Human Resources Final Project

University
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management

Instructor
September 09, 2012

Human Resources Final Project
Table of Contents I. Recruiting and Selection. II. Training and Development. III. Performance Management. IV. Employee Discipline. V. Compensation and Benefits. VI. Labor Relations.

Recruiting and Selection
A Bad Hire Is Worse Than You Think. According to the Harvard Business Review, 80 percent of turnover is caused by bad hiring decisions. These are costly mistakes. The U.S. Department of Labor calculates that it costs one-third of a new hire’s annual salary to replace him. These figures include money spent on recruitment, selection and training plus costs due to decreased productivity as other employees fill in to take up the slack.
But these numbers don’t reflect the intangible damages an exiting employee can have such as lost customers and low employee morale across the rest of the organization. And, turnover costs climb even higher as you move up the organization: mid- and upper–level managers can cost over twice their annual salary to replace. (Meyer, n.d., p. 2) IT seems to have put themselves in a position to be heavily reliant on their employees to recruit for open positions. Therefore, many of the employees are related socially or through family. This is s practice that can potentially be dangerous. Possible cases for nepotism, broken friendships, divorces, etc. can cause employees to "choose sides" when it comes to work related issues. A "good ol' boys" network thrives in this environment. All of this creates a dysfunction that can cripple a business.
I believe that IT needs to do a better job in requiring that multiple methods are used in the screening process while hiring new employees. Shifting reliance on employee referrals to a more scientific method can be done by eliminating the employee referral program, using a 3rd party to screen applicants, or by utilizing the programs that they have available through their trade organization. The Texas Workforce Commission is a 3rd party resource that provides a low cost and efficient way to attract the right talent. They advertize many services; Use our recruiting and hiring services to search for qualified workers. Take advantage of job matching assistance, participate in incentive programs, find important information about the local labor market, and more. (TWC, n.d.)
IT does have a strategic plan for managing their talent, but is not following it very close to its intent. Improvement is needed.
Training and Development
Create a corporate culture that supports continual learning, counseled Charlene Marmer Solomon in Workforce.com. Employees today must have access to continual training of all types just to keep up…. If you don't actively stride against the momentum of skills deficiency, you lose ground. If your workers stand still, your firm will lose the competency race. (Solomon, April 1999)
Successful companies are continuously developing new training methods, but there are several old methods that will always be effective when used alone or preferably combined as a total curriculum. I feel that IT can create a better employee and better working environment by using a combination of these methods:
First, an orientation training is a key component to getting new employees off to a great start. Regardless of how it is communicated, new employees need to be given a comprehensive training on the company's history, chain of command within their department and within the company, company policies, rules and regulations as well as other topics pertinent to the position.
Following orientation, ongoing classroom and location based trainings are vital. They need to include: Lecture, Case Study, Simulator and Computer-Based Methods. The use of outside consultants, manufacturers representatives and resources is very underutilized. IT does a great job in monitoring employees with CE requirements.
Where IT can make huge progress in their training and development is to create and use a strategic job-rotation schedule to provide cross training to employees. In addition, there are many opportunities for Team-Building exercises that could be employed to create a healthy bond between employees, increase productivity as well as teach skills.
One key factor in employee motivation and retention is the opportunity employees want to continue to grow and develop job and career enhancing skills. In fact, this opportunity to continue to grow and develop through training and development is one of the most important factors in employee motivation. (Heathfield, S. n.d.)
Performance Management
A common process for managing employees is the traditional practice of annual performance reviews. While these annual reviews have their shortcomings, companies around the globe continue to use them. Often the criteria on which employees are evaluated are not closely related to the true needs of the organization. Therefore, it is critical that employees are evaluated based on the behavioral competencies that are most critical for performing well in the job and promoting the goals of the organization. For the most accurate and legally defensible results, the behavioral competencies on which evaluations are based should be validated through a detailed review process developed by either the human resources department or an outside consultant to specifically address the needs of the organization (Athey & Orth, 1999).
IT does not have a comprehensive process or structure in place for evaluating and managing employee performance. They truly need one. A formal performance management strategy allows for the creation of a working environment or setting that enables, empowers and engages people to perform to the best of their abilities. A comprehensive performance management strategy begins when a job is defined as needed and ends with the exit interview when an employee leaves the organization; and documents the history. Having a strategic performance management system in place should assist in: * Developing clear job descriptions. * Selecting the best candidates from a specific selection process. * Negotiating job position requirements and measurement for performance based compensation. * Providing recommendations for orientation, CE, and training. * Providing on-going mentoring, coaching and feedback. * Conducting quarterly performance-development meetings. * Creating a competitive compensation and recognition systems that will reward employees for performance. * Determining specific career development opportunities and promotions. * Conducting exit interviews to help understand why employees leave the company and where they go.

