Introduction
Today’s business world moves at a breakneck pace, with every change inducing a strategic plan. In an era of the digital market, products, sectors, and customers are always evolving, and businesses are constantly adjusting their strategic approach to keep up. People are feeling the effects of this society of constant change. Every strategic move has a real-world consequence, and HR departments are uniquely qualified to inform the direction and assist people in navigating the subsequent shifts in the work environment (Bailey et al., 2018).
Aligning HR with the company’s strategy lets the department focus on the most important objectives. Talent is always important, but firms may need to make different investments in various skill sets or responsibilities at different periods. When HR understands the company’s strategic goals, it will be easier to find and hire the best employees at the correct time.
Global Conditions and HRM at Maersk
Human resource management has evolved dramatically during the preceding two decades, according to most experts. Big corporations do not want their workplace cultures to mimic those of a family. Nowadays, competing with other businesses is crucial to achieving success in any industry. As a result, employee turnover is high since underperformers no longer have a position in the team. As customer demands rise, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to decide whether it’s better to invest in internal personnel to make them more productive or find readily available external professionals (Bailey et al., 2018). These global changes have significantly impacted HR processes at Maersk.
When a company is expanding, there are several changes to be made. Taking the case of Maersk, the company wants to broaden its reach throughout Asia and Africa. Thus, “they assessed the major demands of the company and examined these needs within the context of Group’s five-year business strategy” (Groysberg & Abbot, 2013). Because Maersk was a family-run shipping business, they tried to view everyone’s mistakes as learning opportunities. Rapid expansion, on the other hand, transformed Maersk into a significant market participant. As a result, the need for labor has increased dramatically. Formal education and on-the-job training are essential for building a productive workforce.
Recruitment and Selection
One of the key functions of HRM is recruiting and selecting employees who are aligned with the organization’s goals. As a result, human resources departments strive to recruit and retain talented employees by providing them with growth opportunities. Maersk demonstrates its recruitment and selection process, which is geared towards achieving the set strategies.
The company’s management team developed people Strategy Sessions (PSS) to assess how employees fulfill their work obligations and what special qualities they possess that contribute to their success. Furthermore, it was discovered that personal growth has a significant impact on business operations (Groysberg & Abbot, 2013). A plan for recruitment and selection at Maersk should entail clear job descriptions, a thorough evaluation of candidates’ qualifications, and integrating both internal and external recruitment.
Internal vs. External recruitment
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) gives clear distinctions between internal and external hiring along with the merits and drawbacks of each method. On the one hand, internal recruitment entails selecting candidates for a job from the current workforce. This can be done through succession planning or performance appraisal. It is cheap, faster, and more convenient, especially when leaders look for someone with knowledge of the organization’s culture. On the other hand, external recruitment means sourcing new talents from peer organizations or advertising for job opportunities to the public (Bailey et al., 2018). External recruitment is expensive and may take longer than internal recruitment since the candidates have to be assessed
At Maersk, internal hiring seems to have been the main recruitment plan. It is recorded that some employees maintained their job positions for over 50 years (Groysberg & Abbot, 2013). With the proposed expansion, the company needs to recruit new talents, especially those with multi-cultural and regional operation knowledge. Therefore, Maersk should focus on external hiring, possibly from peer companies. This recruitment plan will place it in a better position to thrive in its new operation zones; Asia and Africa.
Components of Needs Assessment
The assessment of training needs is a vital procedure for employees’ training and development. According to Mazhisham et al. (2019), “failure to recognize the gap between current performance and abilities required generates considerable problems in terms of time, resources, and money” utilized for inadequate training (p. 20). As Groysberg and Abbott (2013) indicate that attraction, identification, development, deployment, and scenario planning were utilized as the components of a needs assessment to define the training needs of Maersk’s program (p. 6). The procedure of the needs assessment was mostly based on insufficient information, underdeveloped skills, or inappropriate job-related attitudes of the workforce.
Importance of Developing Learning Activities
Learning activities are critical because they allow employees to demonstrate what they’ve learned and then apply it to their jobs. Human resources at Maersk established a website called Development Shop, which, according to Groysberg and Abbott (2013), offered content from 250 business schools across the world and “covered” financial acumen, strategic leadership, and self-leadership (p. 10). In addition, classroom instruction, e-learning, and access to business literature were all included in the program. The creation of learning activities is a vital element in the Maersk training program since it boosts employee retention.
In order to include experiential learning methodologies and adult learning concepts into the Maersk Customer Service training program, I propose a number of actions are taken. Adults, in particular, can draw on previous experience to learn new things. Because of this, I would construct the training program such that participants could leverage their past knowledge and abilities to advance in the CARE role at Maersk. It is possible to blend traditional classroom learning with e-learning to satisfy a variety of needs. Experiential learning concepts also involve a focus on putting what students have learned to practical use.
Value of a Training Needs Assessment
There are numerous reasons why organizations should evaluate their training requirements. For instance, ineffective programs can save money and resources when they are properly trained. For example, according to Mazhisham et al. (2019), investing in people who aren’t right for the job might lead to lower productivity and an image and productivity problem for the organization. Because of Maersk, a business can identify performance concerns and connect learning and development programs with the organization’s strategy through a training needs assessment (Groysberg & Abbott, 2013). Employers and employees can both profit from such a proactive strategy.
