Human Resource Strategic Planning at Energex Company - Case Study Example

ENERGEX COMPANY (Student Name) (Institution) (Instructor) (Course No) (Date) Organizational Information Founded in 1922 Energex is a subsidiary of the Energy Queensland Limited, an electricity company owned by the state of Queensland. The company engages in the building, operation and maintenance of electricity distribution channels throughout south east Queensland. The company operates in major towns of Australia such as Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Logan and the Gold Coast. Apart from the distribution of electricity, the company also engages in the supply of LPG and natural gas to major Australian cities, establishing itself as a multi-utility company. Following the provision of high quality products and services as well as the high training levels of the employees, the company has been in operation for close to a decade and continues to provide essential services to its customers. Throughout these years, the company has been able to expand its products and services beyond Brisbane where it was founded t other Australian States such as the New South Wales and Victoria. The company has undergone transformation since its creation. In 1995 for instance, the company transformed from operating under the Brisbane City Council to a nationally state owned corporation. The name Energex was given to the company in 1997 following its entry into the competitive Australian energy market. Other changes include the sale of the company’s retail business in 2007 and the merging with Ergon Energy this year. Currently, the company distributes electricity to approximately 3.4 billion Australians including households and businesses, reflecting a high demand for electricity and the associated services. To meet these demands, the company has a network of plant, property, people and equipment that aids in meeting these demands. Additionally, the organization fosters good relationships with the customers and practices sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Mission Statement The organization mission statement is to focus on the provision of safe, economic and sustainable delivery of reliable energy solutions to its customers. Recruitment and Selection The company is an equal opportunities employer committed to performing competitive selection of its employees based on merit. In selection and recruitment of the employees, the company adheres strictly to the requirements of the law such as the Equal Opportunities Employment Policy and the Recruitment and Selection Guidelines. The company hires individuals from various fields such as; technicians and designers, electrical engineers, electrical apprentice, graduates, managerial and administration roles. Since the company relies on the skills of its employees to remain at the top of the industry, it offers both induction and on the job training for the employees. Many of the employees of the company are holders of diplomas, graduate and pot graduate qualifications, suggesting that the company employs highly qualified individuals. Additionally, the company is committed to attracting and retaining an empowered workforce that is innovative and can achieve high performance in all business aspects. Employee Benefits of the Organization Energex employee receive several benefits from the company ranging from good salaries to other financial benefits such as retirement benefits. The organization realizes the importance of balancing work life and personal life, thus provides the employees with flexible working arrangements such as working from home and job sharing, access to paid maternity and family leave. Additionally, since the organization is built on the core value of respect and support for each other, the workers are capable of maximizing their potentials in the friendly working environment. Other benefits of the organization to its employees are professional development and rewarding of the employees through the employee recognition scheme. Employee Safety and Wellbeing The organization is committed to ensuring the safety of its employees, customers, contractors and the community at large. In fact, one of the core values of the organization is to put safety first. Additionally, the company has established safety principles with which it aims to achieve its safety vision of becoming the safest electricity distribution company in the world. To ensure the safety and well -being of the employees, the company is committed to: complying with the statutory health and safety regulations, training employees and contractors to perform their duties safely, consulting with the workers about safety risks and devising methods to reduce such risks and recognizing positive safety practices among the workers in line with the organization’s safety guidelines. Moreover, the organizational health and safety policy outlines the responsibilities of the employees in ensuring their safety. Performance and Development Training The company is committed to ensuring that they acquire and retain high skilled employees to remain competitive in the industry. To achieve this, the company is provides a range of training program to all it employees. As part of professional development, the organization provides the employees with on the job training and post graduate courses. Additionally, the employees are given excellent opportunities to advance in their careers through promotions, position transfers and acting positions. The other ways through which the company promotes training and development of the employees are rotations and mentorships. Rotations give the employees chances to work in different departments of the organization, enabling them to gain the required experience. The mentorship programs help in managing the interests of the employees in the requirements of the organization. Stakeholders in Employee Relations The major stakeholders in employee relations in the organization are the managers, the employees themselves and the employee unions. The managers are mandated with the role of ensuring the provision of an enabling working environment where the employee relations can thrive. Poor employee relations have adverse consequences on the management and organization at large. Employees play a significant role in employee relations. At ENERGEX Company, building good relations among the employees is important in ensuring that employees work in a conducive environment, leading to overall organizational success. Employees are encouraged to develop mutual trust with each other and provide support and assistance to one another. Employee relations cannot be successful without the employee unions that help in resolving issues between the management and employees in a mutually beneficial way. Diversity policy ENERGEX has a diversity policy with the main aim of providing a discrimination, victimization, vilification and harassment-free working environment in which the employees have equal access to opportunities