Introduction
Human resources are essential for an organization, from strategic planning to the company’s image. HR specialists in small businesses with extensive experience provide company employees with various services. The areas where HR maintains control can enhance employee experience while strengthening business processes.
Scenario
Andy, a quality assurance specialist, and Ismal, an IT robotics specialist, have been employed at ACME, Inc. for two years. The two colleagues are friends and frequently socialize with other employees, including Henry, a newly hired HR staffing specialist.
During one of their gatherings, Ismal noticed a video on the overhead screen titled “4 Essentials for Compassionate Leadership” and asked the group to pay attention. He remarked that although he earned a good salary at ACME, he had recently begun to feel that something was lacking in his work experience.
Andy responded by stating that he considered Ismal fortunate, as his own situation had worsened since being assigned a new manager. Ismal agreed, silently reflecting on his own negative experiences with his supervisor.
The Task for HR in the Scenario
Therefore, Henry, as HR, will be able to improve ACME’s bottom line by gaining knowledge of how human capital affects an organization’s success. He can do this by improving employee performance, influencing employee motivation, and using tangible and intangible methods to retain them.
Strategic Plan for Henry
Employee Performance
Henry should use a personal approach to employees, initially dividing them into three groups according to the efficiency level. The first group is high-performers, the second is middle-performers, and the third is low-performers (Hyacinth, 2019). People of the first type need to keep the fuse and engagement, and HR needs to ensure that such an employee does not burn out. Giving second-level employees a development track is essential to help them move into the first group (Hyacinth, 2019). For the third category of employees, Henry needs to identify gaps and problems that prevent them from moving up a step.
Henry can use one or more effective ways and tools to improve ACME employees’ efficiency. First, he can organize employee training as an HR specialist. Investing in employees is one of the best business investments (Hyacinth, 2019). The costs of training, various trainings, advanced training courses, and mentors for the team are more than repaid in the medium and long term (Wilkie, 2020). More qualified employees often not only demonstrate high productivity but also help in the development of the entire company, giving the business certain competitive advantages.
Moreover, Henry can increase motivation by setting specific goals and objectives. Concretizing long-term and medium-term plans and setting daily goals can form employees’ discipline for high staff productivity (Seven Dimensions, 2021). The specifics of the strategic plan related to planning also include the designation of deadlines. Setting deadlines works effectively to generate internal motivation among employees (Chordas, 2020).
According to the observations of one professor, the task usually requires as much time as it will be allocated. If Henry sets employees to create a new presentation for clients by the end of the week, this task will be completed (Newman, 2019a). In this case, strict time management and breaking large projects into subtasks and stages helps.
Henry can also act on a top-down basis, that is, to compare ACME’s strategic goals with its current state and offer development options to employees if necessary. For example, to achieve this increase in efficiency, a specific skills upgrade in employees is needed (KPI, n.d.). In this way, Henry can create a competency development plan with employees so that ACME can achieve its goals and, at the same time, develop its staff.
Employee Motivation
Financial Motivation
Henry needs to organize the motivation system to work in the interests of the company and the employees. Financial motivation is the money that an employee receives for their work. The variable depends on the employee’s performance, and Henry can use it as motivation (Kollmann et al., 2020). For example, Henry can arrange employee payments, which consist of a percentage of the value of the goods or services they have sold. This option is combined with a permanent salary and without it.
Moreover, Henry can introduce bonuses to achieve goals or increase employee value (Bacal, n. d.). In the first case, employees are paid when they perform tasks efficiently or exceed the target criteria (Ohunakin et al., 2020). In the second case, the employee receives a bonus for possessing unique skills or payments to particularly important specialists whose departure from the company is undesirable.
Non-Financial Motivation
Non-financial motivation does not relate to remuneration and includes everything an employee receives from the company, except salary. The measures of motivation that Henry can implement can also be tangible –for example, when ACME provides free lunches (Vliet et al., 2019). Such measures are designed for all company employees by default or used as a reward for good work. Henry can use several non-material motivation methods. First, these are social guarantees and benefits such as health insurance, meals, and transportation to work (Heathfield, 2019).
Employees can be encouraged to motivate through company-funded training and participation in professional conferences. For active employees, the motivation will be assistance in relocation or the opportunity to travel while working in different company branches (Liraz, n.d d.). Employees who value stability and comfort can be motivated by workplace upgrades, corporate awards, and honor boards.
Employee Retention
Employee retention is an effort that Henry, as HR, can make to continue working with specialists for as long as possible. The retention rate, in turn, directly affects the business’s success and turnover (Newman, 2019b). As an HR, Henry can hire employees who share and align with the company’s values (Wilkie, 2020). Employees can develop professional skills and abilities, but if a person does not initially share the company’s values, it is tough to change this.
Initially hiring appropriate people, Henry will get loyal and engaged employees. Newcomers close to the company’s values and culture can join the team faster because they feel comfortable and confident (Vliet et al., 2019). 80% of employee layoffs are due to incorrect decisions during hiring (KPI, n. d.). Therefore, Henry should go beyond the boundaries during the interview and ask questions about ACME values. He should initially explain how vital the role of employees is and what results are expected from their work. Moreover, to retain employees, Henry should suggest paying attention to them and taking care of their health, for example, by providing sick leave and free medical examinations.
Conclusion
In general, Henry, as an HR specialist, is a strategic partner for the company’s management who can significantly impact the business’s success. An adequately organized HR process attracts and retains highly professional employees, increases their efficiency, and develops their potential. Therefore, for Henry to work successfully, it is necessary to have extensive knowledge and skills in personnel management. He cooperates with the management and other company departments to achieve common goals. Therefore, by offering measures to retain and motivate employees, he positions himself as a necessary and valuable specialist for ACME.
References
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