Resourcing and Talent Planning - Assignment Example

CIPD Assessment Activity of unit/s Resourcing and Talent Planning Unit No/s 5RTP Level 5 Credit value 6 Assessment method Answersto questions Learning outcomes: 1. Understand key contemporary labour market trends and their significance for different kinds of organisation in different country contexts 3. Know how to contribute to the development of resourcing strategies 5. Understand how to maximise employee retention Assessment brief/Activity XXX and ZZZ are two of the biggest companies competing in the relatively new online gambling industry. Both are run by largely British management teams and are headquartered in Gibraltar where most of their staff are employed. The industry has grown five fold over the past ten years and is now estimated to be worth around $US 15 million worldwide. These two companies between them, enjoy around half of the market at present, having grown very rapidly in the last few years. They are based in Gibraltar for two reasons. First, because online gambling is legal and regulated in the territory, and secondly because tax is virtually nil provided no services are provided to Gibraltarians. Both companies operate dozens of websites and are continually developing their offerings technically in order to retain existing users and attract new ones. Their reach is international, but a significant proportion are based in the USA where online gambling is currently illegal, meaning that the companies face little competition from US-based rivals. Both XXX and ZZZ have recently appointed HR Directors for the first time. Hitherto they simply operated recruitment and payroll departments to carry out administrative roles. They have few HR policies in place and have traditionally operated a pretty relaxed and informal management style. Little investment has been made in organisational or employee development. The two headquarters offices in Gibraltar employ around 200 people each, mainly in call-centre type roles taking calls about technical difficulties, rules of games and other customer support matters. There is a need for all these employees to speak English and at least one other language fluently. Staff turnover is the biggest current problem. The people required are quite highly skilled, but the jobs are not hugely exciting. Moreover, living in Gibraltar doesnt suit everyone. Living standards are high because taxes are low and pay high, and the climate is lovely. But the territory is only eight square kilometres in area and houses only 29,000 people. It in effect a relatively is a small town, with a reasonably good night life, but not much else. Property is very expensive, making it difficult for families. Both companies face considerable uncertainties, but in the short term at least are likely to enjoy very considerable further growth. Activities 1. What labour market trends make it hard for these companies to recruit and retain the staff they need? What developments might change the situation? 2 a. Recommend two differing approaches that could be taken in the short term as means of improving their ability to retain staff effectively. 2 b. What cost savings could be realised as a result? 3 a. Over the longer term what should be the key features of the resourcing strategies that the companies establish? 3 b. What steps should they take to ensure that future skills needs are met? 3 c. Explain how the companies are positioned strategically and to what extent their actions affect one another. 4. Explain why these companies would want to become employers of choice. To what extent would it be possible for them to achieve this? Draw on examples you have read or know about when responding and take care to justify your answers. Assessment Criteria 1.1, 1.2 5.2, 5.3 5.1 3.1, 3.2 1.3 3.1 3.2 3.3 Evidence to be produced/required Answers to questions equating to approximately 3000 words in length together with a list of cited references. To be completed by assessor(s): Emmanuel Thomas Unit Code Learning outcomes Assessment criteria Assessor comments Provide rationale for judgements against each assessment criterion and identify areas for development 5RTP 1. Understand key contemporary labour market trends and their significance for different kinds of organisation and in different country contexts. 1.1 Evaluate the major contemporary labour market trends in different country contexts REFER Emmanuel – your work would benefit from an introduction and heading page which gives more detail around the purpose of the report and the context in which it is being written. This would give more of a professional and business-like appearance which would give extra credibility to your work. In order to meet this element of the assessment criteria, you need to evaluate what labour market trends make it hard for these companies to recruit and retain the staff they need. You have provided a lot of detail in respect of the global context, however, you need to be more specific with respect to the Gibraltar context. For instance, you need to identify the ‘tight’ labour market conditions which exist: that employers require a specific skill set and a good level of education; they demand a high level of customer handling ability; they ask for fluency in a relevant language as well as English. Ideally, you should also mention the need for employees to pass residency requirements in order to work legally in the colony and the need to go to Spain to maintain a satisfactory lifestyle (due to the limitations of Gibraltar, being a small colony). You have successfully covered the element surrounding what developments might change the situation and therefore you do not need to add any detail around that element. 