of pupils will be going on to further study and therefore indicates an availability of skilled labour in the future for Astra Zeneca.
Below is a table showing the % GCSE and A Level pass rate for schools in Cheshire:
The table shows that there are 40 schools in Cheshire, which provide A Level study, this is a high number of schools, Astra Zeneca will see this as an advantage as it provides an educated workforce available. In my opinion it is also an advantage for Astra Zeneca as it suggests that there will be a high availability of skilled labour.
The information below shows the percentage change for all ethnic groups in GCSE/GNVQ performance between 2002 and 2003, the data broadly shows the following improvements with the percentage of pupils getting five or more grades A* to C at GCSE/GNVQ:
• White – Up 1.8 percentage points to 51.3 per cent.
• Black Caribbean – Up 3.7 percentage points to 32.9 per cent.
• Black African – Up 3.3 percentage points to 40.7 per cent.
• Indian – Up 2.6 percentage points to 65.2 per cent.
• Pakistani – Up 3 percentage points to 41.5 per cent.
• Bangladeshi – Up 2.2 percentage points to 45.5 per cent.
• Chinese – Up 4.7 percentage points to 74.8 per cent.
• National average in 2003 – 50.7 per cent.
Astra Zeneca will see these figures as a good indication that in the future there will be a higher skilled population and it reveals the trend that the GCSE pass rate may be rising. My interpretation and Astra Zeneca’s interpretation of this is that the availability of skilled labour in the future for Astra Zeneca is rising. Although on the other hand Astra Zeneca may be worried that 15 schools in the area are achieving less than a 50% pass a GCSE that does not indicate for highly skilled labour in the future.
Staff Turnover
This is used to show the rate at which staff are hired and leave the company. These figures are useful to Astra Zeneca as if they show a high staff turnover this indicates a problem within the company that needs to be addressed by the Human resources department. The staff turnover can be worked out using the sum below:
Turnover = Number of staff leaving in a time period
---------------------------------------------------- X 100
Average number of staff employed in time period
The staff turnover for Astra Zeneca is low at only 3.7%; Astra Zeneca interpret (and also my interpretation) this figure as being a good indication that workers are happy within the company, as it is a low staff turnover rate because Astra Zeneca is a big organisation with career opportunities, a competitive salary and bonuses. If the staff turnover rate was higher then Astra Zeneca will need to do research into why staff are leaving and then combat those problems. Staff may leave a business for many reasons such as more money elsewhere, they do not feel fulfilled in the job that they are doing, there may be lots of changing going on in the business that they do not like, or it may be because there is no opportunity of career progression.
Sickness and Accident Rates
This shows the number of days lost due to sickness/accidents. They are useful as a high rate of sickness and accidents could be seen as a problem and maybe a reflection of the quality of equipment and procedures within the company. A high rate of sickness may also show a de-motivated workforce.
The sickness and accident rates show how many people are in the workforce and how many hours they have worked and how many accidents per 100,000 man-hours.
The accident rates in Astra Zeneca are monitored every month and are improving from the 2002 high peak. They are improving due to the health and safety campaigns that Astra Zeneca has introduced which include ‘SHE’ that stands for “safety health environment.”
Astra Zeneca’s sickness rate is currently 4.8%, which is 4% under the standard sickness rates for similar size organisations. My interpretation and also Astra Zeneca’s interpretation of this figure is that the sickness rate is currently well under control, they just need to carry on monitoring this to ensure that it does not start to rise. Sickness tends to increase when lots of change is happening.
In 2003 Astra Zeneca in Macclesfield lost 1.2 million due to sickness, this does not include the costs needed to cover this work. To improve sickness rates Astra Zeneca has set up an occupational health group, there is a physiotherapist on site and there is also a counselling service.
