Introduction
Success Mission Group (SMG) is an HR consulting company that majors in two functions; human resource training and staff recruitment for leading companies in Europe and America. Based on my experience as an associate consultant with the company I hereby wish to put my expertise in conducting an HRM analysis for Smart Group HR-consulting firm, which has sought the input of SMG to better align its HR practices with key business initiatives. In the final analysis, SMG would put forward appropriate recommendations specifically tailored for the Smart group of Consultants from the multi-dimensional HRM system.
Objectives
This research aims at gathering information from Smart Group Consulting firm’s HRM functions with the view of analyzing its HR practices. It also aims at developing a suitable set of HR policies from the analysis that results so that the company’s HR practices reflect its initiatives. It also aims at prescribing specific HRM recommendations for Smart Group with a high likelihood of meeting its objectives.
Methodology
The research was undertaken on the matching Smart Group HR policies and its initiatives base on primary information (data) sources that comprise, interviews with the company’s management and a sample of its current staff, observation of resources available at its disposal to carry out its current and target work process and the capacity of its employees willing and ready to help it achieve its objectives. In addition, secondary sources that would constitute augmented input into the analysis and prescriptions include, Smart Group’s minutes in previous similar challenges, Book sources containing relevant information, sources from journals, magazines and audio-visual discussions of HR-effective functions and references from SMG that makes it an important aid to Smart Group consultants at such critical minutes.
Conceptual framework
The research would begin with a brief narrative of the history of Smart Group Consultants, and then proceed to identify its operating strategy and market position before locating its specific area of alignment. To develop proper HRM practices for the firm, we shall carefully consider its job pricing and compensation package for its labor force. From the description of its current and target work processes, an assessment of its employee’s competencies comprising of their various knowledge, skills and abilities would follow in determining the firm’s likelihood to achieve its goals. The research incorporates the technology of 4G ALVARION WIMAX and Wi-fi technology in the firm’s context of goal achievement. The body of the research concentrates on the discussion of labor markets and appropriate labor laws in the context of HR consultancy and companies preparing to address similar technological changes in their HR functioning.
Observations
History of Smart Group of HR-Consulting
Smart Group, HR Consulting was established in 1983 in the Detroit, Michigan to oversee the special needs of staff in auto industries developing in Detroit at the time. As one of the leading companies in employee outsourcing services, training and recruitment in Michigan, the firm employed more than 200 people in Detroit and The rest of America before spreading to Europe in 1996. The complexity in the firm’s HR practices faced even tougher challenges as it used its staff to influence the operation of staff deployed by Smart to auto-making firms. Thus, managing the task force of its client’s staff and determining the net productivity of its own staff almost amounted to double work to its HRM (Herriot, 2002, p. 70).
However, the firm’s HRM found it easy to manage its staff in Michigan as opposed to other far-off states because they targeted a particular segment of their market; to serve HR consultation services to middle-level firms in the automating industry. The focus of marketing services and strategies developed aimed at spare part producers in Detroit who manufacture auto parts for motor vehicle assemblies in Michigan. Given the extent of their coverage and nature of their work, data management formed a central part of their work as monitoring the productivity of all its workers outsourced and deployed to the various firms. The firm’s current CEO Dr. Anderson Cooper recently expressed serious concerns over his declining ability to yield to the company’s major programs. This move caused the company’s HR-Manager to look for reinforcement from SMG in its latest attempt to restore the glory of its manpower.
The firm’s HRM practices
Human resource functioning focuses on important issues concerning a company’s employees that make any organization achieve its objectives. These functions include, staff recruitment, staff training, recompense and staff deployment to handle activities in the various departments of the company. Essentially, the humans employed to carry out the duties of a company make up the driving force of the organization. Hence, the HR function realized the possible danger of failing to obtain its goal and experiencing little turn on its initiatives because of problems inherent in its HR policy. In the path of a company’s development, it may experience growth or shrink at different times of the year (Hendry, 1995, p. 11).
In Smart Group, the changes affected its organizational planning, employee job assignment criteria, employee reward, and industrial relation and employee services among others. In the events of increased work that meant reallocation of duties with some employees forced to multi-task and work overtime, management of workload presented a renewed challenge to its HRM. Smart’s HR also needs to consider training and motivational programs to maintain commensurate productivity of its employees with a compensation package. With this large pool of human labor force to supervise, the HR practice in Smart Group Consulting faces many difficulties in managing the multiplicity of relationships resulting from the business’ initiatives. Further challenges point at matching the various staff competencies with specific tasks in the firm to the extent that distinguished jobs fall in the hands of right persons. For example, an individual’s academic and IQ counts may show that they merit a certain job in the company, however in practice; they fail to measure up to the tasks assigned to them because of low self-esteem or low enthusiasm because their talents do not match those jobs (Cherrington, 1995, p. 5).
A review of the company’s minutes, interviews with the employees and my intelligent observations, altogether showed that the company’s HR practice flawed the correlation of job descriptions and specifications. Clearly, the observations of evidence from the legal documents authorizing the employees to work for Smart Group Consulting showed that 49% of its technical staff had little or no ability to effectively adjust to changes in organizational planning, training, and development (Mondy & Noe, 1996, 33)
Since its formation in 1983, Smart Group HR-Consulting has had several occasions of HR practice and job analysis. The most notable one is the 1996 analysis related to the company expansion that saw it expand to tap into the European market. Nevertheless, the company has had several other cases of its jobs analysis in frequencies corresponding to changes in work procedures and technology from old to newer trends that last only a year. In this respect, the Company’s HR analysis needs to review its functioning in the clauses that put training and development in the roles of HRM. The changes in the generic life cycle of the organization showed a high correlation to the predominant changes inherent in the company‘s market (Cherrington, 2005, p. 11).
