Ishara Andrew (CC1607443) – February’17 Cohort – 5RST – HM
To be able to undertake talent planning & recruitment activities
2.2 - The only way to reduce the effect of lost leadership is through a strong succession
planning program that identifies and fosters the next generation of leaders through
mentoring, training and stretch assignments, so they are ready to take the wheel when the
time comes.
In the face of skills shortages and a lack of confidence in leadership potential, succession
planning has gained popularity, and is now carried out in both large and smaller
organisations.
Succession planning programmes typically include the provision of practical, tailored work
experience relevant for future senior or key roles. The aim is for the organisation to be able
to fill key roles effectively if the current post holder were to leave the organisation.
Firstly, LPCH must identify the business-critical positions or roles in the organisation for
which potential successors are needed. Succession planning typically covers the most
senior jobs in the organisation, together with short-term and longer-term successors for
these posts. The latter group are in effect on a fast-track and may be developed through job
moves within various parts of the business.
This focus on the most senior posts means that even in large organisations, only a few
hundred people at any given time would be subject to the succession planning process. The
relatively low numbers involved can help make the process more manageable.
Lloyds Pharmacy Clinical Homecare need to be able to find people with the right skills to fill
key positions.
As an organisation LPCH must consider barriers to leadership and good people
management in practice, and emphasises that development of future leaders must be
aligned with supportive organisational processes such as reward and recognition, decisionmaking, cross-functional working, and organisational culture.
Taylor’s staged approach to succession planning
Taylor (2010) identifies a staged approach to succession planning which has traditionally
been used:
 Identify the critical positions that are to be included in the process
 Define the capabilities that each of these positions will require in the future
 Identify and assess possible candidates for these positions
 Provide these individuals with focused development so that they could assume these
positions in the future
 Regularly review the progress of each identified successor.
This traditional approach has, in most organisations, now been replaced by more
contemporary approaches and Taylor suggests several reasons for this. Taking his reasons
and turning them from a negative to a positive stance, we uncover criteria that should
underpin a good succession planning process:





Selection should be objective
It should not produce clones of people already in the positions
It should encompass diversity and not disfavour women, ethnic minorities or other
minority groups
It should not be elitist
It should conform to the principles of the best Human Resource Management (HRM)
practice. Not all organisations carry out succession planning. Some are too small to
be able to offer career pathways and opportunities for progression, others feel it is
incompatible with diversity, whilst some may not have the resources to undertake it.
Of course, there could be reluctance by people who feel it is planning for their own
exit! There are, however, several benefits.
Below is a succession planning cycle adapted by CIPD 2014
Participants in succession planning programmes may be selected either by informal
methods, such as conversations with managers, or by more formal techniques, such as the
performance review process and/or the assessment of competencies, However, there
should not be an over-reliance on competencies because they may be too limiting and
mechanistic to assess skills such as leadership. Therefore, career development planning
needs to be a continuous process where both employers and employees work in conjunction
to create a conducive environment, so they both achieve their objectives at the same time.
2.3 – Should LPCH be looking to downsize, the information and the statistics generated
through a successful career development system should assist in making the right decision
when it comes to employees and future proofing the grading.
Downsizing’, ‘redundancy’ and ‘layoffs’ are different names for similar processes where
there is a planned reduction of jobs in an organisation. These three terms are used when an
organisation has too many employees, which can happen for several reasons including:
 Because of a strategic shift in an organisation’s focus or market position
 When it's faced with an economic recession and/or declining market share
 Has been growing in an unsustainable way.
Redundancy is one of the most traumatic events an employee may experience. Announcing
redundancies can have an adverse impact on the morale, motivation and productivity of the
whole workforce. The negative effects can be reduced by the employer’s sensitive handling
of redundant employees, as well as those who are staying. (Avado)
Can we downsize without redundancies?
This should be the first question that HR practitioners ask. John Philpott, the CIPD’s Chief
Economist, notes six downsizing alternatives to redundancies:
(John Philpott, ‘Labour Cost Savings from Alternatives to Redundancy’, 2009, CIPD Impact
journal, issue 27, pp. 24-7)
2.4 – As stated by CIPD, effective recruitment is central and crucial to the successful day-today functioning of any organisation. It depends upon finding people with the right skills,
expertise and qualifications to deliver organisational objectives and to contribute positively to
the values and aims of the organisation. But it also depends upon finding people with
potential for development because recruitment is not just carried out to fulfil current needs.
Recruiters should always be aware of and refer to future that have implications for
organisational resourcing.
LPCH also need to be fully aware of equal opportunities legislation and understand how
discrimination can occur both directly and indirectly in the recruitment process.
Organisations should monitor their recruitment processes continuously to ensure their
validity, and that they are non-discriminatory.
 Job Analysis - Before recruiting for a new or existing position, it's important to invest
time in gathering information about the job. This means thinking not only about the
content such as the tasks making up the job, but also the job’s purpose, the outputs
required by the job holder and how it fits into the organisation’s structure. This
analysis should form the basis of a job description and person specification/job
profile.
 Job Description - The job analysis leads to writing a job description. This explains the
job to candidates and helps the recruitment process by providing a clear guide to all
involved about the requirements of the job.