Age, skills and training data
The retirement age of Macclesfield Astra Zeneca is 62; in recent years Astra Zeneca in Macclesfield has had a problem with an ageing workers profile. To tackle this:
- Some workers carried on working beyond retirement age until Astra Zeneca could find new employees to replace them
- Astra Zeneca trained other people using Mentor schemes
- They also employed new people who had the necessary experience to take of required jobs
Astra Zeneca needs to monitor the age profile of the company to allow them to identify future problems in the age group of the workforce; they need to do this 2-5 years before the problem may occur. This will allow them to recruit and train new people. Astra Zeneca obviously interpreted the age profile figures as a threat to the company, as a large proportion of the workforce was heading to retirement age and there wasn’t a sufficient number of staff able to succeed these people so Astra Zeneca has began to act upon these problems (as I have described above) by training new people internally to do the jobs of the people above them (to allow for promotion) and also by employing new people with the relevant experience.
My interpretation of these figures is similar to that of Astra Zeneca’s as if a company has an ageing workforce then they obviously need to do something about that – exactly like Astra Zeneca have done (employed and trained new people)
Succession
Astra Zeneca continually trains people so they can do the job of the person above them to allow people to progress through the company by promotion.
Succession will need to be monitored as it involves staffing in the future, the profitability and competitiveness of the company.
Task 3: Recruitment and selectionAstra Zeneca needs to recruit the best people possible in their profession to work within the company, they are a forward looking company and they need to anticipate problems within the business before they happen, for example if a large proportion of people are nearing retirement then the company needs to think about employing new people externally or training new people to do their jobs internally. Before they actually start to recruit they need to think do they need to recruit internally or externally? Do they need to recruit at all- can the job tasks be shared out? What type of person do they need to recruit? Human resources needs to identify
- What skills are needed/qualifications
- Full time or Part time position
- Person specification
- The level of responsibility
- Is it a position that requires teamwork or the ability to work individually?
- Consider the attributes or weaknesses of the previous employee
Once this is complete Astra Zeneca then needs to use this information to draw up the job description and person specification.
Job description
This is written after a thorough job analysis has been undertaken. Each job within the organisation has a written job description that can be referred to if there is any dispute about any employee’s responsibilities. A job description will include the job title, tasks and responsibilities of the particular job/position. The location, who you are responsible to (manager) and whom you are responsible for (staff.) It must be accurate and detail all the duties to be undertaken by the employee. It can include hours of work, fringe benefits, basic pay and sick/holiday pay entitlement. The job description will be reviewed and updated periodically because it is likely that over time, the nature of the job will change.
Person specification
This outlines the main skills, attributes and qualifications required of an employee. It also includes the physical characteristics (e.g. minimum height), experience, aptitude (special abilities needed), motivation (ambition) and any special circumstances (able to work unsociable hours.)
However the job and person description will not always follow the same rigid structure as shown above and sometimes an employer will send information to an job applicant that is a combination of the two documents.
Once this is completed, Astra Zeneca then need to advertise the jobs available, this can be done:
Internally
- Intranet
- Email
- Notice boards
- Word of mouth
- Promotions
The businesses training and development programme has been successful then the organisation will already have the right people with the right skills to do the particular job, however this may leave a vacancy else where.
Externally
- Internet – Astra Zeneca has been focusing on this intensively in the last 12 months
- Word of mouth
- Careers fairs
- Graduate road show
- Local and national newspapers
- Magazines
- Job centres
- Employment agencies
- Management recruitment consultants – private sector agencies used to recruit senior management.
- Executive search consultants - “head hunters”
Advantages of employing internally
- Recruiting internally is likely to motivate staff as they may get promoted and gain benefits from this e.g./ higher salary, fringe benefits
- Also if somebody is recruited internally then they will not require induction training. This will save Astra Zeneca time and money.
Disadvantages of recruiting internally
- May create jealousy and competition between employees. If one member of staff is promoted, another member of staff may think that they deserved promotion more than the other.
- Existing staff may feel they have an automatic right to promotion
- An organisation can become resistant to change as no new skills and ideas are brought in from outside the organisation.
Advantages of recruiting externally
- The scope of potential employees is much larger, so therefore it is more likely that the company will find a person that will fit the person specification exactly.
Disadvantages of recruiting externally
- The company will have to spend money on training new staff e.g./induction training/specific job training.