1.2 Explain the significance of tightening and loosening labour market conditions REFER In order to successfully meet this element of the assessment criteria, you need to define ‘tight’ and ‘loose’ labour market conditions and explain how both conditions affect the labour market. You will find information regarding these descriptors within the relevant sections of the support documents. 1.3 Describe the role of government, employers and trade unions in helping to ensure that future skill needs are met. REFER In order to pass this element of the assessment criteria, you need to describe what, over the longer term, should be the key features of the resourcing strategies that the companies establish. Again, you make a good start, but your answer is quite vague and just in general terms. You need to contextualise this in respect of these organisations and provide much more detail. In respect of what steps should the organisations take to ensure that future skills needs are met, you could look at which government, employers and trade unions exist and might be involved in ensuring that future skill needs are met in this environment. How might the employers in this scenario encourage this? You also need to describe how such organisations as the government, trade unions and employers do this in other contexts. You could discuss issues such as employer investment in CPD and enrichment of the employee value proposition. 3. Know how to contribute to the development of resourcing strategies. 3.1 Analyse the relative strengths and weaknesses of labour market competitors REFER Although you make a good start, you need to provide more evidence of research into the competitors in order to compare and contrast their relative strengths and weaknesses. You mention a SWOT analysis, which would be a very good way of doing this, but do not produce one. 3.2 Explain how organisations position themselves strategically in competitive labour markets. REFER Emmanuel – the use of Porter’s 5 forces model would greatly help you with this question. You need to explain how the companies in the scenario are positioned strategically and to what extent their actions affect one another. You could discuss resourcing strategies (especially related to skill development) and the need for professional management plus pro activity to manage labour market reputation, including targeted PR. R&R could be developed and environmental planning in relation to the workforce could also be employed. 3.3 Evaluate why and how organisations seek to be seen as employers of choice. PASS You have explained why these companies would want to become employers of choice, although your answer would be further improved if you provided more detail around to what extent it would be possible for them to achieve this. Your answer just scrapes through here Emmanuel, well done. 5. Understand how to maximise employee retention. 5.1 Explain the costs associated with dysfunctional employee turnover and ways of calculating them. REFER In order to meet this element of the assessment criteria, you need to recommend 2 different approaches that could be taken in the short term as a means of improving the organisations ability to retain staff effectively. You make a good start, but more detail is required. Also, you need to provide more detail around what cost savings could be realised as a result. To summarise, you need to provide a range of recommendations with justification and costs. You suggested factors could include: Pay rates Improved CPD and opportunities Better induction Job review/realism and job improvement Providing professional management. 5.2 Examine why people choose to leave or remain employed by organisations. REFER Emmanuel – this element of the assessment appears to be missing from your work. You need to identify and examine what are the usual motivating factors for employees to leave or remain with an organisation and specifically what might be the factors involved in this scenario. 5.3 Assess the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to the retention of talent. REFER Again, this element is missing from your work, you need to describe how to attract and retain talent and discuss the various strengths and weaknesses of each identified factor. Assessor feedback summary: Emmanuel. Well done, you have produced the basis of what could be some very good work. I realise you will be disappointed to have been referred on so many areas, however, within each section you just need to add more detail to further support the content of your work in respect of this specific scenario and business environment. The areas where you have been referred are linked and I have no doubt it is well within your capability to make the necessary improvements. Please see the detailed notes above. Your work itself is well written and its structure is also very good. As a development point, there are some areas where there is some repetition and your referencing document is quite short for a level 5 qualification course. You would benefit from doing some further additional reading – please see support documents on the VLC. When resubmitting your work, please ensure you use this copy – including this completed TMA feedback sheet. Please also identify any amended/additional work by using a different colour to help with marking. You should resubmit this work in the form of a draft submission within two