Human Resource Management

Introduction

A human resource manager (HRM) undertakes the processes of recruiting employees, training and developing them, compensating them, and retaining them. Therefore, HRMs are critical members of every organization, big or small. However, they face challenging situations within and without the organizations, which prompts them to apply the most competitive and efficient strategy for each process. This paper identifies the strategies, pros and cons, challenges, and potential solutions to various scenarios in the HRM capacity.

Scenario One

Scenario One – Answer One- Positions to Recruit and Why

One of the critical roles of HRM in an organization is the recruitment process. According to the coursebook, the recruitment process requires a robust strategic plan to absorb the appropriate workforce in an organization (Human Resource Management, 2012. Chapter 4. Section 4.1 The Recruitment Process, page 92. para. 1). It is difficult to identify the positions for which to recruit in a company before conduction a job analysis. Therefore, a job analysis would reveal the positions to recruit as per the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) laws and the company’s position in the competitive labor market. Notably, recruitment of some high-level positions may be left to head hunters.

Scenario One – Answer Two – Challenges in the Recruitment Policies and Guidelines

            Currently, the recruitment process subjects HRM to challenges ranging from costs, technology, economy, workforce diversification, and ethics. Companies incur recruitment costs, such as the hiring process and motivation strategies. As technology increases in its intelligence, most positions are adjusting to accommodate vital teams and employees. Besides, there work diversification has enabled the recruitment of a mix of generations into workplaces (Haynes, 2011, page 217). Notably, learning and observing appropriate ethical requirements in a recruitment process is imperative to counter ethical issues around recruitment. HRM ought to combat the challenges by identifying cheaper recruitment processes, improving job analysis techniques to cater for virtual teams, and treating all generations as equals during recruitment.

Scenario One – Answer Three – My Recruitment Strategy

            As HRM, effective filling of a position requires a robust recruitment strategy. Preliminary, I would refer to the company’s staffing plan to identify the positions available and the gaps in the company’s workforce. That may entail analyzing the department’s’ alignment to the company’s mission and values, or their SWOT (Human Resource Management, 2012. Chapter. Section 2.1 Strategic Planning, page 46. para. 1). Secondly, I would develop a job analysis and analyze it by a survey within the company. After identifying the talent and skill gaps in the company’s human resources, I would write the job description for the position to fill. Then utilize the appropriate job bidding system to attract the appropriate job candidates. Concurrently, I would familiarize myself with the updated guidelines concerning recruitment. For instance, one should familiarize with equity and fair employment requirement of the EEOC (“Employee Rights,” n.d. para 4). Other steps would entail developing a recruitment plan, implementing it, accepting applications, and selecting the desirable candidate.

Scenario Two

Scenario Two – Question One – Handling a Program Manager’s Performance

            In a situation where a program manager is underperforming, I would approach him to identify the underlying issues causing underperformance and collaborate with them to improve their performance. The approach is objective and helps in solving ease. For instance, taking the time to review the program its self and the milestones made, one may identify the progress that is not conspicuous or milestones that are problematic and could have caused the underperformance. Also, one may seek feedback from other stakeholders to factor in the impression of the manager within the organization. Most importantly, talking to the program manager clears the situations, and may create a common ground to improve their performance. In that case, direct communication in an organized meeting is the best approach (Bucăţa & Rizescu, 2017, page 50). Both the program manager and the HRM reveal their concerns, identify the problem, deduce the strategic solution, and set expectations.

Scenario Two – Question Two – Options, Pros, and Cons of Finding a New Program Manager

Given that a solution for underperforming program managers has not been found, or there is a need for a new manager, there are various options available. They may be strategic, social, or highly acceptable by other stakeholders of the program (van de Riet, Berghout, Buljac-Samardžić, van Exel & Hilders, 2019). However, the candidate must have a high-performance record from their previous positions. Such recruitment is beneficial to an organization since the new manager comes along with new fresh ideas and is determined to prove his or her performance. However, they may take longer to align with the organization’s mission and vision or fail to do so at all.

Scenario Two – Question three – Challenges of Recruitment and Retention

Recruitment and retention are roles of the HRM. Preferably, HRM would retain employees since turnover is an expensive process (Human Resource Management, 2012. Chapter 7. Section 7.1 Cost and Turnover, page 214. para. 1). Other challenges include longevity of the recruitment strategy, limited recruitment resources, lack of an ideal candidate, and candidates might take longer to adjust to the organization’s culture (Ayite & Mutambara, 2016, page 22. para. 2).

Scenario Two – Question Four – Who To consult on Recruitment and Retention

            Since recruitment and retention has repercussion to an organization at large, HRM ought to make consultations before making a decision. One of the ideal persons to communicate with about the strategy is a human resource consultant (Domsch & Hristozova, n.d. page 2. Para, 3). He or she will help in reflecting on the SWOT of the strategy to use. Besides, talking to managers to know the cost implications of the strategy on the organization.