- Generally more money will need to be spent on advertising the job, as it is cheaper to use message boards internally than it is to use newspapers externally.
Astra Zeneca also needs to decide whether they should advertise regionally, nationally or internationally.
Internal recruitment can happen through succession, this is where an employee lower down the hierarchy is given promotion. The benefits of doing this include:
- Low costs
- Familiarity with the organisation
- Motivate employees
- Reduces training requirements
However the disadvantage of this is that Astra Zeneca may miss out on a more suitable employee from outside the organisation.
If a suitable employee cannot be found internally then it is necessary to recruit externally. External recruitment methods include:
- Agencies
- Local and national press
- Head hunting agencies
External recruitment is more expensive than recruiting internally however it increases the number of potential applicants and the chance of finding a suitable applicant.
Job Application
Astra Zeneca use standard application forms for people to fill in, as well as asking people to send in their C.V’s as a standard application form can be used to get the precise information that is needed and a C.V can give information about a person’s qualifications/skills. However People write C.V’s in different ways, so they only provide the company with the information that the applicant wants them to know. Alongside a C.V or an application form an application letter may also be submitted. This is a formal letter telling the business what the candidate has to offer.
Selection
After the completed application forms have been given back to the company, Human Resources screen the application forms, sort through them to find the right person that fits the job profile, they have to have the right qualifications, experience, personality, skills. The line manager then looks at the remaining applications forms and a selection process is chosen, the selection process must be appropriate for the job that is being applied for, selection processes include:
- Psychometric Tests – these include
- Aptitude tests - attempts to measure whether a person has the ability to perform certain types of operation.
- Intelligence tests – tests an applicants general ability.
- Personality tests – designed to assess an applicants motivation and ability to work with others.
- Interviews
- Science test – tests the applicants science knowledge
- Problem solving
E.g./ A Person being recruited on a packing line will not need many qualifications but they need to thorough and understand the machinery.
Astra Zeneca have to abide by employment law, they cannot discriminate against for example, sexuality, race, age, disability. They also have to ensure when drawing up documents that it does not include wording or phrases that may be seen as offensive and may infringe on a particular act.
Once Astra Zeneca have selected the appropriate person for the job, they then ask for references, they may carry out a health check and then they get that employee to sign a contract of employment.
Evaluating the recruitment and selection process
A business can evaluate the recruitment and selection process by looking at:
- Labour turnover
- Absenteeism
- Productivity
- Training
It can also look at:
- How effective its job assessment is
- How effective its methods of application are in drawing the right candidates
- How effective its selection and interview processes are in selecting the best candidate for the job
- How effectively it follows legislation in its recruitment and selection process.
The business can also analyse how the recruitment and selection process contributes to the performance of the business by looking at:
- Labour turnover
- Absenteeism
- Productivity
- Training
- Profitability
Task 3B
A Person specification
This outlines the main skills and attributes required of an employee. It will include necessary qualifications and experience in a particular field.
Astra Zeneca integrates the person specification with the job description.
At Astra Zeneca the person specification for a conference coordinator states the
“Outline of the role” – to support the organisation and presence of Astra Zeneca customers and staff at Oncology events with strong emphasis on marketing company needs etc…
“Key accountabilities” – plan and execute occasional meetings, work closely with the IBM conference team to ensure delivery of pre event, onsite and post event demands etc…
“Skills and capabilities” – excellent knowledge of MS suite and eventspro delegate management system, excellent knowledge and understanding of IT, websites, front page, HTML and web based solutions, strong communication skills, numeracy, attention to detail etc…
A job description
This includes the tasks and responsibilities of a particular job/position. It must be accurate and detail all the duties to be undertaken by the employee. It can include hours of work, fringe benefits, basic pay and sick/holiday pay entitlement.
The job description of a tablet-packing operator for Astra Zeneca includes:
Role of the area – to produce packed stock in line with market requirements ensuring all demands of license compliance and GMP practises are adhered to.