The company sources revealed that the company has cut its niche at medium-sized firms manufacturing auto spares for motor vehicle assembly lines in Detroit. In as much as the firm did its best to recruit competent individuals, it failed to create a suitable environment that highly motivates the person to deliver effectively. A further inspection into the matter revealed that the firm failed to fairly reward its workers who in this case sometimes work as trainers of trainees in most of the firms where the comp[any had its markets. In this view, performance appraisal formed a key important tool in directing the various HR practices (Chanda, Krishma, & Shen, 2007, p. 32).
Following widespread cases of human trafficking that engulfed the mystery of cheap labor and slavery in the late 1980s, the firm has to adhere to strict immigration laws for non- American citizens and foreigners working in its branches in Europe. The union of workers, work-hour limits, and age restrictions in certain instances amounted to discrimination that almost pushed the company to a court system that would have resulted in millions of dollars in fine. The laws of registration for each state require lists of past relations of SMG staff with its clients in another state. Registration of the firm’s subsidiaries must closely reflect the modalities of its parent company. The demand for a worker’s union and employer liability for pensions and insurance coverage means additional costs of HR even when the market cannot sustain it (Legge, 2004, p 13).
Discussions
Given the significance of the human resource in any organization, without the exception of Smart Group of HR consulting, it is important to note at the onset of this discussion that HR forms an indispensable input to the organization’s function. As such, adequate and timely response to discrepancies that may result from a mismatch between the firm’s HR practices (policy) and its initiatives deserves the sole attention of the consultant firm’s synergy. In particular, if the concerned organization engages in HR consultancy for other institutions.
As the greatest asset of Smart group, the company’s HR needs to recognize that changes in the organizational objectives influence the different abilities of its employees to enable it to achieve its goals. Similarly, as Smart Group makes certain changes in its structures and objectives, realigning its HR policy with different employees’ abilities to help the company carry out its initiatives gradually turns into a major activity requiring extensive consultation from qualified professionals. Helping the employees improve their output in all aspects, and addressing the subject of their rewards necessitates motivation and further training so the firm ends up with workers who believe in the values of the firm and make serious commitments to helping it realize its objectives (Nadler & Wiggs, 1986, p. 4.).
Moreover, a motivated worker readily undertakes to implement the initiatives of the company. The undertaking of using performance appraisal in the analysis played an important role in providing the loops available for sharpening the knowledge, skills and abilities of the staff through training. Rapid development in the motoring sector always implied that Smart was not downsizing any time soon. Instead, it required improved techniques of managing its human resources and related facilities.
At a critical point of balancing production and staff headcount, the use of 4G ALVARION Wi-MAX and Wi-fi would form a critical put in helping the firm manage its data handling capacity. Again the use of such highly secured technological services in maintaining their automated activity would ensure easy monitoring of the staff progress. The specific area alignment of the company and its products implied that has an edge over its competitors. However, this advantage can only translate into desired profits when it improves the staff’s work relations and keeps closer attention to its employee’s work benefits. To enhance its staff’s ability to implement its initiatives, training and development make a suitable strategy for protection against staff that would not yield to the company objectives as well. In terms of job pricing and compensation, Smart Group HR-consulting should consider a legal, ethical, sufficient, and cost-effective package that would motivate the employees and still provide security to its workers in terms of pensions (Withers, Williamson & Reddington, 2005, p. 36).
The company may use easy and cheap means to achieve its short-run objectives. On the other hand, for it to realize its long-term plans, it has to reconcile with employee and labor relations. Certain outcomes of union involvement have greatly contributed to the improved social ability of the employee to work well.
Conclusion
The analysis of Smart Group HR- Consulting leaves us with important lessons. For example, employees’ decline to yield to certain company’s initiatives may stem from their lack of opportunity to further their careers while working in the firm. Training coupled with rewards should allow for growth and development among the employees. Fortunately, the company has professionals whom they can invite to help the employees through the opportunities in counseling, mentoring, and further opportunities that would see them attract greater positions.
Recommendations
Recommended HR policy for Smart Group Consulting
After assessing the HR practice of Smart Group HR, it has occurred to my findings that the company should always pay closer attention to the company’s long-term objectives. The company should consider serious training for its entire staff to ensure the availability of a diverse staff that would go to suitably serve the company.
Since the company has its natural values that they treasure, where that success of the company means that t it has to make certain sacrifices, it would only serve it right that the company gives its staff time to attend to their special functions as this would translate to their positive energy in the company.
The company should frequently review its objectives against its available resources. This would help it develop lean decisions in its HR practice. in addition, its HRM needs to realize that employees take priority according to how they consider the ideals of the company. In this regard, employment relations among themselves and with the employers should form the primary basis of addressing the company issues.
Reference List
- Chanda, A. Krishma, B & Shen, J.(2007). Strategic human resource technologies: keys to managing people. New Delhi: Sage.
- Cherrington, D. J. (1995). The Management of Human Resources.Englewood, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Hendry, C. (1995). Human resource management: a strategic approach to employment. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
- Herriot, P. (2002). The employment relationship: a psychological perspective. London: Routledge.
- Hunter, I. & Saunders J. (2007). Human resources outsourcing: solutions, suppliers, key processes and the current market: a case-study-based market review. London, UK: Gower Publishing.
- Legge, K. (2004). Human Resource Management: Rhetorics and Realities (Anniversary ed.). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Mondy, R. Wayne, & Noe, Robert M. (1996). Human Resource Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Nadler, L., & Wiggs, G. (1986). Managing Human Resource Development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Withers, M., Williamson. M. & Reddington, M. (2005). Transforming HR: creating value through people. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.