Hcl Project

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & DESIGN 1. 1 RESEARCH STATEMENT & OBJECTIVE The objective of my project is to study the effectiveness of process of recruitment & selection as it helps to combat the Attrition which is the main problem of any company now a days. The BPO industry having one of the most high attrition rate amongst all the industries. Therefore the top BPO companies including the International BPO firms face a stiff task in hiring new people. For this purpose the services of the consultants are outsourced.In the light of this situation it would be very meaningful to learn and understand the attitude and behavior of the job seekers towards the telecalling department of the consultants who work exclusively for their international BPO clients. Objectives: ?To understand the attitude and behavior of the jobseekers towards telecalling. ?To understand the services provided by the consultancy- Panache Solutions to their clients in HR process ?To understand the benc hmarking process for recruitment in international BPO and understanding how HCL ( a client of Panache Solutions) follows the benchmarking . 2 HYPOTHESES: 1)For the first objective, the hypothesis is as follows: Ho : job seekers have a positive attitude towards telecalling interviews. H1: jobseekers do not have a positive attitude towards telecalling interviews. 2)For second objective, the hypothesis is as follows: H0 : the services provided by the consultancy-Panache Solutions to their clients in HR process is satisfactory. H1 : the services provided by the consultancy-‘Panache Solutions’ to their clients is satisfactory. 3)For third objective, the hypothesis is as follows:H0: The HC -BPO follows the benchmarking recruitment process as set for an international BPO. H1: The HCL-BPO does not fllow the benchmarking recruitment as set for an international BPO. The purpose of this project is to study the recruitment & selection practices at HCL-BPO. This study was divided f urther into: a)Judging people through telephonic interview. b) Conducting Group Discussions to check the competencies of candidates. c) Creating a bridge of information between the candidates & respective HR Managers. 1. 3 SCOPE OF STUDY The scope of this study is to observe the recruitment and selection techniques adopted by the company.Apart from getting an idea of the techniques and methods in the recruitment procedures, a close look will be taken at the insight of corporate culture prevailing in the organization. This would not only help to be familiar with the corporate environment but it would also enable to get a close look at the various levels authorities responsibility relationship prevailing in the organization. The scope of project includes: 1. Study of importance of recruitment and selection process of BPO industry in India 2. Study of recruitment and selection practices at HCL Technologies. 1. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research is defined as human activity based on intellec tual application in the investigation of matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering interpreting, and development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe. SAMPLE SIZE AND DESIGN: The sample size is 75 and the technique used for sampling was conveinient Mode of research used in this project is primary as well as secondary research and the research is exploratory and descriptive in nature.DATA COLLECTION: Data were collected from the following sources :- Secondary data Primary data -Websites -Newspapers -Various forms of HCLcompany -Research articles/projects -Job posting form of Naukri. com -books DATA TECHNIQUES USED Bar Graphs, Line Graphs and Pie charts are used as analysis techniques. 1. 5 LITERATURE REVIEW â€Å"Recruitment and selection process† Process of attracting the best qualified individuals to apply for a given job. â€Å"Recruitment is the process of searching the candidates for employment and stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization.Recruitment is the activity that links the employers and the job seekers. It is a process of finding and attracting capable applicants for employment. The process begins when new recruits are sought and ends when their applications are submitted. The result is a pool of applications from which new employees are selected. In short, process of attracting the best qualified individuals to apply for a given job. It is the process to discover sources of manpower to meet the requirements of staffing, schedule and to employ effective. Recruitment is the premier major steps in the selection process in the organization.It is an activity directed to obtain appropriate human resources whose qualifications and skills match function of the relevant posts in the organization. Its importance cannot be over-emphasized and also be best described as the ‘heart’ of the organization. The proc ess of recruitment does not stop when it commences, it is a dynamic activity. The purpose of it is to provide an organization with a pool of qualified candidates. Its specific purposes are as follows: 1. To assist augmentation of the success rate of selection process by reducing the numbers of obviously under-qualified and over-qualified applicants. . To increase organizational and individual effectiveness in the short and long term plans Recruitment is essential for effective human resource management. It is the heart of whole HR system in the organization. The effectiveness of many other human recourse activities, such as selection, training depends largely on the quality of new employees attracted through the recruitment process. Policies should always be reviewed as there are affected by the changing environment. Management should get specific training on the process of recruitment to increase their awareness on the dangers of wrong placements.Recruitment methods are wide and va ried, it is important that the job is described correctly and that any personal specifications are stated. Job recruitment method can be through job centers, employment agencies/consultants, and /national newspapers. It is important that the correct media is chosen to ensure an appropriate response to advertise post. Three Main Stages in Recruitment 1. Identify and defines the requirements, job description, job specification. 2. Attract potential employees. 3. Select and employ the appropriate people from the job applicants. Factors affecting recruitment process . The size of the organization. 2. The employment conditions in the community where the organization is located. 3. The effects of the past recruiting efforts that shows the organization’s ability to locate and keep good performing people. 4. Working condition and salary and benefits packages offered by the organization which may influence turnover and necessities future recruiting. a)The rate of growth of the organiz ation b)The level of seasonality of operation and future expansion and production programmes. c)Cultures, economic and legal factors. RECRUITMENT PROCESSRecruitment Preparation The organization has no formal method of request for vacant or new positions. An informal request can be vague and misleading and may not supply the HR manager with the job description and person specification required to establish the selection criteria. This is because of a reliance on the effective communication skills of both the persons giving the verbal request and the HR manager receiving the request. Both parties need to be effective in passing on and receiving correct information. The request must set out the exact requirements of the new or vacant position. Job or person pecifications should spell out the requirements an individual needs to successfully perform the job as per the job description (Hite & Johnston 1998). The job description should highlight specific duties and responsibilities. The im plication of not receiving clear direction on what is required for the position is that the selection criteria will not be valid. Consequently, the recruitment process can break down, as the absence of valid selection criteria can affect the decision- making at a later stage (Compton & Nankervis 1998). This means that a simple miscommunication can result in the incorrect matching of an applicant to a job.The attitude and personal characteristics of the individual may not fit the specifications required. This can result in low motivation of the individual and can, therefore, lead to unsatisfactory performance (Mitchell, Dowling, Kabanoff & Larson 1988), thus requiring the individual to be replaced and causing unnecessary costs. Ensuring that the job description and person specification are correctly portrayed and, therefore, giving valid selection criteria, can avoid unnecessary costs. 2. 2 Employment Agencies According to the HR manager, the organisation has a relatively high turnov er in low skilled employees.The market demand for low skilled employees in the construction industry can increase and decrease rapidly due to the external environment (Smith, P. J. 2001, pers. comm. 13 March). There are several reasons for this volatility. As the economic climate becomes more unstable, consumer confidence decreases which causes a ‘tightening of the belt’ for spending. This decrease in spending affects the construction industry. Futhermore, inclement weather causes the flow of work to be unpredictable and, therefore, insecure. Both of these factors can contribute to the high turnover of employees.Satisfaction has a negative relationship with turnover (Robbins, Millett, Cacioppe & Waters-Marsh 1998). As employees begin to feel insecure, levels of job satisfaction can decrease and levels of absenteeism can increase. Productivity may also be affected because continually having new employees start work can disrupt the flow and decrease output. The implicatio ns of a high turnover of employees is that it can be a very costly process, as each time a vacant position is required to be filled, the organization has to go through the whole recruitment and selection process again.As discussed in Compton and Nankervis (1998), the costs of the extra salaries of the persons involved in the recruitment process, along with the costs associated with loss of production and absenteeism can be compared to the cost of an employment agency. The use of an employment agency can be convenient for the organization. The position can be filled at short notice using temporary employees with little effort from the organization (Dessler 1991). The use of temporary employees for low skilled positions allows flexibility to go with the ups and downs of the industry, with minimal disruption to the workflow.Vacancy Promotion The organization uses the local suburban paper as a means for promoting the vacant positions for high skilled employees. As the purpose of recruit ment and selection is to match the right applicants with the right jobs, the organisation needs to ensure that the true target market is reached. That is, that the advertisement reaches professional and managerial applicants. The implication of using the local paper for advertising vacancies is that you may not reach the desired target market of professional applicants.This means that the organisation may not attract an adequate number of suitable and qualified applicants for the position, which reduces the chances of matching the right applicant to the right job (Stone 1998). If the organization cannot match suitable applicants to jobs, then the whole recruitment process is affected. Employing the wrong person for the job creates additional cost, low job satisfaction, decreased productivity, and increased turnover (Robbins et al. 1998).As discussed in Stone (1998), the most popular method used to attract managerial and professional employees is to advertise in state or metropolitan daily newspapers. Recruitment & Selection Clarke SELECTION PROCESS Internal vs. External Recruitment The organisation does not have a written policy on internal recruitment. There is no procedure in place to facilitate the filling of positions through internal sources. One of the implications of not advertising internally within the organisation is that morale may be damaged which may contribute to an increase in absenteeism and a decrease in job satisfaction (Robbins et al. 998). Another implication is that the most suitable applicant for the job may already be employed with the organisation, but because the position is not advertised internally that employee will not have the opportunity to put their case forward. Internal advertising can‘†¦ help identify people with talent who otherwise would not be known personally to management’ (Compton & Nankervis 1998, p. 71). Internal advertising and job posting can help facilitate the promotion of employees who are aptly qualified. Without the advertising of positions internally, it is difficult to develop succession planning (Walker 1992). . Interview Structure The organisation uses unstructured and semi-structured interviews. A disadvantage of using unstructured interviews is that the same questions may not be asked across each of the candidates being interviewed. This affects the validity of the interview, since decisions may be made based on different sets of criteria (Dessler 1991). Stone (1998, p. 626), states that ‘the most valid interviews use a consistent structure†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Interaction between the candidate and the interviewer may differ from one interview to the next, therefore lacking consistency and reliability (Stone 1998).Also, the skills of the interviewer may affect the responses of the applicant. Structured interviews for professional or high skilled applicants can help ensure that decisions are made based on the answers to the same set of questions, thus comparing the same set of criteria (Stone 1998). Structured interviews are a vehicle used to establish a framework for decision-making. According to Dessler (1991), by using preset or predetermined questions, the interviewer can reduce the tendency to show bias to unfavourable information and, therefore, remain objective. 