Introduction
Amazon is one of the world’s largest retail companies, occupying the leading position in the electronic segment of the market. Its business model has a long history of success determined by the active use of digital innovation and promotion of convenient retail formats for the end consumer. Indeed, Amazon possesses an array of critical advantages that solidify its position on the market, enhancing the company’s competitive advantage. More specifically, Amazon boasts its customer-centered business model, within which all operations aim at improving customer experience, as well as the convenience and usability of the services. In addition, the reputation of the brand works toward its status as the leader of the industry. Years and decades of domination in the electronic retail segment have secured the leading position of the brand, establishing strong associations with quality and reliability. This way, Amazon benefits from the trust of its customer base.
However, the current landscape exhibits a continuously growing level of competition, which threatens the position of Amazon. The performance of the company is not impeccable, as prior analysis revealed an array of weaknesses and risks that may become crucial in the contemporary environment. First of all, the business model of Amazon is subject to replication, as the level of technological progress creates such opportunities for new entrants. More companies venture into the territory of electronic retail, especially in the age of digital solutions as the primary response to the COVID-conditioned reality. Nevertheless, while Amazon’s resilience to competition is considerable, its primary weakness lies in the process of human resource management organization. The company remains the target for frequent accusations of poor working conditions and workforce exploitation. In other words, the pursuit of efficiency and customer experience is likely to have cast a shadow on the needs of Amazon’s own employee. Today’s values in business emphasize the importance of effective human resource management, meaning that the failure to comply with this principle is likely to undermine the position of the company.
The present document aims to propose a short-to-mid-term solution to the discussed issue of ineffective human resource management process. More specifically, it concerns the reorganization of internal protocols and relations through the implementation of updated human resource policies within the company. The overarching purpose of the process is to ensure the defense of workers’ rights to a sufficient degree that will refute the public’s accusations. Through the correct execution of the process, Amazon will reinforce its internal relations, preventing burnout and employee turnover. As such, workers will be more likely to perform at the optimal level required by the company, as long as these requirements correspond with perceived benefits of employment. This way, the impact of the alleged worker right neglect will be negated, allowing Amazon to concentrate on its strength in the new competitive age. The completion of the goal will be possible through the soonest establishment of an Employee Rights taskforce, which will assess the present situation and develop a roadmap to improvements.
Process Boundaries
The scope of the discussed process encompasses all stages of the employee experience within Amazon. This proposal addresses the combination of all steps in order to outline the improvement potential in this regard. According to Reuter (2021), Amazon employs over 950,000 people in the United States, making it the second largest employer of the nation after Walmart. The experience of each of these people begins with the very first interview for the position and persists through all stages of the work until the termination of the contract. In fact, Reuters (2021) mentions that, in spite of the decision to set the company’s minimum wage at $15 per hour, the annual turnover rate attains 150%. Thus, employee experience needs to be reviewed in full within the process boundaries in order to instill major improvements.
Process Configuration
The process of human resource management at Amazon is vast an encompasses all stages of an employee’s communication and interaction with the company. At the initial stage, an individual is added to the workforce of the company and introduces their own inputs. The process begins with the first acquaintance with Amazon’s work organization, values, benefits, and regulations. This point will not be subject to major modification, as the issues tend to arise during the later phases. In the current process, the benefits of employment are often provided without regard to the expectations and needs of the employees. In other words, the nature and distribution of these benefits are centered around the perceptions of the management, as well as the prevalence of a customer-focused model. Nevertheless, the proposed modifications are related to a better mutual dialogue throughout the stages of later employment. This way, both parties will remain in the spirit of cooperation, reducing the number of forced or uncomfortable resignations.
Current Process
Proposed Process
Process Metrics
Within the framework of the process metrics, the annual turnover of the employees remains the key figure. According to Reuter (2021), this metric currently amounts to negatively impressive 150%. Such a high turnover rate has been achieved in spite of the reported efforts to increase the workers’ salaries and benefits. Thus, these efforts have been either insufficient or made in the wrong direction. The recent employee satisfaction figures provided by Del Rey (2021) indicate that the level of happiness among workers, indeed, leaves much to be desired. Finally, Amazon remains subject to wrongful termination lawsuits. Naturally, the company does not reveal the exact percentage of such cases, but the goal is to reduce them to a statistically insignificant minimum.
Targets for Improved Performance
Most of the proposed metric changes target a one-year distance to allow Amazon to complete a full annual cycle for more objective results. The essential milestone of the process will consist of reducing the turnover rate below the psychological threshold of 100%. It appears feasible to have an average of 80% in this regard across a one-year term. In addition, there are avenues of enhancing the level of job satisfaction, as these two metrics are inseparable. Thus, it is proposed to aim at an average of 65% of workers who report being happy with their position. Finally, the third aspect of improved performance will consist of reducing the rate of wrongful termination lawsuits to the level of statistical insignificance. This process will become an objective of the Employee Rights taskforce, investigating the legal and the moral aspects of all terminations within the company.
References
Del Rey, J. (2021). Amazon employees say you should be skeptical of Jeff Bezos’s worker satisfaction stat. Vox. Web.
Reuter, D. (2021). 1 out of every 153 American workers is an Amazon employee. Insider. Web.
LinkedIn. (2021). Trisha Berard. Web.