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Decision-making guide
HRM Fintech
Contents

Introduction to HRM ......................................................................................................... 2

Scenario ........................................................................................................................... 2
Decisions/ Game Arena .................................................................................................... 3
1. Market Outlook & Parameters ........................................................................................... 3
2. Talent Acquisition ............................................................................................................. 4
2.1 Hiring Channel .................................................................................................................................. 4
2.2 Hiring Units Count ............................................................................................................................. 5
2.3 Retrenchment Units Count ............................................................................................................... 5
2.4 Pipeline Management ....................................................................................................................... 5
2.5 Recruitment Agency Hiring ............................................................................................................... 5
2.6 Recruitment Agency Outsourcing ..................................................................................................... 5

3. Talent Management .......................................................................................................... 5

3.1 Compensation Rating ......................................................................................................................... 5
3.2 Bonus Policy ...................................................................................................................................... 7
3.3 Pay Cut Decision ................................................................................................................................ 7
3.4 Training ............................................................................................................................................. 7
3.5 Future leadership program ............................................................................................................... 8
3.6 Division Policy ................................................................................................................................... 8
3.7 Diversity Inclusion Policy ................................................................................................................... 9
3.8 Townhall Program ........................................................................................................................... 10

4. Effectiveness ................................................................................................................... 10
4.1 Implementation of tool .................................................................................................................. 10
4.2 Budget Allocation ........................................................................................................................... 11
5. Case Scenario.................................................................................................................. 12
6. Reports ........................................................................................................................... 12
Game Play ...................................................................................................................... 14
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Introduction to HRM

The HRM Simulation is thoughtfully designed to enhance participant’s understanding in three

crucial areas: Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Organization effectiveness &
budgeting. Progressing through the simulation involves three steps. Firstly, participants can
go through the case guide which is a downloadable reading material and an accompanying
video presenting the decision-making scenario. Secondly, participants must make well-
considered decisions in the four designated areas, including Talent Acquisition, Talent
Management, Effectiveness & Budgets, as well as a Case Scenario. These decisions
significantly impact the simulation's success. Lastly, participants receive comprehensive
reports offering valuable feedback and analysis, supporting their learning and growth in the
specified domains.

Scenario

Participant manages a Human resource department of a well-known IT firm which has more
than 7500 employees across four departments. The company is operating at a global level
and has most of its clients based out of North America, the UK & Europe. As CHRO of the
human resource department, the participants need to decide on talent acquisition, talent
management and organizational effectiveness. The goal is to maximize stakeholder
satisfaction.

The company consists of four divisions to serve the client at best. The participant needs to
understand the dynamics and requirements of all four divisions and their importance to
business in terms of revenue and cost centre. In the simulation the divisions are being defined
as under:

• Sales
• Product & Engineering
• Customer Success
• Design & Communication

In the four divisions mentioned, employees are categorized into three profiles: Top
Management, Senior Management, and Junior Management. Decision-making in the
simulation game varies for each profile. Participants must make multiple decisions within
three distinct areas: Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, and Effectiveness & Budget.
Additionally, participants have to read through and respond to a case scenario.

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Participants must consider the market outlook and important parameters provided under the
decision area before making decisions. They will be provided with budget constraints for each
department, although they can transfer budgets from one department to another if
necessary. The simulation encourages cooperation within the team while competing with
other teams. The goal of each team is to make sustainable decisions throughout all 5
rounds/financial years so the company can navigate through different economic conditions.

Decisions/ Game Arena

The decision/ game arena includes five tabs, starting with a Market Outlook & Parameters,
followed by Talent Acquisition, Talent Management, Effectiveness & Budgets, and ending with
a section for addressing a Scenario.

1. Market Outlook & Parameters

Figure 1 The Market Outlook & Parameters displayed in the platform

The tab provides information about the micro and macro environmental factors which will
affect business. As the economic condition changes so, the business needs to change and with
that HR division needs to take appropriate action.
• Round 1: Business is Booming
• Round 2: Growth continues
• Round 3: The contraction cycle starts
• Round 4: Recession hits in
• Round 5: Business coming back to normal

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The parameters define how the budget, hikes, attrition rate, and various factors change with
the fluctuation in business conditions and the personnel requirements for each division.
Participants need to consider both the overall general parameters and the specific parameters
provided for each department individually.

2. Talent Acquisition

In the Talent acquisition tab, there are six decision areas to take which revolves around as
follows:
2.1 Hiring Channel

Participants are provided with five options, out of which they need to select suitable ones
appropriate for hiring each of the employee profiles. The various options available to
participants are:

Figure 2 The Hiring decision tab Displayed in the platform

o Campus hiring
o Employee referral
o Direct hiring
o Vendor general hiring
o Executive hiring

The mentioned channels have different effectiveness and costs when used for specific profile
hiring. Campus hiring would be more beneficial for Junior Management while it might not be
suitable for Top Management. Participants can select multiple channels, and their costs will
be reflected in the graph, and effectiveness in reports once the financial year/round ends.