Job descriptions should focus on the work someone needs to achieve rather
than the skills and experience, as this is more likely to result in choosing someone
with the right abilities.
Person specification - A person specification or job profile states the necessary and
desirable criteria for selection. Increasingly such specifications are based on a set of
competencies identified as necessary for the performance of the job.
There are many approaches to writing job descriptions, but they all typically include:
 The job title
 The main purpose of the job, duties and responsibilities
 The location
 The grade of the post or some idea of the rate of pay
 The position in the organisation

Any special working conditions (e.g. anti-social hours or the need for a criminal
record check).
Some organisations prefer to replace competency frameworks for job or person
specifications. These highlight the competencies required to perform effectively in the role,
rather than qualifications and previous experience. The idea is to focus on the candidate’s
current and potential levels of ability rather than their previous performance. Typical factors
found in employer competency frameworks include:
 Communication skills
 People management
 Team skills
 Customer service skills
 Results-orientation
 Problem solving.
A competency-based description should still include an indication of the role’s
responsibilities.
2.5 – Before considering the importance of the good practice, we need to outline the
relevant legislations and legal requirements in relation to recruitment & selection.
The main legislations we must consider when recruiting & selection are as below;
 Equality Act 2010
 Data Protection Act 1998
 Freedom of information Act 2000
These are mostly based on principles that support working relationships:
 Equality and fairness
 Removal of bias
 Data protection
 Background checking
 Right to work.
In the UK, the main piece of legislation covering discrimination in recruitment is the
Equality Act 2010. It sets out a range of protected characteristics. It is illegal to treat
anyone less favourably based on:
 Age
 Disability
 Gender reassignment
 Marriage and civil partnership
 Pregnancy and maternity
 Race (including ethnic or national origins, colour and nationality)
 Religion or belief (including lack of belief)
 Sex
 Sexual orientation.
In terms of recruitment, the most obvious duty for an organisation is not to use any of
these protected characteristics to decide on appointing or rejecting a candidate.
Exceptions apply to some protected characteristics, where the nature of the work
means certain groups must be excluded, or may be encouraged to apply (a genuine
occupational requirement).
In the UK, the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 sets out employers’ obligations around
handling, using, storing and destroying personal information. This allows applicants to
request copies of any personal data an organisation holds about them. In a recruitment
situation, this means successful and unsuccessful applicants have the right to see
interview notes, shortlisting notes or any other documentation the organisation has made
about them. Organisations using personal information must make sure the data is:







Used fairly and lawfully
Used for limited, specifically stated purposes
Used in a way that is adequate, relevant and not excessive
Accurate
Kept for no longer than is absolutely necessary
Handled according to people’s data protection rights
Kept safe and secure.
2.6 - Below table shows advantages & disadvantages of different recruitment
methods.
Method
Advantages
Disadvantages
Internal Recruitment
Cost Effective & Less time
consuming/ Candidates
are familiar with the
business culture & values
Advertising in the social
Media
Cost effective/ Can reach
a large pool of candidates/
flexibility and easy
Recruitment Agency
Good Knowledge of the
market place/ Excellent
contacts with job seekers
Creates another vacancy
which needs to be filled/
resentment amongst
unsuccessful internal
candidates
Difficult to measure
effectiveness/ Maintaining
job advertisements can be
time consuming/ hart to
active job seekers
High costs/ time
consuming/ They decide
which candidates to put
forward
Below table shows advantages & disadvantages of different selection methods.
Method
Advantages
Disadvantages
Individual Interviewing
Assessment Centres
Body language and facial
expressions are more
clear/ develop a
relationship/ less stressful
for the candidate
Can be adaptable to all
type of position/ All
candidates are measured
objectively to the same
criteria
Time consuming/ more
bias responses/ Stage
fright of the candidate and
might not get the outcome
desired.
Time consuming/
administration costs (food
& beverages)
Can give false hopes to
candidates
3.1 - Once an organisation has spent a great deal of time & effort recruiting, selecting and
on boarding employees, the last thing they want is for employees to leave. To encourage
staff to stay with the company, we should always consider what motivates each individual
person. Reward & recognition seems to top the list of the motivation factors. There are many
academic theories regarding motivational factors such as Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory
model and Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. however, there are also many other
reasons why an employee may choose to stay or leave.
When a desirable employee leaves an organisation, it is also known as dysfunctional
turnover, this can damage a company massively and cause disruption operationally. It takes
time and training for the recruit to get up to a reasonable standard to fill in the gap of the
employee who has left., or might not reach that level at all. At times, there may be a need to
hire two junior employees to replace the talent we have lost. This can be a huge cost to the
company in hiring, salary and training and development to mention a few. The costs surpass
any possible benefits. Colleagues who are leaving might be top performers & others might
have irreplaceable skills that are hard to come by, making it difficult and expensive to recruit
substitutes.
3.2 - The reasons why people stay in their jobs are just as important as the reasons why
they leave them. An important part to consider in successfully managing employee retention
is the state of the psychological contract ‒ otherwise known in legal terms as 'implied terms'.
The psychological contract can be defined as the unspoken perceptions and mutual
obligations and expectations between employers and employees. These are not necessarily
set out in the formal employment contract. Some elements of the psychological contract will
be inferred from behaviours or custom and practice. It is important for employers to establish
and maintain a positive psychological contract with employees as a basis for producing
sustainable business value. (Avado 2017).
HR, in partnership with the broader business, can design policies and behaviours that place
the kinds of cultures that lead to retention. The following few good practice principles are just
the tip of the iceberg when looking to implement and secure retention strategies.
Table below will show some of the reasons why an employee leave & what we could do as
an organisation as best practice in the future to retain and to make employees want to stay.
 Avoid redundancies whenever possible‒ redundancies lower morale.
 Review how far the organisation’s practices reflect its values‒ employees tend to
have low trust in the organisation.
 Train line managers in people management skills‒ employees are more likely to trust
their line manager.
 Ensure middle managers commit to key messages‒ mixed messages will have a
negative influence on employee attitudes.
 Inform and consult employees‒ they are more likely to see the outcome as fair.
 Take care to fulfil commitments you make to employees‒ managers say employees
show more commitment to their employer than vice versa.
 Put more effort into managing change‒ employees often believe change is badly
managed.
 Give employees more responsibility‒ autonomy increases satisfaction.
 Use employee attitude surveys to get a clear idea of what is happening in the
organisation‒ employees often do not share senior managers’ views of reality.
 Don’t rely on tight management and close supervision‒ this will reduce employee
satisfaction.
 Use recruitment and appraisal processes to clarify the 'deal'‒ employee expectations
 Trust employees to do a good job‒ most are highly motivated to do so and will
respond to the trust you show in them.
 Don’t rely on performance management systems to motivate employees‒ you need
to engage hearts and minds. (Avado 2017)
Reason for leaving
Bad relationship with the manager or
colleagues
Negative opinion of the company
Retention Initiative
Management training/ HR mediation/ team
building activities, internal transfers
Clear communication/ clear policies/ focus
on equal opportunities
Dissatisfaction with reward &
recognition
Flexible benefits scheme/ external
benchmarking with similar companies to
ensure salaries are competitive
Outside work commitments
Dissatisfaction with the working
environment
Career progression/ promotion
Flexible working arrangements
Investment in maintenance of equipment
Succession planning/ learning &
development opportunities.
Below table shows strengths and weakness of different approaches of retaining talent.
Method
Advantages
Disadvantage
Enhanced salaries
Excellent way of retaining
talent by offering salary
increases.
Help employees maintain
better work life balance
Could be a strain to
company finances and
budget
Sometimes workforce
planning could be
challenging
Retention works adversely
when employees who are
non-performing are
retrained & negatively
impact company’s
finances.
Flexible working patterns
Training & Development
This could be one of the
motivational factors for
employees to stay with a
company.
Recruitment Errors
Explaining and inform
clearly what the job in
detail at the interview.
Clear job description &
person specification.
Sometimes organisations
are not clear about their
expectations and work
profile which makes
employees feel that they
are a mismatch and they
tend to leave the
organisation realising that
their potential is not fully
utilised.
4/4.1 - If redundancies are unavoidable, the following principles should be followed.
Organisations should have a formal procedure for redundancy. In many organisations, a
formal agreement may have been made between management and trade union or employee
representatives. Organisations should go through the following stages as a minimum:









