Introduction
The core proposal for Aspire XT is to implement an innovation-driven culture and establish deliberate development. Continuous progress becomes a routine task in deliberate development organizations. Such companies establish a link between organizational and human potential (Gyansah & Guantai, 2018). The business will develop when employees’ growth opportunities are organized (Paais & Pattiruhu, 2020). Innovative culture offers a comprehensive implementation of the development of innovations and a rethinking of the old approach (Abdul-Halim et al., 2019). An innovative approach implies introducing modern techniques while observing the principles of continuity. Rethinking the previous approach while maintaining the brand identity and teaching new directions will be the basis for the dynamic development of Aspire XT.
Background and Challenges
Although Aspire XT is a growing company that has entered the international market, they face difficulties preventing them from reaching the next level. It is proposed to create a transition in which the company will become customer and employee-oriented and create an environment for the development of innovative work behavior. The challenges were identified based on a structural analysis of the organizational framework. They include lack of communication according to the top-down model, weak recruiting policy, lack of team building, and psychological barriers to change. Based on psychometry, it is proposed to create a survey to identify hidden difficulties. It is expected to overcome the psychological obstacle of resistance to change to ensure the sustainable growth of Aspire XT.
Diagnostic Plan
The current observations, which allow concluding the company’s weaknesses, are based on interviews with the employees, discussions with managers, and general observations. However, despite acknowledging some weaknesses, senior management does not seem ready to implement change. A more in-depth diagnosis of Aspire XT problems needs to be done based on employees’ opinions. The expressed idea of the employees will be conveyed to the management, indicating the need for changes through communicative techniques.
Innovation and Engagement Survey Design
It is proposed to survey the company’s employees since the top management is not ready for a drastic change. Employee feedback surveys will highlight gaps in leadership and potential improvements. The conducted psychometric calculation will make it possible to demonstrate several problems in Aspire XT. The company currently has 300 employees in the Seattle head office; it is proposed to pay attention to them. The survey will focus on innovation and determining the level of involvement. It is evident that the company does not contribute to the new employee’s adaptation and does not provide proper development for the existing team. All employees do not work well together because Aspire XT uses an Agile model to work in small groups.
Attention should be paid to the following points: hiring strategy, employee performance management, onboarding, and employee training strategies. It is necessary to interview both recently employed and those who have been working for more than a year. New employees will talk about the recruitment method, and experienced employees – about the human resource management process. In addition, it is possible to contact laid-off employees ready to talk about their work experience.
The employees will be asked the following questions:
- How was your job interview?
- Do you think that your competencies were assessed during employment?
- How was your infusion into the new team?
- Do you feel that the company has helped you adapt to the workflow?
- Are you satisfied with the process of stimulating employee motivation?
- Are you satisfied with your job?
- Does the company offer opportunities for learning and development?
- How could Aspire XT organize your workflow more comfortably?
- How would you rate your experience with Aspire XT?
Observation, Interviews, and Survey
In addition to the proposed survey, it may be necessary to conduct interviews with employees who will express their desire. A more detailed conversation might include a request to explain whether employees understand the company’s mission and decisions. First, it is necessary to determine if the current strategy for hiring new employees is productive. Then, it is proposed to clarify how effective the adaptation and training of employees is. It is essential to find out why the company’s mission is not conveyed to ordinary employees. Finally, based on the data obtained, it is possible to develop a more complex company development system based on the principles of innovation, focused on deliberate development.
Culture Transformation Plan
A transformational organizational culture plan should be part of the strategy to take Aspire XT to the next level: the culture should be oriented from traditional to innovative. The principal value of the organization should be human strength, personal development, and high-performance indicators. The strategy should become a part of the company’s sustainable development. It is proposed to develop clear goals, establish a suitable timetable, and create a performance evaluation.
Objectives
The main goal of the strategic plan will be the establishment of Aspire XT as an innovation-oriented company committed to developing human resources. To achieve the main goal, it is proposed to expand the following points gradually: improve the recruitment strategy, provide learning opportunities, and increase teambuilding. Through the phased achievement of these goals, it is planned to take Aspire XT to the next level, reduce employee turnover, and increase productivity and sales.
Focus Areas
Aspire XT’s primary focus should be efficient human resource management. A more transparent approach to employment will allow the company to recruit an effective team in advance. Training employees will increase their motivation and improve their productivity. Communicating a clear company mission to employees will make people more willing to take on new projects. It is necessary to improve the adaptation strategies of employees, reducing staff turnover.
