Quiz 5: Human Resources Planning

Business

Reducing Turnover at Rosemont Center Rosemont Center Inc., in Columbus, Ohio, is a mental health and social services agency providing services to youths and low-income families. The services provided include outpatient therapy, foster care, day treatment, and mental health services. Annual employee turnover reached 72%. The 62 employees included therapists, counselors, and social workers. At its peak the staff numbered 150 but funding cuts led to elimination of some programs. During the ensuing layoffs, voluntary turnover jumped. Low morale and motivation became a problem for the survivors, and the quality of services was affected. The HR Director checked the accuracy of the turnover metrics to verify their validity and then put together a task force to identify causes. They identified the following causes: • Demanding work • Work-life balance-night work and weekends • Low salaries • On-call responsibilities without compensation Exit interviews and employee satisfaction surveys were reviewed, and managers of similar agencies in Ohio were interviewed. These interviews were performed to hopefully find solutions that could improve employee satisfaction and reduce turnover. Recommendations to the board for change from the task force included: • Career development -internal job bidding for promotions and transfers to allow employees to apply for positions at Rosemont even before they were vacant and make an internal list of people who would consider jobs at the center. • Rewards -a salary study to make sure salaries were competitive. • Management and organization -develop a system of support for directors and supervisors to reduce recruiting costs and orientation costs for new employees. Encourage openness in communication so employees felt free to make suggestions or express concerns. • Work-life balance -promote employee assistance programs and provide training on work-life balance. With backing from the board of directors, the resulting program reduced turnover to 48%. The job bidding was a key element in that success. Compensation was increased as a result of the salary study, and employees were given more choices of benefits. Rosemont generated a list of candidates who wanted to work there. When a position opened, there were several candidates from which to choose. Formal training for management personnel had a positive effect on staff, who began to feel more supported by their supervisors. The company developed a training agenda which received funding. Finally, quarterly all-staff meetings and other events began fostering a more open culture. The improved turnover rate with attendant reduced costs and better morale impressed the board members, and resulted in improved service as well. 61 QUESTIONS 1. Did the social services nature of this organization make the turnover situation any different that in a private company? Why or why not? 2. Have you seen similar efforts occur in places where you have worked? Describe them and comment on their success in that context. What could have been done differently?

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Essay

Turn over refers to the employees leaving an organization and need to be replaced. The turnover does not depend only upon the nature of industry the organization operates rather it also depends on the policies, culture etc of the organization. Factors like career development opportunities, work-life balance, management organization, rewards and recognition have a direct relation with the turnover rate. The research shows that the average turnover rate of all the industries is aprox 15% with service industry at 35%, entertainment at 27% retail 22%. It impacts the productivity, safety and financial performance of the organizations. Poor attempts of organizational change lead to higher turnover. It has been observed that the social sector organizations are less focused on the employee engagement welfare which costs them much as there is high turnover as a result. However if managed properly it can be controlled. Thus the poor management and employee focus in the social sector organizations leads to high turnover.

Q 2

Describe your expectations for a job. How well does your employer meet the expectations you bring to the psychological contract?

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Essay

Everybody carry some or the other expectations from their jobs by performing their job roles. When the employees contribute something to the organization through the job, I is obvious that they will also have some expectations. These job expectations influence other factors such as job satisfaction, motivation, job performance etc. Expectation from a job: Following are some of the expectations from a job: • Nature of work: The tasks or work to be done as a part of job performance should be designed according to the attitude and competence of the person. For example, people with high esteem may feel standardized work as boredom. They get motivated by achievement • Nature of the organization : Most of the potential candidates want to work with a well reputed company, and like to be identified by their organization • Career growth : The employees need growth in their career, which is an indication for their development. If there are no opportunities for growth, they may neglect the current job. Career development in a job itself acts as a motivator. • Pay package: Every employee expects a fair pay for their contribution. It is one of the factors which attract a potential candidate towards the company. A good pay and financial incentives also help to increase employee potential • Working conditions : The job timings, work environment, tools and equipment used at work all are included in working conditions. If the working conditions are not good, he employee will not have interest in work and productivity will decrease • Benefits: Benefits include all financial and non-financial rewards. These rewards are used to reinforce the positive behavior in the employees and motivate them Most of the employers meet the job expectations of their employees in these days because the importance for human capital has been increasing and employees are considered as assets to the organization. If the organization does not meet these expectations, it will result in high turnover, low morale and other negative consequences.

Q 3

If you became the new manager at a restaurant with high employee turnover, what actions would you take to increase retention of employees?

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Essay

Employee retention is a process which includes all the activities and strategies to retain talented employees in the organization. It is a major challenge faced by the Human Resource department in these days. The following are the actions that would increase retention of employees: • First the restaurant should conduct exit interview to identify the reasons behind turnover rate • Organizations need to taking care of its people in terms of their growth opportunities. This is possible by providing training or making them to learn something new. For example, a restaurant can train its employees on how to communicate with customers about different products they offer • Almost in all the cases human beings compare their job with the salary cheque which is going to be received at the end of the month. But before money, employees also want a sense of achievement and understand the purpose of their work. So recognize their efforts whenever they did something different which had positive effect • The managers should encourage their employees to develop a passion towards their work. It will help the organization when employee also has self interest in the job, which can be aligned with organizational interest. • The relationships between employees and managers should be healthy. Managers should be provided with sufficient training to provide assistance for subordinates • Commitment and loyalty is always a two-way process. If an organization wants its employees to be committed and loyal towards his job then the same way around an employee also expects the same loyalty from the employer's side when it comes to job security and growth opportunities in terms of both monetary rewards and organizational status and position. These are some of the activities that can be implemented to reduce the turnover rate. If the recruitment process is standardized, turnover can be reduced. The employees should be selected in such a way that they are able to fulfill their current responsibilities and also capable of fulfilling future responsibilities.

Q 4

As the HR manager, you must provide the senior management team with turnover costs for the following high-turnover position. Use websites such as www.talentkeepers.com and www.keepemployees.com, to calculate turnover and analyze the variables involved. Also identify any other data that might be relevant, and then discuss how you would reduce the turnover. Position: Machine operator Number of employees: 250 Number of turnovers: 85 Average wage: $11.50/hour Cost of benefits: 35% of payroll

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Q 5

Your company has reaped the benefits of having long-term, tenured employees, but many of them are now approaching retirement. It is anticipated that approximately 20% of the company's workforce will retire in the next three to five years. In reviewing the remaining workforce through HR planning efforts, you have become aware of work-life balance issues that need to be reviewed and addressed. The company president has requested that you prepare a retention plan outlining these issues as well as ways to address them. Resources to help you address the issues in the retention plan can be found at www.workfamily.com. A. What steps will you take to identify key priorities in the work-life balance issues? B. How will you present a business case to gain management support for addressing those issues to help retain existing workers and to fill the positions vacated by retiring employees?

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