Thompson-Pritchett, Inc

Scenario:

You are the newly hired Human Resources Manager for Thompson-Pritchett, Inc., a customer service and sales organization that has been in operation for two years. You were hired to develop a fully functioning Human Resources department which will provide enhanced HR services for the 150 employees and the leadership team. Over the past two years, the human resources functions have been spread among several individuals within the organization, including an administrative position which processed paperwork and the management team which typically handled their own human resources issues.

The CEO recognized the need to bring in an HR professional who will provide more strategic support for the organization to help them with their aggressive expansion goals. You are aware that there may be initial resistance from the management team; therefore, you plan to schedule one-on-one meetings with each manager, where you will get to know their leadership styles, department functions, as well as their needs and challenges. You also plan to hold communication sessions with employees to introduce yourself and discuss your role in helping them with HR needs they may have. You realize that trust is earned, and it may take some time for the management team and employees to feel comfortable with you. You are prepared for this!

Before you can begin addressing organizational issues, it will be important to engage in an organizational analysis to find out where things currently stand. This process consists of familiarizing yourself with the company background and assessing existing challenges and issues. Part of this process may include what is referred to as SWOT analysis?identifying the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and current threats with regard to human resources areas. This type of analysis provides the foundation from which to begin to formulate recommendations.

The critical areas in which you intend to focus initially include staffing, policy review, training, performance management, pay practices, benefits, career development/recognition, and retention. You are aware that with the HR functions spread among several individuals within the organization, procedures and policies are inconsistent within the organization. Through the centralization of these functions under the "HR umbrella," consistency should be restored.

You are very much aware that any initiatives you recommend must be tied to the corporate goals and designed to support the CEO's vision for the company. If you are to successfully align yourself as a true business partner, you will need to be prepared to provide financial data and other concrete figures to support your recommendations. For example, in your brief time with the company you quickly recognized an issue with employee turnover. You know that in presenting recommendations for addressing turnover, you will need to show the financial benefit to the company and how a reduction in turnover can lead to an increase in productivity and reduced expenditures. Demonstrating the return on investment for your recommendations will be key.

Additionally, with all strategies and policies you recommend, you will keep in mind the culture and ethical values of the company and how you can help to support those values through your recommendations. HR policy can either detract from or enhance company performance. You intend to demonstrate, through your recommendations, that you are a strategic business partner focused on helping the company to achieve its goals and remain competitive.

You realize this will be a challenge and know that effective communication and relationship building will be critical and will help to facilitate the changes to be made. You have considered what will be required, and you are prepared and eager to make a difference!

ASSIGNMENT

3-4 slides with notes

As the newly hired HR manager for Thompson-Pritchett, Inc., you have placed your initial focus on the areas of staffing and training development. During your organizational analysis, you discovered the following with regard to staffing and training:

Line managers are currently handling the recruiting and staffing functions. Each manager tends to follow different hiring practices. Some of the managers are reluctant to hand over the hiring of their staff to the HR department. Other managers feel burdened with the staffing responsibilities and are anxious to turn it over as quickly as possible. No job descriptions exist within the organization.
Upon hire, employees are given a two-hour orientation session which focuses on department policy and procedure. There is no additional training given, but rather, it is on the job training/learn as you go. There are no formal training classes and no management training programs.
You would like to obtain feedback from the line managers prior to making a presentation to the CEO. Taking the above conditions into consideration, please address the following questions in a presentation you will deliver to a team of three to four line managers.

What are your preliminary recommendations with regard to centralizing the staffing function under the HR "umbrella"? What will the new process look like? With regard to this new staffing strategy, what challenges do you anticipate and what is your plan to overcome those challenges? How can you position this decision to the CEO to demonstrate how this will impact the performance efforts of the organization? What results do you anticipate?
With regard to the training/development function, what preliminary recommendations would you make? What challenges do you anticipate with this new employee development strategy, and what is your plan to overcome those challenges? How can you position this decision to the CEO to demonstrate how this will impact the performance efforts of the organization? What results do you anticipate?