2. Interview EnvironmentThe room used to interview applicants is important as it contributes to the image of the organisation (Stone 1998). The interview room for this organisation is the boardroom. It is located immediately beside the main office and is set up as a traditional boardroom with a long table and chairs. The use of the boardroom table for interviewing may cause the applicant to become uncomfortable, as the seating arrangements may not facilitate a relaxed environment. According to Compton and Nankervis (1998, p. 184), the use of ‘†¦ a desk between an interviewer and candidate can act as a psychological barrier’.This environment may cause the appli cant to become nervous and the quality of responses received may be affected. Consequently, responses that create a false idea or impression of the applicant may be considered as correct by the interviewer. This might cause the incorrect applicant to be selected, despite the information being false, which results in an unsuitable applicant being matched with a job. It may also result in an applicant missing out on a position because they understated their abilities due to feeling uncomfortable and nervous in the interview.By arranging the seating at equal levels, a positive environment is created both physically and emotionally (Braun 1995). The applicant must be given every opportunity to perform well in an interview environment. ATTRITION: Attrition: â€Å"A reduction in the number of employees through retirement, resignation or death† Attrition rate: â€Å"the rate of shrinkage in size or number† Attrition rate is the rate at which the number of people working in a company reduces. Higher is the attrition rate in a company, greater is the loss to the productivity of the company.So in order to avoid this loss, a company has to fight the attrition rate. Attrition has now a day become a problem for almost every company. This is because of the Globalization that people have now moved towards fear free jobs that is no bonds and no contracts but still great opportunity to work in the competitive era. But this system has encouraged the attrition rate to a greater extent. People have started moving from one job to another for various reasons: 1) Better Opportunity 2) Increment in Salary 3) To work in the Domain of his/her Interest 4) Brand Name 5) To work in a different cultureIn the best of worlds, employees would love their jobs, like their coworkers, work hard for their employers, get paid well for their work, have ample chances for advancement, and flexible schedules so they could attend to personal or family needs when necessary and never leave. But then there's the real world. And in the real world, employees, do leave, either because they want more money, hate the working conditions, hate their coworkers, want a change, or because their spouse gets a dream job in another state. So, what does that entire turnover cost? And what employees are likely to have the highest turnover?Who is likely to stay the longest? To fight the attrition, HCL BPO outsources the manpower & staffing. HCL has many vendors and through them it outsources its manpower and staffing. This is one way of cost cutting also as the employees who are outsourced from such consultancies are kept on off role i. e. the company don’t pay them, such employees are paid through the third party (consultancy). The second step that HCL-BPO takes in order to combat the attrition rate is that it always keep extra shortlisted candidates with it so that whenever there is an immediate requirement for the candidates, the company do not face any problem.BENEFITS OF AT TRITION: Attrition is not bad always if it happens in a controlled manner. Some attrition is always desirable and necessary for organizational growth and development. The only concern is how organizations differentiate â€Å"good attrition† from â€Å"bad attrition†. The term â€Å"healthy attrition† or â€Å"good attrition† signifies the importance of less productive employees voluntarily leaving the organization. This means if the ones who have left fall in the category of low performers, the attrition is considered being healthy.Attrition rates are considered to be beneficial in some ways: †¢If all employees stay in the same organization for a very long time, most of them will be at the top of their pay scale which will result in excessive manpower costs. †¢When certain employees leave, whose continuation of service would have negatively impacted productivity and profitability of the company, the company is benefited. †¢New employees bri ng new ideas, approaches, abilities & attitudes which can keep the organization from becoming stagnant. †¢There are also some people in the organization who have negative and demoralizing influence on the work culture and team spirit. This, in the long-term, is detrimental to organizational health. Desirable attrition also includes termination of employees with whom the organization does not want to continue a relationship. It benefits the organization in the following ways: †¢It removes bottleneck in the progress of the company †¢It creates space for the entry of new talents †¢It assists in evolving high performance teams There are people who are not able to balance their performance as per expectations, lack potential for future or need disciplinary action.Furthermore, as the rewards are limited, business pressures do not allow the management to over-reward the performers, but when undesirable employees leave the company, the good employees can be given the sha re that they deserve. Some companies believe attrition in any form is bad for an organization for it means that a wrong choice was made at the beginning while recruiting. Even good attrition indicates loss as recruitment is a time consuming and costly affair. The only positive point is that the realization has initiated action that will lead to cutting loss.The organisation does not have a written policy on internal recruitment. There is no procedure in place to facilitate the filling of positions through internal sources. One of the implications of not advertising internally within the organisation is that morale may be damaged which may contribute to an increase in absenteeism and a decrease in job satisfaction (Robbins et al. 1998). Another implication is that the most suitable applicant for the job may already be employed with the organisation, but because the position is not advertised internally that employee will not have the opportunity to put their case forward.Internal adv ertising can‘†¦ help identify people with talent who otherwise would not be known personally to management’ (Compton & Nankervis 1998, p. 71). Internal advertising and job posting can help facilitate the promotion of employees who are aptly qualified. Without the advertising of positions internally, it is difficult to develop succession planning (Walker 1992). 1. 6 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH 1. Small sample size 2. Confidentiality management of the company acted as hindrance in the data collection. 3.Survey conducted only on employees of HCL and candidates from Delhi NCR region. Chapter 2 Overview of the Company 2. 1 Introduction of HCL Enterprise HCL Type Private IndustryIT Services FoundedAugust 11, 1976 Founder(s)Shiv Nadar HeadquartersNoida, India Area servedWorldwide Key peopleShiv Nadar (Chairman & CSO) Revenue US$ 5. 9 billion (2011) Employees80,000 (2011) Subsidiaries HCL Technologies HCL Infosystems WebsiteHCL. in HCL[Hindustan computer limited] is a glob al Electronics, Computing and IT company based in Noida, India. The company comprises two publicly listed ompanies,HCL technologies and HCL Info systems. HCL was focused on addressing the IT hardware market in India for the first two decades of its existence with some activity in the global market. On termination of the joint venture with HP in 1996, HCL became an enterprise which comprises HCL Technologies (to address the global IT services market) and HCL Infosystems . HCL has since then operated as a holding company. 2. 2 History of HCL In 1976, Shiv Nadar, Arjun Malhotra, Subhash Arora, Badam Kishore Kumar, T. V Bharadwaj,& Arun Kumar H started Microcomp Limited.The focus of the company was design and manufacturing of scientific calculators. The venture provided its founders money to start a company that focused on manufacturing computers. The company name â€Å"HCL† used to stand for â€Å"Hindustan Computers Limited† but now HCL is the only one name that the comp any goes by. HCL received support from the Uttar Pradesh government to setup manufacturing in [[Noida] In 1981, NIIT was started to cater to the increasing demand in computer education. By early 2000s, Nadar divested his stake in this venture.HCL Business Services, a division of HCL Technologies Limited started its venture early in 2001 and is now a dominant player in the BPO field drawing revenue of USD 214 million with over 11,500 professionals operating out 21 delivery centres across India, UK and USA. Transformation and innovation is core to HCL Business Services, and the company has evolved from a traditional BPO to the Next Generation BPO. The following are the benchmarks to be followed in the current recruitment and selection practices as stated in ‘A National Survey of Fortune 1000 Firms ’. Order of Major Recruitment and Rank SelectionTechniques Benchmark to be followed for recruitment and selection process HCL followed Resume? Application blanks? Reference chec ks? Newspaper/Magazines ads? Company websites? Online job board? Skills testing? Biodata? Personality testing? Background checks? Online pre-employment tests? Jobs fairs? Referral from current employees? Jobs service centers? Medical testing? 2. 