Scenario Three

Scenario Three – Question One – Primary Recruitment and Retention Issues

As HRM, the primary issues that are critical during the recruitment process include “knowing how many people to hire, what skills they should possess, and hiring them when the time is right” (Human Resource Management, 2012. Chapter 2. Section 2.2 Writing the HRM Plan, page 53. para. 3). A HRM must ensure that they hire the individuals who are skilled, talented, and have the desired attitude and personality for the position to fill. Besides, one must have an effective and up to date recruitment tool (Capelli, 2019. The way forward, para 5). Concerning retention, the primary issues are the compensation plans within the budget of the organization and the existing laws that favor employees.

Scenario Three – Question Two – Retaining Existing Employees

As noted in the previous question, the retention of employees may challenge the HRM in his work. One approach to retain employees entail improving their working environment, increasing their benefits, and offering a favorable compensation plan (Florentine, 2019). Besides,  HRM may work with the managers to create an interesting organization culture, perfect collaboration among teams and managers, and assign tasks to employees who are skilled passionate. Additionally,  HRM may organize training and development for employees under contracts to suit their work demands but remain in the organization’s service.

Scenario Three – Question Three – Motivating the Current Team

At times, HRM may succeed in employee retention by simply motivating employees. Besides, motivation increases employee’s productivity. Some viable methods for motivating employees include: Personally, commend employees for their achievement, taking time to listen and respond to employees’ concerns, offering specific feedback on performance to teams and individual employees, involving employees in some decision making, and strategizing on effective collaboration and communication. Besides, Herzberg argues that the guidance of employees into their roles, and developing their skills is what motivates teams to maximize their productivity (Herzberg, 2020, para 1).

Scenario Three – Question Four – Replacing Vacant Positions

Replacing a position left by a team member is a critical process that ought to be conducted within the shortest time possible after it is vacated. Unlike in recruiting for a new position, HRM is aware of the position vacated and has its job description. Therefore, one may crosscheck the available workforce to identify chances for promoting someone into the position (Capelli, 2019, para 12). Otherwise, HRM may go ahead and advertise the position on the available job bidding platforms. After receiving the applications, the next steps would be the development of a recruitment plan, implementing it, accepting applications, and selecting the desirable candidate.

Scenario Four

Scenario Four – Question One – Recruiting New Employees

In an organization, teams play a critical role in meeting the vision and mission. HRM must create high-performance teams to ensure their productivity meets corporate expectations (Shuffler, Diazgranados, Maynard & Salas, 2018, page 2). To do that, HRM identifies talent gaps for a new team and analyses the job description of the team members to hire. Members of the team may be current employees of the organization or recruits into the organization. However, the recruitment and hiring process would be the same, as mentioned in previous scenarios. That is, identify a talent gap, create an analysis and conduct job description, develop a recruitment plan, implement it, accept applications, and select the desirable candidate.

Scenario Four – Question Two – Integrating New Teams

            Once a team is created, the next crucial step entails integrating them into the organization. That would cost the HRM the time and effort to train the members of the new team to align them with corporate expectations. First, HRM would help the team to create ground rules and inform the specific expectations from the team’s productivity. The second step would entail the formation of a collaboration and communication strategy, to maintain the course if the team throughout its lifecycle within the organization’s culture (Bridges, Davidson, Soule Odegard, Maki & Tomkowiak, 2011). That way, the team would be ready to undertake its purpose.

Scenario Four – Question Three – Compensation strategy

Concerning compensation, the compensation strategy must align with the core values of the organization. The goal of the strategy is to attract viable candidates and retain them in the organization (Martocchio & Liao, 2009, Chapter 2. Page 122). The compensation strategy must identify the top talent desirable to retain them in the organization, factor in the rewards that matter most to employees, be open to discussion among employees and managers, and leverage growth and development of talent.

Conclusion

To sum up, the role of HRM in an organization is inarguably essential, as they undertake the processes of recruiting employees, training and them, compensating them, and retaining them. Each process is critical and has underlying challenges that prompt the use of robust strategies and problem-solving skills. Notably, the better the strategy, the better the team HRM secures, and the higher the chances of employee retention.

References

Ayite, P., & Mutambara, E. (2016). An Investigation of the Recruitment and Retention Challenges in an Organisation for International Cooperation. Journal Of Business And Management, 18(11), 14-26. doi: 10.9790/487X-1811041426

Bridges, D., Davidson, R., Soule Odegard, P., Maki, I., & Tomkowiak, J. (2011). Interprofessional collaboration: three best practice models of interprofessional education. Medical Education Online, 16(1), 6035. doi: 10.3402/meo.v16i0.6035

Bucăţa, G., & Rizescu, A. (2017). The Role of Communication in Enhancing Work Effectiveness of an Organization. Land Forces Academy Review, 22(1), 49-57. doi: 10.1515/raft-2017-0008

Capelli, P. (2019). Your Approach to Hiring Is All Wrong. Retrieved 22 April 2020, from https://hbr.org/2019/05/recruiting

Domsch, M., & Hristozova, E. The Role of Human Resource Management in Consulting Firms. Human Resource Management In Consulting Firms, 3-24. doi: 10.1007/3-540-31138-6_1