Formal human resource development internal proposal

¶ … HRD Report

Transmittal Memo

Biographical Sketch of Employees

Glossary

Figure 1 Employees Hired from Inside and Outside the Firm

Table 1 Employee Complaints as a function of Employee Biography and Complaint Type

Figure 2 Historical Established Worker Retention Rates

This report has been prepared to address the issue of established employee[footnoteRef:1] retention subsequent to an alarming number of such employees seeking termination in the past month. The findings of this research are that established employees do not believe that employees newly-hired during the recent hiring cycle meet the standards that were established by the company when they were hired. This has led to a decrease in the number of employees qualified to fill certain positions which require experienced employees, and it has diminished the ability of food services to meet their quotas. Reasons for this issue are discussed and recommendations for its amelioration are given. [1: The definition of an "established employee," and all other required definitions, can be found in the Glossary on page 12 of this report.]

Fellow Employee Attitudes and Attrition Rate

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Purpose

This is a proposal which details the retention problem that we have been having within certain areas of the company. This proposal will identify the main problem that has been occurring within the company which has caused an inordinate amount of people to leave within the last annual period, and will discuss solutions to the retention issue.

1.2 Problem

1.2.1 Company Growth

During the last two quarters business has grown at a rate that has made it necessary to increase the hiring rate drastically. Although growth in revenue and business is a positive outcome of good business practices, it also causes issues within the company that are more difficult to rectify. Since company business in the food services sector is growing at an ever increasing rate, hiring criteria have necessarily been lowered to meet the demand.

1.2.2 Hiring Practices

The company has recently experienced large growth in food service which has made it necessary to hire people with less discrimination than was previously employed. These hires are people who would normally not have been considered for the positions they are applying for, but since the need has been great, there have been less stringent controls placed on the people who have interviewed for these positions.

1.2.2.1 Within Company Hires

Generally, a position is initially offered within the company to those who wish to apply. This procedure ensures that employees are given the chance to both vary their employment in order to remain engaged and give every qualified person the chance for advancement. Because of the need for more individual workers, this practice has not been able to meet present needs.

1.2.2.2 Hires from Outside the Company

The company generally requires a full background check of all people being hired and there is an extensive interview process. Both the background check and the interview process have been shortened due to the need for a much greater amount of workers.

1.2.3 Employee Attitudes

Managers have noticed that there has been a definite regression in production among the segments (shifts, areas of highest growth) that have hired the greatest number of outside workers. In these sectors, there is an increased amount of complaints from traditional employees regarding the negative attitudes and work habits of those newly hired.

1.2.4 Established Worker Retention

The major issue has been that workers who have been with the company for a greater than one year are leaving at an increased rate. This has been directly attributed to the incidence of complaints regarding the attitudes expressed by the new-hires and the work habits of those new employees. Figure one shows the retention numbers for the past quarter.

Figure 1

2.0 Discussion

2.1 Biographical Sketches of Personnel

2.1.1 Established Line Employees

The average employee, hired prior to the last six months, has been with the company an average of 3.7 years. These employees have had the full battery of training, they have undergone the full background check that has previously been required of all incoming employees, and they have also undergone a battery of interviews to place them in the positions they now occupy. These employees range in age from 26 to 51, in general they have some post-high school education, and, in a questionnaire handed out at a recent training, scored high in company loyalty data. These employees share diversity consistent with the demographics shown in the U.S. Census Bureau chart from Appendix a, except for the fact that there are 57% women and 43% men.

2.1.1 Newly Hired Line Employees

The newly hired employees consist of men and women hired since the increased need was felt in food services approximately six months ago. Since there was an immediate need for these hires, they did not undergo the stricture of pre-employment testing and interviews that was required of all employees prior to this hiring cycle. The new hires did undergo a scaled down background check which made sure that they had a minimal criminal background (this was consistent with the checks conducted previously), but they were not subject to the educational and credit screenings. These employees also match the demographics common to citizens of the U.S. As listed in the Census Bureau data in the Appendix section. These employees range in age from 18 to 32, they have a reported educational range just below that of a high school diploma (some of the employees are drop outs who later obtained a General Equivalency Degree (GED), and one employee never obtained either a GED or high school diploma), and they received median-range scores for company loyalty.

2.2 Analysis

2.2.1 Existing Situation

2.2.1.1 Manning

From the biological data, it should not be assumed that the newly hired employees are of any less present value than the established employees. Manning requires that a certain number of persons be on the floor at any one time. Break and day-off schedules insure that the production lines are properly manned and that the employees are able to enjoy their federally mandated break times. Thus, for manning purposes, the newly hired employees are just as valuable as those who have worked for the company prior to the latest hiring cycle.