3 FUNCTIONING OF THE CONSULTANCY- ‘PANACHE SOLUTIONS’ At ‘Panache Solutions’, they not only provide recruitment consultancy services to their clients but also give the applicants a perfect platform to get their dream jobs.They can help their clients to get the suitable candidates, cultivate them and retain them. Their comprehensive recruitment and staffing solutions as HR consultant ensure the delivery of profitable propositions for workforce requirements. .They have adopted the international practices and procedures that are designed to attract and hire the best talent available in the market; thereby offering the best employee recruitment. They provide their client companies with not only a set of candidates, but also discussion on best-fit market availability, comparative benchmarking and a comfort knowing.Our online recruitment solutions are the best in the market today. The Recruitment Process can be categorized into three phases, namely: – †¢Planning – Structure, Focus, Identity, Prepare †¢Implementation – Contact, Motivate, Evaluate †¢Closure – Select, Offer, Candidate joining recruitment agencies – Aim Plus At ‘Panache Solutions’ a carefully structured recruitment and selection process is followed, which starts right from understanding the clients' needs and functions all the way to follow-ups with both clients and candidates post recruitment.A brief description of the different stages involved in the recruitment process is given below: – Planning In the planning stage, it evaluates the needs and requirements of our clients to determine the required set of skills, understand organisational behaviour and relationships . This forms an integral part of our customer-focused recruitment services. Working as a cohesive team with our client, we identify the required experience and other characteristics, which are necessary for the successful candidate. It selects those candidates, who fit in well with the company's plan.In order to ensure the best suitable candidate, it gives prime consideration to the company's existing business activities, business plans, work-culture, structures, systems and future plans. We concentrate on the job description, its key result areas, opportunities, career implications, location, salary and benefits. The initial planning enable us in identifying the needs of both the company as well as the candidates, which further leads us to deciding on a search strategy to target on specific skills, education, personality and experience.It is because of this comprehensive and strategic planning, we are today one of the most sought after recruitment agencies in the market. Mapping Ex ercise Being an efficient recruitment agency, during the mapping exercise, it performs industry specific desk and field research on companies and relevant people so as to identify the key competencies. It includes job title, principal accountabilities, key result areas (KRAs), authority to be infested, external/internal contacts, reporting procedures and supervisory relationships, working conditions / environment, job specifications, compensation package, location and other necessary details.Amongst several recruitment consultancies, ‘Panache Solutions’ is one of the most trusted staffing provider. Long List Generation The Field research is one of the primary aspects of effective recruitment services. It provides a long list of qualified candidates, who are worth pursuing. After this process, it starts the search to identify the suitable candidates either from job portals or by advertising for the position. Implementation The implementation stage consists of several pha ses including, preliminary interviews, short-listing of candidates, informal reference checks, client interviews and formal reference checks.Preliminary Interviews For preliminary interviews, it selects the potential candidates on the basis of prior work experience, qualifications, strength and weaknesses and the ability of candidate to fit into the work-culture and ethics of the client organization. The potential candidates are contacted and interviewed, to find out their interest and suitability. It deploys the necessary expert assessment after the screening of candidates by drawing up competency profiles through the most innovative proprietary platform. Short List Generation The preliminary interviews result out in short-listing of highly qualified candidates.Confidential reports are generally prepared and submitted in writing to our clients on four or five individuals, who fulfill the specified position closely. Informal reference Checks It conducts informal reference check to v erify the listed achievements and last few work experiences of the short-listed candidates. After this phase, a list is handed to the client with our recommendations and assessments. Client Interviews After the informal reference checks, it schedules a meeting between the short-listed candidates and the client’s HR managers.Formal Reference Checks After client interviews, it conducts a formal reference check of the selected candidates. It contacts individuals / companies that are capable of providing details of the candidate's qualifications, work ethics and other relevant feed back. The comments made by these references are then reviewed with the client. Closure The closure stage consists of negotiation & offer, Follow-up / progress and handholding. Negotiation & Offer It actively participates in the negotiation process including compensation.Both the client and the candidates draw on our in-depth knowledge of market compensation and benefits in order to discuss and plan a c ompetitive and equitable package. Follow Up / Progress Understanding the importance of follow up / progress phase, it keeps in touch with the candidate until the time he / she joins the company. Handholding After the successful candidate joining for a specified job, it keeps an ongoing dialogue with both the candidate and the client. This handholding process ensures a smooth integration into the organisation and accomplishment of targets and performance goals. CHAPTER: 3DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION & RESULT I was assigned the work of hiring for the International inbound voice process for the Customer . Care Profile and the Trouble Shooting Profile which included 3 processes. 1. BT-PROCESS (customer care profile)–U. S. Based It’s a simple customer care service of British Telecom. 2. PHOENIX PROCESS(trouble shooting profile) –U. K. Based This process in which the candidate will have to receive calls from UK people and will have to sort out their technical queries related to ISP 3. MACY PROCESS(customer care profile)-U. S. Based It is basically a collection process and comes under the customer care profile.The hiring included two ways: ?TELECALLING For telecalling , the employees including me used to get 2-3 data sheets which contained the details of the candidates like name, contact number etc. The data were collected from the job portals such as â€Å"Naukri. Com†. One mobile was given to each individual and we had to perform telecalling process. First of all the company’s brief was given to the candidates contacted and then about the profile for which the hiring was done. And after that the candidates were told about the complete process of selection and were called for face to face interview.The number of candidates that came the next day into the consultancy for their face to face interview were between 20-30 WALK-Ins at â€Å"PANACHE SOLUTIONS†. For Walk-Ins I was assigned with tasks like shortlisting the resumes from the job portal-Naukri. com, sending mails and messages to the shortlisted resumes regarding the interview. When the candidates came for their interview, I made sure that they marked their entry, and also guided them for the interview. The selection process for both types of Hiring was the same & was completed in two rounds HR Round: In the interview, first of all the HR manager gave a wordlist to read it.It consisted of the following: pacific pleasure organisation measure dramatization treasure mission shoe section vision apologize leopard she says jeopardy laser she shell leisure also they used to ask Questions like 1. Introduce yourself? 2. In which year did you complete your 10th Board Exams? 3. Tell me something about your School daily routine? 4. How did you celebrate your last birthday? 5.What is your mother’s daily routine? 6. Suppose that one day morning you woke up in the morning and found yourself on an island, continue what happened after that? 7. Suppose one day you received a call from the Sony Channel and you were invited to meet your favorite celebrity, what happened after that? These questions were asked to judge their – Communication Skills(grammer, pronunciation & fluency) – Listening Skill – Assertiveness – Out of box thinking/Creativity Operation Round: The Technical Interview is taken by the technical heads of different departments –.In the technical interview technical questions are asked. In the second part of my project I was given the work which comes under HR operations. HR operations include all those work which operates under HR Department. Some of the activities are: ? Preparing the Hiring Sheets. ?Keeping the record of time sheets. ?Keeping the record of candidates who joined the company. For the data collection, I recorded the responses of the telecalling in a note book. The second set of data was evaluation of the candidates who turned up for the interview based on given parameters. Another set of data came from the perception of the HR managers who visited the consultancy for conducting the interviews. Details of the data is given below. Data analysis regarding perception of BPOs among candidates. Number of candidateResponses 50Not interested in BPO 75Interested 20Lengthy working hours 56Graveyard shifts 29Low salary 20Low welfare amenities Data analysis of parameters for recruitment Almost 250 candidates were contacted in the period of two months for the job opening in HCL BPO regarding the international inbound voice process for the designation of Senior Executive Officer/Technical Support Officer.The following parameters were used to evaluate the competencies of the candidates: Name: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. SKILLSRANKING 1. Communication skill12345 Native Tongue Command over grammer Voice quality Fluency Pronunciation 2. Personality 3. Knowledge 4. Attitude 5. Creativity/out of box thinking 6. Confidence They were ranked from 1 to 5. 1. Poor 2. Average 3. Good 4. Very good 5. Excellent DATA ANALYSIS Personality No. of candidates Poor15 Average37 Good11 Very good4 Excellent8 Majority of the candidates were found to have average personality (i. e. 37 out of 75) while only 4 were marked as very good and 8 as excellent.Knowledge No. of candidate Poor10 Average10 Good29 Very good6 Excellent20 29 candidates were judged to have good knowledge while only 6 had very good knowledge in the technical field. AttitudeNo: of candidates Poor9 Average33 Good25 Very good12 Excellent6 Most of the candidates (i. e. 33 out of 75) had average attitude while only 6 had excellent attitude towards the job. CreativityNo: of candidates Poor7 Average19 Good22 Very good15 excellent12 22 candidates were given the remark of having good creativity and only 7 had poor creativity. ConfidenceNo. of candidates Poor29 Average20 Good12 Very good6 excellent8Only 8 candidates were ranked as having excellent confidence while majority lacked confidence in themselves. CommunicationNo. of candidates Poor30 Average26 Good8 Very good5 excellent6 The communication skills of 30 candidates were found poor and most of them belonged to correspondence course and only 6 were found excellent communication skills. DATA ANALYSIS regarding perception of BPOs among candidates. Number of candidateResponses 50Not interested in BPO 75Interested 20Lengthy working hours 56Graveyard shifts 29Low salary 20Low welfare amenities Q1. What is the process of Recruitment at BPO? In-house recruitment21Third Party Outsourcing9 Analysis Recruitment at consists of two main processes: 1)In-House recruitment 2)Outsourcing The Percentage of Oustsourcing is 70% while the In-House Recruitment comprises of 30%. The other methods of recruitment includes Internal job posting for a specified post and the use of references. Q2. What are the various parameters that are considered while people are recruited? (Rate the following options: 4-highest,1-lowest) Personality4 Communi cation14 Attitude4 Knowledge8 Analysis 45% people ranked communication at 4, 27% people ranked knowledge at 3, 14% people ranked Attitude & Personality at 2.People at HCL gives first priority to Communication skills & second priority to Knowledge. They think that Personality of a person can be developed in the culture of the organisation. Q3. What is the basis of recruitment? (Rate the following options: 6-highest, 1-lowest) Social Networking4 Walk-ins6 Internal references4 Outsourcing7 Campus hiring9 Analysis Maximum hiring is done through Outsourcing process. Minimum hiring is done through internal job posting. Q4. When do the company plans for recruitment? Beginning of financial Year3 As per the requirement21 Quarterly Review5 Weekly Review1 Analysis 0% recruitment planning is done as per the requirement in each department while 5% of recruitment planning is done as per quaterly review. Q5. What are the factors on which recruitment depends? Projection2 Attrition25 Business Expans ion3 Analysis Most of the recruitment planning(i. e. 84%) depends on the attrition rate at HCL -BPO. Q6. How much time does it take to complete one selection process? 