Human Resource Management at Wordsmiths - Case Study Example

Intrоduсtiоn to Human Rеsоurсе Mаnаgеmеnt Name Institution Date Introduction to Human Resource Management Introduction Over the years redundancies and downsizing has remained a critical legal issue for Human Resource managers and employers in businesses across the world. Since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, many organizations and companies have faced several challenges in the planning and management of redundancies. Many employers assume that the redundancy planning process is easier than it is, and this has become the reason many fail to consider; small and genuine legal aspects in the redundancy process. There exist legal issues that every business or company has to take into account when designing and managing an entire redundancy process. In reference to the Wordsmith case study, this paper discusses the legal issues to consider in designing a redundancy process among other factors; that the HR needs to configure in ensuring the plans success. In view of the plan to downsize, Gemma the HR for Wordsmith’s, a retail bookseller in New South Wales has to consider certain legal issues when designing the redundancy process. These issues will not only help the business in case they have to legally defend their decision in future, but will also ensure fair treatment of the redundant employees. First, Gemma has to establish the genuineness of the redundant process. This may involve following any consultation requirements stipulated in the business agreement or the employee registration agreements (CIPD, 2013). To avoid being accused of unfair dismissal, Gemma has also to take into account fairness in the pool for selection when designing the redundancy process. The company should conduct the selection process in a fair way, for example choosing employees for redundancy based on their capabilities or level of experience. Based on the Australian Fair Work laws, any redundant employee has rights that protect them against discrimination. For instance selecting employees because of their age, gender, color or physical status may qualify as an act of unfair dismissal. Therefore Alan’s suggestion to target employees close to their retirement age does not qualify as a feasible approach to this redundancy plan. Instead, if Gemma goes ahead and does as instructed the company can face major employment lawsuits because of unfair dismissal. This means that every employee has a right to work until they reach their maximum retirement age. Therefore, Gemma has to adopt objective and sound selection criteria that will observe fairness and equal treatment for all the employees within the selection pool. Another legal issue involves consulting with the employees of the company. According to the employment law against employee discrimination, an employer has to warn and consult with the employees about any potential redundancy situation. Therefore, Gemma will have to follow the right channels and consult with her employees; both the Wordsmith’s and the new acquired employees as well as give them prior notice of the potential redundancy situation. Consultations with employees have can also include considering their opinions and discussing the redundancy steps; so as to minimize the negative effects that they may have to face. On the other hand, alternative employment for the redundant employees has to be factored in the HR planning when designing the redundancy plan. In this case Gemma had thought of changing some of the full-time staff to casual employees; this can legally work as an alternative employment for the selected individuals. Additionally, redundant staff are legally entitled to a notice period and redundancy pay; Gemma will have to ensure that the redundant employees get the right notice, on time and their expected pay. Furthermore, the selected individuals may also need reasonable paid time off to look for future employment or alternative work arrangements. This aspect has to factor in the redundancy design process because the Human Resource department has to ensure they plan for the same adequately (Walker, 2013). Additionally other legal issues that Gemma needs to consider critically involve the aspect of collective redundancy and undertaking the necessary consultation steps with employees in such a scenario. Following the legal laws that bind business with the trade union and Labor Relations Act, Gemma also needs to establish which acts apply to Wordsmith’s current situation. HRIMS and Workforce Data Human Resource Information Management Systems help in the storage, analysis, and review of workforce data thereby assisting the HR department manage their employees effectively. Gemma needs first to understand the requirements, opinions and concerns of Wordsmith’s workforce before configuring the existing HRIMS. For instance, the new system configuration should enable the company to store the maximum possible information about their workforce. First, Gemma needs to configure basic information about Mainly Book store’s workforce, for example, their payroll, workforce management and integrate the two aspects into one sustainable system. The payroll configuration should include payroll accounting and time reporting while management of the workforce configuration can include the Mainly Books employee commencement and termination dates and employee exits. Additionally Gemma should also ensure the careful management of software updates, system interfaces, and system regulations; in order to maximize the system’s efficiency (Kassim, Ramayah & Kurnia, 2012). Since the company Wordsmith has acquired did not have any HRIMS, Gemma will have to speak to the individual store managers from Mainly Books to acquire data in relation to Mainly’s employee payroll and personal information. On the other hand, since Mainly Books may need restructuring before being merged with Wordsmith, the HRMIS should be configured in a way that it will accommodate the restructuring process. This aspect implies that Gemma will have to configure the organizational charts, employee roles, and functions as wells as the book store’s promotions. HRIMS can report data on several aspects concerning the employee workforce, for example, complex aspects of the productivity levels, restructuring, workforce planning, training, promotions, on-boarding and external hiring. In this case, the updated HRIMS should generate reports on the work tendencies and performance trends in Wordsmith’s overall operations after the acquisition. Hence, the HR can use this information to analyze the existing gaps in the company’s workforce and make necessary changes in plans. The HRIMS should also generate annual workforce reports based on individual employees and the list of their respective job. This data gives the necessary feedback that can assist Wordsmith HR plan for future workforce needs. On the other hand, the HRIMS should store, report and track records on employee HR data. For instance, the payroll and recruitment dates and figures, information that Gemma can use to establish a basis for restructuring the HR department (Wilson-Evered & Hartel, 2009). HR Planning – Qualitative or Quantitative Approach Considering that Mainly Books did not have any human resource department in the first place, it is crucial that Gemma formulates a HR planning process that blends both qualitative and quantitative data. The data should cover the workforce in a more interactive manner. Qualitative data can include reports about specific observations regarding Mainly Books employees, for example, their workplace conduct, habits and obstacles they need to overcome in order to improve performance in Wordsmith. However, this