Growth Strategy at Professional Products

¶ … growth strategy at Professional Products is currently built on international expansion. One implication of this is that human resources must identify, hire and train quality workers overseas. The company's retention policy means that human resources must find cross-training opportunities for its American workers that can help the company grow long-term as well. In addition, the company needs to identify ways in which the impacts of offshoring can be minimized in DeFuniak Springs. The organization hires in a region where it is one of the largest employers.

This gives it a good selection of workers from the Panhandle area, including those at the region's universities and colleges. The company retains workers as the result of its policy, and this policy is enabled by cross-training employees. In addition, the company does not hire additional workers during peak seasons that it will simply need to release once the rush is over.

In doing this, the company is able to retain those workers it does bring on board, and it sends an empowering message to the existing employees with regards to the importance of their roles in the organization. The human resources department must develop cross-training programs in order to support the company's retention policy. These programs must cross-train employees in tasks that are congruent with the company's strategic objectives. In addition, the human resources department must prepare the employees for the impacts of offshoring.

Offshoring not only means changes to the roles that the employees will have in the company but it can also have a significant negative impact on morale among the American workers (Overby, 2003). Human resources must work with management to reduce uncertainty, to maintain morale and to effectively transition the employees to their new roles within the company. 1.2. In addition to training, the human resources department can implement other strategies to build relationships with existing employees. The department can undertake strong communications programs to ease employee anxiety about offshoring, for example.

The HR department can also help to build motivation programs that orient workers towards building a long-term future with the company. Such programs will illustrate to the employees that the company is committed to their long-term well-being. This commitment will again serve to ease anxiety. Such programs may also include training for front line managers, who will be required to implement the new motivation and rewards programs (Rashdan, 2005).

Human resources can also provide counseling services to employees, although this may backfire if employees begin to think that there is good cause for implementing a counseling service. However, if framed correctly it could provide an avenue for employees to register their concerns with management. The human resources department can also incorporate monetary considerations into the motivation and retention strategies. One of the reasons that employees experience anxiety with respect to offshoring is because is creates uncertainty about their income.

As such, some financial motivators can prove powerful because they show that the company is still willing to spend money on its workforce. In addition, the.