HR Problems at Wallys Wonder Wash - Case Study Example

Human Resource Management Wally’s Wonder Wash Student Name Course Name Tutor Date Introduction Human resource management is a field that deals with the issues of the people who are working in an organization. These are referred to as the most important assets in any organization since they are the ones who work towards the achievement of the set goals and objectives in any organization. Generally, the roles involved in human resource managements are in recruiting the workers, employing them, training them and compensating for their services when done in accordance with the requirements of the organization (Mathis and Jackson 2007, 16). Human resource management is also important since the employees are people with changing objectives and needs and should therefore not be handled like other organization resources such as the machinery. Human resource management assumes a positive look of the employees in that they all wish to add value to the productivity of organization and in their efforts, they are faced with various challenges such as inadequate knowledge and skills, lack of enough training and low compensation levels by the organization management. To ensure maximum performance in any organization, the human resource manager must implement a human resource management procedure that will work in favour of the employees. This is because when the employees are satisfied and all their needs met, they are able to achieve optimal performance in the organization. Proper human resource management is the key solution to occurrence of risks in an organization (Davison 2002, 122). HR problems at Wally’s Wonder Wash (WWW) The human resource management problems that are exist at WWW are poor relationship between the management and the employees, low compensation, irregular reward system, poor training, lack of employee protection. At WWW, there is a poor relationship between the employees and the management and that is the main cause of a high employee turnover. The employees are not being given a chance to hold discussions with the managers where they can air their complains (Bratton and Gold 2001, 34). They therefore suffer in silence and end up leaving the organization when the situation gets unbearable. A good relationship is necessary to allow for free interaction and this way the managers are able to get ground information from the other employees. The salaries that are given to the employees are low compared to the hours and the type of work that they are doing. When employees are faced with a choice of employers, the key consideration is given on the level of compensation (Jim and Joan 1998, 23). When they are therefore not receiving a satisfactory compensation, it is very hard to achieve employee retention in the organization and the rate of employee turnover is very high. Employee turnover is where the employees willingly stop working at the organization and find jobs in other organizations. Turnover occurs because those employees must be replaced with others in similar positions and with similar knowledge for the organization to continue functioning (Griffeth and Rodger 1999, 20). The major cause of employee turnover is the need to get a better paying job elsewhere and this is the case at WWW. When the employees find that their compensation is not competitive, they leave the organization for others. The employees at WWW are not satisfied with their salaries and this therefore needs a review. The reward system in terms of promotions is also not done fairly. There should be a proper order for promotions where the specialists are promoted to the level of attendants and the attendants to the level of managers regularly. This should be based on the academic qualifications and the years of experience of the employees. But at WWW, there are limited chances of promotion since the job levels are only three. The employees are therefore not sure whether they will get any promotion. The organization should stipulate a proper system of promotion where all the employees stand an equal chance of promotion. The other issue is of poor training which is subjecting the employees to mistreatment by the customers. If the attendants are properly trained, there is no need of allowing the customer to inspect the vehicle to check whether it is well attended to. The organization should provide a policy that assures the customers that their attendants are experts, well trained and need not to question the services rendered. To end theses human resource issues at WWW, there is a need for proper employee retention strategy review that will help minimise the employee turnover (Hom and Griffeth 1998, 74). Employee retention Employee retention is a situation where the workers of any given organization are encouraged to stay and work for the organization for the utmost duration or until the project is completed. Employee retention is important for both the organization and the employees. Poor employee retention skills harm the performance of the organization since the employees will keep changing and therefore there is no benefit of experienced employees. To the employees, their job security is threatened since they will live in fear of losing the job at any time. It is therefore very important for the management f the organization to ensure maximum employee retention so that the employees can work at ease and consequently improve the production of the organization (Taylor 2006, 113). The opportunities for the employees are changing and most of them always have other job opportunities in their hands. So, at the moment they feel dissatisfied with the organization they are working for, they move to the other employer. The employer therefore has a role of maintaining its good employees otherwise it would lose them to other potential employers. A good employer should have the skills of attracting and maintaining good employees in his or her organization. However, employee retention is a great challenge to most employers and it is very important for every employer to learn the employee management skills to help in retaining the good employees. Organizations having proper employee retention skills enable them to maintain growth in the market area. Organizations that are aiming to develop give priority to employee retention as an important aspect of talent management and organizational development. Employee retention involves five major aspects. These are compensation, the environment, growth, relationship and support (Rankin 2008, 46). 1. Compensation This is the greatest in the process of employee retention and the most important. When joining any organization, the employees usually have great expectations regarding the compensation packages. A good compensation package plays a very important role in retention of employees in any organization. Employee compensation involves wages and salaries, bonuses, vacations, and other benefits. The most critical constituents of compensation are the salary and wages. It is the most important factor that the employees compare between the organizations that are calling them for employment. Salaries and wages are awarded according to the level of knowledge and skills of the individual and also the level of experience he or she has. They should also be increased as the performance of the employee improves and on the amount of contribution he or she makes to the organization Lawler 2008, 76). 