Task One: Recruitment and Selection

 

The role of a human resource officer at a residential care home involves the recruitment and selection of new employees. The factors that must be taken into consideration for effective recruitment and selection of employees would be presented in the form of an interview role play. The role play would comprise the involvement of an interview panel and two participants applying for the job of a home care assistant. The role play would comprise of invitation letter for participants, job description, person specification, CV and covering letter of applicants, interview questions for the participants, and marking sheet. The final stage of the recruitment and selection process would be validated in the form of an employment letter to the successful candidate among the two applications. 

Job Description:

Position: Home care assistant

Home care assistants are specifically trained for supporting disabled, mentally challenged, terminally ill patients, and elderly individuals. The profession of a home care assistant requires employment in residential care homes for assisting patients in daily activities such as meal preparation and personal grooming. The additional services that may be expected from a home care assistant reflect on general housekeeping activities. 

The job of home care assistants is often confused with that of home health assistants since the latter are employed by government-funded or authorized agencies. Therefore home health aides are subject to the supervision of medical professionals while home care assistants could be supervised by managers that do not have academic certification in medical or nursing. The educational requirement for a home care assistant is not mandatory while certain certificate programs are available for the same. 

Person specification:

The physical strength of home care assistants is a formidable person specification since the job requires lifting patients. Discretion is another person specification that is required since the home care assistants would be employed in the privacy of an individual. The emotional intelligence of a home care assistant is the significant person specification since the job involves psychological assistance to the patients. Since home care assistants would have to be associated with a single individual for years, empathy would account for the proliferation of better relationships.

Interview of John:

1. Do you have the required capabilities to address a situation where an elderly patient is refusing to take their medication?

A: My professional expertise and work experience in two notable care centers has enabled me to acquire a viable understanding of approaches needed to address such situations. My inherent capabilities for developing personal relationships with the patients also enable me to cater to such problems with ease.

1. Suppose you are in a situation when a mentally challenged patient has acquired a sharp object. How would you respond to the situation?

A: The first step I would take in such a scenario is to ensure that the patient is far away from the other individuals in the residential care home. Then I would try to comfort the patient through using communication to comfort the patient so that they give up the weapon. Apart from these initiatives, I would ensure that the security and care personnel are informed about the incident at the earliest.

Interview of Mary:

 

1. How would you be able to deal with the care and supervision of an elderly patient suffering from paralysis who has the condition of developing bedsores?

A: My physical fitness and my experience of working in this field for the last 9 years would provide me with the necessary advantage required to deal with such a scenario. I could be able to address the patient’s requirements of frequent turning in their beds and lifting them up for performing daily personal care activities. 

1. Imagine a scenario where you have to ensure the care of a patient who has recently faced an accident due to which the patient has lost lower limbs. What would be your approach to soothe them psychologically?

A: The foremost concern to be addressed in this scenario is to understand the pain of the patient not only on a physical but also on a mental scale. The development of a promising bond with the patient would be the first step that I could achieve through interacting with the family members of the patient and acquiring an impression of the factors which motivate the person. 

Based on the responses of the candidates and review of their academic and professional competencies, Mary Brown was selected for the vacancy of care assistant at Churchill Residential Care Home. Therefore an employment letter would have to be sent to her alongside another letter to John Stevens regarding the fact that he was unsuccessful.

Letter to John:

John Stevens

124 Trinity Street

Aston 

Birmingham

Subject: Nonacceptance for the post of Care Assistant at Churchill Residential Care Home

Dear Mr. Stevens,

I would like to inform you that you have not been selected for the job vacancy of Care Assistant at our organization for which you appeared interview on 23rd September 2017. I wish that you find other opportunities in the field of care.

Thanking you,

Steven Jones

Hiring Manager

Churchill Residential Care Home

131 Bloomsdale Street

Birmingham

Task Two Essay

 

Introduction

The engagement of Mary in a probationary period of 6 months as a part of her employment, as a Care Assistant at Churchill Residential Care Home has been reviewed comprehensively. At the end of the probation period, it is necessary to reflect on the measures I implemented as a leader for monitoring the progress and work performance of Mary, alternatives for her training to address the personal objectives of Mary alongside the residential are home (Aust, et al., 2017). The following essay attempts to review these factors alongside presenting options of continuous professional development of staff alongside the theoretical perspectives in the context of group interactions in the domain of health and social care.

The objective for Performance Management

The objective for performance management in an organization is largely vested in the identification of feasible opportunities through which the employees could manage personal performance alongside the overall performance of the organization. In the case of Mary, the following methods for monitoring and evaluation were applied in order to estimate her performance (Cascio, 2013). The use of observation is the most primary technique that can be applied for monitoring the performance of Mary during the probationary period of six months. The observation process involves the identification of essential aspects such as Mary’s attitude towards the tasks, capabilities for teamwork, task-related behavior, and accomplishment of results. Appraisal and periodic review could be observed in the appraisal of Mary’s performance during the probationary period (Cascio, 2013). The periodic review and appraisal methods are accounted as integral aspects of every career development plan adopted by Churchill Residential Care Home. The appraisal process is conducted with respect to the organization’s objectives and precedents established for employee performance. The monitoring of Mary’s performance was also subject to the implications of feedback from others such as staff members at the care home, service users, and the family of the service users (Chang-Richards, et al., 2015). The capability of an employee to accomplish successful outcomes could also be observed as a prolific measure for monitoring the performance of an employee in which the supervisor could evaluate accuracy and error reports, benchmarking, and the ability to meet deadlines of an employee.