Importance of Smart Objectives for a Training Plan
To help Maersk better its training program, the company should develop SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Oriented) targets that coincide with the company’s business plan. In order to develop the organization’s plans, SMART objectives determine and evaluate the organization’s personnel and training requirements, along with the progress and accomplishments of the employees (Mazhisham et al., 2019). Using this framework, Maersk will be able to verify that its trainers cover all of the necessary objectives while also meeting the company’s training requirements. Achievable goals are also specific and time-bound, which encourages people to put in the effort necessary to achieve them.
HRM’s Role in Performance Management
Performance reviews are commonly used to support choices about training and professional development, salary, transfers, promotions, and layoffs, or other changes in force in most businesses today. HRM is crucial in the development and implementation of performance evaluations. As a matter of fact, the HR team serves as a go-between for functional leaders and employees. It is the human resources team’s job to make sure the appraisal process runs well. Performance management should be aligned with the organization’s strategic plans because the quality of the workforce determines overall organizational performance.
Management should consider how to handle evaluation results in addition to focusing on how an appraisal is doing. Because performance management is a continuous process, succession planning and talent management should be prioritized above performance management in order to prevent operations from being disrupted. Human resource management facilitates the comparison of output results by being consistent and clear in its implementation. Human resource management. Performance management relies heavily on human resources data collection, making them an invaluable asset.
Differences between Appraisal Systems
Behavior/trait-based and results-oriented are the most common performance appraisal systems. Trait-focused efficiency assessment methods emphasize qualities such as dependability, helpfulness, and timeliness, amongst others. In the case of a results-based approach, workers are evaluated based on their performance on a scale that goes from “needs advance” to “exceeds opportunities” (DeNisi & Murphy, 2017). An excellent illustration of this is contact centers, where personnel is graded from 1 to 5 on a scale of 1 to 5, with one denoting that they have not achieved their full potential and 5 identifying that they have, or have had, a wonderful performance.
Routine behavioral/traits evaluation systems created to measure specific conducts are leveled using balances. Instead of only looking at past performance, employees are evaluated based on their current actions and personal attributes (DeNisi & Murphy, 2017). A good application is where a therapeutic agent’s determination to answer the phone to sellers/pharmacy directors and make their weekly allotment of on-site social calls to execute facial landmark conferences and develop good relations with clients, for example, is categorized.
Identifying best-suited appraisals
Although different appraisals can be used in n organization, it is crucial to understand which one gives the best results. One key method of identifying the best approach is gathering feedback from employees, managers, and other stakeholders. According to DeNisi and Murphy (2017), it is also important to assess the long-term effects of an appraisal system. In the case of Maersk, the trait-focused method would be more applicable to retain individuals who can positively impact the organization with a new set of good traits such as dedication to work.
Performance Rating Scales’
Numerous measures, such as numeric, alphanumeric, and graphical, can be used by businesses to assess staff productivity levels. In a numerical review process, numbers are used instead of alphabets, but in a character review process, they are both used. A 5 indicates satisfactory performance, while a 4 indicates underperformance. Graphical scales ranging from 1-3, 1-5, and so on are frequently used for performance evaluations in the workplace (DeNisi & Murphy (2017.
As an example, the number 1 indicates that something does not satisfy those requirements, the number 2 indicates that something needs to be improved, the number 3 indicates that something defines the conditions, and the number 4 indicates that something meets quality standards. They can be used to distinguish between distinct orders of scale, like leadership, customer support, accountability, and corporate operations that an organization chooses.
Compensation Philosophy
The term “compensation philosophy” refers to the method utilized by employees and employers to assure the payment of their personnel. Maersk’s technique of compensation is based on industrial approach design. Exceptions to the company’s restitution policy include its strategy of offering additional special money to entice external candidates throughout the recruitment process (Maersk, 2020). The market has an impact on the company’s reparation policy, causing it to either go up or down in price. Employees with in-demand abilities earn more than those without, although the market forces of demand and supply also have an impact on remuneration.
Salary Surveys and Advantages of Discretionary Benefits
Salary surveys refer to the study done by a company in the industry or region to define the salaries of employees. So the organization’s decision-making can be informed, allowing it to set limits on how much compensation it can pay its diverse employees (Korneeva et al., 2021). A wage survey’s major findings are the maximum and minimum salaries paid to employees in any given department, and these limitations are set. Allowing employees to choose discretionary perks promotes employee retention, promotes staff advancement, and increases productivity. Employee retention is aided by discretionary benefits, which serve as incentives to keep employees loyal to the business. Better incentives cannot be provided by competitors who are constantly courting the company’s finest employees.
References
Bailey, C., Mankin, D., & Garavan, T. (2018). Strategic human resource management. Oxford University Press.
DeNisi, A. S., & Murphy, K. R. (2017). Performance appraisal and performance management: 100 years of progress?. Journal of applied psychology, 102(3), 421. Web.
Groysberg, B. & Abbott, S. (2013). A.P. Moller – Maersk Group: Evaluating strategic talent management initiatives. Harvard Business School.
Korneeva, E. V., Eremina, I. Yu., & Abdulkadyrov, A. S. (2021). Competitive salary as a company efficiency factor. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, 487–494.
Maersk. (2020). Remuneration. Investor.maersk. Web.
Mazhisham, P. H., Khalid, M. Y., Nazli, N. N. N. N., Manap, R., & Hussain, N. H. M. (2019). Identification of training needs assessment in organizational context. International Journal of Modern Trends in Social Science, 1(5), 20-30. Web.