qualitative approach only presents Wordsmith with long term strategies. In view of short term strategies, Gemma will need to focus more on quantitative HR planning approach especially at this point in the company’s development. The quantitative approach to HR planning will help in the acquisition of statistical information about the workforce in Mainly Books; information that can then get utilized to generated reports. The same reports will enable Wordsmith recognize and prepare for potential obstacles, risks, costs related to absenteeism, manpower turnover, staff movements and restructuring changes. This approach is effective because it highlights the skill development levels of the workforce which may require training and maximization for financial and human resource benefits. HR planning has to consider generating quantitative data for example on employee profiles before the implementation of redundancy policies; in order to avoid the redundant employees suing the firm for discrimination. Since quantitative data helps in formulating diverse processes to enhance employee productivity, Gemma should use this data in ranking work units and employees; so as to select the redundant employees based on poor performance. In this case, this approach has only one distinct disadvantage; since the Mainly Books did not maintain previous data, it will be difficult evaluating their employees’ individual performances. Usually, companies use the quantitative approach to facilitate reviews and hence plan for human resource acquisition strategies. Outsourcing operational and administrative human resource functions One of the major advantages of outsourcing operational and administrative human resource functions for example in payroll and record maintenance is that they help minimize risk for the business. The other advantage is that the firm will remain updated on diverse changes in labor laws and other workplace rules. In the case of large organizations, it is recommended to outsource certain operational and administrative functions because this gives the HR the ability to dedicate more time to other strategic HR activities. Outsourcing also helps in cost management of non-revenue generated expenses incurred by the back office. On the other hand, outsourcing entails expanding the human resource department to accommodate these functions due to the additional personnel and office space. This expansion implies that outsourcing creates ample room for HR restructuring; that is a positive strategy for strategic acquisitions. Additionally, outsourcing also has the advantage of delegating responsibilities to other departments leaving adequate time for HR to concentrate on strategic issues. Therefore, Gemma should recommend outsourcing of other strategic administrative and operational functions so as to manage the workforce acquired from Mainly Books effectively. Aside from that these outsourced HR functions will help in reducing the immense workload, hence enhance input towards strategic issues (Hern & Burke, 2006). At the same time, outsourcing administrative, human resource functions bears certain disadvantages as well. Companies usually outsource with the aim of minimizing costs. However, the same move can lead to poor performance especially if the outsourced provider fails in his functions. In this case, Gemma needs to select carefully the firm to outsource by conducting thorough background checks and getting the providers’ referees (Stroh & Treehuboff, 2003). Distance qualifies as yet another disadvantage when it comes to outsourcing operational and administrative Human Resource functions. The majority of the outsourced units usually emanate from different and distant locations far from the parent firm. This sense of distance tends to weigh down on the quality of the providers’ functions; which can then adversely affect the entire organization and its employees. Therefore, Gemma will need to choose carefully functions that need outsourcing, for example, payroll and recruitment functions, in this case, may need outsourcing. Outsourcing can negatively affect the employees’ behavior as they lack faith in their HR department competency. This problem may happen when employees have certain queries regarding outsourcing functions and the HR department remains incapable of answering such queries. Also, outsourcing puts sensitive data at a prone position for information leaks; if this happened the business or company might face major problems that may sink the business. For instance payroll data or employee, profile data qualifies as sensitive data, and outsourcing on the same will always increase the risk of leakage (Stroh & Treehuboff, 2003). Finally outsourcing leads to a business loss of control and increase in dependency. This issue is evidently true especially in firms that over outsource in non-core functions. In this case, the human resource department tends to have an attitude of not being able to accomplish anything on their own, and therefore they become highly dependent on the outsourced provider. Another disadvantage involves the outsourced provider changing the contracting terms, and this can lead to additional detrimental issues in HR planning. Gemma should consider the weight of both advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing operational and administrative HR functions before making any recommendations. Gemma needs to ensure a careful market analysis of the respective outsource providers prior to recommending any alternatives regarding outsourcing. For instance, Gemma can approach this issue by speaking to the store managers and the outsource provider of Mainly Books before making any decisions regarding non-core HR functions. Conclusion In conclusion, HR strategic acquisitions and management require meticulous management of the workforce, moral apprehension and employee motivation. In this case, Gemma needs first to establish a level of confidence in the Mainly Books workers as well as help them adjust to the change in management. Acquisition of another store also means that the HR functions and workload get doubled therefore Gemma needs to ensure efficient HR planning and adequate strategic management so as to increase performance and revenues for organizational success. Gemma should expect to face a lot of challenges particularly in the management of the newly acquired employees and execution of the strategic plan. However, the same changes if well managed would lead to tremendous benefit for both the firm and its employees. References Australian National Audit Office. Human Resource Information Systems: Risks and Controls. Retrieved May 17, 2015 from http://www.anao.gov.au/~/media/Uploads/BPGs/2011/HRIM_Risks_and_Controls_2011. pdf CIPD .(2013) . Redundancy. Retrieved May 17, 2015 from http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/redundancy.aspx Hern, C. & Burke, R.J. (2006) Enhancing the success of outsourcing initiatives. Europe’s Journal of Psychology 2, no 1. Retrieved May 17, 2015 from http://ejop.psychopen.eu/article/view/289/190 Kassim, N.M., Ramayah, T. & Kurnia, S. (2012). Antecedents and outcomes of human resource information system (HRIS) use. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management 61, 6: 603 – 623. NSW Premier’s Department. “Workforce Planning: A Guide”. Retrieved May 17, 2015 from http://www.dpc.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/12680/WorkforcePlanningAGuid e.pdf People Fluent. Workforce Analytics: the missing link in business intelligence. Retrieved May 17, 2015 from http://www.aquire.com/resources/dyn/files/1068162z1ba436ff/_fn/PF+WFA+an+BI+Wh itepaper.pdf Redundancy. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2015 from Read More