Planning
Identifying the pool for selection
Seeking Volunteers/ Voluntary retirements
Consulting Employees
Selection for redundancy
Appeals and dismissals
Suitable alternative employment
Redundancy payment
Counselling and support
When 20 or more employees at one establishment are to be made redundant, collective
consultations with recognised trade unions or elected representatives must start before a set
date. For dismissals of 100 or more employees, this is at least 45 days before the
notification of redundancies. For dismissals of 20-99 employees, this is at least 30 days
before the notification of redundancies. However, the ‘20 or more employees at one
establishment’ rule is currently the subject of litigation which may affect when the
consultation provisions apply in future.
At the start of the consultation process the employer is legally obliged to give the following
information to the representatives:

The reason for the redundancy dismissals
Some of the fair reasons for redundancies should be as stated below;
1.
2.
3.
4.
The need for the job no longer exists and will not be completed by anyone;
The business goes bankrupt or has the need to downsize due to advanced technology.
Staff reduction for certain tasks becomes necessary due to a slowdown in business;
The position performed by the employee is no longer required due to restructuring or
reorganisation where the work may be redistributed between several other employees;
5. A merger or takeover occurs and the position is no longer required.
The probable consequence of not agreeing to the correct procedure could be a claim of 'Unfair
dismissal' and an often lengthy and time-consuming Employment Tribunal. Also, (depending on
the employment contract and employee eligibility) the company may need to pay severance
monies more than what is necessary. (Avado 2017)

The number of proposed redundancies and their job types
 The total number of employees affected
 The proposed methods of selection
 The procedure to be followed in dealing with the redundancies
 The method of calculating redundancy payment.
Employers are also required to consult individual employees and give them reasonable
warning of impending redundancy.
When the consultation is complete, the employer may need to choose individuals from within
the selection pool. These choices must be based on objective criteria such as:

