The Problem of New Hires in Express Courier Ltd - Case Study Example

The Problem of New Hires in Express Courier Ltd Table of Contents S. No. Topic Page 1 Executive Summary 1 2 Introduction 2 3 Problem identification 3 4 Identification of reasons for the problems 3 5 Solutions 4 i. Alignment of training department and operations and involvement of Human Resource department ii. Supervisor support besides training iii. Organizing social activities iv. Regular problem-sharing and work progress report sessions of the new employee with the supervisor v. Understanding team dynamics vi. Supervisor training on soft skills 4 7 7 8 8 8 6 Training methods for supervisor training 8 7 References 11 Executive Summary The ensuing report discusses the various problems faced by the new hires of Express Courier Ltd. The report first lists down the various problems that the employees and company on the whole are facing with regards to new hires. Some of these problems are – high turnover of employees, inability of new employees to get absorbed in the system, lack of supervisor support, non uniform trainings happening in operations and inadequate feedbacks for both the new employees and the supervisor. The possible causes of these problems are lack of co-ordination between the training and operations team, no formal feedback mechanisms and training plans for the operations team, inadequately trained supervisors and lack of personal touch in the trainings. Solutions proposed for overcoming these hassles are – better co-ordination between training and operation by means of standardized training designs for operations supervisor with set accountabilities, adequate support should be provided by the supervisor in terms of helping new team members in adjusting to the environment, providing more socializing opportunities at company and team levels like team activities, understanding team dynamics by the supervisor, more involvement of HR department in standardizing formal and informal feedback mechanisms and trainings to be conducted for supervisors with the aim of developing their soft skills. Finally the report analyses the different training methods for supervisors based on their performance levels. Introduction Michael Chang, a trainer for delivery drivers at Express Courier Ltd., is facing issues in his new hire training program. The orientation program followed by the company lasts for 3 days with one day devoted to orientation of the new employees on the company’s policies and procedures, and two days to skill development which is the responsibility of the operations supervisor. The problem identified is linked to the operations training part where Chan has found that there is no consistency in training delivery. There is a complete lack of focus on skills training in some departments. This has resulted in an inability of the employees (due to inadequate supervisor support) to get smoothly absorbed within the organization, with some departments having an attrition rate of 80%. Low training led to less commitment, skill retention problems and a decrease in quality standards have also been evident (Allan 2000, p.195). This has led Chang to think of ways of aligning the operations training to provide adequate skills training to the new hires. Problem identification The major problems that stand out in the case are: High attrition rate in some departments (as high as 80%). Workers’ lack of faith in an organization increase, when they see their co-workers depart and such will definitely influence productivity work levels in depressing ways (Lake 2000). No uniformity in the competency trainings by the operations supervisors. Lack of employee sociability within the organization. New employees are not receiving adequate support from their co-workers. No formal mentoring and coaching methodologies being followed by some supervisors. Inadequate support by supervisors to the new employees to help them balance their work and personal life issues. This can be seen from the indifference shown by Alison’s supervisor towards her personal problems and continuous negative reinforcements being used towards her on failure to complete the job as per expectations. Identification of reasons for the problems Lack of link between the training department and the operations department- Though the training department has set the orientation program with two days of on the job training by operations supervisor, there is a communication gap between the two. There is no accountability set by the training function on the supervisors in terms of taking acceptability of this responsibility from them. No set guidelines for operations training. Feedback mechanism failure - No formal feedback from the new hires at the end of the 3 day training has been instituted. Orientation program lags in personal touch. All information is a download of knowledge and there is no attempt to help employees increase sociability by introducing them to the personnel of various departments or taking them around the facilities to make them more familiar with the ambience. Lack of supervisor training on soft skills and leadership skills. Mawson (2001) argues that leadership training programs are typically utilized to provide managers and leaders with specific skills training to improve leadership capabilities. According to Pernick (2002) leadership development programs go beyond simple skills training to provide the leader with a better understanding of his or her leadership capabilities Solutions 1. Alignment of training department and operations and involvement of Human Resource department The first step that needs to be taken in the direction of finding solutions to the problems stated above is the alignment of the training department with