Introduction
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are communities formed by common traits or interests that certain employees lead in the team. Such groups may operate within an organization to maintain employee morale, motivate them, and improve working conditions. These groups should follow the organization’s goals to have the maximum positive effect on employees and help them better fit into the team. In this way, integrating personnel allows for adapting them to new conditions and preparing an optimal working environment. At the same time, ERGs must provide an inclusive and diverse environment where employees can feel comfortable.
Breakdown of Personnel and Resources for the Project
A breakdown of the personnel and resources needed for a project is integral to planning. This process involves dividing employees into categories according to their roles in the team and the ERG process (Shore et al., 2018). First, for the project, it is necessary to allocate a category of managerial members of the group.
Leaders must be accountable for successfully implementing a universally inclusive and diverse ERG system. This group should be responsible for organizing any company activities and events. Leaders must also coordinate team members. This group’s main tasks are ensuring the organization’s goals and providing employees with opportunities for productive work and recreation.
The next category of staff fragmentation is the ERG members, who comprise most of the group’s members. They take an active part in the activities created within the organization and are responsible for promoting its primary goals (Livengood & Michel, 2014). Each company employee has the responsibility to promote the goals and mission of the organization in their departments, which will increase the group’s productivity and help realize the functions of the ERG.
The next category of personnel is members of the personnel department, whose duties include hiring new employees and helping them master the team and familiarize themselves with the organization’s goals. In addition, they are responsible for implementing specific policies that the steering group develops (Cooney & Sekerka, 2011). These procedures should aim to maintain these groups’ ERG and approved activities. Human Resources staff should work closely with ERG management to help provide ERG with the necessary resources and improve communication channels.
A category also includes the company’s senior management, which must support initiatives to create an enabling environment. The project’s main goal to improve the organizational space should be the creation of inclusiveness and diversity within the team (Sainato, 2020). In addition, the task of this category of personnel is to maintain links with the human resources department for the timely provision of resources for the implementation of ERG policies and activities.
Resource categorization is also essential to the project. They can be divided into subtypes: training, financial opportunities, communication tools, and management support mechanisms. A necessary aspect of allocating resources is sufficient to support all ERG activities to ensure the normal functioning of the group.
A Design for the Capstone Project
The first important point necessary for correctly implementing the project is the definition of its goals. They should be specific, measurable, with a clearly defined time frame, and consistent with ERG objectives (D’Sa-Wilson, 2023). Given the project’s current requirements, its goals may embody diversity, fairness, and inclusiveness in organizational work (King Games, n.d). The next stage of the plan is creating a project team to develop and implement ERG’s main tasks. This group should include ERG leaders, their members, and all stakeholders who will subsequently receive indirect or direct benefits from the project.
Another critical item in the project implementation plan is the needs assessment. This is necessary to determine the implemented solution’s strengths and weaknesses and anticipate possible risks. In addition, this item assesses the current state of inclusion and diversity in the company to determine the degree of intervention required (D’Sa-Wilson, 2023). This can later serve as a guideline for developing a strategic plan to embody the concepts of equity, diversity, and inclusiveness.
The next step is to create a strategy that will securely and timely integrate the principles of fairness, diversity, and inclusion. This is done based on a previous assessment that helps determine what aspects of intra-organizational relations need improvement. Addressing key gaps in the inclusiveness and diversity of the company system should occur at this stage through the competent implementation of the necessary measures (Bonaccio et al., 2020). Strategies developed in this phase should be consistent with the organization’s goals and vision in order to implement inclusion and diversity correctly.
The next point is the actual implementation of the project after discussing the strategies for its implementation. This stage is the most important, as it marks the pre-final stage, which must be completed within the specified time frame. At the same time, the project deployment should be phased and gradual so that employees can smoothly adapt to the applied changes in the organization.
Evaluation of the project must be performed after its implementation to check whether the goals stated in the strategy have been achieved. Parameters such as employee engagement, inclusion, fairness, a safe environment, and diversity should be compared with pre-project indicators. Alternative design options for such a project are discussed in the literature. However, they are not widely represented in corporate practice (Miller & Bendick, 2013).
This is explained by the fact that this project is universal for most organizations, while others require special adjustments and regulations, which may require additional resources. In this regard, the presented solution is the best option for implementing the changes. I also received feedback from the organization with which I plan to cooperate. It contained detailed data on the company’s parameters and what results should be achieved in the work.
Timeline Impact on the Budget and Overall Funding Utilized
The project budget plan will cover three years and will be structured in the following categories:
- Staff salaries;
- Financing the purchase of equipment;
- Rental of company premises;
- Travel expenses;
- Reserve funds for unforeseen expenses.
The timing of the project significantly impacts its financing and financial resources. Some expenses, such as salaries and rent of premises, may fall under the time-sensitive category. This means the longer the project lasts, the more funds will be needed to complete it. In this regard, careful planning of the timing of the achievement of goals and the allocation of resources is required (Amazon, n.d.).
The deadlines, in turn, should be formed in stages; therefore, a budget will be necessary for each period of the changes. To guarantee minimum costs for each stage, they must be scheduled following the objectives and allocation of resources. Overlapping some stages of the project can lead to its stretching, confusion with finances, and an increase in costs.
The timing of budget allocation can also have an enormous impact on the level of costs and financial injections. During the project’s implementation, finances must be adequately and efficiently allocated so that the timeline has a minimal impact on them. In addition, project stakeholders also have certain expectations regarding the volume of costs and deadlines for completing tasks (Tiwari, 2022). In this regard, planning must be coordinated with all the people, the administration of which was created in personnel distribution. The project timeline will be used to respond to possible risks through continuous monitoring and monitoring of task progress.
Conclusion
Each project may be associated with certain risks and uncertainties from implementing planned changes. In this regard, the timeline may be stretched or shortened, which may also be subject to budget adjustments. If the project is unexpectedly delayed, its execution may require additional funding, which will negatively affect the opinions of investors and stakeholders (Arefazar et al., 2022). Thus, each stage of the change process must be prepared and planned so that additional delays cannot occur during implementation. An essential tool for this is risk management, which can help achieve timely detection and preparation of prevention strategies.
References
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Sainato, M. (2020). ‘I’m not a robot’: Amazon workers condemn unsafe, grueling conditions at warehouse. The Guardian. Web.
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Tiwari, S. P. (2022). Knowledge Enhancement and Mobile Technology: Improving Effectiveness and Efficiency. arXiv preprint arXiv:2208.04706. Web.
