Human Resource Management of the Organizations and Its Strategic Approaches - Research Paper Example

Abstract The present report discusses the effectiveness of human resource management in handling employee turnover and empowering them through various developmental programs. Increased workload and stress have resulted in a high level of attrition in various industries. Escalating anxiety level often drives the employees to search for other job opportunities with lower tension and work-pressure. This report is an attempt to collect authentic information regarding employee turnover and the various control measures adopted by organizations. Various empowerment programs have been initiated by the organization so that opinions or grievances of the employees can be properly addressed. EAP, which is discussed in this report, is one such program which can go a long way in developing the workforce and strengthening the relationship shared by the employer with its employee base. Various strategic approaches employed used for controlling and managing the stress level of the employees has also been discussed in this report. The research work has focused on Google Inc and its HR practices in response to employee turnover and assisting them improving their work culture and reduce work load. Various activities and initiatives taken up by the organization towards their employee base have been discussed in the report which have relation with controlling employee turnover and making their job more attractive to increase their level of interest towards the job. Introduction Employees are often considered as the most valuable asset for any organization and hence it must be properly cared by the employer. Ensuring their safety, though the primary concern, is not the ultimate one. Initiatives must be taken up by the employers to improve the overall performance of their employee base. Such development of the work force will also ensure multiple benefits for the organization. Google has adopted several initiatives to reduce the workload of employees as a result of which the culture of Google has been made informal. It has remained the core purpose of the organization to develop their workplace with fun, i.e. employees feel like having fun at their work. These strategic approaches have helped the organization to curb its employee turnover rate by reducing their stress level and making them satisfied from their jobs (ICMR, 2004). Activities that ascertain employee care and development also create a strong bond between the employees and the employers. Such cordial work environment also enhances the performance of the organization. Increased workload and stress has often led many employees to switch their employers voluntarily after they have failed to cope up with tremendous workload and unsatisfactory work culture of the organizations. This has increased the employee turnover and attrition rate in the victim organization. Human resource department and employee turnover It has become a major challenge for most of the organizations to retain their efficient workforce and control the rate of employee turnover. Irrespective of industry in which one is functioning, almost all organizations have realized the gravity of the accelerating employee turnover. Though it varies with the industry, its presence is felt in almost all the sectors irrespective of their private or public affiliation. Private sector has found the issue more challenging because of the competitive business environment in which they operate. Google has gained significant success in adopting quality HR policies and developing a unique work culture which is liked by the employees. The company has been ranked first in a survey which was conducted by a reputed international business magazine. The survey was conducted to enlist top 100 organizations to work for across the globe. The company has been successful not only in administrative function but also developing a strong relationship between the employees and the employer (Nightingale.P & John, 2008). Strategic approaches towards human resource have enabled organizations to identify various reasons responsible for the increasing rate of employee turnover. Optimization of the human resource strategies which will ensure the well being of work-life balance can support the organization in controlling the rate of employee turnover. Measures of controlling employee turnover Controlling employee turn over, is a major concern for present day organizations. In order to identify the reasons behind it, the organizations conduct various surveys and interviews of employees. A complete analysis of the employee turnover requires detailed information of the employees who have left the organization voluntarily or involuntarily. Information such as name, designation, reason behind termination, date, salary and benefits, Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) status, and EEO information must be provided accordingly. The department which has a higher rate of employee turnover requires significant attention from the human resource department of the organization. Sometimes certain designations and positions within an organization entail a higher rate of employee turnover. Managers must try to restructure the positions and roles associated with it to make it more interesting and attractive to the employees. Organizations should also focus on the reason that leads to the termination of the employees and develop policies accordingly. FLSA status is also required for identifying positions which require restructuring, since high rate of employee turnover in higher positions leads to the wastage of greater financial resources. Employees’ date of birth also enables the organization to identify the pattern displayed by the present generation of employees. Organizations must also record termination date which helps them to identify the seasonal pattern of job switch. Pay packages offered by the organizations are also related to the employee turnover since low pay packages fails to attract and retain employees within the organization. Some other factors which have direct implication on the employee turnover, include average revenue of the organization, trend of the job market, average age of the employee base, cost related to the replacement of employees (Phillips, 2007). Employee performance measurement High rate of employee turnover influences the performance of not only the individual but also of the organization. Organizational theories have advocated that employee turnover affects the heath of the organization in a negative way. Frequent termination cause financial loss to the organization which also affects its performance. Organizational members have identified employee turnover to be a major cause of reduced organizational performance. Contrary to it, Bingley and Westergaard-Nielsen (2004) opines that employees quit due to incompatible roles offered to them. According to them, the organization might as well use it as an opportunity to replace the position with more productive working individuals. They declared that increase in the rate of resignation often leads to a rise in profit since the less productive employees leave the organization. However, recruiting new employees adds to the expenses of the organization since it involves cost incurred for recruitment and training activities (Siebert et