Executive Report
The present report includes a brief overview of the major issues Atlantis Global Corporation (AGC) faced, an action plan to address them, and the evaluation of the implementation of the suggested measures. The focus of this change project was on talent management that became one of the central competencies associated with high performance and competitive advantage in the modern business world (Cappelli & Keller, 2017). Effective talent management is specifically important for AGC as the company’s employees are highly-trained and certified accordingly.
Diagnosis
Several major constraints were identified, and the most substantial effort was made to solve them. Intercultural communication issues were apparent, which was specifically true with leadership, that often failed to reach the set goals. Although the top managers of the company were high-profile professionals, cultural differences became certain obstacles to the development of the necessary working atmosphere. A possible cause of this problem could be cultural differences and the lack of knowledge and skills related to diversity management. Employee retention and motivation also needed considerable attention as people were leaving the company, and the exact reasons for such behaviors were unknown. In addition to culture-related concerns, strict compliance with certain policies and the lack of flexibility could contribute to employee dissatisfaction. People could also leave due to better prospects in similar companies that were operating in the same area. Performance problems were rather persistent and required immediate actions as well. Low employee satisfaction, cultural diversity, and ineffective leadership could be the reasons behind the unsatisfactory performance.
Intervention
The process of change at the company started with a sound survey that explored employees’ satisfaction level, their attitudes towards the existing norms, training and retention practices, and their opinion regarding leadership and cultural diversity issues. It became clear that culture-related difficulties undermined the development of a favorable working atmosphere. Employees’ concerns linked to rigid training standards contributed to employee dissatisfaction. They also found retention policies insufficiently effective, especially when compared to the practices offered at other companies.
The following stage involved the discussion of the problems mentioned above. This debate was necessary for engaging people and making them motivated to implement change rather than resist it. A cross-functional and cross-cultural team was developed to identify the particular methods to address the existing flaws. A plan that consisted of three primary steps was developed and disseminated among employees (top managers, supervisors, managers, and workers) who provided their feedback. Again, the dissemination of the information and the analysis of feedback contributed to making employees more responsible and ready to transform the practices that were ineffective.
The three steps to be implemented included training, motivating, and becoming more flexible. Cultural diversity and team-building were included in the training agenda, and all employees received a set of skills and knowledge to perform better in a diverse environment. One of the current issues related to talent management is the lack of loyalty of the developed talent as people often try to find other employment options (Collings et al., 2018). In order to minimize talent loss, additional benefits were introduced for those who work for the company for a specific period of time. Flexible schedules, monetary awards, vertical and horizontal promotion, as well as other perks, were offered to people who worked for AGC for several months and years.
Training and certification aimed at the development of some professional skills and knowledge were key to appropriate performance. However, some norms, such as retraining and recertification, needed revision. The time span related to these processes was reconsidered, and people were allowed to work without retraining or recertification if they were absent for a period of less than a month. Regular self-reports and performance observations became a common practice, which allowed managers and supervisors to detect people who needed more training or those who could be awarded.
Evaluation
The effective implementation of any plan is possible if the evaluation of major stages is conducted (Lurey & Griffin, 2012). The conduction of the survey was seen as successful as valid data were obtained since several types of research methods were used, and the results were proved to be verifiable. Employees completed questionnaires, and focus group discussions, as well as several interviews, took place. The findings of these surveys were quite similar, and a number of the most persistent issues were outlined. The active participation in the discussion of the plan and people’s overall attitude towards it was the measure to assess the effectiveness of the plan development stage. Employees were active and positive regarding the plan, so it was possible to pass on to the following stage. The implementation of the plan was evaluated with a survey of employees’ performance and attitude towards the changes. The change was successful as the performance improved, and the overall satisfaction of employees was high.
Conclusion
On balance, talent management is a complex process that needs constant changes that are consistent with the ever-changing business environment. AGC had some issues that were mainly related to cultural diversity and stiff competition in the market. The company addressed these problems by offering additional training and the analysis of employees’ opinions on certain aspects. These changes led to higher performance and employee satisfaction, which shows the effectiveness of the undertaken measures.
References
- Cappelli, P., & Keller, J. (2017). The historical context of talent management. In D. G. Collings, K. Mellahi, & W. F. Cascio (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of talent management (pp. 23-42). Oxford University Press.
- Collings, D. G., Scullion, H., & Caligiuri, P. M. (2018). Global talent management: An introduction. In D. G. Collings, H. Scullion, & P. M. Caligiuri (Eds.), Global talent management (pp. 3-15). Routledge.
- Lurey, J. S., & Griffin, M. (2012). Action research: The anchor of OD practice. In J. Vogelsang et al. (Eds.), Handbook for Strategic HR: Best practices in organization development from the od Network (pp. 46-52). AMAZON.