weeks Assessor name: T Madine Signature: T Madine Date: 09.12.14 Decision: Pass date Refer 09.12.114 Draft date Fail date Internal Verifier name: Signature: Date: Decision: PASS REFER DRAFT FAIL Feedback to the Assessor Action to be taken by assessor(s) following I/V sampling Resourcing and talent planning (Author’s name) (Institutional Affiliation) 1) What labor market trends make it hard for these companies to recruit and retain the staff they need? What developments might change the situation? Companies have had difficult time in retaining the staff they have and also have had difficulties in deciding the ones to recruit. The changes that occur are due to the needs of the companies to carry on the production functions of the company. The recruitments aim in bringing in the employees who have the skills needed for the production. Globalization has resulted in changes in market trends and affected employee retention and recruitment. Changes in labor markets trends have resulted in the turnover of the workers hence the need for the organization affected to come up with strategies that will ensure employees are retained. Both companies Betfair and Stan James are finding it difficult to retain employees. The issue related to the increased turn over may be due to employee’s dissatisfaction and the weak company management system (Campbell, 2009). The companies have been functioning without HR directors. Employees are part of the human resources and are supposed to be monitored and supervised by an effective human resource department in the company. The few human resource policies put in place with the informal and relaxed style of management has made it difficult for the company to manage and retain its employees. Retaining employees requires the company to invest and motivate them. These companies have however, invested less toward employee motivation and developments. The location of the company in Gibraltar has also made it difficult to attract new employees, since the environmental factors in the area and the facilities available around to be used by the employees are not favorable. The companies should come up with effective strategies that are aimed at retaining employees. The two companies can retain employees through investing enough capital in development of employees. An effective human resource department should be set up to help manage the new employees and those already in place. The companies should also put mechanisms in place aimed at career planning, development and training of the employees and coming up with effective compensation plans. Such plans will boost employee retention which one of the major challenge affecting the company. It is advantageous for a company to retain employees rather than recruiting new ones. The recruitment process may be long before the right qualification of the employees are got. Improving the T & D and CPD for the employees. The human resource department should be accorded powers to manage the employees (Campbell, 2009). The companies are said to employ two hundred employees each. The number is high and the issue can only be controlled if the employees are retained. Allowances can also be offered to the workers to attract them and allow them to stay in town. The town is said to be highly populated and expensive to live with the family. The retained employees are experienced and will improve the performance of the companies. The human resource management has encountered a lot of challenges due to changes in the business environment as it has become more competitive. Advances in information technologies, international competition demand and changes in consumer demand for products and services has prompted companies to come up with new ways of production and plans for the organization. The demand has affected employee mobility and thereby prompting employees turn over. The two companies should ensure appropriate human resource management is put in place with an intention of recruiting employees that are competent and should come up with good plans that will ensure the staffs are retained. The human resource directors are to work closely with top company management to ensure appropriate measures that will promote employee commitment, retention and productivity (Campbell, 2009). Competition targeting key employees’ talents may also be the reason for the increased employee turnover. The companies face competition from other companies in the Euro zone and Middle East with the same type of business. The company can prevent employee movement to other competitive companies through motivation and development. The employees should be allowed to raise issues that affect them and the company should be in a position to solve the issue. Used resource is the greatest asset owned by the company and should therefore be treated with more concern. The companies should rely on knowledge, expertise, skills, capacity development and capital resources with an intention of competing favorably in the already competitive business environment. The motivation strategies targeting retention of the employees keep changing from time to time and the company should therefore be up to date with new information pertaining to employee retention. 