HRM textbook

614 PART 5 EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
facilitates the performance management process by enabling managers to formalize the
employee s goals and then assess progress toward meeting those goals.
The eAppraisal system from Halogen Software (http://www.halogensoftware.
com/products/halogen-eappraisal/) is another example. 27
Similarly, lack of easy access to salary surveys once made it difficult and timeconsuming
for smaller businesses to fine-tune their pay scales. Today, sites like
onetonline.org facilitate the job analysis process and www.salary.com makes it easy
to determine local pay rates.
Employment Safety and Health
Safety is an important issue for small employers. One European study found that the
majority of all the workplace accidents and serious workplace accidents occur in firms
with less than 50 employees. 28 OHSA provides several free services for small employers.
OSHA CONSULTATION 29 OSHA provides free on-site safety and health services
for small businesses. Employers can contact their nearest OSHA area office to speak
to the compliance assistance specialist. (Employers can also check out the OSHA
Training Institute training available in Chicago or in one of about 20 education
centers located at U.S. colleges and universities.)
The employer triggers the process by requesting a voluntary consultation. There
is an opening conference with a safety expert, a walk-through, and a closing conference
at which the employer and safety expert discuss the latter s observations. The
consultant then provides a detailed report explaining the findings. The employer s
only obligation is to commit to correcting serious hazards in a timely manner.
OSHA SHARP The OSHA Sharp program is a certification process. OSHA certifies
that small employers have achieved commendable levels of safety awareness. 30
Employers request a consultation and visit, and undergo a complete hazard identification
survey. The employer agrees to correct identified hazards, and to implement
and maintain a safety and health management system. OSHAs on-site project
manager may recommend that OSHA exempt the Sharp employer for 2 years from
scheduled inspections.
3 List five ways entrepreneurs
can use their small size to
improve their HR processes.
LEVERAGING SMALL SIZE: FAMILIARITY, FLEXIBILITY,
FAIRNESS, INFORMALITY, AND HRM
Because small businesses need to capitalize on their strengths, they should capitalize on
their smallness when dealing with employees. Smallness should translate into personal
familiarity with each employee s strengths, needs, and family situation. And it should
translate into being flexible and informal in the human resource management policies
and practices the company follows. 31
Simple, Informal Employee Selection Procedures
Just as small business managers can use Internet-based recruitment and selection
tools, 32 many low-tech tools are also available. We ll look at two, streamlined interviews,
and work-sampling tests.
A Streamlined Interviewing Process
The small business owner, pressed for time, may use the following practical, streamlined
employment interview process. 33
PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEW Even a busy entrepreneur can quickly
summarize the kind of person who would be best for the job. One way to do so is to focus