Employee Training

The training needs of employees are determined on the grounds of their job profile which must be identified as major priorities for employers. Furthermore, managers have to ensure that the training is not only helpful for Mary but also for the residential care home. Therefore, the selection of a training cycle would be feasible for addressing the training and development needs required in this particular context. The training cycle is initiated with the identification of the need for training that is followed by the training process or the delivery and then the outcomes of the training are evaluated (Clardy, 2014). In an organizational context, the training cycle is significant for ensuring consistent training and development. 

Training needs that could be identified in the case of employment as a care assistant at Churchill Residential Care Home could be identified in the anticipated needs, unprecedented needs, and needs arising after monitoring an individual. According to Coutinho & Dehury, Managers should be able to apprehend the particular areas of weakness from the appraisal of an individual which could be supported through individual communication with employees to finalize the training needs. Performance appraisals and periodic reviews serve as effective measures for anticipating the needs from monitoring of an employee (Coutinho & Dehury, 2017). 

Unprecedented needs are most commonly observed in the case of training and development in a residential care home since unprecedented circumstances could create the necessity for training other than the needs identified from monitoring. The anticipated needs are determined according to the proposed objectives of the organization for the career development of employees. As per Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, Training is an imperative requirement for every organization when hiring new employees in order to ensure that the employees are able to perform according to the organization’s objectives (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, 2013). 

The promotion of an individual employee could be dependent on the realization of internal tasks such as review of business objectives, identification of critical activities in an organization, identification of all areas of the problem, measuring the weakness of employees, quantification of performance quality, and a review of business objectives.

Regulations

Individuals registered as professional care service providers have the personal obligation to sustain their competence through continuous professional and personal development. As per Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, the mandatory regulations for workers in care services to have a personal development plan are indicative of the opportunities for residential care homes to retain competent employees. The personal development plan is not only a promising resource for an individual but also for the line manager, supervisor, mentors, or professional bodies (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin & Cardy, 2015). 

The measures for addressing the continuous development needs of employees in the residential care home as a care assistant could also comprise of personal assessment with respect to occupational standards. The periodic review and appraisal on behalf of employers also play a crucial role in the personal development of employees. The continuous development of employees could also be supported by the staff development training plans comprising of external courses that would help in accomplishing professional excellence.

Conclusion 

The interaction of individuals in groups in the context of the type of teams employed in Churchill Residential Care Home could be reviewed from the perspective of Tuckman’s model. Tuckman stated that the involvement of individuals in a group is guided by the distinct stages of forming, storming, morning, and performing. The variable complexities in different groups lead to the inference that the stages may or may not be sequential. Forming stage of interaction in the group is associated with secure behavior among the members with profound dependency on the directions and guidance of the leader. 

The storming process is associated with the conflicts that arise among team members in interaction in which the team members could adapt their beliefs, attitudes, and feelings to suit the organization’s requirements. Norming stage involves the development of promising relationships among the members alongside a sense of belonging for the team members. 

The performing stage of group interaction is associated with the development of individual and group competencies which leads team members to respond effectively to unprecedented circumstances while emphasizing orientation of tasks as well as people (Kane, 2013). The final stage of group interaction is detachment which signifies the completion of tasks and can be organized according to the preferences of the team members. In the case of Churchill Residential Care Home, it can be observed that there are three distinct departments that operate independently and the interactions among the groups involved in each department could be identified to be in the performing stage. 

Task Three Interview Notes

 

The impact of leadership on employee performance is a largely debated subject in the context of business management and the contextual references to different leadership styles explain the significance of leadership in delivering the right influence and effectiveness in the delivery of recruitment procedures. The leadership styles which could be implemented in the context of recruitment practices in health and social care settings include directive leadership, affiliative leadership, coaching leadership, participative leadership, and authoritative leadership styles. The directive leadership style involves coercing employees to accomplish task objectives with minimal concern for employee concerns or feedback (Mahajan, 2015). 

Authoritative leadership style is observed profoundly in organizations that aim at long-term gains and involve the alignment of employees to the vision and mission of an organization. According to Morley, Heraty & Michailova, Authoritative leaders are more likely to motivate employees through feedback and encouragement. Participative leadership style could be assumed as the approach of leaders to provide flexibility to employees for describing their issues alongside opportunities for involvement in decision making (Morley, Heraty & Michailova, 2016). 