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2.2 Hiring Units Count

The participant is tasked with deciding the number of personnel to be hired for each
department and all three employee levels (Top Management, Senior Management, and Junior
Management) in the current round/year.

2.3 Retrenchment Units Count

The participant must decide on the number of personnel they intend to retrench or cut back
for each department and all three employee levels in the current round/year.

2.4 Pipeline Management

The participant needs to determine how many junior employees they plan to have in each
department as part of their talent pool for the current round/year.

2.5 Recruitment Agency Hiring

The participant needs to decide on the number of personnel they plan to hire through a
recruitment agency for the top or senior management in each department for the current
round/year.

2.6 Recruitment Agency Outsourcing

The participant needs to determine the number of personnel they plan to outsource through
a recruitment agency for junior management in each department for the current round/year.

3. Talent Management

Under the talent Management tab, the participant must take decisions eight important
sections.
3.1 Compensation Rating

The participants have to categorize their employees into ratings ranging from 5 stars to 1 star,
which will determine their compensation. As a rule of thumb, 5-star employees receive
compensation according to the position's range table, while 1-star employees receive minimal
hikes. The maximum cost in the budget will be allocated to employee compensation. The
decision has to be tactful, considering both employee retention and cost. The position in the
range table also indicates the hike different percentile salaried employees will be offered
based on their star rating.

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Figure 3 The compensation rating decision area with position in Range displayed in the platform

Figure 4 The position in Range Table provided in the platform

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3.2 Bonus Policy

Participants have to decide the bonus for their top performers, which would be 5-star and 4-
star rated employees. Providing bonuses will increase costs but also boost motivation among
employees.

3.3 Pay Cut Decision

The participants have the option to decide regarding a pay reduction, which can range from
6% to 20% of the salary, based on the profiles of the employees.

Figure 5 The bonus policy and Pay cut decision areas displayed in the platform

3.4 Training

Participants have five training options available, and they must select the appropriate option
for each employee profile. When making decisions, employee time, motivation, and needs
have to be considered. The cost of each training varies, with short training being the least
expensive and Training as per development plans being the most expensive. The effectiveness
of training follows the same pattern.

Types of training are as under:

• No training
• One short training
• Focused functional training
• Training as needed
• As per personal development plans

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3.5 Future leadership program

There are five future leadership program options provided for participants to choose from.
These programs are a way for the HR team to communicate to employees that they are being
groomed for higher positions and will be promoted next year. Each program has a different
cost and effectiveness. Implementing these programs keeps internal motivation high and
makes the firm attractive to new joiners.

Figure 6 The Training and future leadership Program decision areas displayed in the platform

Policies

3.6 Division Policy

The policies will make employee life easy and keep them motivated to work. The participants
have the freedom to choose any number of policies for each employee profile. The policies
will increase commitment to work, make the place more attractive for new joiners and
increase efficiency. The participants have ten options of policies to choose from and each has
a different cost as well as an effect on efficiency. The cost of implementation will be visible in
tables on the same screen and the impact of it can be visible in reports on Talent Management.

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Figure 7 The Division Policy decision area displayed in the platform

3.7 Diversity Inclusion Policy

The policies will make the work environment gender friendly. One of the important criteria
for the company is to increase the gender ratio and make workplace diversity in terms of
thinking. The participants are presented with a selection of 10 policy options, and they have
the flexibility to choose any number of policies for each employee profile. The cost of
implementation will be visible in tables on the same screen and the impact of it can be visible
in increasing diversity in reports of Talent acquisition. The description of policy will be visible
in cards while the trade-off in the budget has to be thought off with increasing diversity.

Figure 8 The diversity Inclusion Policy decision area displayed in the platform

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3.8 Townhall Program

Participants are offered ten Townhall program options and can implement any three of them
in a single financial year or round. The program serves as a communication platform between
teams, providing an opportunity to meet leaders and increase cross-communication. It aims
to increase the awareness level of employees, thereby improving their performance. The cost
of implementing each program will be updated in the tables, and a description of the program
will appear on cards once selected. The budget of the division will be a trade-off against the
awareness level, which will be visible in the Talent Management report.

Figure 9 The Townhall Program decision area displayed in the platform

4. Effectiveness

In this tab the decision-making will be as follow:

4.1 Implementation of tool

The tools are necessary to be deployed in the organization as they will assist the HR team to
control the process, managing learning & development, track recruitments and improve the
process. The four tools which can be deployed are as under:

− Performance & Goal measurement Tool

− Recruitment Analytics Measurement Tool
− Workforce Analytics Measurement Tool
− Process Content & Guidance Tool

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Figure 10 The Effectiveness tools decision area displayed in the platform

The above tools have an impact on HR team performance, employee efficiency and process
improvements. There are three options available to deploy any tool i.e., Base level,
Intermediate level, and Expert level. The option signifies the deployment cycle as if the team
starts with the base level and moves to a higher level, which signifies the opportunity provided
to teams by management to learn effectively from scratch and implement it.