Purpose of the job – To pack a comprehensive range of ethical medicines in tablet and capsule forms produced by Macclesfield works and other manufacturing facilities. Tablet packing dept. produces the end product received by the patient in either a “Blister strip” or a plastic bottle known as a SPC together with dosage instructions and traceable data having undergone strict quality control.
Key activities and responsibilities – Production 70% (10% of which involves continuous improvement initiatives and IT Literacy/awareness.
Changeovers 20%
Documentation 10%
Etc… (See sheet titled “tablet job descriptions”)
An Application Form
The Online application form that Astra Zeneca uses looks like this (see below.)
Astra Zeneca also asks the Applicant to send in their C.V.
An example of a good C.V is included in the Appendix. A good C.V is split into sections, these sections are stated below:
Profile – Overview of the applicant
Work experience – This must include dates of work and achievements
Qualifications – This includes the date in which the qualification was gained and to which grade (e.g. A Level Biology, Grade “B”)
Personal details – date of birth, marital status, nationality, driving licence
Interests – e.g. gym, music, extreme sports.
Task 3C
Is the document fit for purpose?
Person Specification
The person specification that Astra Zeneca gives for a conference coordinator is very detailed, it is laid out under 2 main titles Key Accountabilities and Skills and Capabilities. There are many precise bullet points under each title, for example one key accountability is “build strong networks with research, clinical, international conference group and other internal functions and marketing companies so that as many business needs as possible are fulfilled at each event thereby maximising cost effectiveness.”
For example one skills and capability bullet point states “Excellent knowledge of MS suite and events pro delegate management system.”
The person specification is fit for purpose although it does not state the specific qualifications required.
Job Description
The job description for Tablet packing operator in Astra Zeneca is also very detailed, it includes relevant information such as Role of the area, purpose of the job, relationships to supervision, key activities and responsibilities and skills and knowledge. This document is fit for its purpose.
Application Form
There is an online application form (as shown above) but it only asks for general information such as address, name and telephone number. It then asks for you to attach a C.V. In my opinion this document is fit for its purpose although it could be made a lot better as different people write C.V’s differently so some may not include necessary information. Astra Zeneca give tips on how to write a C.V, although not every one will be perfect. The application form could be made better by asking specific questions such as; Qualifications gained? Personal qualities and skills? Previous job? Criminal convictions?
Analysis of the Strengths and weaknesses of these documents
Person Specification
Strengths
Allows the individual to find out exactly what is expected of them, what jobs they will need to be able to carry out. It also allows the individual to find out what skills and capabilities they are required to possess.
Weaknesses
It does not state the relevant qualifications/experience that Astra Zeneca requires, however in the Job description a Skills and knowledge section does include the expected qualifications.
Job Description
Strengths
Allows the applicant to find out exactly what the job involves, the company is able to promote itself and appeal to candidates, and it is very specific and detailed.
The job descriptions are generally about 1 ½ to 2 pages in length, which in my opinion is not too lengthy as it allows for sufficient detail. It is not misleading, as it does not use language such as “an exciting position” which is an opinion and not a fact.
Weaknesses
This does not state the starting salary or the maximum salary. Also the job description and the person specification are not separate, it is just seen as a “Job description.” This could be seen as a weakness of the documents as it may confuse some applicants.
Application form
Strengths
It states very important general information that is need such as name, address, and telephone number. It asks for a C.V to be sent in that can inform the company of the applicant in more detail (qualifications and skills etc)
Weaknesses
It asks for very little information. An application form can be used to gather specific information that the company needs, where as everybody will write a C.V differently so the application form would be better used asking more specific questions that the company needs to know.
Do the documents abide by legislation?
Disability Discrimination act 1995
This act makes it illegal for a company of 20+ employees to discriminate against disabled employees or job applicants on the grounds of disability.
Employers have an obligation to make “reasonable adjustments” to working conditions that will put disabled people at a “substantial disadvantage”
The rehabilitation of offenders act 1974
After a person has been convicted and has had a period free of convictions then they are said to be rehabilitated and the conviction is “spent.” This means that the conviction does not have to be declared on the application form.
Sex discrimination act 1975 and 1986
The race relations act 1976
Aim to avoid direct or indirect discrimination against applicants on grounds of their race, sex or marital status.