the operations functions for new hires. This means that the training department will be responsible for providing the overall direction of training to the supervisors who in turn will be responsible for the content development and maintenance. The following orientation program should be used as a standard for new hire orientation by the supervisors (Bersin 2004). It is a blended program which uses a mixture of Web Based Learning, orientation by the supervisor and shadowing an expert. Time Activity Type Responsibility Day 1 15 minutes Introduction with the supervisor and team – each individual to give self introduction. Facilitated group activity Supervisor 15 minutes Presentation of overall working of the department and its various responsibilities, stakeholders and hierarchy levels Facilitated activity between trainee and Supervisor Supervisor 1 hour Web-Based training module describing the delivery process, the various localities, routes and documentation procedures Self Study Supervisor/Trainee 4 hours Employee to be assigned to a seasoned delivery driver. Employee to shadow the expert and take note of various activities. Expert to share experiences and job nuances during the period. Expert shadowing Expert delivery driver End Of Day 1 Printed material of shortest routes and the sequences to be referred to. Self study Supervisor/Training team Day 2 1 hour Recap of previous day’s learning and discussion for any clarifications Interactive Supervisor 4 hour Shadowing a different team member and following the steps of day 1shadowing Expert shadowing Expert Delivery Driver 1 hour One-o-one discussion with HR regarding supervisor and training feedback One on One interaction HR 1 hour Discussion of issues and possible resolutions with HR and Supervisor Three way interaction HR /Supervisor At the end of the day 2, the employee needs to report to the Human Resource (HR) department with feedback on the training as well as the supervisor. Involvement of this department at this stage is important during transition of employee from training to operations as it works as an employee advocate at this stage (Mathis and Jackson 2007). The employees will also be encouraged to share any job related or personal issues with the HR department in the presence of the supervisor. For successful implementation of this plan, all supervisors should have this standardized form available with them and should be informed about the schedule of new hires beforehand so that they can accommodate around an hour on day 1 and around two hours on day 2 for new hire orientation. The problems that can arise out of the training schedule can be due to inadequate attention given by the new hire on the Web-based learning material or the lack of interest on the part of the expert to part with information which he/she feels is his/her domain. The supervisor should provide extra written material to the new hires for referring to when on the job. This should consist of – department structure, key department personnel contact numbers, other team member’s contacts, contact details of an expert from within the team to consult in case of job related guidance, maps, list of shortest routes and sequences. 2. Supervisor support besides training A supervisor plays different roles for his process at different points in time. Studies have found that supportive work-family culture was related to higher levels of commitment, reduced employee turnover and lower self-reported levels of work-life conflict (Halpern and Murphy 2005). Frontline managers have a great influence in determining how comfortable an employee feels with respect to the work and personal life balance. Thus, it is important that the supervisor listens to the problems of the new hires, empathizes with them and tries to resolve the solvable issues which are hindering the employee’s performance. The supervisor can make a difference by allowing working flexibility in certain situations where possible. He can co-ordinate with the human resource department to see how things can be worked out especially for the employees who are facing specific personal issues. For example, in case of Alison, she has a very genuine problem being a single mother of two kids. The supervisor can make life easy for her by adding flexibility in days of work or routes which are easy for her to follow. The supervisor can even check with the HR department to see if any other form of flexibility can be provided to her within the company policy framework for example flexible work hours or day care facilities for the kids etc. 3. Organizing socializing activities Since this is a courier delivery organization, most of the employees are always on the move and unable to meet at one place or time. This means that they are unable to interact with each other much and work more the way virtual organizations do. Hence, the human need of socialization in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs does not get satisfied (Warner and Witzel 2002). Though this need comes at the lowest level of hierarchy, it is very important for a new employee because he/she is still at the basic level of needs satisfaction. Thus, a supervisor should arrange some social gatherings or team building activities that can help the team members bond together. Though each individual has his own priorities of need satisfaction, this activity can help at least those individuals who are at same level of satisfaction. 