Initiatives
To improve the staff selection strategy, it is proposed to use the latest achievements in the recruiting field. First, the company can expand the list of candidates by using social networks. To simplify the selection procedure, it is proposed to use an automatic selection (Wu et al., 2018). The use of video during the pre-interview will also save time and costs. To improve the staff training strategy, it is proposed to use adaptive training. The system defines goals and standards, monitors and reviews progress (Normadhi et al., 2019). Adaptive training offers the opportunity to be consistent and focused on the problems and prospects (Sherstiuk et al., 2020). It includes communicating strategies that make it easier for employees to build relationships within a team.
Building more trusting relationships within the team is needed by enhancing teambuilding strategies. It is necessary to move from ineffective mandatory meetings to approaches that improve communication. One of the most successful strategies, cultivating shared values, will communicate the message of the organization’s mission to employees (Eldor, 2020). Having common ground will make it easier for teams to work together and achieve effective results.
HR Tools
The innovation-driven approach implies abandoning traditional recruiting methods and shifting to cloud-based HR solutions. Workday HCM has a user-friendly interface and helps store personnel data, implement plans, and facilitate adaptation (Geshkov, 2021). Workday HCM has a mobile app and manages productivity securely. Kissflow HR Cloud automates the entire lifecycle of employees, from hiring to retirement (Suri, 2022). Kissflow HR Cloud is flexible, adapting to the goals and needs of a particular organization.
Intended Outcomes
Aspire XT is expected to improve its performance when implementing the above strategies significantly. First, it is supposed to equalize the level of sales, reduce the decline and return to pre-COVID indicators. Although the demand for the company’s services increased, sales fell due to the lack of competitive advantage. In addition, staff turnover has increased over the past year. The proposed initiatives will reduce staff turnover to the previous levels.
Timeline
The proposed changes will have results in a reasonably long term. It is suggested that half a year is sufficient to assess the effectiveness of implementation and the first results. During this time, interviews and surveys will be conducted, need for change will be evaluated and communicated to senior management. After the specified period, it is possible to re-survey employees and analyze performance to assess the results.
Embedding Strategy
It is clear that Aspire XT management is committed to traditional methods and has psychological barriers to change. That is why the spontaneous introduction of changes is impossible in this case. A phased approach is proposed to ensure maximum efficiency and ease of communication of need. It is necessary to convince the management of complete control over the situation and emphasize the advantages of the transition to an innovative culture.
Approach to Embed Sustainable Change
The phased implementation of sustainable change is inextricably linked to planning. According to this model, changes are carefully prepared, and the manager monitors the process in detail (Maheshwari, 2019). It is proposed to introduce changes to a small work area, choosing from advanced scrum teams. This approach will most clearly track improvements and provide leaders with comfort and confidence. The strategy shows short-term results and allows the manager to change decisions, corresponding to Agile tactics.
Key Players Involved, Strategy for Communication and Follow-up
The key players are top management: the leader and heads of departments. It is necessary to convey to them the following planned changes: more attention to human resources, assistance in adaptation, training of employees, and enhanced teambuilding. The main advantage for the management will be increased profits and the achievement of competitive advantage by increasing the organization’s reputation. It is proposed to use a combination of verbal and visual communication to convey the need for change and overcome psychological barriers. Verbal communication establishes emotional contact, appealing to rationality and feelings (Guo, Sengul, & 2021). The visual strategy involves creating a straightforward spreadsheet or presentation to convey the message (Sosulski, 2018). Combining the two types offers a complete representation of the proposal and has a greater chance of success.
The follow-up strategy will be chosen depending on the progress of the implementation. It is proposed to start execution with several scrum teams. Then, the design performance proves to be effective based on the results of observation and re-interview. In that case, extending the approach to the entire organization is necessary. The plan can be changed during implementation, adapting to the emerging needs while remaining adaptive, following the policy of Aspire XT.
Conclusion
While Aspire XT is a rapidly growing international company, it needs new strategies to become truly innovative. Taking care of human resources will create a deliberate development organization. Changing the approach to hiring employees using modern HR tools is proposed. Training employees and promoting their personal growth is required using adaptive learning; more attention should be paid to teambuilding. These suggestions are expected to impact Aspire XT positively, stabilizing performance and increasing productivity.
References
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