2.2.1.2 Teams

Each team of workers is comprised of equal parts experienced employees, who occupy the more complicated parts of the operation (maintenance, machine operator, freezer personnel, etc.), and newly hired employees who primarily occupy the less technical positions (sandwich maker, custodian, etc.). The teams of workers are divided in both occupational responsibilities and levels of supervisory responsibility. Meaning, the lowest level of employee is responsible only for himself or herself, while others (such as the machine operator) may be responsible for up to seven (7) employees including themselves.

2.2.1.3 Complaint Data

The primary issue occurs when the employees are taking breaks (either fifteen "coffee" or "lunch" breaks) together and they are able to talk about the job. From the complaint data taken from Table 1, it is possible to see that established employees are concerned about how the many newly-hired employees are conducting themselves during break periods. The general complaint is that there is a general aura of distrust among the established and the newly-hired employees. The two groups tend to congregate separately, and the tenor of their conversation is different. The newly-hired employees have a tendency to disparage the company during their breaks (see table 1) and they also take longer to return to work, thus holding up the line and making the established employees wait for them.

Table 1

Complaint Issue

Established Employee

New Hire

Poor work Practices

31%

2%

Poor Attitude

17%

4%

Age Issues

8%

2%

Lack of Respect

15%

21%

Percent of complaints related to a particular issue and the employee group making the complaint

2.2.1.4 Actions Taken

There has been some disciplinary action taken when either is deemed egregious by company standards, but, in general, the employees are just disruptive enough that the line is only delayed for a short period of time. However, since it can take up to ten (10) minutes for the line to return to optimal speed, this does cause an additional delay of approximately five (5) minutes each break period. This means that employees are, on average, staying 15 minutes longer than normal. In general, this does not cost the company money because it is guaranteed time, but it does cost in employee morale.

2.2.1.5 Exit Interview Data

Exit interviews conducted with established employees have shown that the primary reason these employees want to leave is because of the degradation in company-wide attitude consequent to the recent hiring cycle. Established employees believe that they are being unfairly treated due to the lax attitude of the newly hired employees, and because of a general negative attitude that has infused the company. Exit interview data suggests that these employees have left because they feel that the company has relaxed its high employment standards because of the increase in business. The employees feel betrayed because they believe that there hard work to increase the standing of the company in the industry has not been rewarded.

2.2.2 Research into the Problem

Employee attitude is a well-researched topic which has shown that, on an organizational level, collective employee attitudes can greatly affect job performance, customer satisfaction and work quality (Ryan, Schmit & Johnson, 1996). Employees believe that the overall positive or negative attitude of the company comes from management (line management and human resources management) due to the policies adhered to (Nishii, Lepak & Schneider, 2008). Therefore, as can be seen from the complaint research, many of the established employees hold management just as responsible for the overall negative attitude in the plant as the newly hired employees. This is consistent with the research that has been conducted in the past (Ryan, Schmit & Johnson, 1996).

Some established employees are also report seeing some negativity surrounding their relative ages. The average age of the established employees is 43.2 years while the average age of the newly-hired employees is 26.9 years. This generational gap has caused the established employees to see a lack of sensitivity on the part of the company for their relative experience. This attitude among older employees is common when a new wave of much younger employees is hired (Bibby, 2008). The complaints from the older employees had less to do with how they were treated by the younger employees and more to do with how they saw the arising perceptions of the company as a whole (Bibby, 2008).

The established employees are also concerned with the lack of training and screening conducted with the new employees. Rather than formal training most of what has occurred is on-the-job due to the need to have personnel to man the open positions. Also, the some established employees complained about the activities of those newly-hired while they were taking breaks. It is believed that some have violated the company's drug policy during breaks and are coming back to work somewhat impaired. The established employees are worried that some of those who are new were not properly screened prior to being hired.

3.0 Conclusion

The research suggests that it does not matter what the actual intent of the employer is, what employees perceive as reality become reality (Bibby, 2008). Therefore, it is necessary for management to change the perceptions of those employees which it is most crucial to retain (experienced operators who man the most complicated machines, and other jobs). The fact that retention rates have dropped cannot be explained by natural attrition due to employee movement or due to retirement from the workforce. Retention is an issue because of the employee's perceptions of how they are being rerated by management. This statement comes from data taken from the retention interviews of established employees who have chosen to leave the company.

These employees detail that is a lack of respect from their employer which has caused them to become disillusioned with the company, and has led them to a wish to terminate their employment (Table 1). This is a disturbing trend which must be curtailed or the employment issues which the company currently faces will continue.

The issues at hand are the fact that more established employees are leaving, and that the pool of people that meet the company's hiring requirements is diminishing quickly. Also many of the established employees believe that the company is responsible for the lack of attention to their needs and that they are being discriminated against due to the more stringent requirements of their hires. This has meant a decrease in their loyalty to the company and an increased desire to leave given the current overriding attitude of the plant.