Direct discrimination is most likely to occur in the form of stereotyping, for instance a builder or a plumber will be a man.
Indirect discrimination occurs when qualities relating to race and sex are asked for which are not justified by the job.
Equal pay act 1970 and 1983
Men and women have the right to be paid of equal value.
Employment act 1980
This relates to maternity right. Women and men can now have paid time off for antenatal care. There is also protection against dismissal for pregnant women with one year’s continuous service.
The equal opportunities commission will investigate reports of sex/marital status discrimination. The commission for racial equality investigates reports of racial discrimination.
Every company will have a equal opportunities policy that specifies how they will eliminate all types of discrimination
Task 4 - Training and development
Staff training is essential to make sure employees continue to be efficient within a business. Training helps the business to meet its targets for developing and keeping people with the right skills to meet future needs. For a business to remain competitive it must have a trained workforce. Astra Zeneca mostly uses in house training to train its employees; this includes
Induction
Every new employee in Astra Zeneca gets induction training; it is an introduction to the organisation. It gives a summary of the policies within the business, specific health and safety rules, benefits/terms of employment, job details, introduction to key staff and the facilities that are available. An induction pack is usually given to every new employee.
Mentoring
This involves an experienced member of staff supporting a new recruit in the initial stages after joining Astra Zeneca, it gives the new employee a person to contact where problems can be discussed and advice can be given. The mentor meetings that take within Astra Zeneca are informal and supportive. The mentor is usually in the same level in the business.
Coaching
Astra Zeneca sometimes use an expert to develop specific skills through explanation, practise and encouragement.
Apprenticeships
A modern apprenticeship provides young people with broad based training in particular occupations and also essential key skills.
Astra Zeneca have also introduced their own types of in house training which include:
- Leadership development
- Project management
- International experience – guides and supports employees through their “foreign posting” (staff are given the opportunity to go on short-term assignments abroad.
- People management
- Change management
- E Learning
The benefits of training on Astra Zeneca
International experience is important to Astra Zeneca as it enables employees to gain experience of different cultures and to see how businesses work abroad. This broadens the employee’s skills and knowledge that makes them more open minded and gives them valuable work experience. This benefits Astra Zeneca because employees can then use their new skills and knowledge in the workplace and the company benefits from new ideas and methods. Offering a foreign posting also motivates workers to work harder and therefore improves the businesses efficiency.
Induction training is a benefit to Astra Zeneca as it provides all the basic and important information to new employees. It also introduces new employees to other existing and new employees to help them fit in and build contacts within the company. Induction training involves working in a number of different departments for a short period of time to allow the new employee to get a general overview of the organisation. Making friendly contacts within the organisation will help the employee to feel wanted and it may help them to gain new knowledge. This can increase their motivation and therefore their productivity, as they are happy within the company.
Mentoring is beneficial to Astra Zeneca as mentoring provides an opportunity for employees to gain new knowledge and also make important new contacts within the company. New knowledge can improve the quality of an employee’s work and their productivity. An increase in productivity is useful to Astra Zeneca as it will help them to achieve their objectives and it will mean that employees will be working to their full potential. Mentoring can build friendships within the business, (making the working environment for all employees better) as the mentee will take any problems and difficulties he or she is facing to the mentor to seek advice. Building friendships within an organisation can mean that an employee is happy and this can lead to a decrease in labour turnover within Astra Zeneca.
Coaching is beneficial to Astra Zeneca as it builds the skills of both employees involved. The person who is taking the coaching role first has to develop their coaching skills and also needs to have time slots available for the coaching to take place. It allows both the coach and the person being coached to discuss development opportunities that they can work on together, working together means that both of the employees knowledge is being built upon, also relationships are being developed. As coaching is an Internal methods of training it means that the company is saving money on using external training.
Apprenticeships provide employees with the broad based training that they need to do the job. The modern apprenticeships schemes are subsidised by the government, which gives employers a greater incentive to take on apprentices. Young people can also bring new ideas into the organisation.