Business · Topic 2: Building a business

Making human resource decisions

How a growing business organises its people, communicates, recruits the right staff, trains them and keeps them motivated.

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Key terms in this chapter

All 32, gathered from every lesson.

Organisational structure
How a business is organised: its roles, responsibilities and lines of authority.
Hierarchy
The levels of management in a business.
Chain of command
The line of authority from the top to the bottom of a business.
Span of control
The number of employees who report directly to one manager.
Centralised
Decisions are made by senior managers at the top.
Decentralised
Decision-making is passed down to managers and staff lower down.
Freelance
Self-employed and hired for specific jobs.
Remote working
Working away from the business's premises, often from home.
Recruitment
The process of finding and selecting new employees.
Job analysis
Identifying the tasks, responsibilities and skills a job needs.
Job description
A document describing the job's title, tasks, responsibilities and conditions.
Person specification
A document describing the qualifications, skills, experience and qualities of the ideal candidate.
Application form
A standard form candidates complete to apply for a job.
Curriculum vitae (CV)
A document summarising a candidate's education, skills and experience.
Internal recruitment
Filling a vacancy with an existing employee.
External recruitment
Filling a vacancy with someone from outside the business.
Induction training
Training that introduces new employees to the business.
On-the-job training
Training while doing the job at the workplace.
Off-the-job training
Training away from the workplace.
Formal training
Planned, structured training with set content.
Informal training
Learning skills from colleagues without a set programme.
Self-learning
Staff learning on their own, at their own pace.
Performance review
A meeting to discuss an employee's progress against their targets.
Motivation
The desire to work hard and do a job well.
Remuneration
The pay an employee receives.
Bonus
An extra payment for reaching a target or a good year.
Commission
A percentage of the value of sales paid to sales staff.
Fringe benefits
Rewards on top of pay, such as a company car or staff discounts.
Profit sharing
Staff receiving a share of the business's profit.
Job rotation
Moving staff between different tasks.
Job enrichment
Giving staff more challenging work and responsibility.
Autonomy
The freedom for staff to decide how to do their work.