within the organization depending on their accomplishment. The organization complies with the anti- discrimination regulations and the Equal Opportunity Employment policy and takes stern actin on individuals who discriminate against others in the workplace. The organization embraces diversity and realizes the role it plays in contributing towards its success. The organization realizes that diversity can help it in achieving its desired goals by utilizing the ideas, experiences, abilities and the views of the workforce. Additionally, the organization recognizes the contribution of diversity in attaining competitive advantage, which puts the company ahead of the others in the industry. Recommendations Although the organization encourages the employees to solve issues of discrimination informally between the parties involved and those directly involved in its resolution, it does not include cases in which the victims are not satisfied with the ruling of the organization. It is recommended that such issues be addressed by the policy for better outcomes. Furthermore. Apart from dismissal of the employees found guilty of discrimination and victimization, the organization should handle the issue with more seriousness such as prosecution of the individuals. Employee Relations Strategy The company has an employee relations strategy with the aim of creating a positive relations environment that allows the employees to engage professionally and in a flexible manner. The vision of the strategy is to “create a positive employee relations climate that supports workforce safety, workforce capability, staff engagement and a high performance customer service culture”. The purpose of the strategy is to enlighten both the management and employees the required processes and responsibilities for effective employee relations and realization of sustainable business outcomes. The company’s employee relations strategy is guided by three principles namely; positive leadership, meaningful consultation and working relationships. The four key elements of the strategy are; alignment with the strategic direction, governance and compliance, constructive workplace relationships and focus on the business outcomes. The employee relations consultative framework comprises the annual CEO meetings that foster relationships between the company and employee unions, the bi- monthly industrial relations issues forum meetings and the bi-monthly or quarterly lines of business consultative committees that allow for consultation at the local level in various lines of business. Employee Relations Risk Management Strategy The organization has an employee relations risk management strategy that aims to identify, control and prevent the occurrence of threats in the relations between the employees. The organization realizes the contribution of positive employee relations to its success and strives to ensure that the employees have perfect workplace relations. The vision of the employee risk management strategy is to ensure that a perfect working environment is made available to the employees where they can attain personal development while maximizing their potential. The organization uses the employee unions to promote risk reduction and control in employee relations. In cases of conflicts between individuals or among various teams in the workplace, the employee unions serve as arbitrators, allowing the employees to resolve their conflicts amicably. These unions serve as a basis of reducing the problems that may arise among the employees, eventually hindering the successful operation of the organization. Collective Employment Agreement The organization has a collective employment agreement that specifies the employment terms and conditions to the employees. The agreement identifies the forms of employment within ENERGEX as full-time, part- time and casual. Employees working on full-time basis are expected to work for 36.25 hours a week while those on part-time basis work less. Casual employees, according to the agreement are engaged by the hour. The company and the employees agree on the employment type and the number of hours to work at the time of appointment. The agreement also provides the employees with the option of job sharing. The agreement provides flexibility arrangements for the employees to enable them meet their personal needs. Additionally, the agreement takes care of the old employees by allowing their transition to retirement. Measures are put in place to mentor and guide such employees prior to retirement. Other areas covered by the agreement are; coverage, alternative employment arrangements and workforce planning issues. Organizational HR services The organizational human resource services that benefit the employees in ENERGEX are; the provision of conducive working environments that allow the employee to thrive professionally, making timely payments to the employees thus motivating them to be more productive, addressing employee issues such as making known the employee problems to the organization’s management, recognizing an awarding the individual and team achievements and organizing both induction and on the job training for the employees, further sharpening their skills. Termination and Disciplinary Issues Termination of employment in ENERGEX may be initiated by the company or the employee (ENERGEX, 2011, P. 21-40). If the company initiates the termination, it provides the employee with a written statement indicating the employment period and job roles of the employee. The notification period depends on how long the employee has served in the organization. The organization makes payments to the employee depending on time rate pay for the employee including allowances. If the employees initiate the termination, they are expected to give a one week notice to the organization, failure of which the company holds one week dues. Moreover, the organization is committed to ensuring high levels of discipline among the workers and takes necessary disciplinary measures for the employees who misbehave. The actions for which the organization takes disciplinary measures are; sexual harassment, workplace discrimination, mockery, intimidation, victimization and vilification of individuals. In worst cases, the organization can dismiss individuals on the basis of discipline. Conclusion With regards to the discussion above, it is evident that ENERGEX Company is one of the most successful companies in the world in terms of organizational management. The organization values its employees and makes them feel appreciated, thus they are able to maximize their potential leading to overall organizational success. Further increasing the employee incentives can help the organization to scale to higher levels owing that employee motivation is proportional to organizational success. The organization should further consider expanding to the world energy market. Reference ENERGEX (2011). THE ENERGEX Union Collective Agreement. The Electrical Traders Union, p. 21-40. Read More