Human Resources deficiencies at Alders and Richardson company

¶ … Human Resources Issues

There are a number of factors that are creating the deficiencies described in the three data points related to the Human Resources issues that Alders and Richardson are experiencing. The vast majority of these factors involve the attitude displayed by the VP of HR, who believes that labor market trends and industry competition is responsible for these woes. It seems that the HR department is not diligently fulfilling its function of preparing and sustaining the degree of preparation that employees need to have success in their positions while employed by Alders and Richardson. The amount of preparation that the department is equipping its employees with is insufficient. Of particular note is the fact that the department seems remiss in its measures for continuing education and ongoing preparation for its employees. This factor appears directly linked to the second data point. Again, the assumption is that simply because (in certain instances) the correct employee was hired for a position he or she does not need to expand his or her knowledge, since there is little continuing education and training requirements. Another factor likely to contribute to this situation is lackadaisical testing and standards for new hires, which is linked to the first of the three data points. Finally, the third data point is related to the fact that the department is not suitably compensating, let alone motivating, its employees to stay with this firm.

Question 2

I would make several specific recommendations to the senior leadership team at Alders and Richardson to correct the deficiencies in each phase of the HRM process that creating problems for the HR department at this entity. The first involves the process for obtaining new hires. The company needs to implement very specific measures for testing the competency of any employees who pass their initial interviews. Ideally, this would involve a day of "training" in which they would be expected to learn tasks and procedures while demonstrating them alongside professionals who are already employed. More strident measures are also required of the interview process itself to whittle the quantify of qualified applicants to ensure that only the truly suitable ones go forward with the company. There are multiple ways to address the training and development of employees on an ongoing basis that the HR department should play a pivotal role in providing. Firstly, it should mandate continuing education requirements for employees. Moreover, it is essential that it actually implements -- on a semi-regularly basis -- workshops and seminars for its employees to attend to actually get that sort of training. There are external conferences and trade shows that it can mandate employees attend. Additionally, it can bring in consultants who specialize in training for the field in which this company operates. Lastly, it is prudent to increase the compensation and benefit package that the department offers to employees: particularly to those who have demonstrated value and their competence over a sustained period of time.

Question 4

These HR failures and the VP of HR's resistance to address these issues are highly suggestive of of the nature of the collaboration and communication on behalf of the executive management team. There are obviously communication gaps. It is difficult at this point to realize exactly from where those gaps stem, but they require corrective action immediately for this company. The executive management team certainly needs to communicate to the HR department that it must be more assertive in attempting to retain high performing employees who are valuable to the success of the organization. Moreover, the HR department must take proactive measures to ensure that it is able to keep these employees, and communicate to the C. level suite when it has limited success in such an endeavor.

Question 5

The primary recommendations that I would have for the president of Alders and Richardson regarding the VP of HR and HR's ongoing under performance would be to adhere to the information gleaned from the aforementioned metrics. Specifically, the president would need to ensure these measures are implemented in order to correct the under performance of this crucial department for the company. Furthermore, it is his job to delegate responsibility for utilizing the metrics as the point of comparison to discern whether or not these recommendations are effective. Thus, the president should make it clear that the job of the VP of Human Resources hinges on the proper performance of this department. Moreover, the chief determining factor in this matter will be the foregoing metrics, which will provide the basis for gleaning whether or not the department is performing sufficiently.

Question 6

It certainly appears likely that there may be a couple of sources of resistance to the recommendations and intervention advocated in this document. The author is anticipating some of that resistance to stem from the VP of HR. This notion is predicated on the fact that she has taken no accountability for her role in the under-performance of her department. One who simply blames shoddy performances on external factors will likely not want to commit to the measures outlined in this document to turn them around. Instead, such an employee would rather be content to assign the blame to others (such as the external factors within the industry and regarding labor practices) than take the sort of decisive action to alter the department's performance. Another source of resistance may come from the C-level suite, which is responsible for funding the measures to rectify the HR department. These executives may bristle at the thought of spending money to curb a problem which is already draining them financially. However, if they realize that their funds for these measures is merely a stopgap that will surely produce long-term yields including a lower overhead and future savings, their resistance will likely subside.