HRM research information

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I am going to outline the key issues and challenges for HRM. From this, you should be able to conduct your analysis. I also will provide information based on speaking with Samantha, an HR manager of a mid-size company with offices in 10 states and Canada. Let's start with this and after reviewing the information, you can modify and add to it. Then ask any questions you might have if you need further assistance. If you have any other questions for Samantha, message me and I will forward them to her. She is usually pretty quick with her answers.

First, let's begin with Samantha. She is an HR manager at a mid-size company with offices in 10 states and Canada. She works with a team that sets strategic goals for her region, in operations, sales, marketing, and human resources. A graduate of Tulane in Human Resource Development, she has worked with her current company for seven years. Her strategic management planning and her ability to formulate policies and procedures on a vast array of subjects within the human resources department makes her an excellent participant for this work.

What is the most important challenge you face in HR management today?

Samantha: Our most important challenge is hiring and training people to work and then retaining them. No one has the loyalty to stay with a company. They are always looking for the better pay, better benefits, better whatever of life, even if they like their job and are good at it. For me, it becomes a challenge to hire people who want to be in our company and train them, while keeping the job challenging for them. We also have to meet the offerings of other companies in terms of compensation and benefits. One young man we hired stayed with us for two years then left. We trained him, put him in the leadership program, gave him regular promotions and raised his pay. He left because, though making nearly a hundred grand a year, we could not pay his membership of $150 per month to a prestigious gym he wanted to join. He is 27 and has only a wife with an educator's income. They are not hurting for money. Another company scooped him up; despite the fact he has to wait almost nine more months due to his competition clause, at the same pay and benefits, plus that gym membership. Of course they don't have to pay for the training and skills he learned here.

Do you think this is the same challenge other face in the field?

Samantha: I do think it relates. It is hard to recruit people who are looking for a position with long-term advancement benefits. Retention is always an issue these days. Sometimes we win, others we don't. I would like to think that succession planning has reached a point where people can see the benefits of staying and building their careers with our company, but it seems unlikely for most hires that this is an enticement and it's not just in the financial field. Places like Northrup ...