Participative leaders also facilitate adequate opportunities for training and development to employees which assists them in improving their skills. The coaching leadership style is associated with the involvement of managers personally in the coaching and mentoring of the team members to accomplish the objectives of the organization. The effectiveness of participative leaders is dependent on the involvement and self-motivation of employees. In the context of the case of new recruitment at Churchill Residential Home, I was able to observe that a combination of participative and coaching leadership styles enabled me to deliver the functions of the recruitment process effectively.

Monitoring of an applicant in a recruitment and selection process

The monitoring of an applicant in a recruitment and selection process is also indicative of the development of working relationships among the staff employed at Churchill residential care home. As per Sauser Jr & Sims, the models which could be used for effective management of working relationships at the residential care home could comprise of emotional intelligence, role modeling, leadership versus management, organization structure, and management style. Management styles classified into consultative, democratic, and autocratic categories have

distinct impacts on the working relationships that leaders develop with employees (Sauser Jr & Sims, 2013). 

Consultative and democratic management styles reflect on the flexibility and freedom of employees to engage in the decision-making process while autocratic management style involves coercive action over employees. Therefore it is imperative that productive working relationships could be ensured only through the implementation of democratic and consultative management styles in a residential care home. Emotional intelligence is also accounted as a significant resource for managers to develop and manage professional relationships. As per Snell, Morris & Bohlander, the impact of emotional intelligence can be identified in the outcomes of effective emotional awareness of employees, emotional self-control, and empathy which assist managers to build promising relations with teams in health and social care settings. Role modeling could be assumed as a promising initiative to encourage new employees for adopting new behaviors according to the situation. The activities of the leader or mentor could be followed by team members thereby ensuring the development of a two-way relationship between leaders and employees (Snell, Morris & Bohlander, 2015). 

In the case of Churchill Residential Care Home, the approach utilized for managing work relationships could be observed in emotional intelligence and the application of consultative management style. The consultative management style enabled employees under probationary periods to express their issues alongside receiving feedback from the management regarding their performance in an amicable manner (Varma, 2013). 

Impact of the Management Approaches

The majority of professionals in health and social care settings are influenced by the impact of the management approaches. The management approaches could comprise of references to effective personal and clinical supervision, personal development, and effective mentorship as well as formal and informal training. These factors are assumed as a major motivation for employees to develop personal competencies. The necessity of lifelong learning is not only perceived for care assistants but also for the organization since it is reflective of the outcomes such as skill improvement required for delivering effective care services (Werner, Inkpen & Moffett, 2016). The impact of learning and constant development could improve the competitive advantage of the care assistants in the labor market. Furthermore, the association of training and development programs with financial benefits could also improve the opportunities to address business needs alongside personal development needs. 

Training courses provided by an organization could also be profound aspects of management that influence personal development and should be modified according to varying scenarios for improving the effectiveness of employees. From a personal perspective, the management aspects which influenced my personal development include leadership style and training programs provided at Churchill residential care home (Wilkinson, Dundon & Marchinton, 2013). The participative leadership style followed by my leader enabled confident and active interactions with my job responsibilities and tasks. The training programs accounted for developing my practical experience in the profession of care assistant thereby contributing to my own development.  

References

 

Aust, I., Brandl, J., Keegan, A. and Lensges, M., 2017. Tensions in Managing Human Resources. The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Paradox, p.413.

Cascio, W.F., 2013. Managing Human Resources . New York, NY: The McGraw Hills Companies.

Chang-Richards, Y., Wilkinson, S., Seville, E. and Brunsdon, D., 2015, July. A systems approach to managing human resources in disaster recovery projects. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Building Resilience, Newcastle, Australia (pp. 15-17).

Clardy, A.B., 2014. Managing Human Resources: Exercises, Experiments, and Applications. Psychology Press.

Coutinho, S. and Dehury, R.K., 2017. Managing Human Resources in Healthcare Sector: Challenges and Opportunities in India.

Gomez-Mejia, L., Balkin, D. and Cardy, R., 2013. Managing Human Resources: Pearson New International Edition. Pearson Higher Ed.

Gomez-Mejia, L.R., Balkin, D. and Cardy, R., 2015. Managing Human Resources Plus 2014 MyManagementLab with Pearson eText–Access Card Package.

Kane, B., 2013. Managing Human Resources. International Journal of Manpower.

Mahajan, J.P., 2015. Managing Human Resources. Vikas Publishing House.

Morley, M.J., Heraty, N. and Michailova, S. eds., 2016. Managing human resources in Central and Eastern Europe. Routledge.

Sauser Jr, W.I. and Sims, R.R. eds., 2013. Managing human resources for the millennial generation. IAP.

Snell, S.A., Morris, S. and Bohlander, G.W., 2015. Managing human resources. Nelson Education.

Varma, A., 2013. Managing human resources in Asia-Pacific (Vol. 20). Routledge.

Werner, S., Inkpen, A. and Moffett, M.H., 2016. Managing Human Resources in the Oil & Gas Industry. PennWell Books.

Wilkinson, A., Dundon, T. and Marchinton, M., 2013. Managing Human Resources.