Companies with a performance-driven work environment realize a competitive advantage over their peers, says AberdeenGroup, a leading research firm. In their report, Employee Performance Management: The Aligned, Performance Driven Workforce, found that companies that are performance-driven report higher productivity and higher employee performance levels, as well as better employees' attitudes toward their work and their satisfaction with their employing companies in general. Businesses today need to move away from the yearly report card mentality, said Dr. Katherine Jones, Aberdeen's research director of enterprise applications and author of the report. This will help them better clarify expectations, align goals and objectives, and articulate evaluation measures to optimize the performance management business process over the life of the employee. They can then begin to move beyond pay-for-performance to performance-for-profit. (AberdeenGroup. 1/2005)

Employee Discipline
All in all, IT has a great plan to deal with preventing and dealing with employee disciplinary issues and exceeds any plan that I have professionally been a part of. Their records of safety and employee tenure proves that.
The only process that I would continue to improve upon is documentation. In the event they are needed in a legal process, there is nothing better to rely upon is a paper trail. That paper trail should contain the good, the bad and the ugly in representing the specific employee’s tenure with IT.
According to Karen Sutherland of Ogden Murphy Wallace, P.L.L.C.'s Employment Law Practice Group, the following are reasons why documentation of employee discipline and work performance is important. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but provides some illustrative examples: * Documentation of discipline will help establish that future, progressive discipline is not retaliatory. * Documentation makes it easier for multiple supervisors or successive supervisors to track behavior and performance. * Consistent documentation can be used to counter a discrimination charge. * Disciplinary records can help the employer prove its position in arbitration or in court, if necessary. * Documentation of discipline helps employees know where they stand, and may improve their performance. * If there is an Agreement or a binding Manual, then there must be documentation before termination for unsatisfactory work performance * Progressive discipline is very difficult to impose without written documentation of past disciplinary actions. (Sutherland, K. n.d.)
You need to be careful when writing up employees for disciplinary reasons. That's because how you document the problem can cause problems if an employee files a lawsuit. (BMDaily. March 2004)
Compensation and Benefits
The Houston, TX job market is strong compared to the rest of the US. Over the last year, job postings in Houston, TX have declined by 19% relative to a national decline of 32%. (Indeed. September 2012)
Due to a robust employment market for labor type jobs in the Houston area, IT finds itself "chasing" when it comes to compensation. In a market-driven or market-priced environment, communication that key. My recommendation is that the HR Department make much more of an effort to communicate with other employers as well as trade organizations and journals to keep abreast of compensation. It will be very useful in both attracting new employees as well as keeping key employees in a competitive job market.
With regards to Benefits at IT, it is hard to criticize. According to JM, HR Administration at IT, with nearly 100% participation, the average employee carries a balance of over $100,000 in their 401(k) plan while being very happy with the additional benefits such as health and life and dental insurance.
It would be my recommendation to continue to being as aggressive as time allows with educating employees on their benefit package. With changes in healthcare and retirement plans, a much more aggressive education plan will really help their employees stay informed. Continuing to educate their employees about benefits will play an important part in the hiring of new employees as well as keeping valuable employees. A great example for a need for more education would be;
The U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule requiring greater fee disclosure to participants in 401(k) and similar retirement plans—starting by Aug. 30, 2012—will be received by many employees as generally good news. But not by all. It will be good for employees who work for organizations that have been informing them about the 401(k) fees they pay. It will further clarify and reinforce what they know. Yet even for these employees, it might be the first time they learn about the plan’s administrative and other fees.
For employees who believe their 401(k) is free—bad news. These “you never told me” (YNTM) employees could blame their employer for allowing fees to be taken out of their accounts without telling them. For some YNTM employees, having never been told they were paying fees may matter as much or more than the size of the fees. (SHRM. February 2012)
Labor Relations
Conflict between employees and workgroups can be destructive and divisive for organizations. Conflict can, however, be managed effectively while fostering and maintaining individual respect for the parties involved. (DHHS n.d.)
At this time, IT does not have an active strategy for Labor or Employee relations. In fact, this is an area where there can be significant improvement. Having designated or hired person within the HR Department would be helpful in many areas including being in front of issues before they spiral. The responsibilities of a Labor Relations Representative would include: * Building credible and trusting relationships with all employees to help facilitate effective employee communication and relations across the company. * Being among the employees regularly, listening to concerns and working with the appropriate department team member to respond appropriately and in a timely manner. * Exercise judgment and decision-making in the best interest of maintaining positive and productive employee-management relations. * Being an on-site expert to provide advice to Operations and HR leadership to ensure fair and consistent application of ITs rules, policies and practices * Be continuously educated and knowledgeable on all labor relations practices and events * Be the lead trainer on initiatives and communications on labor relations topics. * Monitor labor relations trends and developments in the industry and communicate those to operating units and company departments as appropriate.
In a litigious world that we live in, having a Labor Relations Representative can help avoid legal problems exampled in this 2006 article:
Houston – Houston’s five largest cleaning firms will face an investigation by the federal labor board over charges the companies illegally fired and intimidated janitors who have been involved in their union. Twenty-two Unfair Labor Practice charges, being filed today against the five cleaning companies, will be announced at a rally downtown at 4:30PM today, October 20 outside 1100 Louisiana. After the announcement, janitors will lead a march through Houston’s downtown business district. I work hard but I was fired when I spoke out for the basic things all families need, says Margarita Sintillo, a member of the janitors’ bargaining committee and former Pritchard janitor at the Bechtel building. An unfair labor practice charge filed on Sintillo’s behalf by her union, SEIU (Service Employees International Union) charges Pritchard with firing her for participation in union activities protected by federal labor laws. My co-workers and I have the right to work together to win a better life. (Latinosfortexas. October 2006)

