Human resource management practices at China Telecom

1. Introduction

1.1 Introduction to High-Performance Work System

High performance work system is to achieve organization’s goals by fully using organization’s resources. It supports the right combination of technology, people and organization structure (Noe, 2014). Reasonable arranging human resource management practices is one of the mainly elements of creating the high performance work system. Three major practices include recruiting, selection and training and development.

1.2 Introduction of China telecom

China Telecom Corporation Limited was established in 2002. The main business is focus on the service areas. At the end of 2003, it owns six affiliated companies that ware acquired by about RMB 46 million. Then it acquired 10 and 3 telecom companies, respectively, in 2004 and 2007. During this period, it provides voice service, data service and mobile service. In 2009, the company obtains a license about 3G mobile and provides this service in April of the same year. In 2013, the company obtains licenses to operate the 4G digital cellular mobile service.

2. Recruiting – Account Executive

2.1 Three Parts of Recruiting

In the first pact is called personnel policy provides the standards of implementing human resource management. Government provides now labor laws in 1995 and it impacts personnel policy about recruitment (Dickie). The main personnel policy in China telecom Company is internal and external recruiting. It helps the company to decide vacancy characteristics about account executive. Internal recruiting focuses on employees who work in the company. It chooses the qualify employees by analyzing and assessing the performance of junior employees. When the company never chooses reasonable candidates inside the company, external recruiting is a right policy. Enough potential employees outside the company are chosen.

Then the company determines right recruitment sources before analyzing the applicant characteristics. Two main sources are job posting and electronic recruiting. According to job posting, the company put recruitment information about account executive on corporate intranets, such as the time of recruiting. It only focuses on the internal staffs in the company. Furthermore, the company recruits new employment by electronic recruiting, such as online recruitment. The company put the network advertisement on the website commonly used, such as Sohu.com, Sina.com.cn and other website. It focuses on people in the global level.

At last, the company chooses three or four recruiters with professional knowledge and skills. They have more than 5-year work experience in relevant areas. When they recruit the candidates, they pay attention to the candidate’s skills and knowledge. At the same time, they give some information about account executive. Then they provide some positive information about account executive to attract the candidate to apply for the job. For example, as an account executive, the salary is about RMB 2000 per month. The company helps employees to pay parts of insurance and the company records the significant information and feedback timely (Noe, 2014).

2.2 The Impact of Recruiting

Using internal recruiting increases the employees’ satisfaction and reduces employee turnover (Croteau, 2014). It is cheaper than recruiting outside the company. According to external recruiting, the company solves the problems about staff shortage. The company recruits the professional with plentiful experience. It increase work efficiency.

On the other hand, job posting give qualified employees who work in the company opportunities to apply to become account executives. It spends less time and costs than then other sources. Using electronic recruitment attracts many candidates from any regional or countries. It expends the scope of recruitment and offers more choice about account executive (Nell, 2010).

Furthermore, the traits and behaviors of recruiter impact the result of recruiting employees. Some recruiters pay attention to the theoretical basis, but other may pay attention to the practical ability, such as enough work experience. Reasonable recruiting increases the quality of employees. It improves work performance indirectly.

3. Selection – Account Executive

3.1 The Five Stages of Selection

There are five steps in the process of selecting account executive in the follow (Noe, 2014). The company follows this process to pick up their qualified candidates. At the beginning of selection, the company needs to analyze application forms of candidates. With job application form, the candidates provide their full name, address, telephone. If the candidates work before in other company, they need to provide company’s name, the year of work, name of employer, position held and reason for leaving. Then educational background is necessary for candidates to writes. They only write the information about high school, college and above. Also, they must provide graduation certificates. If they have some award-winning experience in the study period, they can copy the certificates and put them after the application forms, such as IELTS certificates in two years, Interpretation certificates and other certificates. At last, it provides three or four references’ name, such as their superiors’ name and their colleague’s name (Noe, 2014).

After analyzing job resumes, the company provides written tests and answering phone call. The written tests provide 100 questions about related laws, management and the company. For example, how to respond the customer complaint? How account executives increase the employees’ satisfaction? How to deal with the conflict between employees? The other tests called answering phone call. The company gives a situation and candidates need to give the reasonable measures. For example, if a customer said the company spends a long time to deal with problem and the customer was anger, how the account executive answer the customer by phone call. After the candidates finish the text, they wait for the company’s notice.