1-2 days18 3-4 days9 5-6 days3 Analysis Generally it requires 1-2 days to complete one selection process , while sometimes it may take 3-4 days as well and rarely it takes 4-5days for the completion of the recruitment and selection process. Q7.Do you think that Outsourcing is a better option for recruitment now a days? Yes22 No8 Analysis Outsourcing is considered to be a better option of recruitment now-a-days. Q8. What is the factor that leads to Outsourcing? High Attrition Rate8 Cost Cutting12 Increased turnover of the company7 To get efficient employees in less time3 Analysis Q9. What are the positive outcomes of Outsourcing the recruitment process? Getting the desired employees in lesser time17 Less Cost10 Less headache3 Analysis The most probable positive outcome of outsourcing the recruitment process is to get th e desired employees in lesser time and then comes the less cost.Q10. What are the negative outcomes of Outsourcing the recruitment process? Improper coordination14 Delays9 Low morale7 Analysis The main problem in outsourcing is that there are delays in fulfilling the requirement because of improper coordination between the organization and the outsourcing firm. Moreover the people who are outsourced are kept on off role payment have low morale as they do not enjoy the benefits that are enjoyed by people who are on the payroll of the company. CHAPTER-4 Findings, Conclusion and Recommendation 4. 1 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY :Without focusing the pattern of management, organization philosophy highlights on achieving a surely where all citizens (employees) can lead a richer and fuller life. Every organization, therefore, strikes for greater productivity, elimination of wastes, lower costs and higher wages, so the industry needs a stable and energetic labors force that can boast of production by increased productivity. To achieve these objectives a good recruitment process is essential. By which industry strikes right number of persons and right kind of persons at the right time and at right places through and the planning period without hampering productivity . 2 FINDINGS 1. )As the company outsource some of its work in the recruitment process so there is a need of proper coordination between the HR people in the organization and the people of outsourcing firm. And this can be done by conducting timely meetings in the organization between HR people and the outsourcing firm. This will also reduce the loop holes that hamper the process of recruitment. 2. )There is lack of proper coordination between the HR people and the Line Managers that leads to miscommunication and thus imperfection in the work. 3. Pressure of work in HR Department should be reduced by extending the workforce in the Department as this department is engaged in various works. This will not only reduce the extra pressure of work but it would also lead to a proper working system in the organization. 4. ) Attrition rate in the company is high due to the extreme work pressure, lengthy working hour Hour & job satisfaction. 5. ) Most of the candidates have bad impression of BPOs as during telecalling they cut the call immediately when they receive calls and come to know that the job opening is into a BPO.It is due the graveyard working shifts, no fixed days off, low motivational factors and monotonous nature of work. 6. ) The low standard image of BPOs is also formed amongst the candidates because very less importance is given to the educational achievements of the candidates . Even a 12th passed student can occupy the same designation as a fresh B. Tech Graduate/MBA/PGDM can, provided he/she has excellent communication skills. There is only difference of some rupees in monetary terms and even this difference is removed if the 12th passed candidate holds more than 5months of experience into an international BPO. . )I found that the main thing is that â€Å" HCL † is a brand name ,that is why freshers are willing to work in the organization even at a low salary. Also the company takes care of career management of their employees as they can pusue their executive MBA course from prestigious institute IIM-Kolkata and they can even switch off to different parts of HCL like HCL COMNET/TECHNOLOGIES availing the Inter Job Posting facility. 8. )According to the data analysis, it was found that the attitude and behavior of jobseekers are not favourable.Therefore the null hypothesis based on first objective is accepted while the alternate hypothesis is rejected. 9. )Also from the above analysis it was found that the services provided by the consultancy ‘Panache Solutions’ is satisfactory. Hence the null hypothesis based on second objective is accepted while the alternate one was rejected. 10. ) From the above discussions as HCL-BPO follows the current b enchmarking recruitment and selection practices, thus the null hypothesis based on third objective is accepted while the alternate is rejected. s 4. 3 CONCLUSIONThe study resulted into following conclusions: 1. )HCl BPO must have social culture to work in as it leads a proper environment to work in. This will also also reduce the attrition in the company. 2. )The company should increase the salary & recruit the efficient people for the growth of the organization & should minimize the recruitment of inefficient candidates who are ready to work at a low salary. 3. )Line Managers & HR Department should work in a loop so that information circulates in a systematic way in the organization and it does not lead to mental stress due to miscommunication. 4. Other Departments should co-operate the HR department so that a smooth working system can take place. 5. )A proper interaction with the Outsourcing firm should be maintained so as to reduce the number of grievances that arises in the orga nization due to improper coordination of the outsourcing firm and the organization. 4. 4 RECOMMENDATIONS 1. )Proper flow of information should be maintained so as to avoid miscommunication. 2. )Different department should cooperate with each other so as to reduce the loop holes in the system. 3. )An increment on the salary should be done timely so as to retain the efficient people in the organization. . )HR Department should focus on the quality and not the quantity so as to get efficient employees in the company. 5. )No. of people working in HR Department should be increased for the efficient working of the HR Department. 6. )Some social gathering of people should be conducted so as to maintain a social culture in the organization and this would also help in retaining the people in the organization. 7. )The lengthy working hours should be shortened or some intervals should be given for the refreshment of the employees to reduce the overburden of work. . )If possible, the employees should be given fixed days off . Also the employees who come from far places and avail the cab facility should be provided AC cabs due to scorching heat. ANNEXURE QUESTIONNAIRE Q1. What is the process of Recruitment at HCL- BPO? In-house recruitment Third Party Outsourcing Q2. What are the various parameters that are considered while people are recruited? Personality Communication Attitude`Knowledge Q3. What is the basis of recruitment? (Rate the following options: 6-highest, 1-lowest) Social NetworkingWalk-insInternal referencesCampus Hiring Outsourcing Q4. When do the company plans for recruitment? Beginning of Financial Year As per the requirement Quarterly ReviewWeekly Review Q5. What are the factors on which recruitment depends? Projections Attrition Business Expansion Q6. How much time does it take to complete one selection process? 1-2days 3-4 days 5-6 days Q7. Do you think that Outsourcing is a better option for recruitment now a days? YesNo Q8. What is the factor that leads to Outsourcing? High Attrition RateCost CuttingIncreased turnover of the CompanyTo get efficient employees in less time Q9. What are the positive outcomes of Outsourcing the recruitment process? Getting the desired employees in lesser time. Less Cost Less Headache Q10. What are the negative outcomes of Outsourcing the recruitment process? Improper Coordination in the system Delays in fulfilling the requirement Low Morale JOB ANALYSIS FORM OF HCL INFOSYSTEMSLTD. Job Title†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Code No†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Location †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Department†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Analyst†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.Reason for the job †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Supervised.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Wage or salary range†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Relation to other jobs: Promotion from†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Promotion to†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Job summary: Work performed:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Major duties :†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Other tasks:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Equipment/Mac hines used:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Working Condition†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Skill Requirements: Education: (Grade or Year) Training : Job experience : (a)Type of experience†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. (b)Length of experience†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Supervision : (a) Positions supervised†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. (b) Extent of supervision†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Job knowledge : (a) General †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (b) Technical†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (c)Special†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Responsibility : a)For product and material †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. b)For equipment and machinery†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ c)For work of others†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. d)For safety of others†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Physical Demands : Physical efforts Surroundings Hazards Resourcefulness SPECIFICATIONS FORM OF HCL Job Title : Drill OperatorDepartment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Job Code †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Date†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. REQUIREMENTS 1. EDUCATION : Ability to read and understand production orders and to make simple calculations. Preferably High School Certificate. 2.TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE: No special training required . Requires one month experience to learn job duties and to attain acceptable degree of proficiency. 3. PHYCIAL EFFOR T: No special physical effort is required. 4. MENTAL SKILL: Requires reasoning to interpret instructions and drawings and productions orders. Must be able to concentrate when operating. 5. SUPERVISION : Routine checking and no close supervision required. Specific but no detailed instructions. 