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.
In order to implement the change successfully, Lewin’s model of change was utilized. This framework implies three stages: unfreeze, change, refreeze (Townsend, 2012). The unfreezing 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 stage of change involved the implementation of the developed plan that consisted of three primary steps. These 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.
The development of rewards and additional benefits was a part of the refreezing stage that implied undertaking measures to make new practices a part of the organizational culture (Townsend, 2012). 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 ITIL KPIs (key performance indicators) for change management metric was employed to estimate the effectiveness of change (Ordenes, 2018). This model involved the focus on seven KPIs, including the reduction of the rate of unauthorized changes, rejected changes, and the increase in the rate of the changes leading to meeting customer needs. Other KPIs were the reduction of change request backlogs, incidents, the rate of failed changes, the improvement of the time of change implementation, and the increase in the rate of successful changes.
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.
Leadership Style and Organizational Culture
The implementation of change led to considerable changes in the organizational culture and leadership style. The learning culture was established, which contributed to the improvement in the company’s performance. The learning culture can be defined as a system of practices and values existing in the organization that aims at employee continuous learning and development (Paine, 2019). This type of culture is characterized by the focus on discussions, reflection, and shared learning (Paine, 2019).
The provision of training to employees facilitates the establishment of a learning culture because employees obtain the skills and knowledge necessary for the maintenance of this organizational design. Collaboration and communication are the core elements of this process, and significant attention is paid to these aspects. The learning culture is also established with a set of motivational strategies as the desired behavior is awarded in multiple ways. Employees receive financial rewards, bonuses, and other benefits for adherence to the principle of a learning culture. Those who become active participants of continuous learning and change receive promotion and additional benefits. Recognition and reward are critical for the establishment of a strong culture.
Effective leadership is also essential for the implementation of change and the maintenance of a new organizational culture. In order to ensure employees’ collaboration and desire to learn and share knowledge, transformational leadership is utilized (Paine, 2019). This leadership style is characterized by the focus on encouragement, fairness, and setting clear goals. Transformational leaders inspire their followers and encourage them to achieve the highest goals that are often set in terms of the leader’s mentorship.
Employees receive a considerable amount of independence, and their creativity is valued highly. The leader supports employees, provides guidance, and ensures that the major achievements are recognized. The development of trusting relationships is the key to the use of transformational leadership. Effective collaboration is possible if employees trust each other and focus on specific goals that are consistent with organizational and their self-interest goals.
Internal and External Threats
The company under consideration, just like any other organization, has to address various internal and external threats. Some of the central internal threats may include the deterioration of performance, low adherence to the organizational culture, and data security issues. The external threats may involve talent hunting of competitors, increasing competition in the market, as well as unfavorable economic and social factors. The continuous threat scanning is one of the primary measures to undertake to detect threats in a timely manner. Leaders are the key figures in this process, as they have the necessary information to analyze all potential threats.
At that, employees should be encouraged to estimate the influence of some threats as well. This kind of scanning should consist of several tools to enhance its validity. In order to assess potential threats, SWOT analysis and Porter’s Five Forces model can be utilized (Paine, 2019). These instruments are associated with the impact of internal and some external and internal threats to an organization. External threats can be identified with the help of PESTEL analysis, which focuses on different types of environment in which companies operate.
In order to mitigate the adverse effects of possible threats, the organization will implement some measures. One of the key practices to focus on is effective talent management. Talent development and retention will ensure the maintenance of the learning culture and appropriate performance of employees and the entire organization (Paine, 2019). One of the problems AGC faced was related to low performance and insufficient loyalty of its employees. Therefore, human resource management will remain the major focus of the company’s managers.
It is essential to support the development of the learning culture that will be instrumental in the creation of a favorable working environment. Employees’ input should be properly recognized and rewarded as well. The use of technology is another important strategy to achieve the goals mentioned above. The organization should have an effective information system that will facilitate the development of the learning culture. Knowledge sharing can be managed through effective systems that may involve social media.
As far as external threats are concerned, these can be addressed through various measures. Again, the use of technology is one of the pillars of effective management. The company should maintain effective relationships with customers, which can be facilitated with the help of proper information systems. Social media will also become key channels to establish proper relationships with existing and potential customers. Effective quality management will ensure the company’s competitive advantage, so it is important to make sure that the quality of products and services will remain 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). AMACOM.
- Ordenes, P. (2018). KPIs for change management – organizational change management KPI. Cascade. Web.
- Paine, N. (2019). Workplace learning: How to build a culture of continuous employee development. Kogan Page Publishers.
- Townsend, M. (2012). Introduction. In J. Vogelsang et al. (Eds.), Handbook for strategic HR: Best practices in organization development from the OD network (pp. 411-417). AMACOM.