References
AberdeenGroup. (1/2005) Performance-Driven Workforce Management Strategies Result in Better Employees. Retrieved from http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/articles/2005/workforce-management-markets-research- aberdeen.htm
Athey, T.R., & Orth, M.S. (1999). Emerging competency methods for the future. Human Resource Management, 38(3), 215-224. Retrieved from http://www8.esc.edu/esconline/across_esc/forumjournal.nsf/%20wholeshortlinks2/Work +Competencies
Indeed. (September 2012). Houston Jobs, Indeed.com Retrieved from http://www.indeed.com/local/Houston-TX-jobs
BMDaily. March 2004. Business Management Daily, 7 tips for documenting employee discipline Retrieved from http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/1306/7-tips-for-documenting-employee-discipline
DHHS. (n.d.) Employee Relations and Conflict Management. Retrieved from https://www.foh.dhhs.gov/services/Training/relations.asp
Heathfield, Susan M. (n.d.) Training and Development for Employee Motivation and Retention, Training and Development Options. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/training/a/training_dev.htm
Latinosfortexas. (October 2006) Latinosfortexas.com. National Labor Relations Board to investigate five Houston cleaning firms treatment of Janitors Retrieved from http://www.latinosfortexas.com/blog/?p=447
Meyer, D. (n.d.). Nine Recruiting and Selection Tips to Ensure Successful Hiring Five Recruiting and Hiring Tips. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/selectemployees/a/staff_selection.htm
Solomon, Charlene Marmer. (April 1999) Continual Learning: Racing Just to Keep Up. Workforce. com. Retrieved from http://www.answers.com/topic/training-and-development-1#ixzz25twbqh2p
SHRM.(February 2012) shrm.org. 401(k) Fee Disclosure for the ‘You Never Told Me’ Employees Referenced from http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/Articles/Pages/DisclosureViewpoint.aspx
Sutherland, Karen. (n.d.) Documenting Employee Discipline And Performance Issues Retrieved from http://www.omwlaw.com/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=76
TWC (n.d.). Recruiting & Hiring Resources. Retrieved from http://www.twc.state.tx.us/customers/bemp/recruiting-hiring-resources.html