4. Regular problem-sharing and work progress report sessions of the new employee with the supervisor Good supervisors provide an appropriate level of direction and feedback to help employees achieve a greater level of self direction (Komives and Woodard 2003). This is very true in our case. Too much feedback or too little feedback are both not very healthy styles of management. Decisions may not turn out well, either because the factors that were considered when the decisions were made were wrong or have changed, or there was a fault in the decision-making process, which can happen for several reasons (Shiller, 1990).Thus, the supervisor should try to provide both formal and informal feedbacks at regular intervals and use this opportunity to keep track of the issues creating problems for the employee. 5. Understanding team dynamics Team dynamics play a very important role in employee motivation. A team can be defined as a type of group characterized by tight interdependence, cross-functional expertise and differential information among members (Wagner and Hollenbeck 2002). Thus, it is important to understand the dynamics of the team by the supervisor and then help the new employee adjust into the environment. Simply by bringing individuals together will not mean formation of team. Variety of problems may occur such as lack of coordination between members, inadequate participation, disharmony and enmity. Thus developing a successful team is not an easy task. (Tambe 1997). Success of a team is determined by the communication strategies and approaches which are used by the team members. This means that the members of the team are provided with a clear understanding of the mission, objectives and values of the team, since they are communicated initially during the team formation. (Xyrichis & Ream 2008) 6. Training supervisors on soft skills Training department should conduct trainings which enhance skills like mentoring and coaching skills, employee motivation skills and skills for giving feedbacks etc. Research shows that mentoring and coaching are among a host of interventions employed by organizations to improve human performance. (de Janasz & Sullivan, 2004). When the employees fall short in their performance, mainly due to lack of skill and knowledge about the process, they can be mentored as part of the staffing process. In competitive environments, every organization should keep on upgrading its products and services to entice as well as satisfy the customers. For that, the employees have to be upgraded first. Upgraded in the sense, according to the needs of the job and the expectations of the customers, the employees needed to be trained and mentored. Training methods for supervisor training The foremost aspect of designing and conducting any training is the Training Need Identification (TNI). We need to first identify at which level of performance the supervisors lay i.e. implementing (doing things well), improving (doing things better) or innovating (doing new and better things) (Boydel, Leary and Leary 1996). We can then design our trainings accordingly. In our case there are some supervisors who need to do things well and hence are at the implementing performance level while there are some at improving level which means that they are doing things well but need to improve them further. Most of our managers will predictably lie in the first two categories. The following table shows the training methods used for each type of supervisor: Supervisor level Learning Process Type of training delivery/support Implementing Instruction led, drills, role plays, observation of effects of ad-hoc trial-and-error adjustments Instructor led class room trainings Improving Reflecting upon ones actions, trying out new ideas, using continuous improvement tools Class room session which invokes thinking followed by immediate manager support to check the results of trying out new ideas The supervisor trainings require fulfilling aims of developing their soft skills. They should be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses and be able to work on them to become better supervisors (Henderson 2009). Some of the methods that will help in developing managerial skills in the supervisors can be as follows (Morea 1972) Training method Purpose served Class room sessions To provide theoretical concepts about the various skills required to handle new employees. For example how to develop team work or how to conduct counseling session. Case study Cases pertaining to the situation in hand can be discussed with the supervisors who can then provide solutions. This will help everyone think of different options. Roll plays Supervisors when put in the shoes of the new employee will be able to empathize with the situation. T group exercises Help understand oneself and their impact on others. References Allan, C. 2000, “Hidden organizational costs of using non-standard forms of employment”. Personnel Review, vol. 29, no. 2. Bersin, J 2004, The blended learning book: best practices, proven methodologies, and lessons learned, John Wiley and Sons. Boydell, T., Leary, M and Leary, M 1996, Identifying training needs, Universities Press. De Janasz, S.C. & Sullivan, S.E. 2004, Multiple mentoring in academe: Developing the professional network, Journal of Vocational Behavior, vol.62, pp.263-83. Halpern, D.F and Murphy, S.E, 2005, From work-family balance to work-family interaction: changing the metaphor, Volume 2002, Routledge. Henderson, P, 2009, Supervisor training: Issues and Approaches, Karnac Books. Komives, S.R and Woodard, D, 2003, Student services: a handbook for the profession, John Wiley and Sons. Lake, S 2000, Low-Cost Strategies for Employee Retention, Compensation and Benefits Review vol.32, no.4, pp.65-72. Mathis, R.L and Jackson J.H 2007, Human Resource Management, Cengage Learning. Mawson, TC 2001, “Can we really train leadership?” Leadership & Management in Engineering, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 44-46. 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