2. Working environment Organizations should put focus on the management of the organization’s working environment so as to make a good use of its available human resources. Most people would like to work in an environment that appreciates the work he or she does, opportunities for growth, a friendly and supportive environment. An employee should feel the organization his or her other home (Phillips and Connell 2003, 154). 3. Growth Every individual needs growth and development in his or her career field. In the organizations where the employees do not see a clear path in their career route, they tend to leave the organization for other opportunities. The responsibilities awarded to the employee should assist him in achieving his life goals together with those of the organization (Cassel 2001, 23). Where the employee is not able to achieve his or her personal goals, he or she cannot well achieve the goals of the organization. The personal goals come first before the organization goals. Growth can be achieved through continued training and development. Training gives the employees a chance to enhance on their knowledge and skills. However, most employers fear that by offering training to the employees, they are creating ways for them to escape to other better organizations. Training should be done on issues such as communication skills, customer care skills, technical skills and on special projects skills (Taylor and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2002, 24). 4. Employee relationship The relationship between the employees and the employees is also an important factor in employee retention. Sometimes the management may fail to offer a supportive working culture for professional and personal relationships. When there is bitterness for each other, the interests of the employees in the organization may decrease and they may feel dissatisfied and de-motivated. For a good professional relationship in the organization, the management should ensure that there is respect for each other in the organization. Team work should also be promoted in all departments as this will enhance competition and the relationship among all the workmates. The managers should also promote an employer based culture where the employees should count on the organization in times of need. Loyalty should be induced in the organization and also among the employees. The management should correct the mistakes of the employees and try to change them instead of recruiting new ones (Scarpello 2007, 57). Support The managers and the supervisors should offer support for their employees to ensure that they all succeed in all their activities. This should not be only during the difficult times but also in the times of personal issues. The employees can feel the support of their employers when they are recognized and appreciated. When they are supported, the employees also feel valued and assume more responsibilities on the organizational matters. As part of the support, personal loans can be offered to the employees, childcare services and also counselling in times of need. Emotional support is also given when required and this is also a form of support to the employees. These are the employee retention strategies that any organization can adopt to retain its employees. When properly observed, the performance of the employees improves since they will take the organization as part of them and will not let it fail. Workable retention strategy Wally could implement WWW needs to adopt an employee retention strategy that will help minimise the human resource problems at the organization. The most important strategy is on compensation and working environment. The employees have complained of receiving a compensation that is not matching their working durations and the type of work they are doing. To maintain the competitiveness that the organization wishes to achieve, there is a need to satisfy the personal needs of the employees so that they can offer maximum services to the organization. Dissatisfied employees cannot perform well and will lead to low production level at the organization (Eddy 2000, 86). The working environment should also be favourable to all the employees. The environment at WWW is characterised by tension and anxiety due to harassment of employees by the customers. The organization on one side is trying to please the customers and give them the best but they do not consider what the employees are going through in their efforts to achieve this. The management should improve on their interaction with the employees so that they can well understand what they are going through. The environment of uncertainty also exists on issue such as promotion where no one is sure of the next move. This needs to be eliminated for the success of the organization. Conclusion Human resource management is the core to the performance and production in every organization. This area should be well looked at to ensure that there is no breakdown in the production process of the organization. The employees are the ones in contact with the customers and should be therefore well handled to ensure that they give the best to the customers. Some customers get attracted to an organization due to the type of employees that the organization has and in this case, employee retention is very important. An organization that keeps changing the employee may lose such customers when their favourite employee leaves the organization. It is therefore very important for the organization to work towards retaining its employees and consequently its customers (Cass 2001, 12). Bibliography Griffeth, P. and Rodger G., 1999. Employee Turnover. Cincinnati: South-Western Publishing. Jim, H., and Joan B., 1998. Finding & Keeping Great Employees. New York: AMACOM. Taylor, S. 2006. Are you keeping your employees happy? The HR Director. No 28, September. Pp8-13. Rankin, N. 2008. The drivers of staff retention and employee engagement. IRS Employment Review. No 901, 1 July. 13pp.  Lawler, E. 2008. Why are we losing all our good people? Harvard Business Review. Vol 86, No 6, June. Pp.41-46, 48, 50-51. Davison, B., 2002.How to measure human resources management. New York: McGraw- Hill Professional. Mathis, R., and Jackson, J., 2007. Human Resource Management. New York: Cengage Learning. Bratton, J., and Gold, J., 2001. Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. Boston: Routledge. Phillips, J., and Connell, A., 2003.Managing employee retention: a strategic accountability approach. London: Butterworth-Heinemann. Taylor, S., and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2002. The employee retention handbook. New York: CIPD Publishing. Cassel, S., 2001. Employee retention: utilization of employee's international experience. New York: School for International Training. Cass, P., 2001. Employee turnover: developing a process to increase employee retention using action research. Denver: Regis University. Hom, P., and Griffeth, R., 1998. Employee turnover. Austria: South-Western College Pub. Scarpello, V., 2007. 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