6. Responsible for own work only. Only routine responsibility for safety of others. PROCEDURE OF RECRUITMENTFollowing process of Recruitment has been followed in HCL . REQUISITION 1) For new requirement or for replacement a manpower the given requisition format is to be filled up by Head of the Division/Department and forwarded to HRD after obtaining MD’s approval. INTERVIEW SCHEDULE Date: Venue: Position: NAME OF THE CANDIDATETIMEREMARKS INTERVIEW CALL LETTER Date —————- Dear Sir, â€Å"___________________________________________________† This has reference to your application for the above mentioned position in our organisation. We are pleased to invite you for a meeting with the ndersignedon†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. at†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦a. m. /p. m. please confirm this appointment. We have enclosed a blank personal Data Form. Please fill this in and bring with you along with your educational and experience certificates / testimonials in original for the meeting. No TA/DA shall be admissible for attending this interview. You will be reimbursed to and for train fare by 1st / 2nd class for attending this interview. We take this opportunity to thank for the interest you have shown in joining our organisation. Yours sincerely, For HCL InfosystemsLtd. Authorized SignatoryPreliminary interview of the candidates is conducted by HRD based on Personal Data Format given below filled up by the candidate with the help of technical person along with the Dept. Head. HCL Infosystems Ltd. Address: PERSONAL DATA FORM POSITION APPLIED FOR SOURCE Name_________________________________________________________ ____ SurnameFirst NameMiddle Name Present Address ________________________________________________________________ Phone_______________________________ permanent Address _____________________________________________________________ __________________________Phone______________________________Date of Birth:Religion:Nationality: Marital Status:Sex:Date of Marriage: Languages Known Speak Read Write _________________ __________________ Father’s Name ————————————— & Occupation—————————————– Spouse Name: OccupationNo. of children: Educational / Professional Qualification Start With Latest Degree/ Diploma Degree/ DiplomaInstitution/ University/BoardYears From ToMain SubjectDivision & % of marks Publication & Membership Special Interest/Hobbies Employment Record: (Starting from present to first one )Period From ToName of EmployerDesignationNature of Duties PerformedGross Salary Detail of Present Salary Basic HRAConveyanceBonusLTAMedicalSuperannuationP. F. Others Salary Expected: Joining Time Required: Are you ready work anywhere in India: Relatives & Acquaintances in HCL NameDesignationDepartmentRelation Any other information which you think should be taken into account while considering your candidature References:please give name and address of two persons who knows you professionally or under whom you have worked. Name: _____________________________________ Nature ofAcquaintance : ______________________________ Position : __________________________________ Address : __________________________________ Tel . :Off. :____________ Res. :___________ Off. :_ __________ Res. :___________ Declaration: I hereby authorised verification of all statements in the record and shall agree to produce any documentary evidence in proof of above statements as desired by NPL. I certify that all the above statements are true and understand that misrepresentation or mission of facts called for in this from will cause separation from the company’s services without any notice or compensation.Date________________Signature___________ FOR OFFICE USE ONLY Test Performance INITIAL INTERVIEW NOTES 1. PERSONALITY 2. MATURITY 3. COMMUNICATION 4. SELFCONFIDENCE 5. JOB KNOWLEDGE 6. OTHERS FINAL INTERVIEW RESULTS SALARY FIXATION SHEET DESIGNATIONCATEGORYLOCATION ITEMPRESENT ACTUAL P. M. OFFERED ACTUAL P. M. OTHERS: Joining Date:Probation Period: DATEHODHRDDEPTT. Final approval for Asst. Manager and above is after final interview by the MD. Travel Expenses to outstation candidates are reimbursed as per the ravelling rules existing in the company, in format given below. ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT OUTSTATION CANDIDATE TRAVEL EXPENSES REIMBURSEMENT NAME : —————————————————â €”——————- ADDRESS:————————————————————————- INTERVIEW DATE :————————– POSITION :———————- DATEPLACE(FROM-TO)FARE(AMOUNT RS. ) TOTAL : DATE : SIGNATURE OF THE CANDIDATEHRD DEPARTMENT After final selection Letter of Intent is issued in the following format LETTER OF INTENTWith reference to your application and the subsequent interviews you had with us, we are pleased to offer you the position of â€Å"______________† in our organisation at mutually agreed terms and conditions based at _______________. However you are liable to be transferred to any of our sites / sister concerns / associates companies at the sole discretion of the management. You will report for work on _____________at______________, failing which this offer will stand automatically withdrawn. The detailed letter of appointment will be issued to you on your joining. Please submit the following documents at the time of joining :- . 3 passport size photographs. 2. Copy of last appointment letter, relieving letter & salary certificate. 3. Photocopies of educational and experience certificates. Please sign you to our organisation and wish you a successful career with us. Yours sincerely, For HCL InfosystemsLtd. Authorized Signatory V) JOINING FORMALITIES On the joining detailed appointment letters are issued as per below mentioned levels:- 1) APPOINTMENT LETTER Language for below Asst. Manager level is given in the following format . ‘BELOW ASSTT. MANAGER LEVEL’ ___________________Dated : ___________________ __________________ ___________________ LETTER OF APPOINTMENT Dear Mr. __________________________ With reference to the offer letter no. ___________________ ___dated __________ we are pleased to appoint you as ____________________ on the following terms and conditions: 1)Ordinarily your period of probation will be Six months which could be further extended for a period not exceeding three months and during probationary period/extended probationary period your services are liable to be terminated without any notice or without assigning any reason or compensation in lieu thereof. )EMOLUMENTS: A)you will be paid following emoluments: Basic Salary: Rs. __________ p. m. House Rent Allowance:Rs. __________ p. m. Local Travelling Expenses:Rs. __________ p. m. You shall also be entitled to benefits like Bonus, Gratuity, PF, ESI & L. T. C as per rules of the company. B)Further increment will be based on efficient, satisfactory and loyal discharge of duties and may be withheld in case the standard of work and conduct is found subnormal of may be accelerated in case the same is adjudged to be commercial at the discretion of the management. )Your p lace of posting will be at our _________________situated at _______________ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬-_____. However, you are liable to be transferred to any of our sites/factory/office at the discretion of the management. 4. During the period of your employment, you shall not secure or try to secure any other post and undertake any course of study or work on part time basis without the pronouncement or the Management in writing.You will also not hold any office of profit outside the company or engage yourself in any other trade or business either part time, or full time, whether for profit or gain, or on honorary basis or otherwise, engage in an insurance agency or commission agency etc. without the prior written permission of the management. 5. Your hours of attendance shall be regulated to suit the duties entrusted to you from time to time, subject to the statutory provisions. 6.You shall be governed by the rules and regulations of the company in force from time to time, that may be applic able to you. 7. In the event of your confirmation in writing, in addition to the terms and conditions mentioned in this letter, except para (1): a)You will be liable to be retired on your reaching the age of 58 years or earlier if found medically unfit. The organization shall have the right to have you medically examined as and when considered necessary by a registered medical practitioner or by the Company’s medical officer. )The employment will be liable to be terminated on either by giving one month’s basic salary in lieu thereof. However, no notice would be necessary to be given by the organisation if in their opinion you are found guilty of any gross misconduct as generally understood in employment, particularly disobedience, insubordination, insolence and acts subversive of discipline, habitual negligence of duties, distrust, dishonesty or embezzlement, illegal strike, habitual late attendance, absence, go-slow etc. . In case any misconduct is alleged against you , you are liable to be suspended forthwith without any salary or allowance, pending such inquiry, if in an inquiry you are exonerated of the charges, you will be entitled to full salary as if you were on duty. In the event you are found guilty of the charges levelled, irrespective of the punishment imposed, you shall not be entitled to any payment for the period of suspension. 9.The above mentioned â€Å"terms and conditions of services† shall prevail so long as the same are not either modified or they will also be subject to such other and further rules and regulations which may be notified by us by putting a notice in writing on the notice board put inside the premises. 10. Your date of joining the services in the organization is ______________ 11. This letter is being offered to you in duplicate. In case the terms and conditions expressly enumerated above are acceptable to you, please sign the duplicate copy of this letter in token of your having read, understood and accep ted the terms and conditions mentioned above. 2. Please note that the court of jurisdiction shall be at New Delhi. We welcome you to our organisation and wish you a successful career with us. Yours sincerely, For HCL InfosystemsLimited, AUTHORISED SIGNATORY ACCEPTANCE I have clearly understood the terms and conditions mentioned in this letter of appointment and I hereby accept the same. NAMESIGNATURE DATE 2) Appointment letter language for asst. Manager to manager is given in the following format. FOR ASSISTANAT MANAGER TO MANAGER Dear Mr†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Date†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..APPOINTMENT LETTER With reference to the offer letter no. _________________ dated________________, we are pleased to appoint you in our organisation on the following terms and conditions:- 1)Designation :Your position in the company will be †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2)Date of Joining : Y our date of joining the services in the organization is†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3)Probation Period: Ordinarily your period of probation will be Six months from the date of joining. Management may extends the probation period depending upon your performance.On successful completion of probation, you will be issued a confirmation letter. During the probation period, your services are liable to be terminated without assigning any specific reason, whatsoever without giving any notice. After confirmation the notice period will be one month or one month’s basic salary on either side. 4)Salary Details: Your Basic Salary will be Rs. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. /- p. m. (Rupees †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ only) In addition you will be entitled to House Rent Allowance of Rs. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦/- p. m. Rupees †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦only) You will entitled to reimbursement of Local Travelling Expenses upto a maximum limit of Rs. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦/- p. m. (Rupees †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. only) You shall also be entitled to benefits like ESI/Medical Reimbursement, LTC, Bonus Exgratia, Gratuity & PF as per rules of the company. 5)Place of Posting:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ However, you would be liable to be transferred/posted at any of the existing or proposed locations of the company or its sister/associates companies at the sole discretion of the management. )The company normally does not permit employees to engage in any other business or work, either directly on their own account or indirectly and you will be expected not to do so without prior consent of the m anagement in writing. 7)You will be governed by the rules and regulations of the company as applicable in force, amended or altered from time to time during the course of your employment. 8)You will automatically retire from the services of the Company on attaining the age of 58 years. You may be retired earlier if found medically unfit.Please sign the duplicate copy of this letter signifying your acceptance and return it to us. We welcome you to our organisation and wish you a successful career with us. With best wishes, Yours sincerely, For HCL InfosystemsLimited, AUTHORISED SIGNATORY I agree to accept employment on the terms and conditions mentioned above and agree to abide by all the rules and regulations of the company. NAME SIGNATURE DATE 3)Appointment letter language for sr. manager and above is given in the following format. FOR SR.MANAGER AND ABOVE Dear Mr. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦

Improving Communication for People with Learning Disabilitie

learning zone CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Page 58 Improving communication for people with learning disabilities Page 66 Learning disabilities multiple choice questionnaire Page 67 Read Annette Martyn’s practice profile on type 2 diabetes Page 68 Guidelines on how to write a practice profile Improving communication for people with learning disabilities NS336 Godsell M, Scarborough K (2006) Improving communication for people with learning disabilities. Nursing Standard. 20, 30, 58-65. Date of acceptance: February 6 2006. Summary Patients with learning disabilities have higher healthcare risks than the general population. Similar essay: Collate Information About an Individual's Communication and the Support ProvidedHealth professionals need to develop skills that enable them to communicate effectively with this patient group. Identifying barriers to communication is the first step to reducing or removing them. Suggested strategies to improve healthcare access for patients with learning disabilities include: developing individualised health action plans, simplifying communication styles and providing accessible facilities and tailored resources. learning activities you should be able to: Understand the impact of communication on interaction between healthcare providers and patients with learning disabilities.Describe the relationship between communication and the health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities. Identify strategies to improve communication between health providers and patients with learning disabilities. Authors Matthew Godsell and Kim Scarborough are senior lecture rs, Faculty of Health and Social Care, University of the West of England, Bristol. Email: Matthew. [email  protected] ac. uk Introduction Learning disability is not a diagnosis but a term used to describe people with a wide range of strengths and needs.Eighty per cent of children and 60 per cent of adults with learning disabilities live with their families (Gravestock and Bouras 1997), and many people with learning disabilities exceed the expectations of families and professionals in their capacity to learn new skills and develop their talents (NHS Executive 1999). The term ‘learning disability’ says little about an individual’s strengths and needs but it does incorporate three elements that appear in most definitions (Box 1). Emerson et al (2001) state that the number of people with learning disabilities in the UK has not been determined.They estimate that in the UK there could be as many as 350,000 people with severe learning disabilities (intelligence quotie nt (IQ) 50). This means that 2 per cent of patients are likely to have a learning disability (NHS Executive 1999). The ways in which people with learning disabilities are described have changed. Terminology and related facts are listed in Box 2. NURSING STANDARD Keywords Communication; Learning disabilities nursing: attitudes These keywords are based on the subject headings from the British Nursing Index. This article has been subject to double-blind review.For related articles and author guidelines visit our online archive at www. nursing-standard. co. uk and search using the keywords. Aims and intended learning outcomes The aim of this article is to explore the impact of communication on health care for people with learning disabilities. The article discusses how cognition and communication influence interactions between healthcare providers and patients. It also examines how poor communication can contribute to health inequalities that separate people with learning disabilities f rom the rest of the population.The article explores communication strategies that can overcome or reduce barriers to effective health care. After reading this article and completing the 58 april 5 :: vol 20 no 30 :: 2006 Time out 1 Based on a figure of 2 per cent of patients having learning disabilities, it is likely that 40 per 2,000 patients registered with GP services are likely to have learning disabilities. How many patients with learning disabilities are you aware of in your practice area? List some of the reasons that might prevent people with learning disabilities from accessing local health services. Health inequalitiesAlthough people with learning disabilities are living longer, the gap that separates the health status of people with learning disabilities and the general population has increased. Cohen (2001) asserted that gross inequalities in health are politically, socially and economically unacceptable. An investigation into health inequalities by the Disability Rights Commission (Nocon 2004) found that people with learning disabilities have: An increased risk of early death compared with the rest of the population; mortality rates are particularly high for those with more severe impairments.A greater variety of healthcare needs. Many needs that are not met. High rates of unrecognised or poorly managed medical conditions including: hypertension, obesity, heart disease, abdominal pain, respiratory disease, cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, diabetes, chronic urinary tract infections, oral disease, musculoskeletal conditions, osteoporosis, thyroid disease, and visual and hearing impairments.A briefing paper produced by the NHS Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO) Research and Development Programme (NHS SDO 2004) identified barriers to appropriate and timely BOX 1 Definition of a learning disability A person with learning disabilities has: Significant reduction in the ability to understand new or complex information. Reduced ability to cope inde pendently. Impairment starting in childhood that will have a lasting effect on development. (DH 2001) access to health care within and outside services.Many people with learning disabilities find that identifying their healthcare needs is a major challenge. Proactive strategies are required to encourage people to access the full range of services that are available. Some people with learning disabilities have said that negative and unhelpful attitudes from healthcare workers have prevented them from seeking medical help (Bristol and District People First 2003). Support and encouragement are required by carers, allies and friends before people with these concerns are ready to engage with services again.People are more likely to trust service providers when they are convinced that services and practitioners have responded to their needs by improving communication skills and producing information in an accessible format. People with learning disabilities have the same right to access m ainstream services as the rest of the population (Department of Health (DH) 2001). However, mainstream services have been slow to develop the capacity and skills to meet their needs.In the document Valuing People (DH 2001) it was acknowledged that the wider NHS had failed to consider the needs of people with learning disabilities and that overcoming this source of inequality was the most important issue for the NHS to address for this patient BOX 2 Terminology and facts related to learning disabilities ‘Mental handicap’ was a term used to describe people with learning disabilities. It is no longer used in the UK. ‘Mental retardation’ is a term used internationally, however, it is not an accepted term in the UK and some may find this term offensive. Learning difficulty’ is the term used in education to define individuals who have specific learning needs, for example, dyslexia. Some people who are identified as having learning difficulty by education s ervices may also be considered to have a learning disability, but this is not necessarily the case. ‘Mild’, ‘moderate’, ‘severe’ and ‘profound’ are terms to describe different degrees of disability (Figure 1). A person with mild learning disabilities might communicate effectively, learn, live and work with little support.However, a person with profound learning disabilities will require support with activities of daily living, for example, communication, dressing, feeding, washing and mobility. A diagnosis of ‘mental illness’ is not the same as having a learning disability, but people with learning disabilities may have mental health issues as well. Not everyone with learning disabilities requires a social worker or a community nurse. People with learning disabilities may have multiple diagnoses resulting in complex health needs. People with the most profound physical or sensory impairments do not always have the most profound cognitive impairments.NURSING STANDARD april 5 :: vol 20 no 30 :: 2006 59 learning zone nursing attitudes group. The briefing paper produced by the NHS SDO (2004) provided key action points for removing barriers and improving access to health care, which included: Using specialist learning disability teams to aid adaptation of mainstream services to meet the needs of patients with learning disabilities. Developing strategies for health education and health checks for people with learning disabilities that promote timely access to health care.Families and paid carers have an important role in helping people with learning disabilities to access health care. Some people will need assistance to recognise mental health problems and to identify gradual changes in health. Time out 2 Make a list of the ways that you communicate with patients about their health, for example, through appointments and telephone calls. Take three examples from your list and consider reasons why communi cation with a person with learning disabilities might be difficult.Give an example of effective communication between a practitioner and a person with learning disabilities. Policies should address the use of technology to support communication, and the development and dissemination of accessible information. Jones (2003) suggests that managers and commissioners of services should liaise with health, social care and education agencies to ensure consistency in communication policies throughout the lives of people with learning disabilities. Communication can be broadly defined as the exchange of information between a sender and a receiver (Figure 2).Where a person has learning disabilities they may be communicating with an intention to attract a communication partner and commence a two-way dialogue. However, for some people with profound learning disabilities sending a message might be a response to their body and feelings. Their level of cognition might be such that they are unaware of possible communication partners and of how to take the communication further. This is called pre-intentional communication, in which the individual says or does things without intending to affect those around them.It is important to remember that everyone communicates and that the role of communicator and communication partner swaps from one person to the other so that a conversation can develop. The challenge for health professionals is to develop skills that enable them to interpret the messages they receive and make the messages they send understandable. Communication is not only about verbal communication; it is also about nonverbal communication, for example, the use of body language, words and pictures. CommunicationRecommendations have been made to improve communication and access to health services for people with learning disabilities. Jones (2003) states that services supporting