al., 2006). Better performance measurement and evaluation can help the human resource department of the organizations to exercise a control over the factors that lead to higher rate employee turnover. Identifying and recognizing the performances are very effective in satisfying the employees and motivating them to enhance their performance with time. The above mentioned approach is an effective way of reducing the attrition rate and retaining its productive workforce. Google is known for its excellent performance in innovating various ways to facilitate useful information in most convenient ways to the world. It has developed a planned approach to achieve the excellence by allocating right work to the right people and giving equal importance to the team based approach. The company welcomes all the suggestions which are offered by their engineers and team members. Excellent leadership quality adopted by the organization helps it in utilizing its resources and transforms them into reality (WESTLUND & HANNON, 2008). Stress at the workplace High level of uncertainty and insecurity in various aspects of personal and professional life contributes to the formation of stress. Productivity of employees’ decreases significantly due to excessive stress created both at personal and professional front. Organizations often become the ultimate victim because the employee’s productivity decreases due to it. To manage the stress and fight it effectively, organizations have taken up several initiatives to improve the life style of their employees along with their health status. The HR practices adopted in Google are effective in terms of enhancing the productivity of its employees. The high productivity of employees reflects the approach adopted by the organization towards its employees. The HR practices adopted by the organization are called as ‘People Operations’ which ensures a long term employer-employee relationship (Nightingale.P & John, 2008). Minimizing stress at workplace s Organizations have become conscious and have made efforts to reduce the stress level of employees and provide them with a relaxed and friendly work environment. It is the human resource department of the organization which looks after these kinds of activities. Various policies and frameworks are developed by human resource department, helps the organization to reduce the stress level of their employees. Organizations often conduct sessions to bring awareness on stress among the employees. They are also trained by which they can reduce the impact of stress on their professional and personal lives (UNIMELB, n.d.). Controlling anxiety level of employees High level of stress among the employees leads to the increase of their anxiety level which further results in many health related complications. Managers play a crucial role in controlling the anxiety level of workers which are due to uncertain separations carried out by the managers. These uncertain separations have a negative impact on the employees which can be controlled by the managers by adopting innovative approaches to facilitate smoother transitions of the employees in their career (Podmoroff, 2004). Employees experience a higher level of anxiety when they are introduced to a new workplace. Thus it becomes very important for the managers to provide the new employees with a precise idea about their work profile and the work ambience before they venture into it. (Kamensky & Morales, 2006). A proper work-life balance is instrumental in keeping the stress level of the employees within bounds. Employees must be provided with sufficient time to socialize themselves which reduces their stress levels. Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for employee development Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) is a systematically carried out program which assists organizational members to address their productivity issues and also provides solution to the personal concerns of the employees. Assistance programs are unique approaches adopted by the organizational members to enhance the job performance of employees and address their personal concern. These assistance programs are concerned primarily with the organizational members and their family members. Another set of entities which are served by the programs are the managers and supervisors whose performances are also enhanced through them. These programs are encouraged by present day organizations and professionals involved into these services take full control of the activities performed by them. Assistance services are offered to the client organizations through a wide network of service providers who have gained expertise in these assistance programs (Winegar, 2002). These assistance programs are mainly intended to provide support to the employees of the organization by resolving their problems, both personal and professional, problems that have a direct implication on the productivity of the employees. Conclusion Contemporary organizations are focusing on issues which despite not having a direct relation with the core activities performed within the organization are strong enough to influence the performance of the employees. Human resource management of the organizations are more concerned about these activities as they are required to manage people at the work and improve their performance to achieve the organization stated goals. Strategic approaches and innovative thinking have enabled human resource departments to deal with the problem of stress in a more effective manner. They have framed policies to ensure the basic needs of the employees pertaining to safety, security, and health. Training sessions and programs are also offered by the organizations to empower their workforce without destabilizing their job performances. These initiatives help the employees to handle work pressure without compromising the professional front which is the ultimate objective of any organization. Reference ICMR. (2004). ICMR- Google's Organizational Culture. Retrieved from http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Human%20Resource%20and%20Organization%20Behavior/HROB041.htm on March 14, 2010. Phillips, L. (July 2007). Human Resources: Analyzing employee turnover. Retrieved from http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/ANowDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=27085 on March 9, 2010. Siebert, W., Zubanov, N., Chevalier, A. & Viitanen, T. (Sep 2006). Labour Turnover and Labour Productivity in a Retail Organization. Retrieved from http://ftp.iza.org/dp2322.pdf on March 9, 2010. UNIMELB. (No date). The University of Melbourne- Human Resources-Managing Stress: Responding Well, Keeping Balance. Retrieved from http://www.hr.unimelb.edu.au/development/courses/effectiveness/managing-stress on March 9, 2010. Kamensky, J. & Morales, A. (2006). Competition, choice, and incentives in government programs. Rowman & Littlefield. Podmoroff, D. (2004). How to hire, train & keep the best employees for your small business. Atlantic Publishing Company. Winegar, N. (2002). Employee Assistance Programs in Managed Care. Routledge. WESTLUND, S. & HANNON, J. (2008). Journal of Information Technology Management- RETAINING TALENT: ASSESSING JOB SATISFACTION FACETS MOST SIGNIFICANTLY RELATED TO SOFTWARE DEVELOPER TURNOVER INTENTIONS. 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