In developing the organization and improving the efficiency of its work, the leading role belongs to the staff. It follows that retaining the most valuable employees and attracting professionals are critical aspects of a company’s success. After a thorough review of Java Corp, it was found that the company has some areas for improvement. Thus, the company needs to practice employee engagement methods to deter voluntary layoffs.
Employee Engagement Practices
Since Java Corp has a problem with employee engagement, employee engagement practices are fundamental. Albrecht et al. (2018) note that firms, where employee engagement is high, are much less likely to suffer from employee turnover, systematic absenteeism, and other breaches of discipline. Thus, this direction is paramount for the success of Java Corp. Stable employee engagement can be achieved through the strengthening of several HR practices. First, onboarding new hires is essential to improve employee engagement. Attaching mentors to new employees and conducting interviews with newcomers after one, two, and three months of their work in the company are effective practices in this direction. Secondly, the development of individual development plans that would reflect the personal and professional goals of the employees themselves contributes to strengthening the involvement of the staff. According to Albrecht et al. (2018), the joint preparation of personalized development plans supports communication between managers and subordinates and allows to focus on identifying the career and educational interests of employees. Furthermore, individual development plans can include rotation, virtual learning resources, and coaching and mentoring.
Employee Retention Strategies
Employee development and education practices are essential to employee retention. Thus, acceptable strategies in this direction for Java Corp could be cross-training and offering employees the development of new skills, increasing productivity, and demonstrating a real investment in employee development. According to Pratt and Florentine (2021), commitment to learning is viewed by employees as an investment in their value and a powerful incentive to stay with the company. Moreover, another effective retention strategy is to offer employees decent compensation packages. Pratt and Florentine (2021) highlight such tools in this direction as competitive wages and regular wage reviews, compensation, and benefits. This remark is especially relevant in the virtual world when there are no geographical barriers to changing jobs.
Staff Turnover
An equally significant area of work for Java Corp is to reduce employee turnover, as the company faced lawsuits in connection with the dismissal of employees. Staff turnover leads to such negative consequences as a possible deterioration in the level of service and quality of services provided and a weakening of market positions. Moreover, whether these layoffs are voluntary or involuntary, the loss of an employee has a negative financial impact on the organization’s profits. Recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and training a new employee can be costly. Noe et al. (2020) assert that it costs six to nine months of wages to replace one employee with another employee.
In turn, the redistribution of duties of a retired specialist between his former colleagues or the transfer of responsibilities to one employee can reduce the overall efficiency of work. The amount of additional workload is disproportionate to pay, which reduces the motivation of staff. Moreover, a snowball effect is not excluded when one dismissal is followed by several more. The departure of a valuable employee, whose professional level was noted by many colleagues, may decrease loyalty to the management and the institution, and other specialists may follow the example of the resigned. As Java Corp is forced to deal with lawsuits from employees who have left, the company should pay close attention to employee turnover issues.
Progressive Discipline
In this regard, the policy of progressive discipline, which can be helpful both for the organization and employees, is of particular relevance. According to Leonard (2019), this process can be achieved through the training of supervisors in a four-stage program of progressive discipline. The first step is to issue a verbal warning to employees for their violation, which is documented to demonstrate that it took place. The next stage is a written warning, which records the violation and documents the corrective expectation. There should be a time frame for disciplinary action and an action plan for implementation. The third warning, the last stage before dismissal, is issued when the action plan is violated or the corrective criteria are not met. Thus, these steps give the employee and employer time to improve performance and expectations. Compliance with the rules and the degree of implementation to achieve organizational standards will be reviewed regularly. This approach to retaining exemplary employees and making direct observations will also eliminate costly lawsuits.
Practical Considerations in Terminations
Implementing a progressive discipline policy, which will be presented in the form of written marks and reports based on them, will help monitor the results of employees and identify gaps in their work. Depending on the development, the company may offer incentive programs to motivate, encourage engagement and improve performance. Thus, through these tools, the company will be able to contribute as much as possible to the preservation of jobs for employees and protect them from dismissal. In turn, when deciding to dismiss, the manager will be guided by a written report on the employee’s activities, which will reflect such factors as productivity, efficiency, and personal qualities of the employee.
Moreover, it seems appropriate to conduct training on specific topics such as sexual harassment, privacy, respect for confidentiality, and discrimination for each employee to avoid violations of personal rights. This will help Java Corp protect itself from specific types of litigation. Thus, it seems essential to take all of the above aspects to correct any unsatisfactory management practices at Java Corp. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with my office. I welcome any suggestions and all feedback.
References
Albrecht, S., Breidahl, E., & Marty, A. (2018). Organizational resources, organizational engagement climate, and employee engagement. Career Development International, 23(1), 67-85. Web.
Leonard, E. (2019). Career conversations: Progressive discipline the right way. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 59(2), 92-94. Web.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2020). Fundamentals of human resource management (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Pratt, M. K., & Florentine, S. (2021). Employee retention: 10 strategies for retaining top talent. CIO. Web.