2a) Recommend two differing approaches that could be taken in the short term as means of improving their ability to retain staff effectively The human resource department in the company can come up with short term employee retention strategy with an intention of retaining them. Job satisfaction is one of the approaches that can be applied by the companies to promote employee retention. Job satisfaction targets the attitude of the employee toward their current jobs. Changing the attitude of the employee to a positive one through actions such as training and employee involvement in the decision making process can help change the turn over intention of the employee. Issues such as pays, employee-supervisor relationship and the quality of work environment have been known to cause dissatisfaction among the employees (Srivastava & Rastogi, 2012). The two companies can focus on such issues to change the turn over intention of the workers. Reward strategy can also be utilized as another approach aimed at retaining employees in the companies. The employee’s performance and contributions should be recognized through rewards. Such rewards entail salary increment, advancement and coworker relationships. Rewarding employees will reduce employee turnover. 2b) what cost savings could be realized as a result? Retention of the employees saves a lot of capital that the company may spend on the recruitment of new employees. The company will also have to spent money in training of the newly employed since they do not posses experience like the employees who have left the companies. The two companies employ 200 hundred workers each. The capital spent on recruitment of such a large number of employees is high. The company is therefore justified to come up with strategic plan that is aimed at employee retention to save on capital. It is beneficial to retain an employee than to lose and recruit another one. Employee turnover is costly to both companies. Some of costs associated with turnover entail; training costs and time search of candidates, additional employee benefit investment, productivity loss and replacement costs. Retention of the employees is therefore vital for company progress (Hannay & Northam, 2008). . 3a) Over the longer term what should be the key features of the resourcing strategies that the companies establish? The two companies employ 200 employees each year. Recruitment of employees is a process and the human resource department has to come up with strategies of resourcing employees of with best skills. Employee resourcing is considered a vital role of human resource department. Companies should ensure the effective plans are put in place to help recruit only the best (Bowen & Sharma, 2007). A successful resourcing process should enable the company to chose a highly skilled employee, reward and motivate them. The major principle of a strategic resourcing process is to ensure the cost of the employee is minimized while at the same time employee value is maximized. The human resource management has to come up with resourcing strategy before recruitment process begins. The employees selected are supposed to have technological skills required by the company. The employees selected should be supervised and training. Mentorship and role modeling are also vital to ensure the employees adapt to the place of work. The company has to consider a variety of factors before selection process begins. The employees should be informed of the expectation before they are allowed to work to enhance human resource relationship. Promotion of the existing employees promotes commitment and reliability (Bowen & Sharma, 2007). The company should be able to utilize selective recruitment process due to their demand for candidates that are skilled. The company can also source from within as a way of motivation to the existing employees and to reduce the cost spent on recruitment. The human resource department should be empowered to carry out the recruitment process in a more effective e way through proper interviews such that the best are selected among the one who wants be recruited. The employees within the company should be reallocated because of the skills and expertise that they posses. The company has to invest enough capital in order to tap human resources who are skilled. Recruitment of employees with the best skills is considered a good strategy in dealing with the competitors (Bowen & Sharma, 2007). The resourcing strategy should aim at generating mutual trust and boosting commitment among them. The sourcing process should aim at focusing on selecting employees with the best attitude that can spur organization growth to the next level. Resourcing strategy should focus at; the number of candidates needed to achieve the company needs. This will target customer services, quality and performance standard. 3b) what steps should they take to ensure that future skills needs are met? The company often blames the employees when they incur losses. The company is however justified in cases where the employee productivity becomes low. Blaming the employees may not help but the two companies should come up with strategies to improve employee’s productivity (Bowen & Sharma, 2007). Strategies that can promote employee performance in the two companies include; relationship between the employees should be established. Accountabilities that are well defined promote good relationship among the employees and make them comfortable. The employees can also be monitored for performance. Performance appraisal can be utilized by the company as a measurement tool for performance approach ensures the employees remain productive. The company has to avoid micro management by putting trust in the individuals. The company should come up with ways directed at encouraging employees through motivation. Employees can also be recognized, rewarded and be involved in the decision making process (Bowen & Sharma, 2007). the employees are to be trained, team building exercises have to be done , written processed should be done, internet access tools have to be checked , communication channels should be kept open by the team, the company should be able to pay well, regular feedbacks and reviews ought to be carried out and emphasize team work. All these strategies can be met also when the employees are given more training such that the skills they had are advanced to meet the company’s expectations. 