people from birth to older age should develop communication policies. FIGURE 1 Estimated pe rcentage of people with learning disabilities according to level of severity Mild Moderate 12% Severe Profound 80% 7% 1% Augmentative and alternative communication systems Systems of communication, such as sign language, symbols and eye pointing, are known as augmentative and alternative communication systems (AACs).AACs can be used to enhance or replace customary pathways, such as speech or writing. The use of photographs of everyday objects, picture boards, line drawing and real objects are good ways to enhance communication with people with learning disabilities (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) 2005). You do not need to attend specialist training to be able to use AACs such as these. More formal AACs, such as Makaton (a form of sign language for people who have learning disabilities that uses keywords to enhance understanding), require preparation but learning a basic vocabulary does not require extensive training.Cognition and communication (Winterhalder 1997 ) Understanding complex information People with learning disabilities have a reduced ability to NURSING STANDARD 60 april 5 :: vol 20 no 30 :: 2006 understand new or complex information (DH 2001), and those who experience difficulties when processing information may find it hard to learn new skills. Intelligence can be quantified as a figure related to an individual’s IQ. However, it might be more useful to think about intelligence in relation to cognitive processes.Smith and Mackie (2000) describe cognitive processes as: ‘†¦the way in which our memories, perceptions, thoughts, emotions and motives guide our understanding of the world and our actions. ’ Intelligence exerts a powerful influence over the ability to process information, the capacity to learn new skills and to adapt knowledge to different situations. Intelligence is an attribute that can guide our understanding of the world, but it is not fixed or static. Teaching and learning strategies can be used to stimulate cognitive processes so that people can approach information, or potentially confusing situations, with more confidence.Similarly, complicated tasks and information can be broken down into small, simple steps so that people can approach them in stages. Attempting to understand another person’s cognitive processes can help practitioners to develop a more empathetic and person-centred approach to care, and can provide an incentive to develop the teaching and learning strategies that are best suited to the individual needs of patients. Coping independently People with learning disabilities may have a reduced ability to cope independently (DH 2001). Independence is defined according to levels of social functioning.Assessment of a patient’s strengths and needs in social functioning is a fundamental stage in developing planned care that is familiar to practitioners from all branches of nursing. Making an accurate assessment of social functioning provides val uable information about the range of activities that a person can undertake on his or her own as well as those activities where a person requires support. Some people with learning disabilities may require assistance with tasks such as washing and dressing, and many need help to have their mode of communication understood.Learning disability and development Learning disability starts before adulthood, affects people of all ages and has a lasting effect on development (DH 2001). A majority of younger people with learning disabilities are living in the community with their parents or carers. Older people with learning disabilities also live in the community but they may have periods of institutional care. Some people will have frequent contact with health services and others have irregular contact. People with learning disabilities are not a homogeneous group. Their perceptions of nurses, NURSING STANDARDFIGURE 2 A model for communication Person communicating: we take turns in this ro le of sender of information. Depending on the person’s cognitive ability, this may be intentional or pre-intentional communication Communication barriers: can be present in the environment as well as being caused by the communicator and communication partner Communication partner: we take turns in this role of the person who receives the information sent, makes sense of it and responds appropriately doctors, health centres, clinics and hospitals will have been shaped by their formative experiences with staff and services.Providing encouragement for people with learning disabilities to attend health checks and to make use of healthcare services can involve changing their perceptions of health professionals. Some people with learning disabilities have not received the treatment they need because they are reluctant to engage with services where they have had bad experiences in the past. To encourage people with learning disabilities to make effective use of healthcare services t hroughout their lives, practitioners need to use their communication skills to initiate and maintain positive relationships. Time out 3Think about the last time you communicated with a person with learning disabilities, or someone who has communication difficulties. Refer to the list you made in Time out 2 about the communication systems you use in your workplace. What are the main barriers to communicating about health with a person who has learning disabilities? How do you remove or reduce barriers to communication? Which environmental factors impede communication? Identify any barriers that you had not previously considered. april 5 :: vol 20 no 30 :: 2006 61 learning zone nursing attitudes Barriers to communicationThere are barriers to communication which can be identified in relation to the person with learning disabilities, the health professional and the environment (Box 3). When barriers have been identified, health professionals can start to think about ways of reducing or removing them. Health professionals exchange information by using terminology that reflects their specialised knowledge. Patients and other people who are not involved in the day-to-day delivery of health care BOX 3 Barriers to communication The person with learning disabilities may: Have limited understanding.Have limited vocabulary or difficulty speaking. Have sensory impairments that limit ability to hear requests or instructions. Have poor understanding of health and healthy living. Be scared of people in uniforms. Be stressed because of illness. Not like new places. Have difficulty waiting and may not understand the concept of time or queuing. Have limited literacy and numeracy skills to read health advice and information, for example, instructions, letters, dosages. Expect contact with nurses to be unpleasant because of previous experiences. The nurse may: Be rushed because of heavy workload.Have biases and assumptions about people with learning disabilities. Have poor listeni ng and attending skills. Be unable to understand augmentative and alternative communication systems. Have limited knowledge of the individual. Have insufficient time to develop a good relationship with the individual or carer. Not use visual aids to support understanding. Use technical jargon and/or long words. Provide written information without thinking of the patient’s ability to read it. Provide information about the next appointment in a way the patient will not understand or remember.The environment may: Be crowded. Busy. Uncomfortable. Have strange smells and noises. Bring back bad memories. Have limited physical access, for example, no hoists. Include unhelpful people. Have poor signage, relying on literacy skills and good sensory abilities. Have no area to sit quietly with limited sensory stimulation while waiting. Be filled with machines and instruments that a person with learning disabilities may not understand. may find it difficult to comprehend the terms and ide as they encounter in healthcare settings. They can find it hard to follow advice or instructions.This could result in patients making inappropriate decisions or exposing themselves to unnecessary risks. For example, patients with learning disabilities who take their own medication may be at risk of overdosing or taking an ineffectual dose, particularly if the route and dosage of a newly prescribed medicine has not been explained clearly and/or recorded in an accessible format. Time out 4 Consider the list of potential barriers to communication and categorise them according to: Barriers that have been addressed for patients with learning disabilities using the services you work in.Barriers that can be remedied quickly. Barriers that need planning to be reduced or removed. Barriers that require financial investment to be reduced or overcome. Discuss this list with your colleagues. Identify strategies for removing barriers and improving communication. Good practice in communication In South Warwickshire, health passports have been developed for people with learning disabilities (Leamington Spa Today 2005). These provide detailed information about an individual’s health, strengths and needs so that practitioners can provide patient-centred care.They are used to improve communication across a range of healthcare providers. Having an alert system incorporated into patient notes which provides individual communication needs could be beneficial, especially where staff do not know individual patients. Health practitioners may use and be involved in developing health action plans. These are plans specific to individuals and are developed to meet their access needs. Health action plans are a way of overcoming some of the barriers to high quality health care (DH 2001).Plans are produced by a group of people including the patient. They encourage the development of a shared understanding about an individual’s health needs. Where training in health action plann ing has been provided for GP surgeries, improvements have been shown in the health of patients with learning disabilities (Smith et al 2004). There are benefits to having a lead person to deal with learning disability issues. In primary healthcare services, a lead person takes an interest in learning disability issues, collates information, NURSING STANDARD 62 april 5 :: vol 20 no 30 :: 2006 ives support and advice to health staff and develops links with specialist services for people with learning disabilities and other agencies (NHS Executive 1999). Time out 5 Does your organisation have a lead person who is involved in initiatives such as joint communication policies and the development and sharing of accessible health information? If yes, find out how he or she is supporting your team to develop skills in communicating with people who have learning disabilities. If no, how might developing this role benefit your team and improve access to health care for patients with learning d isabilities?To improve communication with people with learning disabilities, more time should be allocated to appointments so that there is more time for them to express themselves and understand any information they have received (DH 1999). This is particularly the case if AACs are being used. Reception staff are often aware of people who have difficulties using services. Supporting these key staff to develop effective communication skills and flexibility can improve access to health services (NHS Executive 1999).For example, if staff in reception are aware that someone finds it difficult to wait in a queue, they may offer that person the first appointment. Several resources have been developed by trusts to improve communication. Some examples of these include: Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), in partnership with Mencap, has developed an accessible ‘Choose and Book’ guide for hospital appointments that uses a combination of pictures and words to ex plain how patients can make choices about hospitals and appointments.Bristol South West PCT, as part of its ‘Expert Patient Programme’, has developed plans that help prepare people with learning disabilities for a visit to the doctor. The Health Facilitation Team at Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust (2004) has produced a ‘traffic light assessment’ that conveys