Length of service (only as one of several criteria)
 Attendance records
 Disciplinary records
 Skills, competencies and qualifications
 Work experience
 Performance records.
The organisation can select, for example on competency – related grounds, the weakest
employee, in terms of their contribution to the company to be dismissed through the
redundancy process.
Employment tribunals look favourably on selection procedures based on a points system
which scores each employee against the relevant criteria. However, employers must take
great care in the choice and application of the criteria to avoid factors which may be
discriminatory. For example, selection of part-timers could be discriminatory if a high
proportion of women are affected.
Scoring should, if possible, be carried out independently by at least two managers who know
all the employees in the selection pool. Marks from the two assessors should then be added
together to give a total score for each employee.
The employer should notify in writing all individuals who are selected for redundancy that
they are ‘at risk’ of redundancy, and invite them to a meeting which is the first part of the
individual consultation. At least one further consultation meeting should be held, with the
actual number of meetings depending on what the employee must say. The employer must
consider any argument that the employee puts forward to avoid the redundancy.
Once the individual consultation is complete, the employer must decide whether the
employee is to be made redundant. The employer must give employees notice in writing of
their redundancy – statutory notice or contractual notice, whichever is greater. They must
also be explained the redundancy payment they will receive.
An employee should be allowed to appeal against the decision to make them redundant.
Making someone redundant because of their age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status,
disability, race or religion, or any other protected characteristic, will be a breach of the
Equality Act 2010.
Disciplinary Dismissal – Employees who persistently break rules become a liability and
subject to the outcome of a disciplinary hearing and depending on the severity and the
frequency of the offence. Reasons could be inappropriate behaviour, lack of capability and
many other reasons stated in the company disciplinary procedure.
Maybe considered as “gross misconduct”, The nature of what and what is not gross
misconduct should be clearly defined in the company disciplinary procedure subject to the
ACAS code of practice on disciplinary & grievances. All activities should be clearly
documented. The dismissed employee may have the ground for appeal to an employment
tribunal for unfair dismissal.
To be potentially ‘fair’, a dismissal must be for one of five reasons:





capability or qualifications
conduct
illegality or contravention of a statutory duty
some other substantial reason
redundancy
Retirement – is in the main, when an employee chose to finish working, to retire. The legal
retirement age in the UK currently is 65 years of age, however people may choose to work if
as long as they like. There is no compulsory retirement age, if the employee chooses to
work, they shouldn’t be discriminated against. (www.gov.uk/retirement-age).
Many people choose to take flexible retirement options when they reach their retirement age,
rather than leaving paid employment completely.
If an employee becomes unable to meet the needs of the job role through factors related to age,
any exit should be managed through the performance and capability procedure. Good practice in
the management of retirement is for there to be ongoing discussions with all employees about
their future intentions and a range of options available when retirement starts to be considered.
The retirement options may include the following:

Moving from a full-time to a part-time contract

Stepping down to a role with slightly less responsibility

Winding down – gradually reducing working hours

Atypical contracts, perhaps including an extended period of leave

Retiring from permanent employment but remaining on the company books as a
consultant. (Avado 2017).
Such options have proved very popular. In a survey carried out by the Centre for Research into
Older Workers (CROW), it was found that 80 per cent of the respondents (people currently in fulltime work) would like to stay in work beyond their expected retirement dates. Only nine per cent
would like to do so on a full-time basis while most would like to stay on only if they could work
part-time, occasionally or on a consultancy basis.
Taylor & Woodhams (2016)
Bibliography
Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice.
Malcolm Martin and Fiona Whiting – Human Resources Practice – 7th Edition
Charles Leatherbarrow & Janet Fletcher – into to Human Resources Management – 3rd
Edition
Lloyds Pharmacy - Clinical Homecare. 2017. Homepage - Lloyds Pharmacy - Clinical
Homecare. [online] Available at: http://www.lpclinicalhomecare.co.uk
Avado - cipdcampus.avadolearning.com – CIPD level 5 – 5RST – Study material
ACAS - www.acas.org.uk - Redundancy & retirement
XpertHR - xperthr.co.uk – Workforce Planning & Retention Strategies
CIPD - cipd.co.uk – Redundancy & Retirement
John Philpott, ‘Labour Cost Savings from Alternatives to Redundancy’, 2009, CIPD Impact
journal, issue 27
Randstad - workpocket.randstad.co.uk
Stellar HR- stellarhr.co.uk – Redundancy Fact Sheet