If the team decides on higher-level deployment at the start means a forceful proposition for
employees to learn and implement. The tools have different costs and impacts on each
department. The cost of the tool also varies in which round it is deployed and at what level it
is deployed. The impact of all tools will be present long term i.e., for the next three financial
years. The tools cost consists of deployment + maintenance cost. The cost will be updated in
tables and graphs as soon as decisions have been made. The effectiveness of tools in
performance will be visible in graphs and reports of organization & effectiveness.

4.2 Budget Allocation

To increase stakeholder satisfaction, cooperation between departments plays the most

significant role. The money will be transferred from one department to another department
automatically in case of shortage. Despite that if budget is not managed effectively there will
be a budget overrun visible in the report KPI. The department will charge a penalty equivalent
to 20% of the budget overrun will reduce the budget in the upcoming year and visible in the
parameters.

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5. Case Scenario

In every round, the participant is presented with a unique case scenario. They are required to
provide both subjective and objective answers after carefully considering the scenario. Once
they have given their subjective response, the participant can submit it by proceeding to "lock
my action." The second step involves selecting appropriate options from a list of choices. The
game concludes upon completing these steps. To review the results and assess their
performance, the participant can move to the reports section.

Figure 11 The Case Scenario Section displayed in the platform

Note: Participant cannot change the subjective response once “lock my action” is clicked.

6. Reports

Once all decisions are made and participants submit them, the performance will be updated
for that particular financial year/round in the report section. The reports are divided into 4
parts:

6.1 Organization Effectiveness Report

The report presents the cost of tools deployed in the round. The maintenance cost will be
visible in all future reports of that tool. Additionally, the increment in performance level and
efficiency level compared to the last round after deploying the tool will be visible as well.

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6.2 Talent Acquisition Report

The report shows how hiring channels increase employer branding and attract new people to
join the company. It provides an overview of the number of people hired, retrenched, and
resigned from a particular department and profile. For instance, if recruitment agency
outsourcing is utilized, the report may indicate that recruitment in that department fell short
of the target number. The report also includes gender diversity ratio, cost of channels, cost of
recruitment agency outsourcing, and salary cost.

Additionally, the recruitment metrics section displays offer dropouts (those who received
better offers elsewhere), recruitment metrics (if less than 100%, work is outsourced), and
attrition rate (which depends on policies).

6.3 Talent Management Report

The report shows the increment in awareness and commitment level compared to last year,
which is influenced by policies, training, and tools. It also includes the employee engagement
score (up to a maximum of 5), which is based on factors like awareness and commitment.

Additionally, the report displays the cost of learning and management, as well as a learning
index, indicating the effectiveness and efficiency of learning initiatives within the organization.

6.4 KPI
The report includes the following metrics:

- Productivity level (base 1): If less than 1, it indicates a lack of motivation, prompting a rethink
of talent management. If above 1, it shows commitment.

- Well-being Index (base 1): If less than 1, employees are relatively free; otherwise, they are
overloaded, prompting a rethink of talent acquisition.

- Budget penalties: Visible under this report, indicating where budget limits were exceeded.

- Employee satisfaction score (max 5): Depends on employee engagement and stress level.

- Stakeholder satisfaction score (max 5): Depends on employee satisfaction score and budget
overrun.

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Game Play

• The save button option is provided in every decision tab such as:
o Talent acquisition (Process Audit function)
o Talent Management (Policies and training Decisions)
o Effectiveness & budgets (Organisational effectiveness tools Decisions)

Once decisions are made save button is compulsory otherwise system will not store
decisions and will not allow participants to click Submit button in the Scenario tab. The
save button will also keep the progress otherwise if participants log out then progress
will be lost for that round. Once decisions are saved, they can be changed ‘n’ number
of times before being submitted.

• Once the decisions of each tab are saved, the participant has to save the answers for
the case provided in the scenario tab then proceed with the option "Submit & Check"
and finally the "Exit” option will be available, once that is pressed participants will
return to the home tab. After that, they can enter the Game arena again to play the
next round.

• The participants have to play 1 practice & 5 rounds. The practice round is for
understanding the results while scores will be accounted from actual round only. The
download reports in excel format is available from the report section.

• The timer indicates the total time available to complete the entire game. Participants
can progress at their own pace, and it is not mandatory for everyone to submit their
decisions simultaneously, they have to adhere to the deadline of the simulation set by
instructor.

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