information about individuals on admission to hospital. This ensures that important information is clearly communicated to health professionals. Camden PCT (2005) has used this work to develop an online resource. Although people may appear to have limited communication skills, they should not be ignored.These patients should be addressed directly and NURSING STANDARD the information they receive should be provided in a simple way without being patronising. Effective communication often depends on how the information is delivered. Practitioners may have to talk to carers, but they should not forget to address the person with learning disabilities. Practitioners should examine their beliefs about people with learning disabilities and avoid making assumptions about an individual’s strengths and needs. This will help to make health assessments more accurate (DH 1999).It is useful to invite a speaker with learning disabilities to talk to healthcare staff about living with a learning disability and his or her experiences of accessing health services. Time out 6 What beliefs and values do you think society holds about people with learning disabilities? Some examples of negative beliefs and values are that people with learning disabilities: Have a poor quality of life. Have higher pain thresholds. Are dangerous and promiscuous. Will not understand anything. Should not get married or have children. Cannot care for their children. Need institutional care. Cannot work.Are like children not adults. What are your feelings about these statements? How might the presence of any or al l of these beliefs influence the care given to a person with learning disabilities? People with learning disabilities can have additional physical or sensory impairments that should be considered. They are also more likely to have more mental health needs than the general population (DH 2001). Where a patient has additional impairments or health issues these need to be considered during communication. The healthcare environment should be adapted to accommodate people with physical or sensory impairments.Time out 7 In your work place: Do you have a private area to talk to a person who has a large wheelchair? Do you have rooms where glare is controlled and the environment is suitable for people with limited vision? Do you consider the needs of interpreters/ carers and ensure they fully understand information before they pass it on? april 5 :: vol 20 no 30 :: 2006 63 learning zone nursing attitudes Accessible information Accessible information comes in many forms, such as videos, CDs, DVDs and audiotapes. Pamphlets can be produced with accessible information about the services offered.Written information needs to be in plain language, with short sentences and one subject per sentence. Photographs, drawings, symbols and other visual information can be used to support written information. It is important to keep pages uncluttered on plain backgrounds so that text does not detract from graphics. Letters should be large, 16-18 point type size, and fonts that do not have serifs, such as Arial and Comic Sans, should be used. Graphic text, underlining and italics should be kept to a minimum because they can impede readability. Many trusts are now producing resources to enhance accessibility.Some of these include: The United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust has produced a leaflet called ‘You are coming to the Bristol Royal Infirmary about your heart’, TABLE 1 Using terminology that is easy to understand Health issue Common words that are used Epilepsy Investigat ions EEG (electroencephalogram) Strategies or words that improve understanding Find out more about This word would have to be used, but a photograph of someone having an EEG may help understanding Medicine tablets to help control your epilepsy Having two or more seizures straight after each other or whatever describes status for the individual Taking your medication as we have agreed Things that might make you have a seizure Not being able to have a poo for three days Things you feel in your head and body that make you think you will have a seizure Having a fit or turn, whichever word the person uses which uses pictures and words to introduce some of the staff and explain what happens when patients are admitted to the cardiology department.The Learning Disability Partnership Board in Surrey has developed ‘The Hospital Communication Book’ that combines words, pictures, signs and symbols. Trafford North and South PCTs have produced a toolkit for people with learning disab ilities called ‘Cancer and You’ (Provan 2004). Contact your local Community Learning Disability Team or People First organisation for information about local resources. Simplifying conversation When talking to people with learning disabilities, use approaches similar to those used for written text. Plain language, the use of keywords, short sentences and one subject per sentence should be used. Give people time to process what is being said and to formulate a reply.Use openended questions to assess a person’s understanding and rephrase the question if necessary, as repeating the same question rarely improves understanding. When information is presented during a consultation it is important to check that the person with learning disabilities has understood it. If there is insufficient time during the initial consultation, it may be necessary to make a further appointment to check what the person has understood and retained. For an individual who processes informat ion slowly this might be essential to ensure an accurate assessment and the effective implementation of a treatment plan. Examples of terms that are easier to understand are presented in Table 1.Such terms are only beneficial if the person understands them so, for example, ‘constipation’ could be described as ‘not being able to have a poo’, but the health practitioner needs to know whether the person uses this term to describe defecation. Anti-epileptic drugs Status epilepticus Drug compliance Triggers Constipation Aura Time out 8 Think of four common illnesses that are likely to make a person visit your service. Write these in the first column of a table (see Table 1). Identify the language you use when discussing these illnesses and record these words or phrases in column two. These might be medical terms, health terms or long words. Now spend some time identifying words that are easier to understand and record them in the third column. NURSING STANDARD S eizure 64 april 5 :: vol 20 no 30 :: 2006 ConclusionPeople with learning disabilities may have communication difficulties that have restricted their access to health care and prevented them from receiving the information required to maintain their health. In addition to learning disability, they are more likely to have complex healthcare needs leading to multiple diagnoses. Steps towards better health for people with learning disabilities can be made by providing encouragement and support to attend regular health screening and reviews, and by developing a range of strategies to improve communication between practitioners and individuals with learning disabilities NS RECOMMENDED RESOURCES British Institute of Learning Disabilities (2001) Factsheet No. 005 Communication. www. bild. org. uk/pdf/factsheets/communication. pdf (Last accessed: March 10 2006. British Institute of Learning Disabilities (2005) Your Good Health (a set of 12 illustrated booklets). www. bild. org. uk/publication s/your_very_good_health_details. htm (Last accessed: March 10 2006. ) Communication Matters (updates 2005) What is AAC? www. communicationmatters. org. uk (Last accessed: March 10 2006. ) Communication Matters (updated 2005) How to be a good listener. www. communicationmatters. org. uk (Last accessed: March 10 2006. ) Department of Health. www. dh. gov. uk (Last accessed: March 10 2006. ) Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities (2004) Communication and people with learning disabilities. www. learningdisabilities. org. uk/page. cfm? agecode=ISSICMMT (Last accessed: March 10 2006. ) Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities (2005) Patients with learning disabilities in South Warwickshire have been given a new type of passport to help with their medical appointments. www. learningdisabilities. org. uk/profilenews. cfm? pagecode=ISSICOLN&are acode=ld_communication_news&id=7231 (Last accessed: March 10 2006. ) MENCAP (2003) You and your health: a basic guide to being heal thy. www. mencap. org. uk/download/you_and_your_health. pdf (Last accessed: March 10 2006. ) Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust (2005) Living with cancer. www. learningdisabilitycancer. nhs. uk/ (Last accessed: March 10 2006. ) Time out 9Complete a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) of your skills and knowledge when communicating with and supporting access to health care for people with learning disabilities. Time out 10 Now that you have completed this article, you might like to consider writing a practice profile. Guidelines are on page 68. References American Speech-LanguageHearing Association (2005) Introduction to Augmentative and Alternative Communication. www. asha. org/public/ speech/disorders/acc_primer. htm (Last accessed: March 9 2006. ) Bristol and District People First (2003) We are People First. (Film) People First, Bristol. Camden PCT (2005) What You Need to Know About Me in Hospital. www. camden. gov. k/ (Last accessed: March 17 2006. ) Cohen J (2001) Countries’ health performance. The Lancet. 358, 9285, 929. Department of Health (1999) Facing the Facts: Services for People with Learning Disabilities: A Policy Impact Study of Social Care and Health Services. The Stationery Office, London. Department of Health (2001) Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century. The Stationery Office, London. Emerson E, Hatton C, Felce D, Murphy G (2001) Learning Disabilities: The Fundamental Facts. Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, London. Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust (2004) Traffic light assessment. Unpublished document.Gloucestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Gloucester. Gravestock S, Bouras N (1997) Emotional disorders. In Holt G, Bouras N (Eds) Mental Health in Learning Disabilities: A Training Pack for Staff Working with People who have a Dual Diagnosis of Mental Health Needs and Learning Disabilities. Second edition. Pavilion Publishing, Brighton, 17-26. Jones J (2003) Th e Communication Gap. www. learningdisabilities. org. uk /page. cfm? pagecode= FBFMCHTP04 (Last accessed: March 10 2006. ) Leamington Spa Today (2005) Patients with learning disabilities in South Warwickshire have been given a new type of passport to help with their medical appointments. Leamington Spa Today. January 19, 2005.NHS Executive (1999) Once a Day One or More People with Learning Disabilities are Likely to be in Contact with Your Primary Healthcare Team. How Can You Help Them? Department of Health, Leeds. NHS Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO) Research and Development Programme (2004) Access to Health Care for People with Learning Disabilities. Briefing paper. NHS SDO, London. Nocon A (2004) Background Evidence for the DRC’s Formal Investigation into Health Inequalities Experienced by People with Learning Disabilities or Mental Health Problems. Disability Rights Commission, Stratford upon Avon. Provan K (2004) Cancer and You: Toolkit for Working with People with Learning Disabilities. www. cancerandyou. info/docs/ FullToolkitNov04. pdf (Last accessed: March 9 2006. Smith ER, Mackie DM (2000) Social Psychology. Second edition. Psychology Press, Hove. Smith C, Giraud-Saunders A, McIntosh B (2004) Healthy Lives: Health Action Planning in a Person Centred Way; Including Health in Person Centred Planning. www. valuingpeople. gov. uk/ HealthHealthyLives. htm (Last accessed March 10 2006. ) Winterhalder R (1997) An overview of learning disabilities. In Holt G, Bouras N (Eds) Mental Health in Learning Disabilities: A Training Pack for Staff Working with People who have a Dual Diagnosis of Mental Health Needs and Learning Disabilities. Second edition. Pavilion Publishing, Brighton, 1-6. NURSING STANDARD april 5 :: vol 20 no 30 :: 2006 65