Natural Knibbles - Case Study Example

Niche Market for Natural Knibbles HR Issues and Challenges The major HR issues and challenges being faced by Natural Knibbles are in the area of Change Management. The company is going to redefine its HR policies and practices along with implementation of a new HRIS. The change being planned in the organization will lead to transformation in three major areas: Communication, Commitment and Control. This will lead to change in employee roles and relationships, organizational structure, employee compensation structure as well as the way that employees work. Huge amount of change also leads to uncertainty in the mind of its employees. Another problem that might arise is the resistance to change from the current situation to the new. With the informal means of communication being replaced by more formal communications, it is possible that the efficiency of the employees might decrease who have been used to communicate in a particular way. In addition, the inclusion of new product lines lead to a requirement of new skills. These skills can be obtained either through training and development of the current employees or through recruitment from outside, both of which will lead to increased costs. Steps to develop an effective HR Plan The company is going to undertake a large number of changes in the near future and it is important that an effective HR plan is defined to manage this change. In order for the plan to be successful, it is important that the organization involves all the related stakeholders. There are four major areas where the organization needs to work: Leadership alignment and stakeholder engagement, Training & education, Communication & branding and Organization redesign. The diagram on the next page shows the various activities that shall be done along with the project: Figure 1: The change management plan for Natural Knibbles Role of the HR plan in achieving its new strategic objectives The HR plan developed above will enable Natural Knibbles to achieve its strategic objectives. With the leadership alignment, the key executives will be well prepared to lead the change and cascade initiatives within the organization. All other employees will be kept involved in the change process through stakeholder engagement. Training and education throughout the change process will educate the employees on their new roles, responsibilities, the benefits of the change being undertaken and the usage of various tools that might be required after the implementation of change. It is also important that proper information passes to all the relevant stakeholders of the process. Proper communication and branding will enable the management of the organization to inform the employees of how the change being implemented helps the organization achieve its mission, vision and goals. Communication is also necessary once the change has been implemented to ensure proper feedback from the employees. With the introduction of new product lines, the organizational structure needs to be redefined with new roles, responsibilities and hierarchies. It is necessary that the employees are communicated about the same clearly. The organization is envisaging large change in the way it operates and it is necessary that they implement this HR plan to make it successful. Data to be included in HRIMS and its advantages An HRIMS is intended to manage employee data in an electronic format. The organization will like to store employee information like personal details (family details, dependent details, date or birth etc.), professional details (competencies, qualifications, previous employment details etc.) and payroll related data (bank account no. earnings and deduction details, tax details etc.). Implementation of HRIMS at Natural Knibbles will allow the organization to keep all its employee data at one consolidate location thereby reducing data inconsistency and receptiveness. HRIMS will also allow the organization to reduce the paperwork and the related administrative effort that is required for the same. Storing personal details will enable organization to know more about the details like anniversaries, dependent details which will make employee and his family more involved with the organization. The professional details will enable organization to know the actual worth of the employee and give responsibilities and role as per actual qualifications. This will also enable managers to see their career path in the organization which will increase the job satisfaction. Storing payroll related data will ensure that the organization pays its employees fairly in a timely manner thereby increasing job satisfaction. With increased job satisfaction, and commitment towards organization, reduction in the manual labor and paperwork will help Natural Knibbles achieve its objectives. Australian Employment Laws As per the Employment law of Australia, it is not mandatory for employees to get employment contract from their employers (Wordlink, 2011). If the changes being envisaged in the company imply termination of employment for an employee, those employees that are covered under the Workplace Relations Act can claim relief for the same. Natural Knibbles should pay the employees their fair worth and minimum notice period in case of termination. It is also important that the company maintains written document for all the employees including employee data, performance ratings, any warnings and so on. References Wordlink, 2011. Labour/employment law data for Australia (Victoria). [Online]. Available at: http://www.worldlink-law.com/businfo/australia/employment.htm [Last accessed on 17th Apr 2011]. Read More