3c) Explain how the companies are positioned strategically and to what extent their actions affect one another. Location of the company is vital for its growth. Business environment determines the failure and the success of the organization. The location of the company and business is therefore essential for the organizational growth. The location of the businesses can be determined by methods such as, financial, statistical, analog, mathematical modeling and regression analysis. Location of a company can bring about effective competition between the company and the others. It can make a company have an advantage over the others hence maximize production. And by understanding the weaknesses of the business, you can manage and eliminate threats that would otherwise find you unawares. More than this, by looking at the business and your competitors using the SWOT framework, one can start to craft a strategy that helps to distinguish the business from other competitors, so that the business can compete successfully in the market. Other determinants entail social economic factors, situational, demographic, site, competition, condition of the establishment and the product services. The two companies Betfair and Stan James run by teams in Britain are headquartered in Gibraltar. Most of the company staffs are located in the Town. The location of the two gambling companies has been determined by two factors. One of the reason supporting their location is due to the fact that, online gambling is regulated in the territory and is considered legal. These are one of the major factors since the company deal with gambling. Gibraltar therefore remains the only for flourishing of the business (Weber & Chapman, 2011). The regulation of the business in the territory is also essential for their prosperity. The second reason that supports their location is due to the fact that tax is virtually nil in the town basing on the fact that the services are not provided to the population in the town. The absence or less tax levied on their services enable the company to save a lot of capital. The capital may be channeled to other company activities hence promoting performance. The two companies are however competing among each other since they deal with the same services. They enjoy nearly half of the current market. One company reduces the market of the other (Weber & Chapman, 2011). 4) Explain why these companies would want to become employers of choice. To what extent would it be possible for them to achieve this? The two companies are competing with other companies that offer gambling services to the consumers in the market. Being employers of choice will enable them attract and retain employees with experience and skills. Performance of a company is determined by the determination and hard work of their employees. The company should therefore invest in activities that will promote retention of the employees and developing a better working environment that will attract them (Rampl, 2014). The employees determine the employer of choice. Companies or employers of choice retain most of their employees throughout their careers. The employees are eager to work with them. For the two companies to become the employers of choice positive employer employee relationship has to exist in the company, the company has to provide employees with job security and opportunity for personal growth. A good company should involve the employee in decision making process. Rewards and other activities such as motivation also make the company an employer of choice. The employee’s salary and compensation package can also promote the company to be the employee of choice. Changes in the structure and culture of the company can help make it a choice among the employees. The human resource manager has to convince the top managers in developing policies and plan aimed at improving the working environment at the place of work (Rampl, 2014).The work place environment should be made a better place by making it safe for the workers. This enables them to carry well their activities. References Bowen, F., & Sharma, S. 2007. Resourcing Corporate Recruitment Strategy: Behavioral And Resource-Based Perspectives. Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, A1-A6. Discover New Opportunities. Manage and Eliminate Threats: SWOT Analysis www.mindtools.com. Campbell, J. 2009. Recruitment, retention and reward. Education 3-13, 24-31. Hannay, M., & Northam, M. 2008. Low-Cost Strategies for Employee Retention. Compensation & Benefits Review, 65-72. Rampl, L. 2014. How to become an employer of choice: Transforming employer brand associations into employer first-choice brands. Journal of Marketing Management, 1-19. Srivastava, V., & Rastogi, S. 2012. Employee retention. Ubiquity, 1-1. Weber, P., & Chapman, D. 2011. Location Intelligence: An Innovative Approach to Business Location Decision-making. Transactions in GIS, 309-328. Wilson, F. 2010. Meeting the challenges of global resourcing. Strategic HR Review, 5-10. Read More