Then structured interview is used to examine the candidates’ organizing ability and communicative competence. At first, the company provides a total why do you agree team work or not. Then the candidates divide into two groups – A and B. A group agrees and B apposed to this view. The company gives them one hour to debate each other. During this period, everyone in two groups must engage in the debate. They must give some reasonable evidences to support their view. After the debate, the company gives the final score by score of team and person. The score of team is focus on the task assignment and achievement. It reflects the organizing ability. Then the company gives the score of everyone based on the condition of debate. For example, the candidate provides enough reasonable evidences or not. The expression is clarity and smoothly or not. These two points are the mainly individual scoring criteria.

After determining the qualified candidates, the company must to check background information about candidates. This process spends about two or four weeks to know information about candidates from person references provided. If the person points out the candidates has some negative behavior, such as using violence in the workplace (Noe, 2014). The candidate is never recruited. At the same time, the company makes sure the truth of the information on the applicant forms by checking. If the information on the applicant forms is truth and the candidates have never bad action like criminal behavior, the candidates are qualified.

At last, the company determines the final qualified candidates who will work in the company. During the process of selection, it is based on multiple-hurdle model. The company deletes the unqualified candidates in each step. For example, the company chooses the candidates with high scores on the process of interview and test (Noe, 2014).

3.2 The Impact of Reasonable Selection

In order to increase competitive advantage and work performance, the company must select the high quality employees. The process of reasonable selection helps the company to select the employees who are best for accounts executives. These employees the company selected have enough skills to complete tasks. It increases the efficiency and quality of completing tasks. It provides contribution to create the high-performance system indirectly.

4. Training and Development – Account Executive

4.1 The Process of Training

Learning management system (LMS) helps the company to improve the efficiency of training process. The company use LMS to identify need, make plans and analyze the training outcomes (Noe, 2014).

At first, the company needs to conduct needs assessment. The company belongs to the service industries. It wants to provides high quality service and expand its market. The company needs to know which employees with lack of knowledge and poor work experience. Then the company arranges training class for them. The tasks of training help employees to learn how to record the information through computer and know how to deal with the relationship between customers and the company.

Before training, the company needs to do some preparation work. At first, the company makes sure employees have basic cognitive ability, such as reading and writing skills, speaking with English clearly, using basic computer technology and the ability to deal with problem in the job. Also, it is necessary for the company to provide a positive work environment. The company prepares enough training material and gives employees one or three months to practice and training. At the some time, the company gives employees praise and encourage in order to high efficiency and quality of training (Noe, 2014).

Then the company needs to plan the reasonable program of training. The company arranges the training class from employees who want to training. It shows employees with high performance are chosen at first. Training is to increase employees’ work skills. Complete this objective, the company two training method, such as computer-based training and on-the-job training. During the computer-based training, the company gives trainees one month. It takes less time and money to learn online. It is convenience of trainees who lives far from the company. On-the-job training shows the company gives trainees one month to practice with a mentor. If trainees have some problems, they can ask the mentor for help.

Training program implements based on the mainly five principles of learning. The first point is that skills employees learned in training are work-related. These skills can help them finish the work better. It helps trainees to know how to implement o their job and gather experience in the working. Then the company gives trainees some opportunities to understand what they learned clearly by the internship. Also, it is easy for trainees to remember and understand the content by implementing high quality training planning. At last, the materials the company provided must be clear and easy to reading

The last step is to evaluate the result of training. The company provides the training relate to their current job, they need to analyze the skills that are used in job or not. If these skills trainees learned increase the quality and efficiency of completing their job, it shows the training has a great success. If not, company need to analyze the shortcoming of training and adjust.

4.2 The Process of Development

The company usually uses career management system to plan the development programs for staff. According the analysis of the weaknesses and strengths, the company needs to evaluate whether the employee has an opportunity to become an account manager. Next, the company use performance appraisals to analyze the success factors of high performance. If the company provides the opportunities of promotion, the company plans a long-term program about employee development. Also, the company points out employees are becoming an account manager within the next four years. The employees need to use communicate competence to deal with the conflict between company and customers. They must maintain the company’s image. At last, the employees plan for an account manager. They increase the management capacity, organizational capabilities and the ability to deal with the problem. They determine to reach the goals in two or three years.

4.3 The Impact of Training and Development

Training and Development encourage employees to complete the work better and faster by increasing job satisfaction (Dennis). The employee turnover reduces. The company helps employees to arrange and manage their time. Next, employees learn much knowledge and skills about the job clearly. Training and development help them to know detail information about the job. Furthermore it helps employees to add value in the company.

5. Conclusion

Recruiting in the company attracts many patient talents. It expends the selection of talents who are suitable for account executive. According to selection, the company knows detail information about employees such as behavior, skills and ability. Then the company arranges the employees by training and development. These three practices maintain the normal operating of the company in the next five years.

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